Chapter 90: The Mad Powerder

                         ***The mad Powder***

"Like seriously, and as a matter of fact, your swimming tactics are mysterious, I've never seen or heard of a swimmer who swims like you. Not even in the Olympics, honey you are the best, can't you see them gathering there? They are already scared, they are scared of you and you are here feeling scared of them. Very funny. Listen, love, we have been seeing Kunle swim, and we know that he is not your match after we saw you swim. And mind you, this is not just my words, I heard some students saying that they heard the principal say that you are our new Merman. So, if the principal who is not supposed to be biased at all, could say this, what then do you think is your odd against Kunle."

Cynthia said. Well, I won't lie, I also heard the principal say it, he said that the new water has emerged. These words raised my bar of confidence to a very high level.

We were still there discussing when we saw Bright strolling down my end with his face all tightened and squeezed like someone begging for sympathy. 

"Look at Bright o, it is like he is coming here o."

Chinwe said as he saw the direction in which Bright was headed. As he walked to our place, he came with a slumped shoulder, looking down and away like he was not coming to our side, it was pretty obvious that he had been struck with the arrow of shame. When he finally got to our place, he still bowed his head and with a straight mouth. A trait that had never been found in Bright before. The other girls were shocked to see him in that condition.

"Yes, what do you want? Looser! Mtchew..."

Charity asked and Cynthia now clung to me as if it say she was in a competition with anyone over me.

"Hmm... Damian, can I please see you in private?"

He asked me. Immediately he said this, Cynthia froze in shock staring at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

"Sorry, you want to see him in private? For what? So you and your newly found friend will go and bully him? Mtchew, if you have anything to say you have better say it now."

Cynthia said."

Yes! If you want to say anything you can say it before us."

Charity added.

"Hmm... Damian, I'm here to apologize to you, please Damian, I know that I have wronged you in diverse means, but please I'm just tired of having this feeling of hostility toward you for no reason, I want you to pardon me, and make me your friend, please bro."

He said with his head still bowed down, all the while as he spoke he wasn't looking me in the face, he just couldn't look me in the face, I can't believe that I actually fell for that cheap act of his.

His pleading for mercy gave chinwe a mouth Dropping experience as she used her hands to put over her mouth.

"Bright, so you can be humble like this? So you can also beg. This is serious."

Charity said stepping backward with her hands against her forehead.

"Yeah, I am literally asking for the mercy of Damian, I want us to be friends, I'm tired of all this unnecessary disgust, loathing, and malevolence. Please, Damian, I need us to team up and take down this Kunle who had constantly knocked off the shot of winning this title from me, it will do me great pleasure if someone else takes that title from him, please be my friend."

Bright said.

"Hmm... I dont know, I just dont trust this apology it is too bogus to me. For God's sake, we just saw you with this same kunle whom you said you don't want him to win the competition again."

Chinwe said.

"Yes oo, it is apparent he even told Kunle the same thing he is telling us now, Damian please just dont believe this his bogus appeal. It's obvious that he is trying to play two sides"

Charity said. Although I also had it in mind that he was fake in his sermon, I still gave him a benefit of the doubt. We were there discussing when a boy from the Junior Secondary Three (JS3) came to inform me that my housemaster seeks my presence.

"Oh, that man and his big grammars, better go with your dictionary."

Bright said hilariously.

"Seriously, that man's words are virtually too difficult to comprehend."

I responded. And beaded the girls goodbye before I left, before I left, Bright came and gave me a hug which seemed to be a friendly one. I hugged him making a look that says 'what is this for'. He dabbed my back as we hugged and I left.

"Go champ."

So he said as I advanced to the staff office.

When I got here, he was in his office, I knocked and asked him to come in which I did, I sat in his ergonomic chair which felt like the one in mom's mini-library.

"My boy, today is the day, hope you are mentally and physically inclined to the tremendous tournament. I'll so appreciate it if you succeed in this event as the champion and idol, you must be the New Merman! I frankly yearn for this, for a well extended period that I have breathed in this school, I have conspicuously squabbled to give birth to a member of Yellow house that will gain a victory in this competition for me, I really desire that Merman statue in my office, and forthwith, you are the one that will do this for me, right from the initial day that I saw you swim, I just knew it that you are the next Merman. So, my boy, I want you to know that you have no choice but to win this competition, yes, absolutely no choice." 

So he said looking very restless. Hmm... This man and his choice of diction when he speaks, I wonder how he manages to communicate with his kids at home, so I thought.

This sermon I really do not understand, was it supposed to raise my confidence or bring more fear to me? What did he intend to achieve in this speech of his? Now I felt pressured, so much faith in my head, many people have invested a lot of trust and expectations in me, and I dont even have that much faith in myself, I feel so scared right now, and I've been feeling strange since after the hug from Bright. My eyes have been spinning and I feel sleepy like a drunkard will feel. As at that moment, I didn't understand what was happening, I thought that it was the fear coming in diverse shapes and forms. It was already noon and everything had been set for the swimming competition. The pool was demarcated into nine lanes, only nine houses were privileged to compete. This was why the lanes were only nine. All the while, I've been feeling very strange, I really could not explain the cause of that feeling neither could I explain the way I felt. I told Cynthia that I wasn't feeling too well, when she asked me to explain my feelings and I said that I couldn't explain the feeling what she did was annoying, she automatically said that I am only suffering from atychiphobia. And she even went ahead to explain the cause of the phobia, she said I was only having an atychiphobiaa because of the competition, then she started with her confidence-boosting sermon and canceling again.