6 The World's Favourite Person

IMANI

Imani let out a sigh of relief when the car dived to the ground and began to slow down.

"Parking... Arrived at destination, Roxley. Home." The car came to a stop.

"Now, wasn't that fun?" Lola asked her with a grin on her face.

She wouldn't lie, it was fun. She loved the adrenaline rush she felt the moment the resilient screen came over the doorway and the doors opened and curved upwards. It had taken a while for Lola to convince her to agree to let the car fly. The method of convincing Lola used was explaining the safety bed that immediately gets deployed underneath the car if it were to fall to Imani and some desperate begging.

After she had agreed, she kept her eyes closed for a couple of minutes when they were in the air. It felt like they were about to free fall anytime the car took a turn and she hadn't felt that much fear for her life since a few drops of the Sirizan virus splashed across her faceshield in the lab while she was running some tests. Her soul had actually left her body for a minute when that happened.

The car had flown them to Ingram avenue where they bought spicy fish and olive spaghetti from Quik for dinner and it had flown them home.

The doors began to curve back into place and Lola looked out the window when the resilient screen slid down.

"Okay," Lola murmured as she scanned the surroundings of the two storey building. " I see no reporters... no drones too. Let's move."

Imani grabbed one of the bags containing food and her handbag while Lola grabbed the other before the passenger's side door opened. They kept an eye on their surroundings as they quickly headed towards the door of the house. There was a gate guarding the property but that didn't stop the drones... or the reporters.

The two storey building stood at the far end of a long gravelled driveway which was surrounded by well manicured lawns. It was large and almost intimidating. The house was painted a beige and grey colour and the paintwork on the trim was brilliant white. The windows were the large Semil model that majority of people in the country found fashionable and wanted to have in their homes while the front door used a palm scanner to allow entry into the building.

At its threshold stood a delicate marble fountain, the soft gurgling of the clear water melodic as it resonated in the surrounding silence.

The front door swung open and Desmond rushed out.

"Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried that something had happened," he stated and Imani narrowed her eyes at him as he quickly approached them with his phone in his hand.

His curly hair was midnight black and his eyes were dark brown which were framed with thick lashes. He was slim with an almost perfectly symmetrical face. He had a dark olive skin tone just like Imani and always in his wake were heads turning to watch him go.

"Hey sis, hey Lola," he muttered before snatching the bag containing food from Imani and headed back into the house, leaving the door open.

The corners of Imani's lips turned down and Lola snorted as they entered the house, shutting the door behind them. Desmond disappeared into the kitchen with the bag as he talked to his friend over the phone.

The house was filled with technology and modern design. The floors were polished concrete and the furniture was Scandinavian, high end designers only. The sheepskin rug on the floor was so clean it was hard to believe anyone had ever stepped on it.

Imani pressed her palm to her forehead and took in a deep breath when her eyes fell upon the pile of gifts in a corner of the living room. This pile was higher than the one of yesterday. The one of tomorrow would also be higher than this one.

The television was on and the news was being broadcasted above the panel in a holographic display. She assumed that Desmond had put it on mute since there was no audio.

Her picture was on the news and the headlines beneath read 'IMANI TALLERICO: FOUNDER OF THE CURE TO THE SIRIZAN VIRUS'.

Imani grimaced. She still hadn't gotten used to seeing herself on television and the sudden fame she now had. She didn't expect it to be this overwhelming.

She received fan mails and exotic gifts everyday from different people. She had also been named 'Person of the century' and 'Saviour' by multiple news websites for finding the cure to the virus.

The Sirizan virus was meant to be the end of the human race but Imani ended the virus before it could do that. It killed half of the human population within months and by the time Imani created the cure, the human population had already dropped to forty million from billions.

Renfield Sutton said that the virus was a good thing because it reduced the population.

Before the virus, securing food for everyone was a huge challenge due to resource depletion and the world leaders were already thinking of turning towards 3D printed food. Then after the virus, overpopulation had been fixed along with the food problem.

Renfield Sutton said the virus saved the world.

Renfield Sutton was dumb. Imani had said this to Lola a number of times and Lola actually agreed.

Lola Sutton and her father were not particularly close.

The virus had also crippled the economy but it had been able to quickly get back on its feet due to Renfield Sutton, Parisa Barnes, Lucas Harrison, Tyrone Bridges and Nikolay Ponchikova.

Though, not all of them were thanked for their contribution.

Lola let out a yawn and kicked off her heels. She placed the other bag containing food on the centre table before slumping onto the couch.

"Those shoes have killed my feet," she muttered as she wiggled her toes on the rug. "Do you want them?"

Imani glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye and placed her handbag on the couch. She pulled her phone out of the bag just as it buzzed with an incoming message that popped out of the screen.

JACOB PETERSON, 10:09PM: Imani. I need to talk to you tomorrow. It's urgent.