Chapter 10 : Encounter

At the end of the trial for that day, the bus had taken them back to the academy where they all originally gathered. Coach Eze and Idris as usual called out those who didn't make the cut. That meant 14 boys on each team would make it to the last trial.

"Those of you who are still here, congratulations. You are among the best of your peers. The final trial will be a friendly match between Group A and Group B. We will select those that will be admitted into the academy from there. The match will be held next Saturday. We hope to see you then. Dismissed!" Coach Eze said as the boys began to disperse.

Kaiser quickly looked around as everyone was going back to meet their parents, he was looking for Peter. Eventually, though he saw him, Peter didn't go under the canopy to meet anyone. He simply carried his old bag and started making his way towards the gate.

Kaiser had a moment to think while he was waiting for the trials to end about whether he should help Peter or not. He however decided that Peter was worth saving.

He reminded him of what he wanted to be, Peter missed out on his football dream because his life was taken from him. Kaiser missed out on his dream because he kept blaming everyone for his mistakes except himself.

At least this time, he would help Peter to stand a real chance.

"Hey, are you about to leave now? Oh, my name is Osho by the way! I forgot to introduce myself." Kaiser said with his hand extended forward.

Peter looked at him, for what felt like minutes for Kaiser as his hand was still extended before he reached forward and shook him. "Yeah, my name is Peter."

"I watched your performances at the trial and I think you're really good. Could we exchange contacts so we can keep in touch?" Kaiser asked him, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

"I don't have a phone." Peter said in a flat voice.

'Is this guy being serious?' Kaiser asked within himself while looking at Peter's expression to see if he was joking. However not even a smile formed on Peter's face, he was dead serious.

He then remembered in his past life that from the stories he was from a poor family. "Oh okay.. then if it's like that we'll just see each other next week!" Kaiser said, feeling a bit defeated.

Peter nodded his head and took his bag as he left the training grounds. While he was walking back to meet his mother, Malik walked up to him.

"Osho!" He called out excitedly as he walked towards him. "I just wanted to say thank you for today with Joshua, and I also want to tell you you're a serious baller! Can we exchange numbers to keep in touch till next weekend?" Malik asked hopefully.

"Of course." Kaiser said as he brought out his small touchscreen phone. Malik on the other hand brought out the latest iPhone. Ordinarily, this shouldn't be a big deal but in Africa where the prices of iPhones sometimes run into millions, it was a sign Malik was from a well-to-do family.

Kaiser didn't let his face betray his thoughts though. He simply put in his number, waved him goodbye and went to meet his mother.

From a distance, she spotted him and began walking towards him with a huge smile across her face. "Look at my boy!" She said as she opened her hands to hug him.

"Osho, I knew you liked football but I didn't know you were this talented!" She exclaimed, obviously shocked by the amount of talent her son possessed. She only brought him to support his dream and reward him for his hard work, but she was pleasantly surprised seeing what he was capable of.

He smiled so wide his lips were almost reaching his ears as he hugged her back. He could see other parents stealing glances at him as well, he definitely put on a show for everyone to see

"I'm so proud of you! Don't worry, today I'll make your favorite soup for dinner!" She said as she held his hand and they walked back to her car.

***

A few days had gone by since the first set of trials and Kaiser had continued his regular schedule of training and going to school. The system hadn't checked the mission yet since the trials hadn't been completed yet and the overall winner hadn't been announced.

It was evening time and his mom suggested that they get something to eat from outside. "Osho, I don't know what to eat tonight. How about we buy something for dinner?" She suggested.

"That sounds fine, how about we get some [1]Akara and [2]Pap?"

"That's a great idea, my friends told me there's a woman that sells really nice Akara in the estate not too far from here. Let's go." She said as she got up.

They both got dressed in their casual clothes and set off to the place his mother spoke about. It was a small roadside kiosk but there was a decent number of customers.

They both got down and patiently waited, Kaiser was playing games with his phone when his mother tapped him on the shoulder. "Osho, isn't that boy your friend from the academy?" She asked while discreetly gesturing towards a tall boy who was packaging orders.

Kaiser took a good long look till he noticed it was indeed Peter who was packaging the food with a warm smile on his face. However, when he noticed Kaiser and his mother's presence, his face changed.

He avoided eye contact for as long as he possibly could until it was their turn to get served their food. "Good evening Ma, what can I get you today?" Peter asked, trying to be as straightforward as possible.

"Oh, how are you dear? I was just telling my son that I recognized you from the academy. Aren't you friends?" Kaiser's mother asked innocently.

She had no ill intentions, she only wanted to say hi to her son's friend. However, Kaiser knew the reason his countenance changed when he noticed them. He was ashamed, his peers seeing him sell Akara didn't sit well with him even though it was honest work.

Upon hearing his mother's remarks, however, the woman who was mixing the akara stood up and quickly adjusted her [3] wrapper and washed her hands.

"Oh my sister, hello! I'm Peter's mother, you said you know him from the academy?" The woman said in a timid voice. She hoped Kaiser's mother wouldn't see her trying to make conversation with her as rude.

"Oh, you must be Peter's mother! Your son is extremely talented." She said as the two women engaged in conversation. After about a minute or two more customers came and Peter's mother was about to leave when he interrupted her.

"Mama don't worry, I'll handle them." He said with a bright smile on his face. "I'll help too." Kaiser said as he entered behind the small kiosk with him.

"You don't have to, I can do it by myself." Peter said. "Yeah, but I want to. I might not be able to fry the akara but I can turn the pap. Just tell me how to measure it." Kaiser insisted.

Peter then came over and showed him how to measure the pap for customers. Surprisingly Kaiser handled it quite well, pouring and mixing the pap expertly.

His expertise came from his previous life, when his mother had gotten older and could no longer work an office job, she sold pap and akara too. He had helped her out a few times, hence his skilful work.

About 20 minutes had passed and they had completed all the orders and there were no more customers. They walked outside to see their mothers still laughing and enjoying each other's company, putting a smile on the boy's faces.

"Oh, they're done." Kaiser's mother said as she noticed the two boys standing there.

"Have a seat my dear don't be shy." Peter's mother said as she gestured towards a long bench resting on a wall. They both sat down and relaxed their backs.

"Thank you for helping me." Peter first said.

"You're welcome, it was fun." Kaiser replied.

"Hahaha, did you just say fun? Even as the mosquitoes were biting you you felt it was fun." Peter said, looking more free than Kaiser had ever seen him.

"It was nice to experience something different for a change." Kaiser said while shrugging his shoulders with a smile.

"I didn't know you stay around here, my house isn't even far. Just across the highway." Kaiser told him.

Peter's expression then became a bit solemn. "I don't usually like telling people where I stay, or what my mother does." He said in a lowered tone.

"They tend to look at you differently when they realize you're from a lower-class family." He summarized.

"People like that aren't your real friends. It's an honest living, there's nothing wrong with it." Kaiser said while patting Peter on the shoulder.

"You know I have to ask, are you actually fourteen? You talk like someone who is much older." Peter pointed out.

Kaiser's eyes widened a little, he had forgotten that he was in the body of a child. He needed to act like it from time to time.

"Haha, my mom had always said that I acted older than my age." He laughed as he tried to change the conversation. They talked a bit more before their mothers called out to them.

"Peter, Oshos mother told me that they don't stay far from here. Maybe you should follow them next time for your training on Saturday." She suggested.

Peter looked at Kaiser who gave him a reassuring smile and agreed. "It's fine then, we'll pick him up from here when the time comes."' Kaiser's mother said politely.

"My sister, it's getting late so we should start going home now. We haven't even bought what we came here for haha."

Peter's mother quickly got up and packed a generous amount of akara in some newspapers and pap in some clean plastic bottles. Despite her insistence, Peter's mother refused to allow her to pay and gave them for free.

They both left the mother and son and made their way back home, Kaiser was happy as he and Peter had gotten a bit closer so he could now influence his future, hopefully saving his life in the process.