"I already hate this", I say to Chibuzor and Opeyemi as we gently swagger into the crowded mansion as bodies made way for us to pass through. The pulsating music and flashing lights fuelled the excitement, the rest of the cabinet members followed closely behind. Opeyemi, son to the vice president, was at high alert and pulled Aaliyah, daughter to the president and coincidentally his girlfriend closer to his side as they strolled into the house.
The party was hosted by one of the new students at our school as a way to prove that he belonged in our prestigious school which taught only the children of the richest people and politicians of the country. The boy whose father was still a nouveau rich had decided to host the party to solidify his shaky position as one of the entitled. He had even been brave enough to offer an invitation to us, 'THE CABINET'.
'THE CABINET', a term that was assigned to the elites among the elites, children of the most influential and respected people in basically the whole of Africa, a term that was used by students, teachers and anyone who had come close enough to have heard about our friend group. I liked it very much, it signified our importance and power.
There was Abishola ali, only daughter to the 'Alis', who owned the biggest and most luxurious designer brand in Africa, she was never caught out of style; then Rahila Zobo, daughter to the worlds best doctors for short, her dads a neurosurgeon and her mom a cardiologist, by default, she's the smartest amongst us; Aaliyah Dambe, daughter to the president of the country; Opeyemi Adesina, son to the vice president; there was Chibuzor Ikenga, my best friend, his father was the second richest man in Africa and a close associate of my father. Last but not the least, there was the King, there was me, there was I, Yadera Eze, the son of the richest man in Africa, the son to the most influential man in the continent. I loved the power that came with that title, the respect of it, nobody ever dared called me by my name, they always referred to me as King.
I couldn't hold back the feeling of wanting to kill Chinedu right about now. It was his idea we grace this party, a party held on the mainland, what rubbish. I find the mainland disgusting, filled with poor hopeless people, dis-morphed fat ugly people. How those the stupid boy expect to be welcomed into our society when he is hosting a party on the mainland. To his credit, he had prepared a V.I.P corner for us in hopes we would attend, he looked on top of the world when he came to receive us, vile creature. I didn't like him at all, he wasn't very fat (yet) but he was slightly overweight and just from looking around you would notice the effort he put into this party, but everything still looked cheap and forced to me, I was really irritated. If only my car hadn't run out of gas earlier and made me lose the race with Chinedu, I really wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this.
After a few hours of standing around and being visibly bored, I signalled to Chinedu that we should leave. He cast me a lazy smile and detached himself from the girl he was just sucking her face a few seconds ago, the rest of my friends were scattered around the place and genuinely seemed to be having a good time, I couldn't care less, I was out of this place. It took a few minutes getting everyone together as all of the girls seemed to be drunk.
As we made our way to the house and out into the street to our cars, a fat, elderly woman, dressed in tattered clothing, approached us. Her eyes pleading for some money. I scoffed, revulsion etched on my face. I wondered to myself how someone can be so poor and yet so fat, truly disgusting, now I had a new reason for wanting to kill Chinedu.
I walked calmly to my car and just as I was about to open the door, I felt a hand pull at my clothes. I turned and was greatly enraged, the woman was only a few feet away from me and from such a close distance the smell coming off her body was choking. I pushed her to the floor and kicked away her hands as she tried to grab a hold of my legs, I tried opening my door again but she latched onto my legs and although writhing in pain, she kept on asking for some money. I wanted to let it go and enter my car as fast as possible but then she started referring to me as her son and calling herself my mother. I was livid, I kicked her hands off me and stomped on her several times asking her who was her son, insults which I didn't even know I could say spewed out of my mouth in different languages all why she kept on calling me her son and referring to herself as my mother why still begging for money. I was blinded by rage, who was this fat, dirty beggar to call herself my mother, a waste to the environment, I should kill her so that at least her body can serve as manure and repay the planet for being such a waste of oxygen. It was only when Chindeu and Opeyemi dragged me off the woman's bloodied body and talked sense into me that I calmed down a little.
The boy whose party we came for, had already run out of the house with some random boys who helped to drag the woman a few meters away from my car, he looked badly embarrassed but he hasn't seen the worst of it, I'll show him later why they call me King.
I got into my car and just as I was about to move off, a fat grimy hand griped against my half wound up window and the woman's bloody face was close against it. The woman's eyes locked into mine, her gaze piercing. "You have no heart, young one," she whispered in a dramatic tone. I looked straight into her eyes and steeled myself from leaving my car and killing her. The woman's expression remained calm, but her eyes flashed with anger. "You will know suffering. You will know shame."
For a moment, the woman's words sent a shiver down my spine. Then I became terribly angry and sped off not caring that the woman was thrown off by the force and fell with a loud thud on the ground.
I was blinded by rage and after a few minutes, the road was mostly free, a rarity in Lagos, I tuned into my anger and sped manically along the road going through various scenarios in my head of how I could have caused the woman even greater pain. My phone was blasting with calls but I didn't care. I was angry, outraged, livid and then everything was black.
Where am I? why is everything so cold, and dark? why can't I feel my body?
It suddenly feels like am falling and very fast too, I felt myself hit the floor, I felt my body this time around as it ached all-over, most especially my tummy. I forced my eyes open and I was greatly confused by what I found before myself. I was in a strange, unfamiliar place. The stench of decay and rot filling my nostrils.
Groggily, I stood up, taking in the surroundings. It seems I was in an abandoned shack that from the looks of it someone actually lived here. I stumbled forward, disoriented. Where was I?
I caught a reflection on a shattered mirror and tried calling out to the very unattractive person but I couldn't find my voice, that wasn't the alarming thing, what really alarmed me was that the person in the mirror seemed to be copying my actions, when I reached for my face, it did the same and when I stretched out my hand to the shattered mirror, I touched the reflection. My eyes widened in horror. It couldn't be possible, no way, I refuse to accept this.
I was no longer the lean, handsome boy I once was, my face was as round as a circle, my cheeks were so big I could not see my ears. I looked down at my body for the first time since I opened my eyes, I was now bloated and short, a mockery of his former self.
I was still in a shock and couldn't move when I heard a cackling laughter echoing in my mind, that for some odd reason sounded weirdly familiar: "You will rise, Yadera... but first, you must fall."
Before I could even begin to ponder what was going on, I had a loud ping in my head.
A weird colourful sphere, which seemed ever in motion appeared before my yes, or maybe it was always there and I only just noticed,
"Welcome Host, I am the slum system. You must be in great distress. May I proceed with explanations?"