Episode One





The lush and warm atmosphere of Volta high school was in total discord with the cold vibe teacher Chioma oozed towards everyone she came across. She was like a raging bull, totally unlike her. "it's like aunty chioma is in a bad mood today o, I don't even want her to notice me at all today. So don't talk to me during her class o, shey u hear?", Aaliyah said, appealing to the only one who could tolerate her attitude in the class, Maria. "Maria, how do you keep up with this spoilt brat sef, me I can't take half of what she throws at you, mo jeri ara mi", Ronke said, staring Aaliyah down in the process, like she was about to pounce on her. "well, she is my friend", Maria replied. "New gist, this new student has not even said anything since he entered, maybe he is a mute", Ronke said, whispering as if she wanted to say something really secretive. Aaliyah couldn't resist the temptation of goading Ronke once again, "amebo alert, e pele. Gbeborun", she said. "you know am warning you, take your time ooo", Ronke replied angrily.
*
"what is going on here, what is all these noise about for crying out loud. Will you go back to your seats", aunty chioma railed. She walked to the white board, everyone had already found their seats, everywhere was quiet once again. She then continued, "am just not in the mood for your tantrums today, I couldn't sleep last night. My olic was all over the place, shouting and screaming, I had to take her to the center for check up". Someone raised a hand up amongst the students, "can I say something ma?", he asked. "go ahead", chioma replied, politely. "well, it could be that water accidentally got into the hole in his forehead or he needed to eat", he said. "akpatre a smart otu. You must be the transfer student, what is your name young man", she said. "my name is Lanre Coker"

Episode Two


'you are welcome Lanre. I can see you know much about olics, can u tell us the sole purpose of an olic?', Chioma said. She developed this foul trait over the years, of taunting new students in her own way. Lanre stood to his feet, hoping that would help "erm, ma, I can't remember", he said. Chioma chuckled, then she said "echerem na' enweteghim ya". "daa ndo, owudi otuahu", lanre replied immediately. A murmur arose from the students, they were all stunned. "will u guys keep quiet, are we running a barbarian center here", chioma berated, she was like a hungry lion just waiting for an unlucky deer to walk by. "interesting, we will have to continue our conversation some other time. You can have your seat", she said. All through the class, Lanre could not concentrate, he wanted to write some points down but he just couldn't. 'I can't even have the first day to myself without you interfering', he thought. Before he knew it, the class was over, and so was the first day in school. He stormed out of the class and he headed straight to their new home in Joromi estate.
*
"good afternoon ma", he said as he prostrated to greet his mum. "kaabo omo mi, and how was school today", she replied with a huge smile on her face. "it was fine, the school is really nice too", he said. "am glad to hear that cos we have payed your fee already. Just go and freshen up, your food is on the table. Meanwhile, your dad has traveled and he won't be back till next week", she replied. He nodded his head, his mother understood perfectly. "what's your question", she said. "why did you quit your job just so that we could come to state 2? Dad doesn't work here, I don't have any friends here. Why?", he asked. "I will give you answers once you freshen up. Now, I need to take a nap", she replied, nonchalantly

Episode Three

The mansion recently bought by the Cokers was the biggest in Joromi estate. With 12 bedrooms and 4 living rooms, 2 swimming pools and a game room, it was a masterpiece fit for royalty. They became the envy of everyone around, how quickly can someone move from grass to grace. It was a phenomenal feat, considering the monthly income of the man and his wife combined. Their level of tremendous success in a short period of time began to raise questions, people began to talk foul about the family. 'won ti fi omo yen shey ogun owo' became the anthem wherever the name Coker came up. In the dystopia, the Cokers were thriving
*
"Ohh I slept like a baby, what's the time now?", Mrs Coker said, yawning. "it's 6:47pm. Now that you are awake ma, my question?", Lanre said, holding a cup filled with wine. "you want to bribe me abi? You are your father's son", she grabbed the cup and she took a sip, "to your question, as you well know, your father made a very lucrative deal with some very wealthy people and God blessed us as a result. So we decided to move here for serenity, you know how state 4 is now. I will find a very good job here am sure"
"a deal that got us this huge house and I also get to attend one of the best schools in the country, mom that's outrageous, you couldn't even afford to buy me a pair of sneakers 2 weeks ago". Lanre said. "mummy e niyen o, that's outrageous, o ma shey o. That you are now 16 years old doesn't mean that I can't spank you o, so you better take your time. Go to your room, think about what you said, then come and apologize when you feel sorry"

Episode Four


"okay mom am sorry, I didn't mean for you to get angry. Am really sorry", Lanre said, as truthful as he could be. They became puzzled when they heard a sudden knock on the door, "are you expecting someone?", Mrs Coker said. "no ma", he replied. "well go check it out then". Lanre had an idea of who it was but he didn't want to believe that something like that could happen in a place like state 2, he opened the door and he was shocked. There standing at the door were two military men, armed to the teeth, one of them said "afternoon chief, am Sergeant Geraldo Ortiz and he is corporal Ortega Lopez. You are welcome to the neighborhood. Where are your parents?". "so it happens here too. Anyway, my dad is not at home but my mom is in, you can come in", Lanre replied. They entered the mansion, they removed their guns, placed it on the table in one of the living rooms and they sat on the nicest chairs in there, like they owned the place. Mrs Coker walked in, "afternoon officers, what can I do for you?", she said. "on behalf of the government of the new colonised republic of Batagni, we welcome you to state 2 and we were told to collect the courtesy fee. You know how it is ma'am", the sergeant replied. "must you always mention the word colonised. Unfortunately I know how it is, I will be right back", she said. She waltzed into her room and she grabbed a small bag, "here is your courtesy fee. Now I don't want to see you here anymore, is that clear", she asserted. "clear as day ma'am. Do enjoy the rest of your day", the corporal replied. They grabbed their guns and they left.
*
It was the second day in school and Lanre was determined to make the most of it, 'today must not be anything like yesterday', he thought as he sat quietly in the school bus. It was a 30 minutes drive from his house to Volta high school, so he had planned for the trip the night before. He grabbed a comic book, the adventures of Captain Sullivan and he started reading, picturing the scenarios as he read along. They had gotten to the school, he continued to read the book as he walked to his class. "hi, am Ronke", she said as she walked up to him. "hi, am Lanre. We are classmates right", he replied. "sure. I would advise you to drop the book and walk as fast as you can, Mr Sanusi doesn't like latecomers very much", she said as she walked past him. "okay, thanks", he replied. He took Ronke's advice and he entered the class a minute before Mr Sanusi. "Good morning class. Today our focus would be on how Spain colonised almost half of the continent of Davria, including our beloved country", he said

Kantinew Please

Episode Five

"you see, over the years, Spain had struggled with economic downturn, recession, famine and whatnot, they were on the verge of becoming a failed state. But that all changed when a man named Rodrigo Valdez was elected president, things changed almost immediately; they became the strongest and the wealthiest country in the world. Although his methods are somewhat strange but they are effective nonetheless. He became more of a dictator and all those who stood against him in time past died one after the other. Now no one knows how they died but it was pretty strange. After the humongous growth they experienced, they decided to 'expand' and it was decided that Davria was the perfect continent to colonize. It was over in a few weeks; all the other top countries turned a blind eye because of one phenomenon, Olics. Valdez introduced the world to Olics and with that, he won the hearts of his other powerful counterparts. Now we are just lab rats, pawns tossed and turned by the powerful elites", Mr sanusi took a minute to allow the students process all what he just said, he then continued "I know that I would be fired after this class for the things I just told you but I think the young ones deserve to know the truth", he paused again
*
"there is this folklore I came across when I was studying yesterday and it was about an evil group called the nine dimes, the group was led by a man known simply as Diablo. They rained terror over the country of Spain, and it was recorded that they possess extraordinary powers called gifts. Eventually, their reign came to an end when princess of the city called Nuria allegedly killed Diablo. Now I know the story sounds absurd but I believe it's true, and I also believe that Olics are powered by the gifts that the nine dimes possessed. It's been my pleasure teaching you young, brilliant minds history. Bye-bye", he said, smiling. He picked his briefcase and he gently walked out of the classroom, leaving the students jaded

Episode Six

No one could utter a word, they were all frozen to their seats, it was as though they had just seen a ghost. A perpetual level of chill was all over the class, none of them had ever heard of such stories before, what they were only told by their parents was that Spain made a deal to provide Olics and in return, the other countries would share their resources with them.
The truth had been completely washed down by the paranoia and the fear that the government might come for any individual who would actually speak the truth, but Mr Sanusi bared it all out: his career and ultimately, his life...
"well, we still have some other classes, the day is not over yet", the class rep said, breaking the undue silence once and for all. "that was something, don't you think?" Maria said as she turned to Lanre, she sat right in front of him, "yeah, I guess", he replied shyly.
Finally, the students were back to their former noisy, troublesome selves, running around and making rounds and rounds of jokes. One noticeable anomaly though, was Aaliyah, she remained seated, with her hands covering her face as she leaned on the table. No one liked her in the first place, except Maria, so she was the only one who noticed, "come on Aaliyah, what's wrong?", Maria said as she walked closer to her. "Can you just leave me alone please. Thank you", she replied, screaming.
*
"Good afternoon class" a familiar voice echoed through the class, none of the students knew when the principal walked in. "Good afternoon sir!!", they responded immediately, each one of them seated already. They knew something was not right as soon as they saw the principal in their class, a man who only enters a class when there is fire on the mountain, 'he is here most definitely because of what Mr Sanusi told us', there thoughts were in unison.
"I just came to check on you fine students. I can see you all are beaming with joy and gladness already", he said, laughing hysterically. "well, let me cut to the chase, after some hours of deliberation, we have decided to give the students of Volta High school the week off, class dismissed", he turned and he walked soldierly out of the class. A large uproar ensued almost immediately from the students

Episode Seven

Mr Oluwole became the principal due to his lapdoggery attitude and his innate ability of doing whatsoever is necessary in getting the job done. He had been a syncophant right from the onset, and so as a result, it was easy to convince him to agree to the terms of the new government, which means that he couldn't do anything without informing the president.

Volta high took huge steps backwards when he became the principal, teachers were put under constant surveillance and their schemes of work were adjusted to fit the niche of the authorities. Anyone who would dare question the way the school was being handled amidst the teachers faced the music accordingly; the parents on the other hand, began to pull their children from the school, but the other schools in the country even offered a more denser horror show than Volta, so Volta became a lesser evil and the principal suddenly became a saint
*
Olanrewaju kept wondering what went wrong in school on the bus ride home, though the other students were glad but they were also as curious as Lanre, maybe the sudden break had something to do with Mr Sanusi's speech? Who knows. One thing is for sure though, something strange is going on in Volta high.

Lanre picked the comic book from his bag and he started to read, he had developed a flair for comic books right from the very first day he bought his first one, he became hooked instantly and he vowed that he would one day publish his very own.

"hey, do you mind?", a much older boy stood in front of him, pointing to the empty seat beside Lanre

"yeah sure", he replied, moving to the empty seat

"I have this exact same issue, in fact I have them all. It's a really nice comic. I love it", the boy said, trying to initiate a conversation

"Wow! That's nice", Lanre replied, trying to end the conversation

"Am Tolu by the way, I believe you are the new transfer student, Lanre right?"

"Yeah, how did you know my name?", Lanre said, in a rather resolute manner

Episode Eight

Tolu bursted out laughing, he laughed so hard that he couldn't control the tears rolling down his cheeks, he finally got a hold of himself, then he said

"relax, am not going to kidnap you. You are a quite famous lad now, your convo with the iron lady made sure of that"

"convo? Iron lady? What are you talking about?", Lanre said, wearing an angry look

"You replied aunty Chioma in igbo, our English teacher!! You are very lucky, my man"

"well, she shouldn't be speaking the language in class too. An English teacher should know better", Lanre asserted

"ooto niyen sha, but anyway who taught you that language?", Tolu shifted his position on his seat, so that he could face Lanre

"A friend taught me, my former neighbor in state 4", Lanre replied, he was starting to enjoy the conversation

"Oh so you are from state 4, good to know. It's nice meeting you though, I hope we continue this convo some other time", Tolu said, stretching his right hand towards Lanre, hoping to get a handshake

"I hope so too", Lanre replied smiling
The two boys shook hands and Tolu got off at the next bus stop, Lanre picked his comic book once again and he just stared at the pictures this time, he couldn't concentrate anymore: it was like the words in the book became too complex to comprehend all of a sudden.
The driver was surprised to see lanre in the bus, "young man, it's like we have passed your street o", he said, they had gotten to the last bus stop
*
The poor lad didn't know when they passed through Joromi estate, he was the only student left in the school bus, he just smiled and said

"it's okay Sir, I will just take a cab here", he got off the bus and he waved at the driver

'what a nice young man', the driver thought to himself as he waved back
Lanre walked down Adejola street, brooding on the past, he had been in this exact same situation a few times. He was quite infamous in his former school for missing his bus stop, so much so that he got the nickname 'Lanre bus stop' because the driver would yell "Lanre, bus stop" whenever he was about to drive past his street, so the moniker stuck like glue
He trekked for about four kilometers before he finally got to Joromi estate, it was a torrid adventure nonetheless but it was finally over, or so he thought. He got to the front of his house only to notice that something incredibly strange had happened

Episode 9

Lanre walked towards the front door in trepidation, there was a bold writing on the door, it was written in blood- 'Son of Gomez'. The slightly open door creaked open all the more with just a gentle push from the shaky, sweaty hands of a boy who wished for nothing more than to see his mother in the house, safe and sound.
The furnitures were in place, nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for the bizarre statement on the door. He breathed a momentary sigh of relief as he checked every corner of the house and he found nothing missing, the only place to look was his mum's room.
He dragged his tired feet on the tiled floor, moving as fast as he could at that moment. His heart shattered at the sight of the door to her room, there was another writing- 'mother of the dimes', he reached for the door immediately as he could feel his sanity dropping bit by bit, his mother was nowhere to be found.
*
He searched everywhere, nothing was missing except his mum, her expensive jewelries were in the box untouched, everything was in place. The little iota of sanity he had left reminded him of his phone in his school bag but he couldn't remember where he dropped the bag, he searched and searched until the phone rang, he could feel it vibrating in the bag, 'the bag was on my back all along', his frustrated self thought.
Now he was getting paranoid and frustrated, he took the phone out of the bag and he checked the caller, it was his mum's number. He picked the call and a strange voice answered...

Nice writeup Amazing Storyline

Ehmjay:
Nice writeup
Amazing Storyline

Thanks...

Episode 10

"Hello, is this Lanre Coker?" the manly squeaky voice commanded authority and attention, resonating in Lanre's ears with every words spoken, it was calm yet haunting. The words were chosen carefully and spoken with eloquence.

The voice asked again, "Hello is this Lanre Coker?" as there was no response from Lanre, he was still gathering his thoughts and searching for the words to say, muttering 'ye..ye...of..course', he finally got a hold of himself and he said "I am Lanre Coker".

"Listen to these words carefully as I am not going to repeat myself, search for the green deer in the room, it contains things you need to know. Mother of the dimes is safe with us, find the deer and then you can speak with her. Find the deer Lanre! For your sake"

Lanre could hear a voice screaming "LET ME SPEAK TO MY SON!!!" in the background before the call ended abruptly, it was definitely his mom's voice. He stuttered with tears rolling down his cheeks like a fountain in the amazon, "mom…mom...is that you...please let me speak to her", the line went static...
*
He laid in one spot for hours crying, the tears stopped and he got up. 'this won't solve anything', he thought as he sprung up and he started searching the entire room hastily yet carefully. He did that for hours, ransacking every corner and doing it all over again, hoping that something, even if it wasn't a green deer would pop out. Desperation ate him up as quickly as hunger could. He laid down again, facing the big light bulbs embedded beautifully in the ceramic ceiling. He stared for a moment, then he sprung up again, he finally knew where it was

Episode 11

With every ounce of energy he mustered, he dissipated with extreme caution as he moved one step at a time to his room, he couldn't afford to trip and fall because he just would not be able to stand up, he was that tired! Finally, he staggered into the room and he wobbled onto the king sized bed laid almost perfectly.
He took his precious time reaching for a big box at the edge of the bed labelled 'box of treasures', he opened it and beautiful memories flooded his consciousness, what was once his ultimate collection of toys and action figures had not been opened for the past five years but one toy was as important as his mom at that moment. He dipped his weary hands into the box and he picked a small, green deer toy. His whole being rejoiced and his heart hopped in joy.
He laid on the bed and minutes later, his phone rang again, like an eagle pouncing on a little chick, he grabbed the phone and he picked the call, his mom answered

"Hello son, we don't have much time, so listen carefully. You have done a great job finding the deer, now I want you to do one better. Close your eyes, focus and imagine that all this never happened or else I die. I have to go, I trust you son and I love you", the line went static.

Lanre could not utter a word, he was as confused as a man asking for directions to heaven. He laid down again and he thought about those words carefully, moments later, he slept off
*
Lanre quickly jacked up and he checked the time, two hours had passed. He sat at the edge of the bed and he thought about what his mom said again, 'okay, I can do this, I just need to focus, deep breaths', he said. After many tries and hours passed, nothing happened. He decided to give it just one last try before he called the Police. 'come on Lanre, just focus', he breathed a huge sigh and he closed his eyes, he had the focus of an eagle and for a brief moment, something incredible happened

Episode Twelve


It was daybreak already, he had slept all through the night. His heavy eyes opened reluctantly to the big light bulbs in the ceiling, he manged to drag himself out of the big bed, it was almost twice as big as the one in his room.

'but how did I get into mom's room', his cluelessness grew all the more but he became resolute to stop this charade once and for all by calling the cops, his phone was not with him.

'must have left it in my room, but did I sleepwalk over here', he kept thinking as he walked out of the room. Something caught his attention though as he walked past the door, the statement written on the door to his mom's room was not there anymore!

'what is happening?' he said yawning. Suddenly, something fell, it was the sound of a ceramic plate breaking and it came most likely from the kitchen downstairs.

"Who's there?" he shouted fearlessly, grabbing what he could see at that moment, a scissors.

"Oh finally, o ti ji, thought I would use the pestle to wake you up if you hadn't woken up in the next hour", she said

"Mom!!!", he screamed for joy, running to hug her. "But how did you..."

"Shush dear, sit and eat. Am sure you are famished, I prepared your favorite. You did a good job son, we will talk when you are done eating", she said smiling
*
Lanre devoured the food without a shred of mercy, he tore through the chicken laps with such ruthlessness that he, himself thought he had gone savage. Finally, he had finished the big plate of pounded yam and egusi soup, he was still licking the soup on his fingers when Mrs. Coker said

"You have a gift my son, we still don't know the full extent of the things you can do yet. The origin of this gift is what baffles me", she suddenly wore a sad face
Lanre replied, washing his hands in the bowl placed on the table in the process

"Mom, what do you mean by we? What is going on?"

"Am going to tell you a story, may seem like a folklore but believe every word I say. It's the Story of princess Manny and Gomez", she said!

Episode Thirteen

"One of our teachers talked about something like that in class too but I just do not understand what that has got to do with me", he barfed as he spoke, the words somehow managed to come out clearly, he replied immediately after gulping down a cup of water.

He picked a toothpick in the small case on the table and he began to search for the troublesome piece of chicken meat stuck somewhere between his teeth. He paid rapt attention as his mom started her story

"You will understand very soon, just listen carefully. You see, centuries ago, there was an ancient city called Nuria, it was one of the greatest cities in the country of Kiinum. They enjoyed peace and progress and they had a colossus as a king, he ruled with fairness and wisdom. Nuria prospered more effortlessly during his reign.
Things changed however when a group known as the nine dimes was founded and it was led by a ruthless man, Gomez. They rained terror upon the whole country, moving from one city to another and in a short time, they got to Nuria. The king was killed and his younger brother was crowned king. Before he died though, he bore a child, a girl, she is the focal point of this story. The child grew in strength and wisdom but without the love of a father and a mother who confined herself to an asylum over the death of her husband, she became lonely", she paused for a little while, gesturing at Lanre to pack his plate and the bowl of water to the sink to wash, he quickly understood and he did as he was instructed
*
Minutes later, Lanre rushed to his seat and he bade his mom to continue with her story, his interest had finally peaked.

"So Manny, the child I was talking about, she had an encounter with a man in an evil forest and she knew what happened to her father through him. Unknown to her, the man was Gomez. Oh, forgot to mention that she had a gift, just like you son. It was what the nine dimes were after, they wanted to use the gift to rule everyone and everything. Years passed and the nine dimes attacked Nuria again, this time killing the king and placing someone as the replacement. Manny couldn't stay, she ran and she learnt about her past and her gift on her journey. She knew what had to be done thereafter and she planned to do it. The second time she met Gomez was the time he died, or so she thought", she paused again.

Lanre couldn't take the suspense, "what mom, continue please", he pleaded

"I will, I need a glass of water before I can. Will tell you how this all connects to you afterwards…"

Lanre sprung up immediately, waltzing into the kitchen to fetch the cup of water.

"Here you go mom", he bent over to give the cup to Mrs. Coker. She took a sip and she placed the cup gently on the stool next to her.

"Now, the story?", he said eagerly

"So where was I?hmm…oh right, how Gomez died. What really happened between Manny and Gomez on that very day is still not clear till now but one thing we know for sure is that Gomez did not die! He is known presently as Rodrigo Valdez, the president of Spain". She stood up and she walked towards the window. The birds on the tree, chirping ceaselessly caught her attention.

"Wait a minute mom, you mean the president of Spain is the Gomez you are talking about?" he had to stand up too in order to make sense of the whole story. He moved closer to Mrs. Coker, standing right next to her. His eyes were fixed on her as she tried to continue her story
The words couldn't come out, even when they did, they made no meaning whatsoever. She had to sit on the couch by the window, observing the birds pecking the tree nonstop and gathering her thoughts carefully

"Olanrewaju, you are the carrier of the gift now", the words finally came out right
*
"When Manny and Gomez met for the second time, they fought. Manny was undoubtedly stronger and she fought duly, the fight lasted for hours and at the very tail end of it, Gomez tried to trick her. He made her realize that he cannot die and he proposed a deal which was that he would disappear, never to be heard of again if and only if she would just let him go. Manny couldn't take the chance, so she buried him somewhere.
She knew her people would still live in fear knowing that Gomez was still alive, so she told them what they wanted to hear and everything went back to the way they were.
Years passed and Nuria flourished again, Manny ruled excellently and was considered the greatest of all the rulers in Kiinum.
Tragedy befell the city though, queen Manny died from a terrible illness and the gift she carried left her, staying dormant for centuries till it chose you. Manny's death also caused a terrible ripple effect, one that was unnoticeable at the time- Gomez's freedom"