INITIATED

“Henry, I’m a club member and I’ll like you join me in it,” Ted said.
“Club? When d’you join?”
“Two years ago.”
“What’s it all about?”
“All about getting the best in all aspects of life. Academicians of various calibers are there.” Ted said. “I’m sorry I’ve not told you this long ago.”
“Why?” said Henry, face looking a bit disfigured. “Why’re you just telling me now?”
“I’m sorry; It was because I had erroneously thought you won’t have interest in such.”
“Why d’you think so?”
“You don’t like meeting people, do you?”
“You’re right,” said Henry. “But I’m already working on my social life, since the day I set my eyes on Cynthia.” Ted frowned because of the name Henry had just mentioned. Then he said, “That’s good friend. A hundred percent social life will do no harm to anyone. ”
“Okay, your club, where’s it situated, California here?” Henry asked inquiringly, already developing interest. For a reply Ted said, “Just come to my room 6pm—tomorrow. I’ll take you there.”
Henry Exclaimed. “6pm! Oops! Ted I’m sorry I can’t make it.”
“Why?” asked Ted.
“Cos I’ve got to go somewhere with another man—same time, same date,” he said coolly. “Maybe another time,” Henry concluded.
Ted was nosy, so he asked, “May I know who you’re going with and where?”
“Never worry,” said Henry. He wished Ted would not insist on knowing it.
Ted said, “When did you begin to hide things from me? Is it Cynthia you’re dating tomorrow?”
“She’s not,” said Henry point-blank. “She’s adamant.”
“No problem if you don’t want to tell me.”
Henry could have told Ted, but he was not going to. However, Ted smiled and left Henry alone. As Henry walked towards the lecture room, (he was an hour late already) he met Cynthia.
“Hi Cynthia,” he said, already having the thought of forfeiting lecture to spent some time with her, but she was in a hurry.
“Hi Henry,” she replied, leaving without saying more than that.
Professor Wilson was already in the class when Henry entered.
“Henry, you’re an hour late, why?” he asked.
“I- I…” Henry stammered and every one laughed. He overheard someone say that he had seen him in the library studying. Another shouted, “Bookworm!”
“Henry, you’ve got to see me after class,” said the professor. Henry’s eyes bulged on hearing it. The students laughed.
Actually, Henry was in the library all the while. He was coming out from there when he met Ted. He was not studying in there, but was reading some novels instead. Since he had the ability to read very fast, he was enamored with reading novels, which had eventually become his hobby. He had read many of Chase’s books and had begun to write his own too.
Henry soon went to the dean’s office.
“I’m sorry I came late to…”
“Sorry for what? I’ve not called you here to discuss your lateness. The early comers what have they got to show for it? Nothing!” He looked at Henry’s face and smiled, “Henry guess what!” said the dean. The expression on Henry’s face on hearing the words had passed a message to the man’s brain. Henry was scared of guessing.
“Okay, I can see you have phobia for guessing, isn’t it?” said the man and Henry nodded pretentiously, in order to let the dean say what he had to say. Henry was only trying to save time by his deeds.
“Well,” said the man, smiling. “It’s my birthday—today,” he said. “It’s special to me—happens only once in four years.”
“February 29, it’s true,” said Henry.
“I have never remembered to celebrate it. Since it is once every four years, it skips my memory.”
“Really!” exclaimed Henry. “It’s creepy.”
“Funny too. Last year, 1983, on February 28, I informed family and friends about my birthday to come next day, February 29. They all agreed to show up at the party. The party ground was set early enough as planned, the next day, but no one showed up.”
“Why?” asked Henry, pretending as if he never had an idea.
“Well, asking a friend later, he said that he checked his calendar the day that was supposed to be my birthday, only to discover it was March 1. So he felt there was no need for coming to my party anymore, since February 29 had decided not to surface.”
“Wow!” screamed Henry, amused by the short story, then the dean changed the mood abruptly.
“Hey, I called you here—” said the dean, “to remind you of tomorrow’s schedule. You still remember?”
“Yes sir—vividly.”
“You’ve told anyone?”
“No.”
“That’s good,” said the man. “You need not tell any one. Is that okay?”
“Yes sir,” he replied, but got some instant formation of questions in his brain, to ask the dean.
“Sir, where are we going tomorrow? Is it by rail, air or road?”
“Don’t worry your head,” the dean said. Meet me here tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure sir.”
At night, Henry could not sleep. He was overworking his brain, giving it lots of thoughts. Such had been his manner whenever he was curious about something.
What his parents’ reactions would be was part of what he was ruminating.
“Will they disown me? But Kate wasn’t disowned when she became a musician eventually.” At the thought of Kate, Henry’s countenance metamorphosed into a gloomy type. “I hate her. I’ve never prevailed over her.”
When Kate eventually joined herself to a professional music band called ‘The Lioness’, though secretly, Henry discovered it and divulged the secret to their parents. Kate came home one fateful day with her friends. Henry had kept a voice recorder somewhere in the room. Though Henry was not home when they came, yet the device recorded their speeches. In the course of the discussion, the friends spoke about a cassette, which they had kept in Kate’s school bag. Henry was able to locate the cassette as a result of the information he had got from the hidden device.
Henry played the cassette. She was performing on stage in it with her colleagues. Henry was almost carried away with the music, which was played andante. Kate was the lead singer in it, with an angelic voice. Henry was already nodding his head from side to side to the rhythm when he suddenly came to himself. He stopped abruptly and frowned.
Henry kept the cassette. He was not going to let her know about it; else, his plan would go awry again, like the one that had led him to prison.
Henry showed his parents the cassette at their arrival. They saw Kate in it, dazzling in front of many spectators. She was caught red-handed this time. Kate was shown the cassette. She was taken aback by it.
Henry was patiently waiting for the verdict, disownment, but he was making a mistake. Mr. and Mrs. White said, “What did we tell you Kate?”
“I shouldn’t become a musician,” she said, looking miserable.
“Then why this?” They pointed to her image on the screen, which was twirling in rigorous dances.
“Mum, dad, you can’t understand—I mean that’s the only talent I’ve got in the world,” she said, weeping solemnly.
“But we want you to be a doctor,” Mr. White said.
“Unfit. I can assure you lots of lives will be lost,” she said. Everywhere was silent after her speech. Henry was leering inimically at her, but she took no heed, probably because of her sight being blurred by the accumulation of tears dropping like dilute acid from a pipette, in drops—then in excess.
After moments of thinking by her parents, they said, “Kate you know what?” she could not answer, since her voice had become hoarse by the incessant weeping. “As long as you’re not going to join magic cult you are allowed to be a musician.”
Hearing such, she jumped from her seat to hug them. They received her with open arms. Wiping her face, she made eyes at Henry. Henry was jealous. He was getting prepared to leave the lounge when his father suddenly said, “Henry, please can you just raise the volume of the music, so that we can clearly hear its lyrics?” Henry ignored them in embarrassment and walked out of the room, abashed. Outside the door, Henry hit hard on the floor as if to artificially generate seismic wave from it—the type that would result into intense earthquake, which would swallow him up. Since the floor was the reinforced type, it did not pave way for “Henry’s wave” to pass through.[

MARCH 1, 1984

Henry walked eagerly to school next day, from the hostel. He saw Ted waving at him distances away. He spoke loudly from where he was:
“Henry, see you in the meeting this evening!”
“Meeting?” Henry thought. “I thought I’ve told him I’m not gonna make it.”
After the day lecture, Susie approached him. If Henry had been aware of her presence on time, he would have sneaked away. She was already very close before Henry was able to realize it. Not that she had a small stature for him not to have noticed her presence on time. At least she was having an enormous stature, just like Kate, Henry’s sister.

Susie wasn’t athletic too, but a bit plump instead. She had frog-like eyeballs, which appeared as if glaring at anyone she had come across. However, it seemed they had functioned like Galilean telescopes, since she did profess that everything she did saw appeared closer to her than they really were. She was so proud of such exceptional ability that she gave herself the name “Mrs. Spy”.
Susie was among the myriad of ladies, who always felt that having Henry as an inamorato would be the best thing that could ever happen to them, believing that Henry, who was the most brilliant in their level, according to a general conclusion, could bring them to limelight, if only they were intimately close to him. However, Cynthia wasn’t in such school of thought. Her predilection for sport, basketball especially, had possibly affected her choice. She loved sport men.

Susie, being Henry’s departmental mates, had invited him to her parties several times, but he had never honored one, giving flimsy and shoddy excuses. Susie was never tired of inviting him and he was never tired of rejecting her invitations too. Susie was not a tetchy type of person. She did show much level of maturity, beaming with incredible auspiciousness, believing that persistence was the secret to getting whatever one was craving after. But, if her principle was a general type, she might not win Henry over, because Henry too was working with the same principle—to get Cynthia.
“Henry,” she called. She was going to ask him out once again. “I’m sure you won’t say yes.”
“To what?” asked Henry.
“What I’m about to ask—”
“I’ll say yes,” said Henry rashly, not looking up at her face.
It was Henry’s usual practice to frustrate her effort, by saying something to negate her words, but Henry was not aware that Susie could be tricky sometimes.
She smiled and said, “Are you going to come with me—” She lowered her face to look into his eyes, “for dinner at dusk—six pm?” she concluded with a smile.

Henry discovered his foolishness at once. He had earlier promised to say yes.
“Sorry, can’t say yes this time,” said Henry regretfully.
“Why?” she asked. “I thought you said you don’t tell lies and you hate liars.”
“It’s true.”
“Then why changing your words? You said you’ll say yes.”
“I’m Sorry,” said Henry. “I would have loved to come with you, but I’m having a date with someone else.”
“Do you care if I know who?” said Susie. She had never seen Henry hang around with any girl, so she was eager to know who it was Henry would be dating. Henry hesitated.
“With the dean,” Henry grimaced after his speech. Susie mustered superficial laughter.
“Are you guys gays?” she japed and laughed again. Amidst laughter Henry said, “No. just that we’ve agreed to meet… for something important.”

Ending his speech, Henry felt like a betrayer for telling her about the meeting. The Professor had asked Henry not to tell anyone that he would be taking him somewhere, but Henry had just made the mistake of letting out the secret to Susie. His visage was dull instantly. He left her on that spot, striding away with fast and quick steps usual with a fella who was ten minutes late for duty.

Henry ideated the Professor asking him if he had told anybody about the meeting. He quickly got it settled beforehand the response he would give.
Few minutes to the scheduled time, Henry got to the dean’s office, but leaned against the door for few moments before summoning the courage to go in, being afraid that the dean, utilizing the said magical power, would perceive his breach of promise.
“You’re here at last.”
“Yes sir.” He gazed on the tiled and glossy floor. Keeping silent, he fixed his gaze on the well-painted wall, then to the glass of coffee, placed on a small table between himself and the dean. The coffee in it was so little that it would hardly satisfy the thirst of a newly born baby.
The man looked earnestly on him and said, “You’ve told somebody, isn’t it?” Henry was not going to let the dean beat him to it. He was going to see if the man was establishing a fact or only asking a question. He kept quiet, expecting him to say it again.
The man felt that Henry did not hear his speech clearly, so he said, “Have you told somebody?” in a louder tone. To give an answer seemed difficult, because Henry’s conscience was actively knocking the door of his heart, as if to burgle the rib cage and get him arrested if he told a lie. To keep it quiet Henry was going to play a trick on it, which should also be effective enough to trick the dean.
“Uh—” sounded Henry as he kept silent, thinking, “Susie isn’t worth somebody to me. She’s nobody.”
The impatient man shouted, “Hey, tell me, have you told somebody?”
“I’ve not told somebody. I only told—”
“Who?” shouted the Professor, extremely curious.
“I only told Nobody,” he said trickily, and the man fell for it, chuckling ignorantly as he said, “You and this repartee of yours…”
Henry had many strategies he used in deceiving people and his conscience too. The one he had just used was only one of those numerous strategies.
“Have your seat.” The dean pointed to a rocking chair directly opposite him. “You’ll see for yourself today in the meeting, the coming together of lots of people from all works of life. Just count yourself lucky that you’ll soon be in their midst.”
Henry coughed. It was a sign to tell the man that he was bored of too much of talks, but was expecting to begin the journey instantly, to the meeting place, not knowing how far or near the place would be, to the campus.
Making his right hand into a cylindrical form, by folding his fingers, the Professor yawned into the cavity formed as he continued:
“You’re going to meet with great men of great achievements. Doctors, Lawyers, Professors, Inventors, Astronauts, Students ...”
“People of different caliber,” intruded Henry. “What will they be doing there?” he asked.
“Sharing great ideas. That’s why I said you’ll have all knowledge and the ability to see the future.”
“How?”
“Combination of skills from all the represented profession over there will tantamount to power—for you… for me… and… for all.”
Already losing patience, Henry decided to hasten up the discussion. Just as he was about to say something the dean said, “I’m going to ask you seven questions Henry, then we shall leave after you’ve provided the answers.”[

“Alright,” said Henry, waiting to hear him speak. “Ask on.” The man heaved a deep sigh, then he said, “One, what kind of power do great inventors possess?”
“Power of creativity,” said Henry promptly, as if he had premeditated on it. The man nodded in disapproval.
“Two, is any mean of transportation faster than the rocket?” Henry was not going to say anything this time, since his first answer had been rejected. He kept quiet.
“Three, where will you be forty-five minutes from now?” Gladly, Henry said, “In the meeting.”
“You’ll know this later,” said the dean. “Fourth question for you; which is best, making names or living long?”
“I don’t know.” Henry was gutted.
“I’m forty-four, am I fulfilled if I die at forty-five?”
“Sir, I beg your pardon, is it supposed to be the fifth question?” asked Henry, showing reverence for the man.
“Yeah!” he replied.
“I’m not sure,” said Henry as a reply to the question.
“Sixth question,” the man said, pointed a finger at him swiftly, and continued. “If your bosom friend is into something for two good years before letting you know about it, how will you feel?”
“It can’t happen.”
“What if it does?”
“Then such’s no friend. A friend wouldn’t wait for so long.”
“What will you do if such fella’s your friend?”
“I’ll choke him to death,” said Henry in earnest, his facial expression revealing the outpour of rage on the abstract friend.
“You won’t,” said the dean. “You’ll stick closer the more—to him.”
“How d’you know that?” Henry asked baffled.
“I saw into your future.” The man’s face gestured his expression. He looked piercingly into Henry’s eyeballs, sending some sensation of fear into him.
“Seventh and last,” the man said at last. “When will you die?”
Henry answered rudely this time, “How am I suppose to know?”
“Well, you’ve just justified the fact that ordinary genius like you can’t give a right answer to any of the questions. But, they’ll become simple to you by the time you return as extra—ordinary genius.”
At last the dean asked, “Shall we go now?” Henry was going to yell a block letter “YES!”. About to open his mouth, Henry found himself in the midst of thousands of people, in a different ‘world’.

Hearing lots of lingoes, Henry’s ears were unable to convey meaningful words to his brain—all he heard were balderdash to him. Despite the fact that Henry had found himself in such a strange environment, he wasn’t excessively afraid, since the dean had earlier made it known to him where he was going—the Magic World.
Looking around, Henry saw fanlights, of extra-ordinary dimensions, appearing to be made of crystals, around the four corners of the large hall he had found himself in. He could see through those fanlights, though they were very far from him.
Not knowing where he was, he fixed his gaze on those in there, and each step they took amazed him; it was like everyone he saw moving was running. None was walking. Somebody fled past Henry. Henry was surprised at the enormous speed and the resultant sound produced by such swift motion. The way they fled was to him as the image on a TV screen when being fast-forwarded.
Tired of standing, he took a step, then another, but was shocked at the great distance himself had just covered with those two steps he had just taken.
Another person fled past him again, though with enormous speed, yet he was able to recognize who such was. The fleer was a great French inventor, whose stupendous contraption had evoked much argument in the Science World. They had criticized it for lack of sufficient scientific background. The said scientist never had formal education, yet was able to come out with such great invention. Seeing him, the dean’s first question came to his mind.
Henry concluded in his mind, “Great inventors possess magical power.” He was going to tell the dean that by the time they get back to his office. Henry turned back, aiming to catch up with the scientist, perhaps to ask him some few questions. He was soon side by side with him.
“Sir,” he called, “I’ve once seen you on TV.” The man’s muteness brought Henry to the realization of the fact that not every one in the world understood or communicate in English language.
“I’m sorry you’re a Frenchman,” said Henry in an apologetic tone, turning instantly to go. Just then the man spoke in English, “Young man, who the hell are you?”
“I’m Henry—Henry White.”
“Oh, the Professor’s boy.” The man smiled.
“How d’you know me?” asked Henry in a puzzled manner.
“Check that out,” said the man as he ‘ran’ away.

Readers, your comments are highly welcome. Let's make this thread fun.

Good morning everybody in da house

There's nobody in da house

Singing

Lonely, I feel so lonely
I have nobody
All alone..

This is different. I likeitl

michael123pelemo:
This is different. I like itl

Thanks. I'm dedicating the next post to you.

Observing the celerity of his own paces, Henry detected that those in there were not actually running—but walking. Everything in Gyrus was happening at a great lick.
Walking aimlessly, looking for the dean, he began to see signposts on every aisle in the large auditorium, each narrating how to get to one place or the other. Intrigued by one of those signposts, Henry stopped abruptly and read: WELCOME TO GYRUS. EIGHTY KILOMETRES TO THE U.S. KEEP MOVING.
Henry knew at once that that was where he would belong, since he was a US citizen back in the world he had come from. Taking fast steps, he got there rapidly. He saw ahead of him a metallic cuboidal signboard of gargantuan dimension, suspended from a lofty height by nothing. Yet, many sat underneath, without the fear that it could fall on them.
At that juncture, Henry began to see names written on all the empty seats he did saw as he strode along. Each seat had flat object hinged on one arm of it such that the object could be flipped and used as a platform for placing something such as book if one was desiring to write something. Many were already seated.
Still battling with the thought of what to do somebody came rushing towards his direction. The speed was tremendous, much more than those he had witnessed since arriving the great hall. To avoid collision with the coming fellow of which Henry had felt would be fatal, having fiddled with the calculation of the resultant momentum of the figure in flight directly before him, Henry swerved to the right. Funny enough the figure stopped abruptly beside him. He was a young boy.
“Hello, may I help you?” asked the boy, whose neck was bent downward as if having some spinal cord problem.
“Yeah!” said Henry. “I’m trying to locate my seat.”
“Oh, you must be new here?”
“Yes.” Henry fixed his gaze firmly on the boy and identified him at once.
“Ted!” Henry yelled as he recognized him.
“Surprised!” said Ted, winking.
“Sure. What’re you doing here?”
“I should rather ask you that.”
Henry said, “This is where Professor Wilson brought me to.”
“He brought me here too, two years ago,” said Ted. “D’you know why?” Ted asked and Henry said, “No.”
“My passion for sport. He saw me doing badly in every sport I participated in. Then he told me I can make it if I join the magic.”
Henry revealed without being asked, “Mine, because of my result. He said I can do better.”
“He’s right. How on earth do you think I’ve got to know that you would be coming here today?”
Henry remembered instantly how Ted had said, “Henry, see you in the meeting this evening” back in the school, then he yelled, “Oh my goodness! How do you know?”
“He said it.”
“Who?” asked Henry inquisitively.
“The dean,” said Ted. “Before bringing anyone here you’ll inform the whole congregation, telling the name, age, status and everything you know about such a one—and the day such will be coming.”

Dedicated to Michael123pelemo for his great comment.

As Ted ended his speech, Henry inferred that the French inventor he had met must have known who he was when the Professor was broadcasting it as Ted had said.
“Hmm!” Henry sounded. Then he asked, “Ted, it seems you’ve got the swiftest speed over here.”
“Why d’you say so?”
“The rate at which you got to me.”
“Oh,” said Ted laughing. “It’s because I was running—to meet you—every other person here was walking.”
“The riddle is solved, I’m glad. Glad seeing you here. I’m not going to feel lonely in here.”
“It’s true. Seeing Ken here on my first arrival made me glad too—then.”
“So,” said Henry. “Ken belongs here too!”
“Of course yes.”
Henry asked, “But, I’ve not seen the dean since arriving here. I don’t think he came with me.”
“You came together. You couldn’t have come here alone—ordinary person.”
“So where’s he?”
“Seated over there,” said Ted pointing, though Henry could still not see him. “All members land directly on their seats—new-comers are left to wander about in search of their seats themselves. That’s the situation we’ve got here.”
Ted looked around.
“Wow!” Everyone’s almost seated,” Ted yelled. His face looked worried instantly. Henry was going to ask him why, but Ted hurried him up to get his seat.
“Let’s go find your seat.”
As they scurried along, looking at every empty seat they came across, Ted spoke.
“We get information on whatever’s going on around the world over here. Many inventors get solutions to problems—here. Doctors, lawyers—even some pastors—get their powers from here too…just feel at home here Henry.”
“I’m doing that already—since I found you,” smiled Henry.
Ted said, “When you’re called upon to introduce yourself, you need not stand up or walk to the podium. There’s a screen right there that’s going to show you wherever you are, and every one will see you through it. Also, a fairly large mirror will be given to you when you get to your seat. Through it you can communicate with anyone you wish.”
“What part of the earth’s this?”
“We’re not on earth. We’re in Gyrus—a planet not discovered yet,” said Ted, with a note of sincerity.
“What if some men discover it while we’re in here, ain’t we going to be relayed over the satellite—for all eyes to see?”
“It’s impossible,” said Ted. “We’ve got some astronauts here with us. They tell us the planets they’d discovered, the ones to explore, when and how. Then we give them the go-ahead or say no.”
“Splendid!”
“At last,” said Ted, pointing to an empty seat. “Here’s your seat,” he said pointing to a cushioned seat having metallic edges and a backrest. On its top was written “HENRY WHITE”, in the Lincoln typeface. The Lincoln was Henry’s best font, so seeing it he was greatly attracted to the seat. Every member’s name, before his or her arrival, was written in the type of writing style such was best enamored with.

Comment and get the next post dedicated to you

Everybody is sleeping

Ted rushed away, as soon as Henry had sat down, with a speed far far greater than the one he had initially used to get to Henry. But this time Henry observed it wasn’t Ted alone utilizing such enormous speed—many others were doing that too. There and then Henry felt he had the answer to the dean’s second question.
A whistle sounded, and then followed the chimes of bell, of incredibly humongous decibel.
Seated to the left of Henry was a young boy, of about the same age and stature, leering wickedly at Henry at first sight. He was putting on a silky shirt, having several colors, and a panama hat laid fittingly on his head which was only partially covering his hairs. His nostril was extremely narrow, but the looks of his eyes were piercing. His mouth seemed rotund as that of a koala bear.
To the right of Henry was seated a young girl, whose appearance was exactly the replica of Kate’s doll: Her hair was long and white. Her eyelashes appeared artificially glued to her face. Her teeth were the whitest Henry had ever seen. She was friendly, welcoming Henry as he sat.
“Hullo, I’m Dolly, what’s yours?” she said, speaking like a young baby, who had only learnt few words to communicate with.
“Henry,” he replied. To avoid further communication with her (since she was not Cynthia) Henry looked ahead, away from her. It seemed the presence of Henry was gladdening her heart, since she wouldn’t have to be the next to the leering boy anymore (Henry’s seat had only come between them that same day).
Looking lopsidedly to his left, Henry saw the section occupied by the Africans. Their population seemed to outnumber those of each of the rest of the sections in the conference hall.
“If we’ve got lots of them here,” said Henry to himself, “why has there not been much development there?” However Henry got no answer to his question, since no one was able to hear his question.
“I’m going to ask the Professor—when we get back to earth.”
Not long after, a voice was heard calling for order. The Lingua Franca over there was English, since the addressee was communicating with it and everyone appeared to understand it. It occurred to Henry that the French inventor he’d earlier seen, must have learnt the English language over there—in Gyrus.
Henry was able to see the anonymous voice owner through a large screen far ahead at the podium, having a base on which it stood. The Screen was convex, magnifying the image of the speaker ten times more than the way his stature was.
No loudspeakers were seen around, yet the speaker’s voice came out audibly, with ultra-high frequency, synchronously sourcing from the mouth of the speaker. A winged mirror flew towards Henry and hung before him. He grabbed it and its wings vanished instantly.
The speaker on the podium called the names of each first-timer one after the other demanding for an introduction from each of them. At last it was Henry’s turn to introduce himself.
“Professor Wilson,” said the man. “Is your boy here?”
The dean appeared in everybody’s mirror instantly, about to speak.
“You sure know that,” said the dean in a rather boorish manner. Then the speaker called, “Henry White, introduce yourself.”
Henry, about to rise up, was pulled back to his seat by Dolly.
“You needn’t rise up,” she said slowly, putting much stress on each word.
Henry coughed.
“I’m Henry White. I attend the CCUL, in the Physics department, born in 1965…”
At the mention of his year of birth, the boy to his left looked more intensely at him. Henry’s image on the large screen located on the podium, was made the cynosure of all eyes. Henry was shy.
Lots of people were given room to demand for whatever they needed. Some, craving for fame, made enquiries on how to make it. Politicians too, asked great deal of questions. What staggered Henry was the numerosity of the Africans who had asked questions too. Their population surpassed those of the other continents—but most of the questions they asked were clustered around personal interest instead of the good of the masses. There and then, Henry believed he had got enough facts to unravel the enigma he was having earlier concerning them.
A very long period after, the meeting was brought to a close. The rate at which Gyrus became almost empty made Henry felt that most of the people were nostalgic, wanting to be home on earth. Not knowing how to get to earth, he was pacing about. All of a sudden, he met himself right before the dean in his office. The man was sitting opposite him, just as they were before ‘skyrocketing’ to Gyrus…

I really hope you finish this story this time... Kudos though

oluwatosin070:
I really hope you finish this story this time... Kudos though

I will. Thanks.
You're getting the next dedication.

Dedicated to Oluwatosin070

CHAPTER FOUR

THE SEVENTH QUESTION

“Welcome back,” said the dean.
“Thanks,” replied Henry. Silence followed.
“Now I think you’ve known what you didn’t know—eh.”
“What?” he asked.
“The answers to the seven great questions.” The dean laid more emphasis on the word ‘Great’.
“Yeah,” said Henry.
“What kind of power do great inventors have?”
“Magical power,” said Henry, having based his thoughts on the French inventor and some others he had seen in Gyrus.
“What’s faster than the rocket?”
“Movement in Gyrus,” Henry replied again promptly.
“I wouldn’t need ask on,” said the dean. “I believe you’ve got the answers to all—in Gyrus.”
“Not all.” Henry said, “I got one right back on earth before we left, but you said I was wrong.”
“Which one?” asked the dean, raising up three fingers and smiling.
“Yeah, question number three,” said Henry. “You asked where I would be in forty-five minutes, then I said, in the meeting. But—” Henry paused.
“Keep talking,” said the man.
“You said I was wrong.”
The man guffawed suddenly, making Henry feel embarrassed. The man said, “Ignoramus. Here’s ten minutes past six. We left for Gyrus exactly six p.m, so we’ve only spent ten minutes.”
Henry could hardly wait for the completion of his speech before protesting, “Untrue. I checked my wristwatch in the hall; discovered we’ve spent twelve hours. So, the time should be ten minutes past six a.m now—not six p.m as you’ve said. It’s next day already”
“You’re wrong Henry—still in today. We spent just ten minutes in the meeting.”
Henry said, “About four hundred people spoke over there. How on earth can that happen in ten minutes?” Henry believed he had justified his claim with the simple illustration he had just made, but the dean gainsaid it once more.
“You’re right by saying ‘how on earth’. It’s not possible on earth—remember Gyrus is another planet, where twelve hours equal to ten minutes on earth,” explained the dean.
His explanation appeared not good enough to convince Henry, who was always in his elements as far as argument was concerned.
The dean led him towards the window, opened it, pushed its blinds aside and they peeped. Through the window, Henry saw his colleagues walking about to their various hostels. They could not have been out there by 6 a.m. He also noticed that the arena was not quite different from how it was when he had entered the dean’s office earlier. Seeing same people at same places Henry began to believe the dean’s words. He knew they could not have remained in a spot for twelve hours.
“You’re right sir.”
“Always right,” boasted the man. “So, Henry where you’re going to be forty-five minutes from the time I asked the question depends on you.”
To keep his ego inflated, Henry quickly said, “Sir, the sixth question—what’s the answer to it?”
“About a friend, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” said Henry. “I said I will strangle him.”
“It’s not true. You won’t strangle such.”
“You don’t know my mind, do you?” said Henry. “I’ll strangle him.”
“You didn’t.” The man looked on him and said, “You met Ted, I’m pretty sure—your best friend—in Gyrus. He’s been into something good—magic—for the past two years, but he kept silent until you found it out yourself in Gyrus today.”
Henry became cold.
“You didn’t strangle him. I sensed that you felt at home instead, seeing him in there.”
“Yeah, I was,” concurred Henry. “It’s amazing. Sir, how did you know I won’t do that?”
“Seems like you forgot something.”
“What?” demanded Henry instantly.
“That I told you, prior to your initiation, that you can see someone else’s future.”
Henry’s eyeballs rolled to and fro inside their sockets. A sensation of enthusiasm descended on him and he said, a bit louder than how his voice used to be under normal situation, “Sir, the last question, what’s the answer?”
“What’s it about?” said the man, feigning ignorance.
“Can’t remember, but it was the most striking to me then when you were asking me about TEN MINUTES AGO.” Henry had intentionally stressed his last three words. “Can you remind me?”
“I’m not going to. You can walk up to me when you want—but make sure you’ve remembered it, cos I’m not going to answer a question that’s not asked me, cos I’m no simpleton.”
“Sir. I implore you to tell—”
“Forget it!” he yelled.
Henry looked at himself and discovered that the dark mirror was with him. He came with it from Gyrus.
“What’s it for?” said Henry. “Am I supposed to come with it?”
“Yeah, It’s for you. Do anything with it—look into the future, communicate with any member, do anything you want to whoever you want to see in it.”
Sadly, Henry rose up, preparing to leave, since the dean did not remind him of the seventh question. Coming out of the room, the Professor called his name and said, “It’s forty-five minutes! I was right by saying you are going to decide where you’ll be.”
Henry stooped, glancing at his watch. He saw that it was exactly forty-five minutes. The dean was right, because Henry’s ‘nick-of-time’ decision to leave had seen him out of the office at that time. Therefore, Henry had decided it, fulfilling the dean’s prediction.
Walking away dejectedly, Henry spent time thinking. Leafing through the ‘magazine of thoughts’ in his heart, Henry halted on the thought of his parents; what their reactions would be, should they know about his newly-found approach to life. Arriving at the conclusion that he would be disowned if they should know about it, Henry said, “I don’t give a damn.”
The following day Henry discussed at length with Ted. He asked Ted about the Seventh Question.
“Forgotten. I can’t even remember what it was, let alone supply the answer?” said Ted, transforming his visage to a wrinkled one instantly. Henry noticed it.
Ted said, “Henry, don’t ask me about it anymore.” To Henry’s amazement Ted was fidgeting visibly. Henry was dumbfounded by his friend’s attitude. Henry was about to ask him what was going on when Ted said, “At least for now don’t ask me that question anymore.”
Henry had known Ted for putting someone in suspense, so he felt he should not bother asking him that moment. Henry changed the topic:
“Let’s talk about your Uncle, shall we?”
“Go on, ask about him,” said Ted, wearing a happy face again.
“Ted, does your uncle know about your power?”
“He dare not. He’ll kill me.”
It baffled Henry.
“But—how have you been able to hide the mirror from him these two years?”
“It’s simple. I’ve got a private bathroom where I keep my mirror.”
“Uhm,” Henry said. “Our own bathrooms are free for all. We’ve got none personal.”
“Then try look for alternative.” Ted grinned and added, “How ’bout your parents?”
“They’re doing fine.”
“No—I mean do they know you’re now a magician?”
“They’ll disown me if they do.”
“It’s terrible,’ whispered Ted. “Your mirror—where’s it?”
“In my wardrobe, in the hostel.” Henry faced Ted. “I don’t think I’ll need it.”
“You’ll sure need it. You can’t do without it.”
“Hey man, I’m never concerned with people’s future, ’cos it’s no business of mine. Achievement is all I care for.”
“Was that why you became a citizen—in Gyrus?”
“Nothing else could have pushed me into it.”
“Stop kidding me Henry,” said Ted, disbelieving him. You have the potential already in you—to achieve things, You’ve won eight prominent laurels already, the Spelling Bee twice, International quiz and debate competitions, yet you said you became a magician just because you— ”
“That’s it Ted. I have to.” He brought his face closer to Ted’s and said, “A boy is contending with me result-wise. We’ve got same CGPA. He’s in the Petroleum Engineering. Professor said I’ll edge him if I join the magic.” Ted took it as a laughing matter.”
“Will you stop the joke?” said Ted, giggling. “No one’s as brilliant as you, as far as this campus is concerned.”
“I’m serious,” Henry said, face contorted in a grave manner, with wrinkled nose, typical of a Halloween wizard. Ted had to believe him.
“So… someone’s as good as you here? That fellow must be a first-class recluse—for him not to have been known by all—like you,” concluded Ted. “Petroleum Engineering—uh! What’s the guy’s name?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll sure find out,” Ted resolved.
Henry was bored already. He began to show some blasé attitude to what his friend was saying. He started with yawning, which culminated into sneezing, then coughing. Ted had known him for such displays whenever being bored.
“Hmm—seems you want the topic changed,” said Ted fondly. He had perceived Henry’s thought.
“Got it!” Henry replied. “Have you seen her lately?”
“Who?”
“None other than Cynthia.”
“Oh Henry!” screamed Ted suddenly. “She’s yours already.” He rose up excitedly, spanking and tickling Henry lovingly. “Her destiny’s on your palm.” Henry was discombobulated, being unable to comprehend his words.
“Stop the titillation and tell me what you mean.”
“I mean if you want to have her you can. Take your mirror, call her name, talk to her and she’ll listen.”
“You mean I should woo her magically—through the mirror?”
“Exactly dude,” Ted said. “She’ll listen to you.”
“You want me to spellbind a little innocent girl?” said Henry with no smile on his face. Ted shook his head vertically in agreement, not able to read what was going on in Henry’s mind, since his heart was no limpid object.
“Are you crazy?” said Henry, outraged. “Listen, I’m not going to have her love through a spell, but naturally. I’ll get her someday… but not with the goddamn mirror.”
Ted lowered his head, abjectly abashed. He managed to say, “Do as it pleases you Henry, I’m no longer interested. But I bet it with you, you’ll never get her by any other means. Why not go for Susie instead? Give her a chance to prove that she cares for you better than any other lady on earth.”
It angered Henry, who gave a repulsive prompt response:
“A chance in my life? Not that sloe-eyed thing. Never!” Henry yelled at him. “Besides, I can’t befriend a female magician.”
“What d’you mean?”
“Ain’t you aware she’s a witch?” said Henry in a critical manner.
“Serious!” Ted said, expressing great shock as he repeatedly muttered the word ‘witch’ silently to himself as if enamored with it.
“Yeah,” said Henry. He was going to prove his point. Then he continued, “Prof. said meet me six pm, you said the same and… she said exactly the same too. Dean wizard, you wizard, so she’s a witch also.”
Ted laughed.
“Coincidence!” said Ted. “She’s not into power. If she is, I bet you she would have been through with you long ago. By now you two would have exchanged the rings.” Ted made fun of him in a silly manner, getting Henry gutted.
“God forbid,” he yelled. The white of his eyes had suddenly turned red. He turned heel to leave, but Ted said, “Let’s see in the mirror tonight—goodbye.
“I’ve told you I’ll never use it,” said Henry, turning again to Ted. “You’d better reach me through my mail if at all you’ve got any important message to pass.”
Ted guffawed again.
“You’ll surely use it. I’ll force you into it,” said Ted in an authoritative manner, but in a seemingly unserious mannerism.
“I won’t! Heaven knows I won’t!” vociferated Henry, whose parabolic forehead was almost touching Ted’s hyperbolic own, thus creating a kind of ‘face and vase’ illusion, typical of a scene common to Hollywood blockbuster movies, where two lovers were going to have a buss, or where the Hero and the Villain were going to see eye to eye, especially towards the end of a movie immediately after the strongest servant of the ‘Boss’ was dead.
“We shall see,” Ted said, using a rather harsh voice. Henry replied, “We ain’t seeing nothing”, and left immediately.

As Henry was walking toward the school library, he saw Susie coming out from there. With lugubrious countenance, she trudged along, having left the library for lack of concentration. She changed her direction swiftly at the sight of Henry, having vowed not to have anything doing with him. Seemed like Susie had discovered something annoying about Henry.
Henry waved at her.
“Hi, Susie,” but she gave a yell. “Don’t you talk to me in your life! I loathe you, bloody liar!”
“Myself, liar!” wondered Henry as he looked on in horror.
“That’s what you are!” she affirmed, almost poking her index finger into his face. “You said you’re going out with Professor Wilson by six, I monitored you, saw you entering his office—only to come out few minutes later all alone. You never went anywhere with him. What d’you take me for, a fool?”
“Susie, you can’t understand…”
“I saw you, right. Deny it, you big liar!” said the sad-looking girl. “You used his office to cover up for it.”
“Not at all Susie—”
She was not patient enough.
“Okay, okay, okay, don’t you worry,” she said. She was almost weeping. “I’ll go ask him myself. If I found you a liar, bet me, every one will know about it in the campus. They’ll call you a white-lie monger. No one’s going to listen to your ‘I-hate-liar’ talks anymore.”
“Please, don’t do that.” Fear gripped him suddenly—the fear that the dean was soon going to know that he had told someone about the meeting. To deter her, Henry said, “Please for God’s sake don’t ask him. I’ll go with…” Henry had to pause, having seen that the girl had adamantly poked her fingers into her ears to block them as she doubled her pace, leaving him in jeopardy under the blistering sun. Henry had wanted to cajole her with his unfinished statement, but she wasn’t in the possession of sufficient patience to listen. He was going to promise a date with her immediately.
Henry had never wanted to insinuate the aftermath if Susie told the dean.
“Professor said tell nobody. He’ll have me roasted alive.”
Henry’s heart thumped at every thought of it. He had to skip the rest of the day lecture, retiring to his room for fear. That night he wasn’t able to sleep. He had known Susie for being incredibly daring. She could walk up to anyone to tell the person whatever she had got to say, regardless of whether such a receptor was going to be sad or angry about it. It seemed people were scared of her, perhaps as a result of her strange face and unusual physical structure. She was more like Kate in character.
While Susie was in her first year in the campus, she was incessantly disturbed by a male lecturer, who had asked to have an intimate sexual relationship with her, but Susie never liked him. The lecturer had often declared to Susie his ambition of getting married to her, calling her his fiancée publicly, whenever he was to address her. When she couldn’t stand the open insult anymore, she got upset. Right in front of every one in class that day she promised to slap the man’s protruded cheek, but he never took her serious, persisting in his wooing words.
“Whoosh!” landed the slap on his face. The lecturer fell flat to the floor.
Seeing the scene was one major reason Henry felt that he must try by all means to avoid her, though Susie had not begun to hanker after him then, since she’d not yet known the level of intelligence of Henry, because they were still new students then. Henry felt she was going to prove insurmountable for him; Kate she couldn’t subdue, let alone Susie, who never cared who you are, regardless of your gender.

Story Continuation....


At the middle of the night, the urge came; the urge to look into the mirror.
“Why should I?” Henry questioned himself, not having sensed the need for it. He tried very hard to restrain the strange urge, but he seemed not strong enough to do that. Rising up, he moaned. “Ted said I’ll make use of it—rubbish. I’ve got to prove him wrong because he mustn’t win me again this time.”
Henry wouldn’t want to be at the losing end of any argument. He was always on the winning side and would do anything to see his ego inflated.”
“I’ll get Cynthia without the magic,” he thought, pacing to and fro. He stopped pacing as he moved toward his wardrobe. He turned the knob and took out the mirror. Glancing at it rapidly, he saw Ted.
“Hey little clairvoyant,” said Ted’s image in the mirror, in an amusing manner. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” Ted guffawed.
Henry blushed with shame. In a swoop he had lifted the mirror above his head, about to smash it on the floor. He heard Ted shout, “Don’t smash me!” and off he went. The Professor’s image came up in it immediately, as though it had displaced Ted’s, but in the actual sense it was a coincidence. The fatherly voice Henry did hear made him look up into the mirror he was lifting above his head.
“Henry G, I said don’t tell anybody, you told Susie. You got amnesia?” the dean yelled out from the mirror immediately. Henry’s lips failed to give the answer, his tongue having not received suitable message from the brain. “Come for your punishment—” said the dean, “tomorrow, in my office, 10 a.m. Be sure your retribution’s going to be terrible—for committing such large trespass. Bye-bye.” He vamoosed.
Henry’s condition was far more exacerbated, having thought that he had heard the word “bad-bye”. No sleep until morning!

CHAPTER FIVE
THE PROFESSOR’S RETRIBUTION

Henry rose from bed. The first place he headed was the bathroom. Turning on the knob, he had his bath under the shower. The ablution was done perfunctorily, something unusual with him. Henry had always taken painstaking care of his body in the past, spending over half an hour in the bathroom each time. But those bathing periods were never without deliberate complaints from Kate, who would always want to have her bath same time he was having his, neglecting the fact that there were several other bathrooms she could have made use of. She would bang the door forcefully, hollering on the top of her voice that Henry had lingered too long in there. Many at times Henry would come out, half-dressed, with lather all over his body, to deal brutally with her. Indeed Kate was the pugnacious type.
Back to the thought of the impending punishment, Henry’s heart lurched. Though not intending to fast, Henry decided to skip breakfast. The first familiar face he saw that foggy morning was Susie’s own. Surprisingly her eyes were misty, almost like the prototype of the nimbostratus cloud covering the sky that morning. Henry was still trying to deduce something when tears began to flow down Susie’s face. Coincidentally, perhaps incidentally, the sky began to shed tears too. It was raining.
Henry, never wanting to be cozened by her supposed slyness, made a U-turn away from Susie’s direction.
“A second look could mean another trouble,” Henry thought, “Sphinx!”
Henry had only trekked few distances when Ted and himself ran into one another. His countenance fell because he felt that he was soon going to be ridiculed for losing the argument.
“Henry, how’s the mirror?” said Ted in a humorous manner. “I hope it’s not in pieces yet.”
“Nope,” replied Henry, wanting to deliberately exhibit an amazingly humongous terseness. As expected, Ted said, “I won the argument, you lost.”
“Agreed,” said Henry dissatisfied. “How did you make me use the mirror?”
Ted smiled and said, “Oh, simple. Any member ready to speak with another need not do anything other than to pick the mirror, call the name of the one he would like to speak with. I bet you, the urge will come on such to pick up the mirror instantly. Communication begins from there.”
“Wow!” Henry exclaimed. “I’ve been so foolish to have said I’m not using it.”
“Maybe,” said Ted hilariously, giggling, but discovered that Henry was not in a good mood. He asked Henry what was wrong and the latter explained—the ‘Susie-Dean’ issue.
Ted felt sorry for Henry and assured him that the Professor’s punishment was not going to be unbearable.
Henry entered the dean’s office.
Henry came out perplexed. It was his turn to have the kind of eyes Susie was carrying earlier—misty eyes. But this time there was no drizzle from the sky, even after a drop of tear had torn itself apart from the whole mass of the salty fluid being secreted from the lachrymal gland of Henry’s left eye. The tear ran down his cheek, into his mouth and subconsciously Henry licked it.
Henry now had with him a pile of books, numbering up to twelve, each having some copious amounts of pages. He had entered with none, but had come out with twelve. Silently Henry recalled in his mind the event that had led to that:
“Welcome Henry,” said the dean. “Here’s your punishment…”
“Sir, I can explain.”
“No explanation dudes. Nothing’s going to lift your punishment off you.”
“I never tell anybody.”
“Got no time for folktales. Yesterday’s gone, can never be mended—we’d better face the present, and—the future. Listen carefully now…to your punishment…”
“You’re not going to punish an innocent soul, are you?”
“Not at all,” said the man. “But I’ll punish the guilty you.”
“Sir,” said Henry. He was going to try this last time, perhaps he could be lucky to escape the looming retribution that was soon to be meted out on him. “I didn’t tell anybody…but I told…”
“Who?”
“Nobody.”
“Ssh!” said the man. “You’ve said this before, and it’s a lie for God’s sake. You told Susie, didn’t you?”
“I’ll explain. You said I shouldn’t tell anybody, to me Susie was a ‘nobody’ and I told her. I didn’t tell anybody,” deduced Henry, not sure if his foxy skill would suffice to win the dean over. The man replied immediately, “To me Susie can just be anybody, I said don’t tell anybody but you told Susie—anybody.” Henry succumbed. The dean won.
“Listen—I’m delivering a seminar on Nuclear Physics in eleven days time. Henry, competent Professors worldwide are presenting same topic, but Henry—I want to win the prize. I’ve spent less time preparing, because I’ve also got two more seminars to deliver on other disciplines.”
“Wow!” screamed Henry.
“See, winning may bring me much fame and—I need it. I guess it’s the reason I’m alive today—get whatever I can get and fade away.” He budged to the shelf, took out a huge textbook and handed it to Henry. As if that was not enough, the man lingered on before the shelf, taking more and more of such kind of book out of the same shelf and saying, “Take this… and this… and this” as he handed them to Henry one after the other. He stopped at the twelfth, when Henry was strained already, more than his ‘elastic limit’.
“Henry, trust me, I’m not going to ask you to memorize everything inside there at once. Trust me.”
Hearing such allayed Henry’s fear. He was already nursing the feeling that the dean was going to ask him to read all at once and tell him everything inside them verbatim before the dean had said otherwise.
“Don’t panic. Just go through ’em all, prepare for me an award-winning synopsis for the seminar. Seven days to do this Henry, else…” The man paused deliberately.
“Seven days?”
“Yeah,” re-affirmed the dean.
“I can’t,” Henry rebuffed acutely. “It’s Impossible!”
“You can do it Henry. You’re a genius…” The dean saw him shuddering. “Listen boy, it’s a must for you to do it, else…”
“Else what?” asked Henry, petrified with fear.
“Else…” repeated the man, “something’ll happen to you”.
“I won’t,” Henry said obdurately.
“You’ve got no choice boy. Remember it’s a punishment—for your trespass. So go on, do it.”
Henry had plodded out of the dean’s office, engrossed in the seemingly onerous task ahead of him. He blamed everything on his joining the occult world.
“If I hadn’t joined, I wouldn’t have been asked not to tell anybody and…that sphinx wouldn’t have had anything to divulge to the dean concerning me.” Looking ahead instantly, he saw the so-called ‘sphinx’ distances away, coming towards his direction. The urge descended on him immediately to demo his yet unproved magical power by using it on her, but his attention was diverted instantly, having been snapped by some unknown persons, with some sophisticated cameras they had adventitiously carried with them.
“Shit!” Henry screamed when he saw the snappers scurry away, chortling hilariously. They were bevy of ladies, whose intention was unknown; perhaps they had been intrigued by the sight of Henry bearing twelve humongous textbooks and they had felt like having the scene preserved in a permanent format for easy reference.
Henry made a surreptitious move, but Susie, being eagle-eyed, had seen him already with her bulgy frog-like eyes. Behind her was Ted Manuel, both walking toward him. Well at eyeshot, Henry could see them vividly. Susie’s face was gloomy and wet with tears as it had been earlier that morning. Henry was baffled.
“I’m very sorry,” she said penitently, sobbing silently. Henry’s heart melted instantly, observing her display.
“Sorry for what, Susie?” asked Henry, raising some speculative eyebrows.
“I caused it all,” she said, pointing to the books Henry’s hands were laden with. “All you went through,” she added.
“I’ve not told you I went through anything,” said Henry.
“I’m sure this is the Professor’s retribution for my action. He told me that he was going to give you the most impossible task on earth. What are these for?” she said, touching the books being piled up on top of Henry’s adjoined palms.
“Never mind,” Henry replied imperviously. “Just let me be.” At that juncture Ted barged in, having been mute all the while. Ted said, “Henry, Susie’s regretting her action now. She told me that she was wrong; that the dean had confessed to her that you both really had appointment yesterday—”
“But it was suspended eventually,” said Susie, interrupting Ted to speak for herself. “I’m sorry for everything,” she said once more.

Still speaking some other people came around again, releasing flashes of light on Henry from their capturing gadgets. They were males this time. Henry’s annoyance was aroused. He made swift movements to leave the scene, but Susie hurried to catch up with him. She stood right in front of him to halt his walk.
“I’m very sorry Henry. It’s my fault. I’ll sure deal with those girls.”
“Which girls?” responded Henry rudely. He was incredibly stunned that Susie had seen his first set of snappers, whom he had felt that she never saw, since she was not around yet when they did snapped him.
Susie replied, “Those ladies that gave you the first round of snapshots a while ago.” It then occurred to Henry that Susie wasn’t the type to cast aside as far as optical genius is concerned. Her tears flowed down again in torrents and the raindrops began to descend again, this time in torrents. Henry handed the books to Ted, who had already placed his umbrella over his own head. Henry was going to hug her.
During the embrace there was snapshot again; this time Ted’s handiwork, having placed down the textbooks and spread the umbrella over them, being wary of the intense consequences that could accompany the destruction of the dean’s books if they got soaked with the raindrops. Ted bore them up again later and said, “Henry, these books are heavy” as he handed them over to Henry again…

CHAPTER SIX
RECEPTION BY DECEPTION

Ted had gone miles in search of the said genius in the campus, who, according to Henry, was having the same Grade Point Average as Henry. If Ted had found him, he would have extended a hand of friendship to him immediately, not minding the fact that Henry could be skeptical about the motive behind such ideated friendship, but unfortunately Ted’s effort was not fecund. He never saw someone like such.

Two years back, Ted had carried out such kind of exercise too, to discover Henry. Having heard about Henry then, Ted came to the Physics Department where Henry had belonged, to seek for him. Prior to that time Henry was without a single friend, having determined before getting into the campus that he was not going to have one. When Ted came around, Henry made it known to him that he was going to be faithful to his rather seemingly impossible resolution, but Ted assured Henry that it was not going to be possible.

“It’s a lie young man. No man can live in isolation,” Ted had said.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Henry voiced out, red with anger. He was undoubtedly a Prima Donna, never wanting to accept his flaws.

“ That’s who you are if you are telling me that,” replied Ted, fearlessly. Henry moved closer and held the collar of Ted’s shirt rudely, shouting out some swear words:

“Look at this idiotic mad fellow! I hate liars all my life. How dare you call me a liar!”

“So that you can hate yourself,” replied Ted, “for lying that you can be in isolation.”

Hearing Ted’s reply, Henry left the collar of his shirt in a way that seemed he had been affected by the boy’s speech. However, he looked at him with a wrinkled face and yelled, “Bastard” at him as he turned around to leave.

“Ain’t you going to consider my proposal… to become your friend?” said Ted, remaining on the spot.

“Never!” shouted Henry cruelly without turning back to look at him. “We can never be friends.”

“You’re wrong,” said Ted. “We shall be best friends…soonest.” On hearing that Henry turned back. He was at it again, wanting to win an argument. He came to Ted.

“I bet you, we shall never be,” yelled Henry as they hooked their index fingers together briskly to seal the bet.

Hardly had Henry left when a female student walked up to Ted. She was Henry’s departmental mate—Susie.

“Hey guy, you want to make friend with somebody?” she said. Ted was shocked, because he never noticed anyone was around during the course of his conversation with Henry. However he answered, “Yes…that boy over there.”

“Hmm,” sounded Susie. “You can’t get him, I’m assuring you. Seems like he’s autistic,” said Susie in a critical and rather genuine manner.
“Autistic or no I’m getting him, as far as he’s a genius and—I’m a geniophile,” Ted had said, not minding the fact that his last word could be grammatically unsuitable for what he had meant it for.

Susie, not taking into consideration the fact that Ted was just meeting her for the first time, had demanded for a bet instantly, in opposition to what Ted had just said. Ted agreed to the bet and the wager was agreed upon by the two—some paltry amount of money.
“Give me a week and he’ll be my best friend,” Ted had said.

Henry was going to write a test. Suddenly, some groups of boys, who had on them some tattered jean trousers and bedraggled hair, encircled him. They were mixture of the Whites and the Black Americans.

“Hey,” said one of them, snatching his schoolbag. “You’ve got to drop something for the guys.”

“My arse,” replied Henry inimically, pointing a finger at his buttock ridiculously.
“You’ll pay for that—with your test,” the gutted boys said. Henry soon realized it was no child’s play when his hands were suddenly held backward by those guys and he was lifted off the ground. He shouted.

“Leave me alone. I’m almost late.” His words seemed not sufficient to make them have a change of mind. But Ted was around just in time to rescue Henry from their unfriendly hoist.

“Leave the poor boy alone,” Ted demanded.

“Who the hell are you?” said the guy in whose hands Henry was.

“I’m Ted,” Ted replied, “He’s a gentle boy.”

“It’s none of our business. He’s got to give us something,” they said with a tone of hostility.

“He’s a genius,” Ted said. As if those boys were genius—freaks they put Henry down gently, each of them stretching their palms before him, this time not to ask for money, but to demand an autograph.

“We’re very sorry,” they said. “Please your autograph.” Henry picked his pen, which had fallen off his bag, from the floor. Like a celebrity Henry scribbled his signature into the palm of each boy.

“Thanks,” they said happily, leaving him.

Henry stood like an idiot, looking shamefacedly at Ted. Just as he was about to say a word one of the boys ran back to them. Henry had almost run away for fear that he was coming for him again to ride roughshod on him, but to his utmost surprise the guy said, “My second palm too” stretching it before him. Henry signed into it again, then the guy skittered away childishly, looking into his newly autographed left palm.

“Thanks,” said Henry to Ted in a whisper, “You won me.” He shook hands with Ted, who was grinning excitedly. Susie was watching them covertly too. It staggered her to see them together at last, being the seventh day Ted had given as a deadline for the bet. Since she did see clearly the event that led to the friendship between the two, she was going to find out the real cause of it at the expense of the test she was soon to write. She hid herself somewhere, watching Ted’s movement.

After Henry’s departure, Ted walked slowly to the bullies. Seemed he had been in connivance with them from the onset to get Henry deceived. They gathered round him, stretching their palms towards him, but this time it seemed they were not asking for an autograph.

“The money,” they demanded and Ted tucked his right hand inside his pocket, brought out some money and delivered it into the waiting hand of one of them. At this time the autograph signed by Henry was no more on their palms. They had all got rid of them by scrubbing their palms together, having spat little saliva into them for easy erasure of the unwanted autographs.

Susie smiled, having got the mystery solved. She had it settled in her mind that Ted had colluded with those guys to get Henry deceived. She had to rush down to her class in order not to be late for the test.

Ted later came demanding for his bet from Susie. She refused giving it to him, letting him know that he had achieved the feat in a dishonest manner. To make Ted agree to the non-remittance of the wager, Susie threatened to blackmail him. Ted had to forgo the money for good, since he wouldn’t want to lose Henry, whom he had paid dearly for, to earn his friendship.

Susie was going to coerce Ted into telling Henry her feelings towards him. Henry was adamant. He never listened to Ted, telling him that he had aversion towards the opposite gender, using his sister as an example.
“I’m not interested in girls,” Henry had said. In a short moment his keenness with Ted had become full-blown. Susie was jealous, having been chasing after Henry right from the first month on campus, but had never been considered once by Henry.

Susie felt that by intensifying her threats towards Ted, much pressure would be mounted upon him to as well intensify the talks concerning her before Henry, believing that one day Henry was going to change his orientation toward her, but it seemed she was making a mistake. Henry was willful still.

Susie began to blackmail Ted, receiving some paltry sums of cash from him often. Ted had no option then than to give them to her, to avoid losing his friend. All of a sudden Ted was fed up, but not until Susie had bilked him to bankruptcy. He told Susie to go ahead and tell Henry about it and she never hesitated to do such.

Surprisingly, Henry was not a bit perturbed by the news. He only confronted Ted to confirm the authenticity of the news and Ted unequivocally admitted that Susie’s observation was the truth. Thereafter Henry didn’t take any step whatsoever to end the relationship with Ted. Instead his abhorrence for Susie congealed from that moment, on the ground that she had swindled Ted, his new friend often.

Susie was sad that she had made a fool of herself by reporting the case to Ted, who could have been the only hope of bringing her into a chummy relationship with Henry. Realizing her mistake, she later went to Ted secretly to apologize, yet she never restored all the cash she had extorted from him since Ted never asked her for that.

It went on that way between Henry and Susie until two years later (the day Henry had the hug with her in the rain) when she finally had his favor, but Henry had already begun to cast his eyes at Cynthia before then.

Ted’s quest for geniuses on campus had also led him to a bully called Julius. Ted had misconstrued the macho man for a genius, having heard friends and foes call him ‘Genius’. He never knew that the senior student had only acquired such name by bullying on some weaker ones. Julius had asked to be called by such name and they had to give it to him to avoid his avoidable troubles.

Ted, being a first-year student then, had approached Julius to ask for his hands in friendship, but the guy had treated him badly.
“What level are you?” asked Julius cruelly as he grabbed Ted’s scruff forcibly.

“A first year student,” Ted spoke in a shaky tone.
“First year!” exclaimed Julius, expressing shock. He had counted it a discourteous attitude for a first year student to walk up to someone like him, a final-year student. He would have him disgraced.

“I’ll teach you how to respect your seniors,” Julius had said, shoving him away and winking concurrently to his followers. As if under the influence of a remote control, they descended on Ted, beating him blue-black and getting rid of his trousers, but leaving him with his underwear, at least to let him have something to still make do with. However, they went away with his pocket money, pulling out the inner part of his pocket.

Ted since then had kept an eye on the rogue, Julius, waiting eagerly for an opportunity to revenge. Going by the look of things then such opportunity might not come and therefore Ted might need to wait for long in vain. But Ted’s hope came alive suddenly when the dean, Professor Wilson, had him initiated into magic, having made the man his friend when he got to know that he was a genius.

When Julius was graduating, he was preparing to receive an award for the hip-hop music he’d entertained the audience with (having sang in the graduation ceremony). He mounted the podium to receive his award from Professor Wilson’s hands, but something unbelievable happened. As he opened his mouth for a smile, his teeth, all of them, were discovered missing. Despite the disgusting sight, many still held up their cameras to take a view of the toothless bully. Ted’s doing!

Thanks for the update...

oluwatosin070:
Thanks for the update...

You're welcome. And anytime u feel that update is not enough, pls feel free to ask any you will receive. Thanks.

Gbayi, Abeg update today o

You are a good writer.

Martinez39s:
You are a good writer.

Thanks a lot. You are getting the next dedication.

Dedicated to Martinez39s for his encouraging comment.

Henry was going to write a test. Suddenly, some groups of boys, who had on them some tattered jean trousers and bedraggled hair, encircled him. They were mixture of the Whites and the Black Americans.
“Hey,” said one of them, snatching his schoolbag. “You’ve got to drop something for the guys.”
“My ar*se,” replied Henry inimically, pointing a finger at his buttock ridiculously.
“You’ll pay for that—with your test,” the gutted boys said. Henry soon realized it was no child’s play when his hands were suddenly held backward by those guys and he was lifted off the ground. He shouted.
“Leave me alone. I’m almost late.” His words seemed not sufficient to make them have a change of mind. But Ted was around just in time to rescue Henry from their unfriendly hoist.
“Leave the poor boy alone,” Ted demanded.
“Who the hell are you?” said the guy in whose hands Henry was.
“I’m Ted,” Ted replied, “He’s a gentle boy.”
“It’s none of our business. He’s got to give us something,” they said with a tone of hostility.
“He’s a genius,” Ted said. As if those boys were genius—freaks they put Henry down gently, each of them stretching their palms before him, this time not to ask for money, but to demand an autograph.
“We’re very sorry,” they said. “Please your autograph.” Henry picked his pen, which had fallen off his bag, from the floor. Like a celebrity Henry scribbled his signature into the palm of each boy.
“Thanks,” they said happily, leaving him.
Henry stood like an idi*ot, looking shamefacedly at Ted. Just as he was about to say a word one of the boys ran back to them. Henry had almost run away for fear that he was coming for him again to ride roughshod on him, but to his utmost surprise the guy said, “My second palm too” stretching it before him. Henry signed into it again, then the guy skittered away childishly, looking into his newly autographed left palm.
“Thanks,” said Henry to Ted in a whisper, “You won me.” He shook hands with Ted, who was grinning excitedly. Susie was watching them covertly too. It staggered her to see them together at last, being the seventh day Ted had given as a deadline for the bet. Since she did see clearly the event that led to the friendship between the two, she was going to find out the real cause of it at the expense of the test she was soon to write. She hid herself somewhere, watching Ted’s movement.

After Henry’s departure, Ted walked slowly to the bullies. Seemed he had been in connivance with them from the onset to get Henry deceived. They gathered round him, stretching their palms towards him, but this time it seemed they were not asking for an autograph.
“The money,” they demanded and Ted tucked his right hand inside his pocket, brought out some money and delivered it into the waiting hand of one of them. At this time the autograph signed by Henry was no more on their palms. They had all got rid of them by scrubbing their palms together, having spat little saliva into them for easy erasure of the unwanted autographs.
Susie smiled, having got the mystery solved. She had it settled in her mind that Ted had colluded with those guys to get Henry deceived. She had to rush down to her class in order not to be late for the test.
Ted later came demanding for his bet from Susie. She refused giving it to him, letting him know that he had achieved the feat in a dishonest manner. To make Ted agree to the non-remittance of the wager, Susie threatened to blackmail him. Ted had to forgo the money for good, since he wouldn’t want to lose Henry, whom he had paid dearly for, to earn his friendship.
Susie was going to coerce Ted into telling Henry her feelings towards him. Henry was adamant. He never listened to Ted, telling him that he had aversion towards the opposite gender, using his sister as an example.
“I’m not interested in girls,” Henry had said. In a short moment his keenness with Ted had become full-blown. Susie was jealous, having been chasing after Henry right from the first month on campus, but had never been once considered by Henry.

Susie felt that by intensifying her threats towards Ted, much pressure would be mounted upon him to as well intensify the talks concerning her before Henry, believing that one day Henry was going to change his orientation toward her, but it seemed she was making a mistake. Henry was willful still.
Susie began to blackmail Ted, receiving some paltry sums of cash from him often. Ted had no option then than to give them to her, to avoid losing his friend. All of a sudden Ted was fed up, but not until Susie had bilked him to bankruptcy. He told Susie to go ahead and tell Henry about it and she never hesitated to do such. Surprisingly, Henry was not a bit perturbed by the news. He only confronted Ted to confirm the authenticity of the news and Ted unequivocally admitted that Susie’s observation was the truth. Thereafter Henry didn’t take any step whatsoever to end the relationship with Ted. Instead his abhorrence for Susie congealed from that moment, on the ground that she had swindled Ted, his new friend often.
Susie was sad that she had made a fool of herself by reporting the case to Ted, who could have been the only hope of bringing her into a chummy relationship with Henry. Realizing her mistake, she later went to Ted secretly to apologize, yet she never restored all the cash she had extorted from him since Ted never asked her for that.
It went on that way between Henry and Susie until two years later (the day Henry had the hug with her in the rain) when she finally had his favor, but Henry had already begun to cast his eyes at Cynthia before then.