𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄

** TWENTY-TWO **

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." -
Anais Nin

*****

            HE CLOSED THE door behind him and smiled cheekily when the chilling air from the air conditioner hit his skin. It felt so nice to be back home after long minutes in the hot environment. The cab he had took back home didn't make things easier. The man claimed his AC was bad and so he couldn't offer what he doesn't have. So he had to manage all through the ride home. He couldn't deny that he was enjoying the luxury that comes from attending a prestigious school and having a billionaire half brother. He won't be enjoying the luxury if he wasn't so generous to share.

He took off his shoes and placed it at a corner where shoes are normally kept in the house. He puffed out air from his cheeks while he walked further into the living room with his black socks on his feet.

After dropping his bag on the brown sofa, he also took off his blazer. He folded it neatly beside the bag then he let out an exhale as he slumped beside the bag. He yawned, loud enough to alert the occupant in the house. He closed his eyes as he felt more accustomed to the cold air. It felt nice to be in his cozy home.

There was no place like home. He thought.

"Inioluwa, you are back." His grandmother familiar voice rang in the living room.

A smile appeared on his face as he fluttered his eyes open.

"Yes ma." He said as he sat upright while his grandmother came closer to him, adjusting her wrapper. "Good evening ma."

"Good evening. Welcome. How was school?" She asked, looking at him with some sort of admiration. She always give him that. Something he would never get from the woman who birthed him. And that's why she is his favorite person in the entire world.

"Cool. I'm still the strange new boy in class." He said with a big smile.

The old woman smiled back at him but her expression still held a bit of worry in it. She wasn't so happy with his response.

"Have you make any friends?" The old woman asked with concern and hopefulness.

He only grinned. "It's been barely three weeks that I started that school. Not so fast Grandma."

"Three weeks is enough to make friends. A day in fact." She told him. It still amaze her how her favorite grandchild happened to be the one with a complete different character from her and his mother. If social was a person, it was going to be her daughter - his mother.

"Well, grandma you know that I am not everybody. I'm different."

"I know..."

He continued without giving her chance to keep talking. "And I have accepted it that way. Didn't you tell me to love myself and always speak for what I know is right."

"I said so." She didn't deny it. "But Zayn, I told you to try to socialize more. You should stop making people call you a weird boy. That's why I was happy when your mother decided to change your school. It's a fresh start. A great opportunity."

The boy scrunched his face in a funny way, shaking his head. "Nah Maami, I don't think so. Mama Zayn do what she do because of herself. She doesn't want to make it obvious that she like Dan more than us. And since he is now in the same prestigious school, it would have been obvious. You know that I don't really care what she do with him." He spoke, nonchalantly with a shrug.