SDMN| Stories

• FAME | KSI

JJ OLATUNJI had what most would call the 'ideal' life. He was 'livin the dream' as they say. This is because he had what most others could only dream of, millions of dollars, friends, 'peng chicks'. Everyone wanted to be close to him, they all wanted to know the state's famous Olajide Olatunji. Whether it was the killer parties he threw, or the fact that everyone wanted just a taste of the luxury he had, he was always surrounded by people. 'Friends' he was told.

They didn't feel like friends. He felt used, unheard, looked over. Nobody took the time to get to know him. He was set for life with money, he had fame, why should they? Why should they care about the boy who had it all?

He had his father to thank, or rather blame, for his lifestyle. Jide Olatunji was the head of their family company, or business, "Olatunji Lawyers." The business was widely known for their record-breakingly high success rate, amazing efficiency, and incredible speed. Cases were won fast, no one batting an eye at how such a company could do this well. JJ found it funny, and ironic just how dirty it was. They were criminals, to put it simply. Of course, the public didn't know, how could they? It wasn't something that was ever spoken about. It was just the way it is, always had been, and always will be. But JJ knew, and he didn't like it. It felt wrong, the company being looked up to and applauded the way it was, considering what they've caused. People have died due to the cases they'd win. He didn't like that his family was a bunch of murderers.

And he didn't want to be a part of it. Not one bit.

-

"Olajide!"

Sharp pain rang through the boy's head as he awoke, reminding him of just how hard he had partied the night before. Slowly he sat up in the king-sized bed, rubbing sleep from his tired eyes. His vision spun, body begging him to lay back down to rest. But no, it was a school day, and his father was calling him. Obviously, it wasn't his father directly, because why would he waste his breath on his son when he could just send a servant to do it for him?

A groan emitted from his throat as he fought off the will to go back to sleep, getting up from the warmth of his bed. The groan only got louder as he caught a glimpse of the darkness outside, and he immediately searched for his phone. He knew it had to be around somewhere, no matter how wild the party got, he was sure to keep his things safe. After turning his bed upside down, he spotted the gold of his phone case wedged between the mattress and the left bedside table.

'5:45am,' it read, the screen automatically lighting up as he raised it to his face. Throwing the phone to his now messed up bed, he stumbled over to his walk-in-wardrobe and stepped into a pair of clean boxers. At least, they smelt clean.

"Good morning, Olajide. Sleep well?"

"Mornin' Vidal. And it's JJ, you know that." He mumbled, scratching his thigh as he rummaged through his draws for clean socks. "My sleep was aight thanks."

JJ didn't like to be called Olajide, or anything that connected him to his father and the business for that matter. If he had it his way, he'd change it. Probably to something cool like Morpheus or Wolverine. Anything was better than his birth name.

"Your father wants to talk to you before school this morning," Vidal said as the teen found his socks. "And you should probably put some more clothes on."

Putting on the black socks, he smiled. A small part of him appreciated the fact that his father wanted to talk to him, and it brought warmth to him. His father was never around much, always at a meeting or an interview, or something work-related. There was little time for them to be a family anymore, so he often cherished the few minutes where they'd sit and talk, no matter what the topic was. Throwing on a white 'KING' hoodie and some comfortable cargo pants, he made his way downstairs to the conference room.

Something shattered inside the boy as he saw that, besides Vidal, the room was empty. A laptop, however, was placed in the center of a table. He slowly made his way over to slink down into the chair in front of the laptop, meeting Viddals apologetic gaze. Vidal understood JJ, he felt like a father figure, always there when his real father wasn't. They were close, usually joking about and playing games with each other when they could. But JJ knew that it was his job. He got paid to watch over JJ, keep him out of trouble.

"Hello, Sir." JJ nodded to the camera. He wasn't allowed to use words like 'Dad', or 'Father', due to the rules set in the house. He had "too high of a status" to be called anything other than sir.

"Olajide, how are you?" The image of his father asked although it was more of a greeting than a question. He knew that his father wasn't here to catch up. "As you know, big things are happening with this company, big things indeed."

Of course, he knew, it was all that would be talked about anymore.

"And you also know that you're going to turn 19 this year, correct?" He gulped at this, his throat suddenly dry. He knew where the conversation was going.

"Yes, Sir." His voice came out croakier than he would've liked, but he'd blame the early morning for that.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong here, the company can be expecting its second in command?" He left no time for response before continuing. "You know how proud I'm going to be once my eldest son can come and work beside me? You're going to do a great job running this business. It's in our blood, Olajide."

A cold flash of panic struck JJ's gut, and he began to feel uneasy. Under the overly-fancy table, he hid his shaky hands as he watched his father's lips move. The words became unintelligible as the panic increased, bile rising in his throat.

"Why can't Deji do it?" He interrupted in a snap. Mind foggy, his words were rushed. As soon as he saw his father's pixelated face, regret surged over him.

"Sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. It sounded like you were trying to back down from the business. It sounded like you would rather your brother take over instead. It sounded like you don't want to be in this family anymore, and we can't have that, can we Olajide?" The harsh words poisoned his mind, he felt last night's pizza flip in his stomach.

"No, sir. It's just that Deji-"

"Deji is irresponsible. He's 15 and couldn't care about anything more than himself. You have to be the man." His father was right, Deji was careless and rowdy, always the first to jump the gun and get into a petty fight. Barely leader material. But still, he wondered if his little brother would make a better second in command than himself, despite his flaws. Deji had something that JJ didn't. The desire for all this fame. He soaked it up like a sponge, where JJ would try and hide from paparazzi, he would be all for it. Perhaps it wasn't in his blood, perhaps it skipped to his brother. JJ didn't know if that was possible, then again, he was overthinking.

Soon enough, the video call cut off, and JJ was left alone again, sat awkwardly in front of a blank-screened laptop. His head fell to his hands, dreadlocks falling loosely around his wrists.

He had to be the man.

_______
A/N
This was going to be a series, or a book on its own, even, but I'm not too sure. If you'd like to see more then let me know, but until then it'll remain as a scrap on an idea.