The Son of Thunder

Ready or Not!

I was lost in thoughts thinking of a thousand possible outcomes like Dr Strange and all of them involved me getting my ass kicked. Well one way was to hide or die before Caleb finds me. "Hey! Dylan", a familiar voice called. I turned to see my best friend so far - Noah. He was a about a foot taller than I was and had started as a freshman at the school. He had always been bullied by Caleb and his gang, and that had affected his self esteem pretty badly. He didn't look like much, just a button up shirt a pair of black denim pants and a pair of Harry Potter like glasses. But he was really smart even though he tries to hide it.
"Hey what's up Noah?", I replied, trying not to look terrified.
"What's up?" He asked. " "what's up" is you signing your death warrant". He looked scared.
"Relax dude, I'll be fine", I replied trying to calm him down, but even I didn't really think so.
"Those guys are dangerous. Please you need to leave school for now. Make an excuse to go home or better still, sneak out. It'll be better for you than getting rough handled by those guys. They're bad news", He advised. "Just then, the bell rang." I said I'll be fine, no need to worry big guy", I said reassuringly. We had just met for two weeks and already our friendship was strong.
"Let's get to class", I said as students began finding their way to their classes.
We walked together to class, Noah, having serious doubts and worry written all over his face while I was thinking of a suitable explanation to give my mom as to why I might come home with bruises.
Throughout Mr. Leo's class, I couldn't concentrate. I kept stealing glances at the clock. In 5 minutes time, the bell would be rung, signaling the start of lunch break. Mr. Leo began noticing my restlessness. By the way, Mr. Leo was the nicest teacher I had ever met, and by far the most handsome teacher.
He was tall, muscular, with polished ebony skin, nice set of well arranged white dentition and a nicely trimmed hair cut. Pretty much all the girls in school had a crush on him and female teachers were no exception. He wore designer outfits with expensive shoes and had a nice car. He arrived at the school the same day I started and since then we became friends. He taught History and made it fun.
I, of course, was his best student. I had always loved history especially African history. But I was mostly intrigued by Nigerian Yoruba history, probably because it's where my parents were from or because I felt a special connection to it...Like I knew it.
" Is anything the matter Mr. Ade?" He asked in a deep rich voice, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Umm, what? No I'm good", I replied trying to regain my composure.
"You sure?", He asked, looking suspicious.
"Yup", I replied, giving him thumbs up.
"Okay then", He said. "But if you need anything, you can come to me okay?"
"Yeah sure", I answered reassuringly. Should I tell him about my little "predicament"? He could easily get me out of this mess. No. I had to face my fears on my own, even though I know I'll be beaten to pulp. But I had to fight my own battles without getting my friends involved.
"Ring!!!!!!". The bell rang.
I took my stuff and prepared to leave when Mr. Leo called me back.
"Hey, if you're in danger or in any form of trouble, just think about a brewing storm. It should help you a little", he said patting my shoulders.
It sounded really weird. Think about a storm when I'm taking a beating? Oh well, Mr. Leo is also known for his weird talk which sometimes sounds ancient.
"Thank you Sir. I'll try it out", I said, leaving the class room.
The moment of Truth had arrived. Noah came over to me and together we walked towards the place of my impending demise- the Cafeteria.