THOMAS

A favour:2

The rest of the biology class passed without Tom hearing anything Mr. James was saying. And luckily, it seemed the biology teacher was slowly losing his interest with him. Mr. James, unlike himself, had delivered a short lecture and even exited before the period was over, much to the relief of many, as most students would find themselves victims of his sharp tongue and his long unending lectures were less of a torture to a few.

The new girl Aisha like a beehive had now attracted a swarm of students who couldn't quite refrain from the giddy excitement of being the first to interact with someone so unique. And she was unique, she was the only Muslim girl in the whole school now hillside being a Christian funded school.

During snack break, Aisha got recruited by the queens of the school--Cindy and Sandra - which seemed much of an attention bait. The two didn't probably care about her, but wanted the attention the association would bring them.

The three girls ate their snacks at their 'table' located close to that of the school council. Being a queen in the school had its privileges, as most perfects had a reason or so not to anger either of the two. Sandra's dad owned a transportation company and being daddy's girl, she would certainly have anything she wanted. Being at Hillside was partly because her primary school grades only allowed her to join a public school, and her father didn't quite believe in the notion of buying his way up-he wanted his little girl to know the importance of hard work.

Cindy on the other side was different from Sandra. She lived with a single mother who worked at a nightclub in the city. Whoever, her beauty had earned her the title of a queen even without money.

Tom stared towards the 'queen's table' barely touching his sliced bread. A stray fly had accidentally died in his tea, and it was Matt who saw it, if he hadn't told him, Tom would have drank the tea and probably swallowed the fly.

Tom spilled the tea on the ground and placed the empty cup on the table.
"That girl" he said, observing Aisha openly. "She is so beautiful"

Aisha was having a cheerful conversation and would smile at certain times, and Tom noticed how her dimples would extend inside her cheeks. Matt also stared at Aisha.
"Yes...but I heard that Muslims can't have boyfriends who are not Muslims if you are thinking of approaching her" he said open-mindedly.

"She's not my type" Tom lied, not wanting to prove himself so cheap. "Look at her socializing with the filth of the school. I would not think twice about such kind of girls"

Matt gave him a pointed look. "Does that mean..."

"What?" Tom knitted his eyebrows.
"Does that mean you are not interested...can I"
"It was you who said Muslims girls don't mingle with non-Muslim guys"
"Yes...but she might be different"?

Tom stood abruptly with a frown. "I'm going back to class".
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That night, Tom slept like a baby, and when Mrs. Ndwati chanted her mantra, she noticed a smile on his lips.

"You seem happy. Did the bad dreams disappeared?" Mrs. Ndwati asked him over breakfast. The three were sitting around the small table, eating last night's leftovers with black tea.

"Yes" Tom replied casually, stealing a glance at his brother whose face shot up, and he looked at Tom with a knowing gaze. "Which dreams?" He asked.

Mrs. Ndwati gazed between the two of them, she didn't expect the two to keep secrets from each other. But there was always a gap between the two,, and she had failed to notice it.

"Nothing" Tom said quickly, glaring at his mother. Mrs. Ndwati ignored him and went ahead, explaining to Peter about his dreams. Peter's face exploded with amusement.
"It's nothing big... Tom is a wizard, so his wizard friends were probably paying him a visit" he taunted before standing and took his school bag. "I'll see you in school" he patted Tom and left.

Tom glared at his mother. "Did you have to tell him?" He asked, anger simmering inside him that veins were throbbing on his temples.

"He is your brother. You don't have to keep anything from him"

"For what. Did you see his reaction... He thinks it's a joke" Tom yelled.

"You know your brother,, and he is always cheerful. It doesn't mean he won't care" Mrs. Ndwati reasoned.

"And he has an excellent way of showing his concerns" Tom snapped before storming out of the house with his school bag.
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Peter was in his final year and a senior. He was also a member of the students council and therefore sat close to the queen's table. But he wasn't much of a talker, he was the type of person people called 'book freaks' and it was clear in his grades. Not once had he topped the whole school, but multiple times. Tom wasn't anywhere close to his brother's academic brilliance, and it was part of the reason most teachers saw him like a donkeys dung.
That was what he would think. He was always jealous of his brother and at some point hated him. But as he cornered Peter in the hallway of block C, he felt desperate and saw him as his only choice at getting closer to Aisha. Yes. Since he saw her the first day she graced the class with her presence, he had instantly fallen for her. Although he wouldn't agree openly. He would steal glances towards her during class, and whenever she caught him staring at her, he would quickly look away embarrassed.

"Hey little bro" Peter whistled at Tom when he saw him approaching him. A few girls loitering in the school hallway chuckled at this as Peter was shorter than Tom, who was hovering inches higher.

Tom bottled his anger and forced a smile. "I need your help" he muttered loud enough for Peter to hear and quite enough for the girls not to hear. A glimpse of surprise etched at Peter's face, he knew his younger brother to be very egoistic and hearing him saying loud that he required his help caught his interest.
"What is it?" He asked. He, unlike Tom, felt nothing but love for his junior brother. Being the eldest child, his mother's struggles never went unnoticed, and it was his driving force.

Tom hesitated before swallowing hard. "It's..." He stammered.
"It's what Tom?" Peter asked, checking his wristwatch. "Break is almost over, hurry"

Tom heaved a heavy sigh. "I want you to get me a seat at the student council desk"

Peter's face wrinkled with confusion. "Why?"

"Should I explain everything...just tell me if you can or no"

Peter stroked his chin, a bit irritated by his brother's stubborner. "Okay, I'll do it. But I hope you aren't planning to do any mis-"

Tom cut him off with a hug, which caught him off guard. The girls chuckled again, and the two brothers seemed embarrassed. "Now...off to class" Peter shooed Tom off, trying to regain his bossy composure.