K.C Philips

Chapter One

It was all coming back to him, a stream of consciousness.

Six years. Six eventful, unforgettable years. Eternity seemed to stand between the very first day and that particular moment when he envisioned it, back then. But at that present moment, it felt like a day ago when he started off. He could barely believe it was all over. He was caught up in the euphoria of the penultimate weeks, but it was finally over.

Over.

A reminiscent Kelechi Philips took his eyes off the ceiling and sat upright on his bed. As drowsy as he still felt, he managed to make out 6:57 from his wristwatch, which sat comfortably on his bedside table. Regardless of the beautiful sleep his unusually soft mattress augmented, K.C was reluctant to leave for school, despite the fact that it was the last day of secondary school.

I just can’t stand the sight of them anymore. I can’t handle it.

Kelechi, or K.C as he was fondly called, could not be described as the quintessential, twenty-first century Nigerian student. Nevertheless, he distinguished himself in his own right. With a moderate academic standing coupled with good behaviour, he was deemed fit to serve as one of the social prefects in his final year, SS3. His performance as a prefect was lauded, as well as his performance in a handful of basketball competitions. However, some voids couldn’t be filled by factors so trivial. Trivial to him, at least.

He got to his feet lazily, stretching and exhaling. I’ve got to go, whether I like it or not.  Slowly, he made it to the full-stand mirror where he started taking the effects of his transformation into account. Amidst his self-examination, K.C couldn’t help himself being transported to the day it all began.

"Kelechi! Kelechukwu!”

K.C's mother loved addressing him by the full variant of his first name, especially when something was up. K.C had always been a young, handsome, chocolate-skinned chap. Deliberately ignoring his mother’s yelling, he stood in his room looking at his reflection, admiring the outfit he would don on most weekdays for the next six years of his life, if all things went well. The more K.C's mother called, the shorter her patience grew. Deciding that she couldn’t take it anymore, she made it up the stairs to K.C's room.

Opening the door, she continued her rant.
“K.C! This boy, you are not a serious human being! You are here admiring yourself while we're both running late.” She edged closer to him. “How many times will I tell you you’re looking great?"

K.C turned his gaze to his mother, looking worried. "I know, mummy. I'm just nervous. Maybe I'm not just ready to do this."

His mother's frown curved upwards in a smile of understanding. She closed the remaining gap between her and K.C before she said, "You are ready. The world is yours. The world is yours, Kelechi, if you’re ready to take it. You have everything to thank God for. It's all in your very name."

Her smile widened so contagiously that it infected K.C.

“You finished primary school in Corona as the second-best graduating student. It didn't end there. You spent the next six weeks preparing for the next stage of your academic pursuit. If there is anyone in the world who is more than ready, that person is you.  Do you believe me?”

“Yes, mum. Yes, I believe you.” K.C said, fully convinced.

“Good. Now, let’s get going. Time waits for no man.”

K.C made it out of the admirable Philips’ mansion and sat comfortably in the front seat of his mother's SUV. His mother had just given him huge confidence. He was practically ready to take over the world. Indeed, it was his. Not Ikenna’s. Not Vivian’s. His. They had their chance, after all. Even as the vehicle breezed past the estate and the highway, K.C couldn’t help but formulate various theories as to how his first day in school would pan out.

“Do you remember when you came here for your common entrance, four months ago?”

His mother’s question literally jolted him back to reality. Unfortunately for him, the ride to school didn’t take as long as he had hoped. “Yes, mum. There were so many people, and the environment felt so new.”

“You’re right. It was new.” She said, killing the engine. “But today, you will set eyes on barely a quarter of them. You and the rest of them are the select few, and I know you’re going to do just fine.” Taking a deep breath, she placed her soothing, motherly hands on K.C and gave him an assuring look.

She withdrew her hand, unlatched her seatbelt and made to step out of the car, but she sensed all still wasn’t well with her son.

“Why doesn’t Daddy like me, mummy?”

Mrs Philips couldn’t believe what she just heard. “How can you say that, after all he has done for you and your siblings?” She managed to keep her tone as calm as possible, in order not to trigger her son undesirably.

K.C touched the adjacent air vent, trying to comport himself. “I’m talking about him being there for me. It has always been you, for me. He makes his presence felt in the lives of I.K and Vivian. I know I.K is away, but even when he was here with Vivian, they never cared half as much. I do, and I’m not getting it back.” He exhaled and took his eyes off his mother. “I can’t please him enough to like me.”

“My God, K.C.” This time, his mother placed her hand on his headrest. “Your father doesn’t dislike you. Your father loves you and your siblings equally. You don’t have to please him at all, because he already loves you. And he always will. He gets caught up in the company so much and though you may not see it, we’re all affected. I’ll address this issue with him tonight. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes ma. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. Now put on a cheerful face and let’s get going. We’re late.” Sensing a growing seriousness, Mrs Philips flashed K.C one more smile as they both got out of the car, to be greeted by the overwhelming expanse of buildings known to many as the prestigious Nova Gus High School.

For all its popularity, K.C found out about Nova Gus only six months ago, thanks to his mother. According to her, she drove past it every day on her way to work. She was an engineer, just like her husband and K.C’s father, Izuchukwu Philips. While Izu’s area of expertise was the petroleum sector, she was a mechanical engineer. K.C was initially sceptical about taking the risk,  but all he needed was a convincing talk from his mother.

And there he found himself.

The school, as he learnt from the prospectus, was established seventeen years earlier in 1981. Its architectural design was quite impressive for any fresh set of eyes, let alone K.C Philips. It was nothing like his primary school and he couldn’t wait to get immersed into the exciting world that spread out before him.

Many years into the future, K.C’s life would be greatly influenced by certain people who were starting with him at that present moment. His complicated odyssey had just begun.