DESTINY

Chapter One

Throw me the ball, it's my turn.I heard Toby, my brother shout.It sounded more like he was pleading and I felt my heart cringe at that realisation.Even my young brother was having a hell of a time trying to fit in.This is what the cruel life had brought us to.The smoke from the traditional jiko which I was forced to use for cooking was starting to choke me up and a stream of tears was already making it's way down my cheeks.Any more second in this cramped up crookedly thatched hut which was posing for a kitchen and I would collapse,so I bent and made my way out of the'kitchen' as it could not handle my full height without me demolishing it.I felt my air bags open up as the fresh air hit my face gloriously blowing my unruly and unkempt afro.This was one of those times I thanked God for not giving me long hair it would have probably been all over my face right now irritating me like hell.
I was still enjoying the cool breeze on my skin when I heard footsteps behind me and automatically turned to see who it was.

I shouldn't have             
It was Nathan, the fancy boy who lived on the other side.His house was actually separated with ours by a fence and it was like the opposite of our house.Theirs stood in all it's glory built perfectly with the red bricks (which at our village was only used by the rich),the walls were whitewashed and reflected strongly the midday sun,their compound was really neat with short levelled green grass that looked more like a football pitch.In summary their house was perfect and I always wondered what the inside would be like,probably heavenly.Our house on the other hand was not really what you would call a house.It was a small cabin like house with dirty brown walls and a roof made of ironsheets which was probably really old as it had holes on it such that whenever it rained lets just say it was pretty ugly for us.We really didn't have a compound as there was no gate to separate us from the eyes of the passersby.Two totally different lifestyles yet we were neighbours how was that even possible.
"Heeey,."Nathan said knocking me out of my thoughts.
  "What?No,sorry, I...I...I'm...I'm Victoria."Damn! I blew it once again.Every time he came to talk to me all I did was stummer like a two year old kid who didn't know how to talk then tell him my name.He must think I'm a psycho for the hundredth time coz he just rose his eyebrow then looked at me uncomfortably then just turned and went.I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me right now.Not only could I not talk to him but I looked like filth with my tattered dress covered with black dirt spots and my feet also dirty I thought I even smelt a bit of sweat.perfect..I thought..just perfect
  My blood almost froze as I heard a shrill scream from a voice I knew so well.My brother.I immediately turned to the direction he was screaming from and spotted two boys way taller than him raining kicks and blows on him while he was on the ground covered with dirt and..blood.I wasted no time and started running towards their direction like a banshee from hell.
   "There's his dirty mad sister."I heard one of the boys whisper before they took to their heels.
"That's right you better run away" I called after them before kneeling beside my brother who was sobbing uncontrollably."Why does our life have to be like this Tory why"Toby started amidst his sobbing."Nobody wanted to play with me but I was kinda used to that.Today they called me and you poor dirty animals and said that mom left us because we were a baggage to her and because she didn't love us at all and I got really mad and threw a stone at one of them and that's why they attacked me.I was just trying to defend us Tory.Mom loved us didn't she??."I felt my eyes sting and a lump formed at my throat as tears threatened to fall down my eyes.I took my brother on my laps so that he couldn't see the tears which had started falling.
"Don't worry Toby don't listen to them."I told my brother,"It's all going to be okay one day.