Float

screaming flyer

You held in your fists tightly a flyer for swimming lessons.

Your father handed it you when he came home at two in the morning. "Zidaobi take. Your sister has learnt, you too come and learn." He placed the paper on your study desk and walked out of your room.

The ease of which things bothered you will always be a problem. Inanimate objects somehow seemed to come to life and taunt you. Canvases you left empty because of artist's block always teased you. You've broken at least five skateboards because you couldn't land a trick. In your defense the skateboard taunted you constantly.

It was no different for the small rectangular flyer with a child on it that smiled into the camera. You tried throwing it away but even in your trash bin the piece of paper called to you, teased you and even yelled at you.

You were finishing up a commissioned painting when the flier screamed, making you knock down your cup of murky water onto the large canvas. Two months of work, gone.

After refunding two hundred dollars to an old white man in Florida, you put on grey shorts, a white t-shirt with a large palm oil stain and walked out of the house in blind rage.

After walking for a little over forty minutes you got to an estate. You asked for the pool and were directed to the left.

You walked into a small room and pushed the sliding doors open. It creaked loudly, alerting a man with tobacco stained teeth.

"I wanna learn how to swim." You said breathlessly.

He chuckled to himself, repeating 'wanna' in different pitches as he searched around his desk for something. He brought out a small yellow note book.

He opened the flimsy notebook- the kind you remembered using in primary school when you wanted something to draw on, so your dad would buy you this small 20 leaf notebook with cartoon animals on it so you can draw to your little heart's content- and turned it to you.

Children
2 weeks: 1000 per head
1 month: 2000 per head
Mondays and Tuesdays

Teenagers
2 weeks: 1500 per head
1 month: 2500 per head
Wednesdays and Thursdays

Adults
2 weeks: 2500 per head
1 month: 3000 per head
Fridays and Saturdays

You turned the book back to him with your finger on Adults. As you brought out your wallet to pay for man, you felt his gaze on you. "What?" you snapped and slapped down three one-thousand naira notes.

He smiled and said "You just seem a lot younger than an adult."

As you wrote down your name and phone number you said, "I will be here Friday next week." and walked out of the small and musty makeshift office.

You let out a soft shaky sigh as you walked towards the gate. "Hey."

You jumped and tripped over an interlocking stone eliciting a soft gasp from the person that tapped you on your shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." A pair of hands helped pick you off the ground. You grunted and shook off the hands. "What do you want?"

A boy around your age offered you a disarming smile. "Hi Zidaobi. Nasir, we went to high school together."

"No."

"No?"

"No." You turned around and speed walked out of the estate.

Nasir from secondary school looked a lot different, not that you remembered what he looked like but no one definitely had half of their hair blue, the other it's natural jet black in thick twists.