K.C Philips

Chapter Five

Four hours later, the prom was underway. K.C stood in the hall, making sure everything was in place. The venue was an event centre owned by the father of a popular boy named Duke. A handful of girls had been coming to K.C, telling him how dapper he looked in his black tuxedo. K.C expressed his gratitude to them, but went no further. They were without partners and were obviously looking for any available date they could snatch for the night.

Everything seemed in order. Surprisingly, he caught no glimpse of Dotun and Fisayo. They were the only social committee members not yet present. The thought K.C had of them planning a late grand entrance irked him. As if coincidence were reading his mind, everybody in the hall started clapping and shouting. He knew it. Dotun and Fisayo had arrived.

"Dotun. Baba O!"

"Bad guy!"

"Oshey! Dotun, I see you!"

K.C caught a glimpse of the two of them. They looked perfect together. Fisayo seemed to sparkle- exactly the way she sparkled when he saw her for the first time, almost six years ago. Dotun was in a black tuxedo like himself. Fisayo was dressed in red, the very colour that classified all the emotions K.C felt at that moment -love, passion, pain, anger and envy.

He made it to the gents. He locked the door. Moving further, he placed his hands on both sides of a mirror. He screamed. He screamed so hard and let it all out, amidst the audible hailings of Dotun of Fisayo back in the hall, like a volcanic mountain erupting after a millennium-long suppression.Tears fell from his face. He had never felt such pain in his life.

He was angry at the fact that the only person in his family who loved and cared for him was not alive. He was angry at the fact that the only girl who he loved would never be his. He was angry at the fact that he was all alone in the doldrums of emptiness, under the false glare of wealth and a fancy life, and nobody cared. Or seemed to care. He lay on the floor and stared, his mouth slightly open, his face red, tears frozen in his eyes. Slowly, he began to hear the banging on the door.

"K.C! I know you're in there! Open the door, please!" It was Jessica, the only person who seemed to truly understand. He lay on the floor motionless for a few more minutes, amidst more knocking, before he stood up slowly and opened the door. He saw Jessica and Chinedu. Jessica looked worried to death.

"Oh my God, K.C," she said as she hugged him.

"Dude, I know how it feels, for all the people you love in the world to not be with you." Chinedu said.

"You don't know half of how it feels." K.C said, and stormed outside, leaving Jessica and Chinedu grounded to the spot with fear, shock and concern. The show had begun. Few people glanced at him and went back to their business.

K.C stopped at the lawn outside. He sat and gazed into the moonlit sky. He brought out his phone to check his watch. It was 9:53. He wanted to call Mr James to come get him. Mr James would ask why he wanted to leave so early. He would say nothing. He had nothing else to do here. His journey in secondary school was already over.

Jessica came out into the lawn. She spotted him and went sit beside him.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Last time I checked, I wanted to be alone." K.C said roughly without looking at her.

"You want to be the very thing you hate being." Jessica said.

The truth stung K.C hard. K.C took a deep breath before continuing, "The only person in my family who truly loved and cared for me died. Not long after, my crush began a relationship with my best friend. My dad doesn't fill that vacuum. Instead, he storms out of his son's graduation for a business meeting that he could have bailed out on." He finally turned to her and said, "I never chose to be alone. I guess it was just meant to be."

Jessica placed her arms on K.C's shoulders. "You are not alone, you know. I'm here for you, K.C."

At that moment, K.C was so vulnerable he became lost in Jessica's eyes. He wasn't aware of the slowly reducing distance between himself and Jessica. He wasn't aware of her hands clasping his cheeks. He wasn't aware of the delirium that set in when her lips met his. He wasn't aware of Fisayo who stood watching. He released himself and looked into her eyes. He was enveloped by shock, speechless. He looked around, dazed. When his eyes met Fisayo's, his heartbeat increased, but it was not delirium. He dashed towards Fisayo, who had already done similar but in an opposite direction, leaving Jessica alone on the lawn. K.C met Fisayo, who had already slowed down.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I don't know what came over me. Please."

Fisayo held back her tears and looked up to meet K.C. Then she said, "You owe me no apology. We aren't even together. You see, Dotun and I got drunk. He dragged me to the gents where he raped me. I was so devastated. I ended the relationship in my mind. I ran, looking for you, hoping we would find solace in each other, maybe even start a relationship. But I saw it all, you and her. You were so happy. Remember when I said I hoped you would find the happiness I never gave you? I guess you've found it now." She said and ran further.

K.C was frozen to the spot like a pillar of salt. He didn't know what amazed him more; the fact that Jessica kissed him, or the fact that Dotun raped Fisayo. Acting on a strong impulse, he ran back into the hall, searching for Dotun. He found him and gave him the beating of his life. The music stopped abruptly. Everyone was stunned. At a point, K.C was held back by some of his mates. He broke loose, almost at the same time Dotun stood up, approached him and said, "At least I got a taste of her." K.C groaned and delivered a punch that knocked Dotun out. He wasn't sure if he killed Dotun, he didn't care. His eyes met Fisayo's, then Jessica's. He made it to the door, out of the hall and out of the debacle. He slowed down when he saw Mr James standing by the car, waiting for him.

"Take me home right away," K.C said. Mr James obeyed without saying a word. On the ride home, K.C was so crushed by the day's events he didn't realise when he fell asleep.