The Radiants Chronicons : Vol. I & II Of The Radiants Duology Series

Radiant (Vol I) - Chapter one

Chapter one

The air felt lighter than usual and exhaustion had taken its course. New chilled air breezed through the open field, but it wasn't enough to stop beads of sweat from trickling over strands of my brown hair that tousled lightly above my forehead and down my face as I ran. My leg tapped lightly against the clay ground, struggling to keep up the pace with the others.

I've always hated sports. Gym period was my least favorite class in school. I was born with an eidetic memory, so school had always been an easy breeze for me. Being born as an eidetic meant that I had a perfect memory. I always remembered what I needed and it made excelling at school so much more easier, but also being a Radiant made it harder for me to do any form of sports. My body could never absorb enough energy to convert it into doing sports. The energy was only reserved for walking or doing any form of day-to-day activities.

I couldn't even imagine why a Radiant even engaged in sports. It was extremely unfair, especially when neither the American nor British Radiants even do any form of sports. But here I was, doing something my body wasn't even capable of doing. Then again, I remembered how much bad blood trailed against Radiants in Nigeria and I couldn't help, but let out a frustrated sigh.

My sigh didn't go unnoticed by Raheemat, which made her look at me. Her face scrunched up. "Are you moving slower? Are you okay? Should we stop?"

I managed to give a smile, despite how breathless I felt. Being a Radiant also meant I had to bear the weight of having no friends. No one liked a dead weight. No one liked outcasts. And certainly no one liked people breathing out of tubes whenever they felt drained. Because of what I was, life didn't make it easier for me. Raheemat was one of the rare people I loved being around whenever I was in school. She was the closest thing I had to a friend. Her doe brown eyes would always look at me with concern and pixie sized nose would scrunch up whenever anything amused her. Every gym period, she would run along with me at my own pace, despite how much it ached her long legs and how slow I was, as a way of not letting me solely get in trouble with Mr. Sanni, my gym teacher, who like almost everyone else, hated Radiants like me.

"Stop? So we could face Sanni's wrath? No, thank you. We're going to keep going. I'd rather endure the pain than get an F. Besides, we're almost at the finish line."

When we crossed the finish line, Mr. Sanni took his time to sway in front of me and grunted. His bulging stomach bounced along with each step and his dark angry eyes held mine menacingly. "As usual. Last place, Raheemat Lambo and Tamar Adu. Why am I not surprised? Now tell me, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

I muttered, at the same time, gasping for air. Feeling breathless from partaking in a race, despite coming in last place. "I need my energy pump."

Mr. Sanni scowled. "Is that the best you can say? Just leave already."

Raheemat sent me an apologetic look, as if she was apologizing for her kind, but I shrugged it off. I wasn't really affected by the things people like Mr Sanni, thought about people like me. It hurt but I've learnt to move past it. They hated us. Simple and short. I had no idea why Mr. Sanni had a special vendetta against me in particular, but I had come to accept it. People never really needed reasons to dislike us. They just did.

As a sixteen year old Ss3 (senior year) student, I knew that I would be free from any form of high school dehumanization methods as soon as I graduated. I had been studying fervently so I could get into Caden University. It was a special school for Radiants and was insanely expensive. The only way I could get in, was through a scholarship and that meant I had to have excellent grades. Not all Radiants got in, and I needed to pass meaningless classes like gym so that I could boost my GPA and get in with ease. So for now, I was withholding every thing I could and counted down every single day left, till I left this school.

I pulled out my energy pump from my backpack and put the gauge over my nose. Inhaling the renewable air as slowly as I could, I began to feel the rejuvenation I so needed at the moment. The energy pump on its own looked like an oxygen mask, that's attached to a small tank where the energy is stored in small quantity. It was unusually large in size, but that was all my parents could afford. Besides, I needed it. I needed it to breathe. I needed it to walk. Or run or jump. I needed it to live.

Teju Briggs and his pack of arrogant stuck up friends snickered at me, while I was using my energy pump. Teju was just like Mr. Sanni. Tall and burly intimidating men who couldn't stand the likes of me. I could swear that I heard one of them call me a freak and all laughed away. I fought back the frustration I felt building up in me right now. It wasn't like I could do anything about the crap they said. Because I was a Radiant, it also meant that I was weaker than any average person. Both physically and socially. So there was no way in hell that I could beat up any one of those jerks or bravely walk up to them, even if I wanted to.

I did what I always did whenever I felt frustrated. I would count to five. That was what my momma taught me. She'd always say "Sometimes walking away, doesn't mean giving up." And I believed her and held onto those words. So I closed my eyes, blocked out any negative thoughts and took deep huge breaths, while I counted.

5. Breathe, Tamar, Breathe. Be calm.

4. That's it girl. You're strong.

3. Yeah, You can do it. Wait, why do I hear my name?

2. Okay. Okay. But really? I can still hear my name.

I blinked my eyes open and saw Raheemat standing in front of me, looking completely puzzled. "Tamar. Tamar. Can you hear me?"

"Sorry. Sorry. I just got a little distracted."

"I thought you blacked out while standing or something. If that's even possible. I wasn't sure if it was a Radiant thing. You just stood there. Eyes closed. Doing nothing. You scared me."

"Sorry if it worried you. I was just thinking." I apologized again, watching the worried look on her dark matte face. Her short braided hair curled black ringlets on her forehead.

"Well there's no time for that. The school bell just rang so it's time for another class." Her face softened.

I smiled weakly and followed her, feeling slightly less frustrated than I was before, despite knowing how much hurdles I had to face today.

.......
Welcome to Tamar's world in the not-so-distant future, where the rule of governance differs from present times and a new form of species have come into existence.
This is completely different from what I'm used to writing, but somehow it excites me even more, doing this.
Have a wonderful day and enjoy this new book I have in store for you.
Xoxo
Jasmine