GAMES BY DIM LIGHT || Mature ||

CHAPTER 1

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Melanie's POV

We all have dreams and visions. We all have ambitions in life. We all want to do something extraordinary and make a difference. But some people just don't succeed. Some people just don't make it to the finish line. Some people just take the wrong turn and get lost.

I have a dream and ambition. Or thought I did. I never expected the turn my life took. Its nasty to wake up everyday and still see that all these years I was busy being the crazy girl, was never a dream at all. It was real. It happened.
And when I couldn't get to the finish line as I thought. Because I was young and stupid and too fixated on the charms of life rather than the goals I should get. But I know better now. And I wish I had known better at the age of sixteen.

I had been reading late and even when I thought I would go back to sleep at 3a.m, I hardly slept at all. I was occupied by my thoughts of the past which I still want to forget.

It's good to know that you are not the only one who's awake on Monday morning in Lagos. At this hours, you'll still hear the honks of cars trying to get the show on the road in order to beat the early Monday morning traffic. And traders washing their feet and faces just because they can't afford to miss the best goods to sell.

I lived in the mainland of Lagos and even though I was born in the eastern part of Nigeria, I still loved the city life. Maybe because Lagos grew on me. Yeah, I was born in IMO state but never grew up there. I'm more like a Lagos chic, if you would put it that way.

My alarm drew me from the shadows of the past and I turned around to put  it off. I rolled over in my bed and sighed, trying to stretch my limp nerves and a yawn escaped my lips.
I was about to say my prayers when I stopped and walked out of my room, down the hall and opened the next door.

"TJ, up with you now."
I said and walked to the covers and shook the little boy awake.

Now you must me wondering who the little boy is. That's my son, TeeJani. He is ten years old and very smart for his age. TeeJani is one of the reasons why I never gave up on life ten years ago. He came as a big mistake but he's my driving force to the better things of life.
And don't ask me who his father is, because I honestly do not know.
    

Like I said earlier, I was too young and stupid and fixated on the charms of life. Yes, let me explain that.

Ten years ago, I was sixteen years old and crazy. I loved the fun. I never wanted to left out in any fun anywhere. So, on my sixteenth birthday, I crashed a party in a club. It was supposed to be over aged but I was too well endowed for anyone to believe that I was less than eighteen.

Don't think that I'm still not. No one passes by without giving me another glance and I make guys to always want to tap that. It became so fun that I would go to a club with my friend, Layette....I call her Lala.....and we would party it all out. Well, I don't have parents. I stay with my aunt Bertha, who is also my godmother and has been the best mother figure since my parents died in a fire when I was ten. But then aunt Bertha didn't know about my fun nights because to her i was studying at Lala's.

But that night, plans backfired. I shook the thoughts out of my head again and pulled the covers. TJ squeezed his eyes shut to the bright light seeping in through the curtains.

"Get yourself off that bed right this minute and please don't tell me that you can't find your life support again. Because I will end your misery by strangling you."
I said and walked to his bathroom to run the bath.

Okay, I was only being sarcastic. TJ was good at making silly things up just so he could sleep some more and nope, he is not on any life support. He just keeps saying things like 'mum, have you seen my sense of smell last night?'
or things like 'I can't find my shoes, my shirt button, and I also can't find my other arm. So if you can't wait for me to get them ready, I don't want you to be late for school.'
And he keeps doing that whenever he doesn't want me to walk him to school but the truth is; he is my baby. I have to walk him to school even if I know that his school is just a short walk from the house and he can go on his own.

TJ just hates to be invalid. I turned to his bathroom shelf and smiled at the art work he just did. That's one thing I love about him. He has this great imagination of things and he loves to paint and he loves to design things. Anything. His talent for art is so alarming. It motivated me to get him a painting set.

This one was a painting he did at the beach when I went with him and Aunt Bertha last weekend. He had gone along with his painting set and I didn't complain. Those are his babies.

I shook my head, still smiling when I made my way to the bedroom and my smile vanished.
TJ was still in bed!

I groaned and walked to him, hauled him up and shook him so hard, I'm surprised his head fall off with how fast it was bouncing up, down, sideways.
"TJ! I really need to go to school. Come on, baby. Mummy needs to attend lectures today and please go take your bath."

TJ grumbled. "Mum, I'm still sleepy. I was awake last night."

I snorted. "Doing what? Playing video games?"

That seemed to take this sleep off his eyes. He blinked at me and frowned. "No. I was painting you at the sunset."

Right. The painting in the bathroom. I grinned. "I saw it. It is beautiful, baby. So lovely. Now if you would go take your bath this minute, I will make plans to take you to an art gallery this weekend. How about that?"
I said and his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?! You would do that for me?"
He said, smiling.

"Yes, I will. Mummy never goes back on her word, you know."
I beamed with pride and winked at him.

He wrinkled his nose and looked at me.
"As if you don't."
He murmured.

I had to frown at that one.
"Hey! I  don't!"

"You do, mum. Like the day you promise never to give me carrots but you went ahead and sliced the carrots in tiny bits and I couldn't pick them out of the rice."

I blinked, then burst in laughter. That was two weeks ago. I still can't see any reason why TJ would hate carrots but the boy hates them like a plague, he doesn't go close to them. And I had promised not to put them in his food again but then a thought came into my head and I had to put it.
"Is that what's up. Okay, I said I was sorry before. And I still am, okay. So go ahead and have a bath. Now."

TJ frowned and walked to the bathroom.
"Trouble mum."
He murmured.

"I heard that!"
I said from the room.

"I know you did."
He said from the bathroom.

I just can't deal with him right now, so I just shake my head and leave the room to prepare for school.

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