It was very difficult for me to come to terms with everything that had happened, I was playing the very keen part of staying away from Conan.
I always felt uneasy and I was really having a hard time having a proper conversation with him.
It had been a week since the accident that had occured behind the sports pavilion and we had not crossed paths again.
It was time for us to go for the library period and I sat in class.
"Come on Nate, let us go." Arthur called me.
"I have to first finish this one sentence." I replied pointing down at the History assignment that we had been given.
"Please, come." Arthur pleaded.
"I will be there in a short while, I promise." I replied to Arthur, " you can go first and save me a seat beside you." I added with a very genuine smile.
"Very fine then but you better hurry up." Arthur said and he strode out of the classroom.
A while later, everyone else simply walked out earnestly to attend the lesson and I had just concluded the very last sentence when I put my pen back into the pencil case and my books into my locker.
I stood up and started to walk towards the door when an arm went ahead of me and shut the door.
I felt a drag that made me turn around and I locked my gaze with Conan's.
I was instantly puzzled, unable to comprehend the feeling that lay behind his brown eyes, at that point in time, I felt entirely intimidated.
"What are you doing?" I asked and waited for an answer but he did not reply and only kept his face closer to mine, we were a couple of inches apart and my heart was seriously racing against time.
"Let go of me." I finally said mastering the strength to push him away and I turned around to open the door.
"Wait, please." He finally said and for some reason, I calmed down and I stopped.
"What is it that you want?" I asked looking back at him.
"I just wanted to return this." He said and he stretched his hand towards me revealing the PERCY JACKSON book I had lost.
"I am very sorry about that day and you forgot this back there." He added.
I simply looked on as I slowly held out my hand towards him and took hold of the book.
"Thank you." I said and swiftly turned around.
I walked without slowing down to the point of not looking back until I arrived at the library.
Once I made my way inside the very big bungalow, I started to search around the whole place with my eyes.
I finally caught a glimpse of Arthur in one corner and I walked towards the vacant seat on his right.
Once there I put down my novel and then walked towards the front where I got a thick marker and started to walk through the various shelves.
I moved to the far end where I knew the history books were always stationed and once there, I picked out the navy blue covered book which was entitled A CENTURY OF THE BRITISH MONARCHY.
I then started to walk towards my seat paying more attention yo the book and scrutinizing the pages trying to look for the place that I had last stopped reading from.
I came to a halt and then sat down and got immersed in the book.
I did not notice as a group of more people actually walked up to our table and then sat down.
I did feel a mild shake but I cared less and continued to read my book.
"What are you reading?" Arthur asked.
"Same book as last time." I replied and returned my attention back to the book.
"A CENTURY OF THE BRITISH MONARCHY." Another voice said and it appeared to come from the seat that was opposite mine.
I lifted my eyes from the book and looked to see who it was that I instantly began to regret why I had not ignored the voice.
It was Conan again and this coincidence was really getting on my nerves slowly by slowly.
I was trying my level best to ignore him but it was as though both he and fate were playing by all means to disrupt my plans.
I decided to just ignore and return my attention back to my book.
I was still one knee deep into my reading when I felt something brushing my feet.
I was forced to lower my head and look under the table but I did not make out what exactly it was.
When I shifted my gaze upwards, I noticed that Conan wore a grin on his face that looked so evil.
I immediately knew that what I felt was somehow connected to him and I flew into a rage.
I immersed myself back into my novel and my peace was short lived when I was interrupted by the same action again.
This was it and I had had enough of it already.
"Arthur, would you mind if we exchanged places?" I asked with a genuine smile.
"Why Nate, what is the problem with your seat?" Arthur asked me.
"It just feels a little bit hard and hot right now, I think yours will be much more comfortable." I replied feeling a little bit guilty that I lied to him and only praying that he bought it.
"But it is early morning, it is cloudy and the sun is not yet out." Arthur said.
"The chair is so hard." I emphasized.
"Please." I added in a very small and gentle whisper.
"Very well then if you say so." Arthur replied and he stood up and we exchanged seats.
I wore a very victorious grin and emerged myself back into my novel feeling far too comfortable.
I managed to have some peace until the period ended and I stood up and walked towards the shelf where I had picked the book from and returned it.
I made my way back to the table where we had been seated in time to meet Arthur waiting for me there and I picked up my book and we made our exit for the building.
We then walked back towards our classroom block.
"What is our next lesson?" Arthur asked me.
"We are going in for Literature." I replied, today is poem class so definetly, people will be presenting poems and teacher will talk about each and every one of them." I replied.
"Oh my God, I forgot to write my poem last week, I only pray that I am not chosen at all." Arthur said.
"I kept on reminding you and you kept on telling me that you were going to write it later." I said to him.
"You know very well that everything outside the calculation field is not my thing." He said with a smile.
"Good for you, at least your parents can listen to that, my mother will not bother about anything other than uniform grades." I said.
We approached our classroom and walked in only to find our literature teacher Mrs. Martha Kingsley seated behind the teacher's desk.
"You are all exactly two minutes late, hurry up and settle down for the lesson and I want all of you ready with your poems." She said.
We made our way to our seats and in less than a minute, we were all entirely settled that she ceased the silence to stand up.
"Good morning." She said with a very wide smile.
"Good morning we replied in unison.
"Very well then, now that you are here, I want us to get straight to the point, you are all aware that today is Poetry day and in our last encounter for this session last week, I left you all with an assignment." She said and started to walk back and forth in front of the class as she looked around the room.
"An assignment I believe each and everyone of you must have accomplished to their very best efforts." She added and stopped.
I stole a glimpse of Arthur whom I could feel was sweating profusely despite the very cold weather and his heart beating fast.
"Being our very first poetry practical lesson, I am going to ask every column to choose a single representative to present their poem." She said.
"Any volunteers?" She asked but the people in the whole room went entirely dead silent.
"Do not give me the silence or I will choose individually and if I do so, we shall have ten presentations for today." She said.
The students in the classroom began to murmur amongst themselves while I just kept quiet.
"So if we cannot choose, let me make this game easier for each and every one of us, every column is going to forward one chit with a name and the five lucky winners will be our presenters for the day." She said.
At once, I could hear the sound of ripping of papers and I lowered my head down as I looked at my poem.
I was very silent and lost studying my masterpiece.
The papers made their way to the front at what seemed to have been lightning speed and once the teacher had taken all five papers in possession, she called for everyone's attention.
"If I read your name, you are going to gracefully walk to the front here with your poem at hand and we shall read our poem in order of calling." She said.
She opened the first piece of paper and studying it she opened her mouth to read what was written.
"Moses Griffiths, column number five." She called out and a very short blonde boy wearing spectacles made his way to the front.
Once he was there, he presented his poem which was primarily talking about education.
Once he was done, the rest of the class applauded him as he walked back to his seat which was only two seats from the front.
Mrs Martha then opened another piece of paper and then she read out the next person.
"Albert Davidson, from column number one." She called and a fairly tall boy with pitch black hair and a very thin body frame made his way to the front and read his master piece as well.
Afterwards, she called two other James Roberts and Christopher Richards who exhibited very interesting poems on growing up and drugs respectively.
My row was the very last and it had not been represented and as Mrs. Martha opened up the piece of paper, we were all eager to hear who it was that was going to be our representative.
"Oh, the very last column and presenter for the day is going to be non other than Mr. Nathan Hart." She called out.
I started to hyperventilate, I did not expect that and I was certainly shocked by it as the people on my column applauded me.
I stood up and walked towards the front feeling almost every eye in the room looking at me and doing my level best to hide my eyes behing my bangs.
"Uh, Good morning." I said and everyone replied with gusto.
"I am going to present a poem on love." I said and studied everyone's expression become curious.
The world and everything in it I was one time told would be mine,
I was once pampered up and down that I could one time be my own hero every day and night,
That I would feel goodness and completion deep down inside,
And that even with prevalence of all the august, I could keep natural, I could always be right.
When at times I feel so small and unable to fit in,
I go unnoticed in every mob as a martyr of love because I am seen as a sin,
Feeling very different from others and crucified from the person I was made to be,
Where is the peace and love of an abode and a family.
Could I be wrong if I accepted what it is that I am or is it that
feeling so left out from the joys that all the others except me are in the position to enjoy,
Am I not a person to love like others or did I choose to be born this way,
I wished and many times I hoped for the strength to be happy, praying for the one thing I trusted could make me free.
What is love, when we cannot be accepted for who we are,
Where we are persecuted and hunted by our own blood,
When we are dismayed every hour unable to understand how others complicate life,
When every single flame of courage is extinguished by those to whom we attach a certain value.
Oh, how much pride and zeal comes with the age of youth,
The gusto, confidence and courage that being egotistic and self expressive is seen as the most deadly venom,
Are we not in the position to understand some things because we are seen to be very young and uncouth
Or are we simply chasing the wind hoping for something we can never come to own.
We can never come to understand the value of something unless we do not have it,
We can never feel the worth of any soul when we cannot get the chance of seeing it.
We can never understand pain if we have not gone through the slightest bit of it,
We can never understand the significance of love until the point when we can nolonger have it.
I read and staring at everyone I could see Arthur staring at me almost dumbfounded.
I then picked up the courage to walk back to my seat when all of a sudden, from the corner of my eye, I saw Conan shoot up amidst the silence that prevailed and before I realised it, he was clapping his hands while every one else in the room simply emulated him.