A man walked through the street to his home, he kept cursing at everything he passes, he hates where he is living and the area, they were children running around, playing in the dirt. He cursed at them and continued walking, if God should help him and his project becomes a success, moving out of here would be the first thing he would do. But at the moment, he just needs to make sure that everything is set perfectly and he had the inkling that he would win, he has to, all his life he had been preparing for this, if it doesn’t work out then he is doomed for the rest of his life.
“Hell no, it’s going to work, I have to be chosen, I have looked at the draft of the others, none of them could amount to mine, even Mr. Bridgeton said so,” he murmured to himself, trying not to step inside a puddle as he avoided stepping on a banana peel that was on the ground. “Fuck this place,” he cursed, if only he has any other choice, nothing in the world would have made him live here, in the slums.“I just need some cash, if I am able to land myself with three thousand dollar bills, I am good to go but where can I get so much, I don’t even have up to five hundred dollars in my savings and this constant going around and taking cabs just to look good is draining me, when will it end? Mr. Bridgeton better choose my work, if not, what else can I be doing?” He kept murmuring to himself. He could already picture himself working in Fashionista, the best clothing brand in Chicago, all he just needs to do is bring his design to life before the big day but how can he do that? He needs real cash to buy the materials and one of the requirements in the contract is that every designer should come with their work in their hands. Mr. Bridgeton already expressed his love for his design, if he could just gather the materials and have it sowed, then his life is blessed and he could work as a designer in such big company.Something hit his leg, bringing him out of this thought but before he could notice what was happening, children were running towards him and they all stepped into a puddle beside him, splashing the dirty water on him as they fought to get their ball.Frank cursed and felt like hitting every one of them, he looked at his damaged suit which he had been hoping to wear again tomorrow but now he would need to wash it and pray that it dries before he needs to leave. He ran his fingers through his sandy blonde hair and glared daggers at the kids who were oblivious to his anger as they continued running and playing with their ball. He sighed, now covered in dirty water; he hid his design inside his jacket to avoid future accident like the one that just happened.When he finally got to his house, actually, his girlfriend’s house who he had been staying with for the past two years after her parents death because he couldn’t afford to pay his bills again, he sighed but the happiness he expected didn’t come, he was only staying there for the sake of having somewhere to sleep, he was tired of sleeping in the slums, he was tired of calling that small house that often leaks when it rains his home, he goes to the city always and sometimes he would just wander around till it’s late to go home and he leaves as early as possible in the morning. He hates his life, especially having to pretend to like everyone he sees because sometimes he needs to depend on them for feeding. When will his luck shine?He pushed open the creaking door and entered the house, “Athena? Athena?” He called but got no answer, he entered where they called bedroom and started taking off his clothes, he needs to wash it but he was so tired, hopefully Athena could do that for him. He picked up his towel and in shorts, he left the house to the bathroom that they shared with three other families in the compound. He cursed silently when he heard someone taking a bath and had to walk back to the house to wait for whoever it was to be done, “I hate this place,” he murmured.“You are back,” he had a sweet voice called to him from afar and he looked up to see his girlfriend approaching him, as usual, she looked stressed out and filthy due to her kind of work. She takes out garbage for the richer ones in the vicinity and she works as a cleaner in a diner. She approached him with smiles on her face, her deep brown hair up in a loose ponytail and her brown eyes twinkling as always whenever she sees him. They have been dating since she was sixteen and he was seventeen. Her parents had been in support of their union and he had loved her dearly then, only that now, he can’t shake off the feeling that she wasn’t his kind of woman anymore.She fits in perfectly in the slum and while he goes around complaining about everything, she faces everything with happiness and she knows almost if not all the people here which he must admit gets on his nerves. He smiled to her when she was closer, “yes.”“How was the day?” Athena asked, she reached up and wiped away a strand of his hair from his face, she does that every time she sees him that it became a habit.Frank forced a smile on his face, he hates it when she does that especially with the hands that she had been using in cleaning and throwing away garbage all day, he doesn’t like her touching him unless she has taken a bath but he couldn’t let his distaste be known, he needs somewhere to stay after all. “Better than last.”“Don’t worry, soon you will find what you are looking for,” she comforted him, she looked behind him, “oh Tom is done bathing, want to take a shower?”Frank looked behind him and saw the so called Tom approaching them, definitely to greet them and he hates that, just what is it with the people here, why can’t they stay on their own? “Yes,” he forced out just as Tom got closer.“Hi Athena, hi Frank, tough day?” He asked, his blue eyes shining in the sunset, he looked really handsome and with the water beads dripping on his body.“No, everything is good,” Athena answered and he nodded and walked away. “Why don’t you take a shower, I will try to fix up something for us to eat.”“Won’t you take a shower first?” He asked, trying to hide the scowl on his face.“You want to and I can’t lay around waiting for you,” she answered innocently.“You won’t be laying around, my suit, it needs to be washed, some stupid kids splashed dirty water on me while I was walking back.”Athena smiled, “oh Frank, they are not stupid, they probably didn’t realize they did that.”“Yeah, whatever, so can you wash it for me? I hope it can dry before morning and you can then take a bath after washing it then make dinner.”Athena thought about it, “alright,” she smiled.“Thanks,” Frank smiled, she leaned forward to kiss him and he took a step back before he could stop himself, then seeing the shock on her face, he pretended to be wiping out something from her hair, “you must have had a really tough day, why don’t you hurry up with your duties so you can have a rest.”Athena sighed and stretched herself, “you are right, it’s been a tough day.”“Yeah, go ahead now,” he said and turned, walking to the bathroom and Athena went back to their flat.Athena woke up in the night to find Frank’s side in the bed empty, “Frank?” She called but when she got no answer, she got out of the bed and went into the living room, “Frank?” she saw him sitting on the only couch in the living room and closed up their distance. “What is it?” She asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.Frank sighed, “Nothing, just…thinking.”Athena sat beside him immediately, “what are you thinking about?”“My life, Athena, look at me, at twenty three I have no source of income, nothing, I can’t even look after you the way I want to, the way I promised your mother I would.”Athena smiled and placed her head on his shoulder, “but Frank, it’s not your fault, I am sure mom understands perfectly. You are trying your best to make things better for us, you go out every morning to return at night because you are looking for a better job, that’s already you trying.”“But I am not trying hard enough, take a look at me, Athena, I had promised you that on you
Frank ran through the dirty streets he had always hate walking on, he stepped into many puddles but he didn’t bother to curse as always nor was he worried at the dirt on his pants. A bright smile was clear on his face and his green eyes were shining like never before. When he finally saw their building, he increased his space as he spotted his girlfriend talking with their elderly neighbor, “Athena, Athena,” he shouted.Athena turned at the sound of her name, she was shocked when she saw him running and how dirty he looked and for the first time, he doesn’t have a deadly scowl on his face for being dirty, what is going on? She wondered before excusing herself from the woman and walking to his direction, “Frank?”When Frank got closer to her, he picked her up and swirled around, Athena gasped and wrapped her hands round his neck to keep her from falling, “oh Athena, my life has changed, my life has changed!”Athena pressed her hand on her chest when he finally put her back o
The elevator chimed and the man from earlier came out, he stopped, frozen when he saw her sleeping, what the hell? He wondered, he approached her and wiped away the hair from her face, she didn’t even flinch and he guessed she was really tired and she should be, it has been ten hours since they got into the elevator together. He fetched his phone from his pocket and dialed a number, when the line connected, he sighed, “em, Frank, I’m usually good at minding my business but there is a lady waiting for you in front of your door and it’s been hours, you think you can come attend to her?”“Shit, she came today?” Frank asked.“Em, am I supposed to answer that?”“Listen Fred, I am in a party right now and I can’t come out, you think you can take her in with you till I am back?”“Frank, I called you to tell you that someone is waiting for you not for you to ask me to babysit,” Fred replied.“Then there is nothing I can do, let her stay there, nothing is going to happen to he
Athena got up in the morning, she heaved a deep sigh and remembering she was not in her house nor in Frank’s, she sat up immediately and looked around the room, she was lying in the bed and it was the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in. She had fallen asleep immediately her head touched the pillow. Fred had been kind enough to give her the bed and took the couch, even though she was the intruder.She climbed out of the bed and readied her things; Franks should be back from wherever he went to, right? She thought and walked out of the bedroom to find Fred still sleeping on the couch. She approached him gently and didn’t know if he would be angry that she woke him up from his sleep but she really has to go and it would be wrong if she left without telling him, he was a kind soul and she would never forget that. After staring at him for a few minutes, she finally cleared her throat and his eyelid flickered before he opened them to stare at her. “I-I-I’m sorry to wake you, is
A week later, Frank was talking with some models outside the hall that the fashion show was taking place, when one of them scowled in disgust, “who the hell is that? That dress is so outdated, in fact, I don’t think I have ever seen such.”“My goodness, you don’t think she is attending the show, do you? I mean, dress in that?” Another said, her face and tone no different from the first model.Hearing the ladies’ words, Frank was forced to turn around and he froze when he saw the brunette who just got down from a cab and was looking around the place. She was dressed in a pitch pink dress which he recognized as her mother’s, her hair was let down on her shoulders and she was putting on a white two inches heels, he was with her the day she had bought the shoes but he never realized how ugly the thing looked until now. She smiled and waved when she saw him and he woke up at that moment as he heard one of the model’s words, “my gracious, is she waving at us?”“It can’t be, where
Athena gulped, staring at the man beside her, he had deep brown hair in a slicked back style, his face was oval with sexy cheekbones, his nose was perfectly pointed. His lips so succulent with the lower lip fuller than the upper and light red in color, his eyes, a beautiful shade of hazel and his lashes so long that she would have been jealous if she wasn’t a little tipsy. A sexy line of bears graced his cheeks and jaw and for some reason, she wanted to run her fingers through them.Her eyes trailed from his face to his fair neck and his body, he was dressed in a navy blue blazer with white shirt underneath and white pants. He had broad shoulders and his athletic body complimented his blazer making him look godly sexy, she gulped once more, her eyes going back to his face to meet with his smiling eyes.“Like what you see?” he asked with a soft chuckle, “I’m beautiful, I know,” he winked and pulled the stool next to her, sitting on it, he looked back at her, “you don’t mi
Athena glanced at him with a frown, “in your world, are you an alien?”“What?” He asked shocked and they both laughed, “why would you think that?” He asked, still laughing.“You kept mentioning your world, forgive me if I had to think so far,” she giggled.“Ah, to be honest, those in my circle often classifies themselves as a different world, a bigger world and more.”“Wow, I will like to be in that world.”He looked at her, for once since talking to her, he didn’t smile, “I wouldn’t want you to, it would stain you, take away that innocence that makes you different and soon, you would be just like them, with nothing to differentiate you.”“That’s not true, nothing can change me.”He smiled then, “ah my dear, you don’t understand, it changed your darling Frank, and it will change you too. It changes anyone who finds themselves in its midst.”“What about you, it didn’t change you?”He didn’t answer for a while, then he whispered, “it did, I think I am the mo
It’s been two weeks since the day Frank pushed her away and the night with the mysterious gentle stranger, Athena had tried not to think about it but even though she had tried to live like it never happened, he had haunted her dreams, his face, his hazel eyes, the feel of his hand on her body, the taste of his lips. One might say that as it has been fourteen days and she was drunk when it happened that she shouldn’t have so much detail of it, but that wasn’t how it was, every single night, she dreamt of it and the more she dreamt of it, the clearer and more detailed it became.She had downed herself in alcohol during the first few days to forget about both the man and his touch but it was never possible, it had also been her reason for not going after Frank since then, although she had wished that he would miss her and would come for her, telling her that he didn’t mean what he said but that wasn’t the case, she didn’t see neither heard from him and coupled with her guiltiness fo