Richard was still wiping his wet hands with a small towel that he always carried about in his back pocket when he met Mr. Hart by the minibus. He frowned when he noticed that the two other students were not inside the bus. He was too drained and could not bear the thoughts of going back into the crowded hall to look for them again.“The others left” Mr. Hart announced before Richard had a chance to question the whereabouts of the students.Richard cocked an eyebrow and his frown deepened. “Left? Where did they go to, Sir? Did they go to the hotel”Mr. hart yawned. “The other students went for sightseeing. I gave them the order.” He rubbed his eyes and blinked at Richard. “ would you love to have a tour of the city too?” He asked Richard.Richard shook his head and walked around the bus to the other side. Then, he got in. He decided to stay behind at the hotel and prepare for the competition. Besides, he barely knew anyone in the new city that they had gone to.That evening, he had a l
Richard decided to get a bottle of water from one of the vendors that sold outside the hall. After he had just paid for the water, his phone rang, startling him a bit. He swiped across the screen of the phone and saw Niko’s caller ID.“Hello, Nik” He called into the phone, “Are you not inside the hall?”Niko was breathing heavily and he sounded very strained, “Richard, something just came up”Richard became alarmed and a cold wave of panic swept through his body. “What?” He yelled.“It is the company. I just received a bad call” His voice trailed off“Talk to me, Niko!” Richard said in a loud voice “What happened to the company?” His mind began to cook up possible scenarios that could have occurred in his company and he chose to ignore them, urging Niko to speak up, “What is going on?”“I don’t know. My assistant at the office, Kim, called me some minutes ago, crying and she said that I should fly back to the country as soon as I could before situations got out of control” Niko explai
The awards began and each of the students received a monetary reward based on their performances during the competition.Maria, the beautiful blonde girl that had tried to talk to Richard at the start of the competition turned out to be the first prize winner of the competition. She had gotten several medals and she stood with the available dignitaries in the occasion, alongside other winners, to take pictures outside the hall.Elise had been very tensed the moment that the moderator was announcing the results from the competition and as soon as Richard had been announced as the winner of the competition, she felt a warm feeling rush through her and she became giddy with excitement.That moment, she became proud of herself for being a student of her university as one of the top winners of the competition had come directly from her university. Due to the taking of pictures that happened after the results has been announced, Elise decided to explore the city. She had initially wanted to
The early evening rain had just ended when Richard arrived at the restaurant. The streets were wet and only a few people moved around with umbrellas because there was a light drizzle that still persistedThere was also traffic on the road as most office workers were now returning. Noise of conflicting car horns pierced through the night, mingling with the shouts and loud voices of the people on the street. Almost everyone seemed to be hurrying up to somewhere.The restaurant that Richard had dropped at had a set of glass revolving doors that opened up on its own. While staring at his wristwatch for the time, he walked through the revolving door and was hit by the cold air of the restaurant. Outside the restaurant was cold but he interior we almost at freezing temperature because the air conditioning units inside had all been switched on.He scanned the busy restaurant with his eyes and saw Maria. She was seated with crossed legs at a table in the middle of the restaurant. There was a
As soon as he arrived at the hotel, he went straight to the bathroom and had a nice shower. It had always worked for him. Whenever he felt really stressed out and he desperately needed to calm himself down, if he was at home, usually had a bathe.After he stepped out from the bathroom in small briefs—with his muscled chest, bare—he picked up a clean pair of shorts that he had left on the clothe railing earlier and wore it. Then, he remembered the call that he was yet to return to Elise’s father and, with a freshly made cup of coffee in his hand, he grabbed his phone and went to the swinging chair that was at the corner of his bedroom.He climbed into it and relaxed into its next. It was warm and almost dark inside the seat.A grown human could fit into the seat and it was sturdy enough to carry any weight as it was hung from two, strong iron poles that were connected to the ceiling of the room.The swinging chair rocked on its own each time Richard shifted within it. He dialed James'
The following morning, Richard had woken up quite early to call Niko. It had been almost 24 hours since he last heard from Niko and he kept wondering what could have happened to prevent Niko from reaching out to him to tell him what was going on at the company. He dialed Niko’s number several times but it wasn’t reachable.At this point, he was running out of patience and he desperately needed a reassurance that everything was alright. To do away with the uneasiness he felt about not getting any information from Niko, he decided to take a stroll around the hotel.Ever since he had been lodged in the hotel some days earlier, he had not payed attention to his surroundings because he was constantly in a haste whenever he got out. This time, he strolled out of the hotel premises, stopping at the windows of a see through gift shop to admire the expensive Jewelry that were kept on the shelves.There were several grades of jewelry on the shelves and he could recognize a few. The years he spe
“Elise?” A calm voice called her, seeping into her unconsciousness. She was still; she didn’t budge or move. The warm darkness that had blanketed her made her unresponsive until she felt a light tug on her arm.“Wake up, Elise” The familiar voice called again—this time, it was firm and commanding. Then, she felt the tug on her arm. She slowly stirred and her eyes fluttered open.At first, she squinted to the brightness that was all around. When her eyes got acquainted to the eyes, she blinked rapidly, trying to remember where she was. She saw people. So many people who sat in chairs around her. Then, the voice came again. “Finally, you’re awake. Elise”She craned her neck and looked sideways at the smiling face of a man who stared down at her.“Do you still feel the cramps?” He asked. He was no longer smiling as he now had no iota of emotion on his face.It all came rushing back to her. She was in a plane, seated next to Richard—her personal security guard. The last thing she had rem
As he stood at the busy road, he realized how much time had past. It was almost 5pm and Richard’s ached with weary. He needed a cold shower, a warm and tasty plate of food and a long sleep. But, he had already made up his mind to find out, directly from Niko, the reason that he was called up out of the blues at the competition.He decided to pick a cab to his old apartment which was on the other side of town. While in the cab, he texted Niko, asking him to come over to his place. Richard knew how sensitive the role of the CEO of the company was and he always tried as much as possible to avoid being seen with Niko in public. He wasn’t ready for people to start drawing lines of connection between him and Niko. He did not want people to figure out that he had something to do with the director of the multinational company.Richard arrived home with an anxious mind. His staff at the apartment greeted him but he only threw a small nod at them. He strode towards his room as swiftly as he co