THE DECLINE

Chapter 4

It had been two days since the school's prefect election. Things had turned out great for sammy, he was elected for a post. He couldn't contain his excitement as he walked home in glee. It meant so much to him. On the other hand, i had to battle the outburst of emotions as the students walked home in numbers. It made most of them feel secure. As they all trooped down like an army, they began to disappear as each person headed to their home. In no time it was sammy and a few friends, the atmosphere was obviously lighter and less suffocating. It wasn't ideal to me but it was nothing compared to having hundreds of kids voicing their opinions while walking home. Most of the students at Hilltop school lived within range and could walk back and forth easily. It seemed parents in my vicinity liked to rid of their kids by having everything close to the home in an attempt to make their kids independent of their help, could be the reason with mine too. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Didn't have much time to think about this as I was engulfed in their meaningless ramble. Sammy had so much to discuss with his friends. They were so proud of him and looked up to him, he was the perfect example of a young leader. He loved to look after everyone, but did so on his own terms. "Now you have a position as a prefect, we can do as we like!", his friends bragged as they hung their shoulders in their air as a sign of authority and superiority. "That makes it even worse", laughed sammy as he tucked his shirts in. "It means I get to punish you all when I want". There was sudden silence across them as sammy laughed. Confusion swept over their faces like one who had come to a realization. They were naughty at school and knew what it meant if this new prefect meant every word he had blurted. "Just kidding! You are my buddies so you're safe", said sammy accompanying his assurance with a thunderous laughter. He had given them the chills.

Sammy's friends had taken different directions and turns as they headed towards their respective homes. We had been left alone, I could breathe a sigh of relief. I found it difficult to lift the lids of my mouth when unfamiliar presence was detected. Sammy looked at me as he put his hands around my shoulder, it felt safe. Brotherly love is so strong, it is felt but can't be explained, it hits different when you're the younger one. A reassuring gesture or words from a family member was all one needed to scale through life's difficulties. It had a way of making you feel like someone's has your back. I had no difficulty speaking anymore, the heaviness I felt from earlier was the overwhelming energy of the students as everyone walked home together. "Do prefects get paid?", I asked sammy in a small voice. "No little bro. They just have power at school over the students. "They're next after school authorities and are used by the administrators to regulate and maintain law and order in school." Now it all made perfect sense to me, he had broken it down. As much as sammy spoke the truth, i just wanted to make it to a bed or chair at our home and take a break from everything. The heat, the noise from the children at school, and the difficulty I had understanding the subjects at school had left me drained beyond my comprehension. The dust that rested on our shoes from walking home was nothing to write home about, the living room could testify to this. My feet were killing me so I quickly retired into a chair as I attempted to sling my shoes by kicking my legs into the air. A few attempts later I was successful. I laid my head back leaning into the chair. I took a deep sigh and tried to enjoy the silence. I could feel the wind brushing through my skin as the leaves rustled outside, my heartbeat slowing down in comfort as my chest sank in repeatedly…I was home. "Whose shoes are these!", came an angry voice, it was madre. She stumbled upon my footwear. It was never a good omen when she raised her voice. I jumped to my feet in fear, half asleep feigning confusion. "Get those shoes away from here!" she ordered pointing in the direction of my wardrobe. I staggered in reluctance as I picked up my footwear. I wondered how long this would continue, it felt as though there was more to life than the school hassle, the early morning rushes, the hurried breakfasts, the pressure. It hit me like a bomb. What were we chasing? What were we rushing to every morning? The things everyone did every day began to feel like a cycle to me. Fear crept under my skin. This feeling was strange, I had just woken to a realization. It felt scary that I felt this way but curiosity made me want to know more…why? Why it felt this way, why it felt strange, the loop, this never ending chase for success in all endeavors, if there was an end to this nonchalant seriousness . I snapped out of the thought chain to realize an angry madre waiting for her orders to be carried out. Shoe in hand I walked to the rack still trying to keep my thoughts flowing. It felt overwhelming, confusing and chaotic. All of a sudden, it stopped making sense…why weren't we taught to be better humans by exploring our empathetic side and being taught how to apply our creativity to real life problems? Why? The unanswered questions grew in my head and it was saddening as no one could answer them for me. My attempts to discover the truth from the higher ups i looked to was futile, their answers were warped and only made things worse. My trust in the system was slowly crumbling, my faith in it was taking a nosedive…undoubtedly things were changing fast …i was declining