The once bright blue canvas was now smeared by thick, dark clouds that stretched across the sky; not a bright patch of yellow or blue could be seen. As they hurried out of the park, bone-shuddering thunder exploded in the air, as if the heavens were warning them of an upcoming flood, or something much worse.
"Eric, who is the old man to you?" Atem said, looking over at him.
Eric took a moment before responding.
"He's a close friend of the family. Why?" he asked.
"It's just that you and him looked close, so I was wondering if you and him are related somehow."
Eric shook his head.
"Stop prying into his business. You just met him," Thon said.
"I just wanted to know."
"It's fine," Eric said swiftly, not wanting to sour the air between them.
"Thon, do you want to stop by the shop?"
Eric glanced behind him. It was Akeer; she had managed to catch up with them quickly. For a moment they locked eyes, but they both broke it off by reflex. Eric's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes, he thought. He hadn't noticed it before, but her eyes were a light chocolate hue that complemented her skin tone. Eric pictured her in his mind: a slender girl wearing a jean skirt and a slightly oversized orange shirt. Her flawless skin was no match for her eyes, which he could vividly imagine radiating in a sunny field, and a puffy ponytail at the back of her head that, strangely enough, only enhanced her prettiness in Eric's eyes.
"Okay," Thon responded.
"Do you have money from your savings? Because I'm not paying for you again."
"I have my money," Akeer quickly shot back.
"Eric, do you have money?" Thon asked.
Eric shook his head. He could feel the blood rising quickly to his head as he bit his lip. At times like this, he thought, why do I have to be in this situation right now?
"It's alri—"
"I can pay for him," Akeer said, interrupting Thon mid-speech.
"Thank you," he said, looking back at her, clenching his teeth as hard as he could.
She just nodded, refusing to make eye contact with him.
As they made their way through town, they saw a mob of people protesting, carrying huge signs written in red that read, "We refuse to be owned," "You will not control us," and "We will not die for your benefit." Some protesters carried hammers and pots, and even glass bottles, feinting and threatening to throw them at the small army of police and soldiers trying to calm things down. Vehicles and trucks poured out more soldiers to block the protesters, as a man shouted into a microphone for them to stay back. He also warned them not to attack; otherwise the soldiers and police might have to use lethal force. But the message never reached the mob of furious protesters. They continued to push forward until the remaining soldiers were forced to come out and form a huge wall to block them. Eric estimated their numbers at no fewer than six hundred. In the growing chaos, a skinny old man felt emboldened to charge forward and throw a glass bottle of yellowish liquid at a heavily armed soldier. It shattered on impact against the soldier's face. The soldier screamed in pain as another soldier violently beat the old man with a thick baton. But this only enraged the protesters, driving them to push even farther as the soldiers and police continued to push them back. Some of the protesters took advantage of the rising chaos and broke into shops and stores, but this didn't go unnoticed. A group of soldiers in heavy vehicles pulled up and began arresting as many people as they could as they came running out of the stores with their loot. But they couldn't arrest everyone; they were overwhelmed by a wave of looters pouring out. Eric and his companions walked by in amazement at the huge spectacle happening right before their eyes.
"If we're lucky, they might cancel summer school for the rest of the summer," Atem said, hope and excitement carrying his voice.
Thon and Akeer just nodded, their eyes glued to the situation unfolding before them.
A few minutes later
They arrived at the shop, which was located in the town square. It just so happened that another wave of protesters was rampaging there, though the crowds of protesters and soldiers were smaller.
"Madam Machue, can I have a sweet bun and a Sprite?" Thon said, then gestured for Atem and Akeer to order.
"Can I get a sweet bun too, with a Pepsi?"
"And can I have a mandazi with water, please?" She then glanced at Eric, again avoiding eye contact.
"What do you want?" she said, her voice shaking at "do you."
"Can I have the same thing, please?"
The woman behind the counter smiled and went to retrieve what they'd ordered.
When she returned, she collected their money and smiled at Akeer and Eric.
"So, Akeer, you're buying things for boys now? Does your mother know?"
Hearing what the woman said, the two boys began to laugh, while Eric just stood there gritting his teeth. At times like this I wish I'd never been born, he thought.
"No, Madam Machue. He just doesn't have any money, so I was just being nice," she said, waving her arms frantically, trying to explain the situation.
Eric could see her face twitching as she tried to hide her embarrassment. He noticed that as she explained, her cheeks were getting pinker, as if they were inflating.
Madam Machue's eyes met Eric's, and she smiled at him again.
"You might be lucky, Akeer. He might be a prince from some other country, here to find a nice girl so he can ask his father to betroth you to him."
At this point Eric just wanted to bury himself in the ground. He could feel the embarrassment soaking him, instead of the rain.
"What, n—"
"Or maybe he's a rich foreigner from America who came at the worst possible time. I mean, look at his curly hair and brown skin. And are his eyes green?" she said, squinting.
"Yes, his eyes are green," she said, realizing.
"No, no, no, he is not a foreigner. He can speak Thok Naath perfectly, and his English has an accent," Akeer said, her voice still laced with embarrassment.
Madam Machue, and a teenage girl behind her whom Eric assumed was her daughter, laughed.
"So where are you from, sir?" she asked.
"Ghana, ma'am."
"You're from Ghana? So you're just traveling?"
"No, I'm just stopping here to rest, then going back on the road to see my family."
"Oh, okay. Here," she said, holding out what Akeer had purchased for him.
"Thank you," he said, not looking at her.
"You're welcome," she said, looking away.
Seeing this childish behavior from the youths, both Madam Machue and her daughter chuckled silently.
"Madam Machue, can we sit on the steps and eat?" Atem asked.
"Sure," she responded.
As Eric and his companions sat down, he took a small bite of his bun. Its thick, fluffy texture embraced him while its inside kissed his tongue with sweetness. Then Eric took a sip of his water. This is good, he thought.
The children all ate and drank as they sat on the steps and watched the chaos unfold.
"If this keeps up, forget about summer school. We might not have school for the whole year, or maybe even two if we're lucky."
Thon chuckled, but Akeer just sighed.
"Why do you hate school so much? At home we don't do anything but clean and eat, and the little time we do get to ourselves, we study. The only reason we even get to play and have fun is because of school."
Atem waved her off dismissively.
"I still don't like it."
Hearing this, Akeer kissed her teeth.
"Your mother is too strict. Thank God my parents aren't like that," Thon said.
"Lucky you," said Atem.
"She says she wants us to do well in school so we can go to the city and get rich, so we can make her proud."
"So that's the dream she's living in," Thon said, chuckling.
"It's not going to be a dream. When I grow up, I'm going to become rich, marry a princess, and buy her a mansion."
Both Akeer and Thon laughed at this ambitious dream. Even Eric was amused, though he covered his mouth to keep from laughing.
"You say that, but you scored fifty-seven percent on the test last week. Even you are living in a dream. Wake up to reality," Thon said, laughing his ass off.
"If anyone's going to be rich, it's going to be me. I scored in the eighties on most of my subjects, and in math I got a ninety-seven. You have no chance, but don't worry, I'll take care of you, brother."
Thon began laughing even harder at this.
"The only way I see that happening is if you seduce and marry a prince or a king in some other country."
"And what's wrong with that? At least I'm not useless, which you already are."
Hearing this, Eric spat out the water he was drinking, while Thon struggled to breathe because he was laughing so much.
Atem was about to say something, but he closed his mouth, and instead he said,
"Watch. You're going to be sorry you never believed in me. Once I become rich, every girl in this town will want me."
Hearing this, Akeer began to laugh, which only encouraged the laughing giant to laugh harder. But Eric chose to respect his dream, no matter how ridiculous it sounded coming out of Atem's mouth. Still, because of the others, Eric had to look away while covering his mouth. Then suddenly Eric looked up and immediately stopped laughing. Above Atem's head he could see a flying green glass bottle with some liquid and cardboard inside it. On its opening was a light orange flame. It all seemed so slow and so quiet to Eric, as if time had slowed down. Before Eric could even utter a word or get up to save Atem, the glass bottle collided with Atem's head, shattering, and instantly set him ablaze.