Richard furiously replied his father, "sir! I will be grateful if you will choose not to mess up my good mood." Richard's father looked at him surprisingly, he folded his newspaper and banged it on the nearest stool to him, at the same time pulled down his reading glasses. With unpleasant facial look, he turned to his mother and said "what impudence does your son have to confront me in such manner? It appears that he has suddenly changed from what I use to know him to be."
Prior to the incident, something emanate to this. Richard was lost in euphoria with no one to express himself to except his parents, he received a surprising mail from his uncle to migrate oversea; in the mood of his excitement, and he sent him a negative feedback via WhatsApp message. Informing his uncle about his hopelessness of getting a sponsor as this is more than what he could chew.
The message delivered to his uncle WhatsApp box, but all effort to get a feedback from him proved abortive. A second turns to be a minute while a minute turns to be like hour to him as he kept staring at his smartphone waiting for a reply; checking his uncle's account status to verify if he's active online or not, but after some hours, it appears his uncle went offline. This makes him to feel uneasy, but he tried to calm himself.
Puzzling over it, he thought that there could be more on his plate to chew, his hands maybe tight to attend to his smartphone. In the late evening precisely 10pm Richard was still feeling uneasy as he moved silently to the living room trying to put a call to his uncle, but surprisingly, he walked into his parents relaxing. His mother exclaimed, 'my son! You look so worried" he denied it and pretended to be fine knowing fully well that he's unsure if the news he would have love to relate with them will end up worth celebrating.
After puzzling over the matter on his bed, he stick to being active on his WhatsApp chat box waiting for a response from his uncle, he decided to send text while struggling not to fall asleep that reads "Hello uncle! Good morning sir, in response to mail received, thanks for your support and effort so far, I have been waiting for your response as regard the question I asked. I will appreciate hearing from you soon, to know my next line of action. Thanks, God bless you." Then he decided to sleep.
Richard's uncle woke up late, being a Saturday morning after a long time at work the previous day, he picks up his phone and realized there were several messages and calls, but he deliberately ignores all with the intention to attend to them later. While trying to spread the paste on his brush, just in time his phone sounded, showing a mail notification, an email from the company interested in partnering with Richard's creative idea. He couldn't wave his mind off the mail as he's tempted to check it. He unlocked his smartphone as he moved out from the bathroom with his chest bare, a fluffy white towel was wrapped about his waist, giving thought to what the mail is all about. Clicking on the mail while sitted on his bed, he realized the mail was in response to their agreement toward Richard's application for partnership, as they showed interest to sponsor his traveling expenses.
The content in the mail received propelled him to move to his studying table; he opens his MacBook Pro max laptop, he re-opened the mail using his laptop and clicked on the link sent in the mail, following the instructions to fill a data form online. He uploaded the Profile data and documents with Richard international bank details as required for the money awarded for his traveling processes. After the whole process, he was excited to inform his nephew about this.
Richard was furious to his uncle response after waiting so long for his reply. While reading, he saw that ADIDAS Company who's interested to partner with his creative ideas are also ready to fully sponsor his traveling expenses and all necessary things has been well attended to by his uncle. He was thrilled to call his uncle to get some further information about the process. He planned to pay for his international passport while waiting for the company's alert. His uncle congratulated him that his time to illuminate and sparkle up has come, which led to the end of the call.
Richard jubilated with joyous sound and ran to the living room, this called for his parents' attention. He relayed the entire news to them. His mother was ecstatic with the good news from his son, she stretched forth her hands to the sky while her waist dangled on the chair, his father also deviated his attention from the newspaper and said with a smile on his face "well-done my boy" whereas his mother kept singing varieties of melodious songs, and she ended it with "God!!! Hey, only you deserve my praises, God you're so good. Again his father raises his eyeball and contributed to their celebration.
He said, "My son" then clear his throat, "when you arrive over there and begin to make a living, you should secure admission into medical school in London." Richard furiously replied his father, "sir! I will be grateful if you will choose not to mess up my good mood." Richard father looked at him surprisingly, he folds his newspaper and bang it on the nearest stool to him and at the same time pulled down his reading glasses with an unpleasant facial look, turn to his mother and said "what impudence does your son have to confront me in such manner? It appears that he has suddenly changed from what I use to know him to be."
The beginning Era of The Scars Of The Soul is set on innocent child named Richard, life challenges escalated from the family he was brought into existence as a result of his parents ideology. Just as the black sheep in the midst of white flocks, his choices of lifestyle seems to bring shame to his family. He senesce together with his family in Bariga Lagos. Richard inherited the gift of Art from his mother which she never eminence it from childhood till she become a mother.
He has two female siblings, but he is the first child of the Oladapo family. His father's business as a way of living is that he owns a shop where he sells both used and new tires, and he also provides vulcanizing services. His mother is well-educated and works as a civil servant in the state, specifically as a teacher. Richard's father puts in all his effort to provide for his family and strives to ensure that their basic necessities are met; his supportive wife bears much of the family's obligations. The family lives in a spacious compound, well embellished with fruit trees and flowers; likewise, there's a big well on the premises.
The name of the school Richard attended at his tender age was "Beautiful Star Montessori School." In Primary Class 2, Richard had a few friends: Bolu, Ife, and Steve. They were also in Class 2 and lived in the same direction, with their houses close at hand. Following the school closing hour at exactly 3:00 PM, Bolu, Ife, and Steve arrived at Richard's house for their extra lessons together with him.
Their home coaching teacher's name is Mrs. Bakare; she is the person handling them and two other boys in the compound. The names of the other boys are Biodun and Juwon. Biodun is the last child of his family, and his father is the sole owner of the compound. His name is Mr. Adenuga, and he is a rich, successful businessman who has acquired many properties. The two cars parked inside the compound, a Toyota jeep and a Camry, belong to Mr. Adenuga. Biodun's mother operates a mini-mart built outside the compound.
The house is situated very close to the market and the street. Juwon no longer has a father; he passed away when Juwon was just a year old. Juwon's mother registered him at the same school as Richard. Whenever Bolu, Ife, and Steve arrived early for their lessons, they would seek out Richard to help them create either a kite, a phone, or a goalpost out of paper, which they could use for fun when they got home. Before anything else, Mrs. Bakare asked them to take out their assignments given at school and to complete them in another exercise notebook. Afterward, she examined their work and corrected their errors before teaching them a new topic together.
Richard and his friends sometimes tease Biodun and Steve during their coaching sessions. However, the tables turn when the opportunity arises, just like the saying "what goes around, comes around." Both Biodun and Steve intentionally give provoking laughs at Richard and his friends, seeing it as a golden platform to pay them back in kind. They are unsure if they will get another chance, as Richard and his friends are more intellectually capable and assimilate the lessons faster than Biodun and Steve do while being taught.
Richard's creativity was outstanding as a child. He could shape paper into swords, FIFA World Cup trophies, kites, phones, crowns, and balls. He was also skilled at shaping wooden sticks with rubber to make arrows. His neighborhood friends and classmates often sought his help in making things from paper scraps for free. Life was still easy for him in Primary 2. C.C.A. (Cultural and Creative Art) was included in his school syllabus. However, life became more challenging as he progressed from one class to another, especially when he moved to Primary 3.
Richard's fame had spread throughout his school, from lower to upper classes. Just as fuel ignites fire, everyone sought him out to help them sketch essential items as instructed for their school drawings, wanting them to be beautiful and visually appealing. Richard realized the volume of drawing requests he received was overwhelming. To control the influx, he began charging for his services, but surprisingly, instead of the requests decreasing, they increased even more. This later led to life becoming tough for him both at school and at home.
He also has a rival in his class named Tunde, who is a storyteller and cartoonist. Everyone, including Richard, loves Tunde's drawing style. One fateful day, Richard decided to try creating something similar to what Tunde does, but in a more advanced sketching style. He ended up not only drawing well but also capturing the attention of their classmates, drawing it away from Tunde and onto himself.
Tunde, who had been the only cartoonist in class, was envious of his competitor and zealously guarded his skills to prove he was better than Richard. Richard, on the other hand, focused on his own work, always prepared to win any challenges related to art. The majority of their classmates preferred Richard over Tunde. As the second-term examination approached, Richard, along with his friends, Biodun, and Juwon, spent most of their evenings with their coaching teacher.
Mrs. Bakare visits them every day except Saturdays and Sundays. On the day of the examination, everyone was on edge, sitting with a wide distance between each student in a row. When the exam was over, everyone lamented that the questions were unfriendly. Richard, however, remained unfazed, saying, "There's no need to beat around the bush; the deed has been done. I am only waiting for the results to come out, and then each of us will know our fates."
When the results were posted on the notice board according to their grades, Richard found that despite all their preparation, and the time he devoted to drawing, he could not achieve the same level of success among the brilliant students he had once been.
Richard used the money he earned from his drawings whenever there wasn't enough cash for food. He would give some of that money to his mother, telling her it was from his savings, and used the rest to help others he noticed were in need. The drawings he couldn't complete at school, he took home to finish. Unceasingly he have extra cash with him.
It was no surprise that Richard was absorbed in drawing. He took the next bold step by registering at the school library with the library prefect, who charged three hundred naira per month. He picked books and signed them out from Senior Elizabeth, the library prefect. Each storybook he borrowed had a set return date, so he dedicated his time to reading and selecting fantastic illustrations from the books to sketch, such as those from "The Beauty and the Beast" and "Queen Esther.
It's not really his wrongdoing; his inborn skill is art, and the gift keeps finding expression as he immerses himself in drawing. His parents called his coaching teacher, Mrs. Bakare, to express their concerns about Richard's poor performance. Richard was no longer allowed to sketch at home as he pleased, and there was no one to guide him. He spent most of his time drawing at school, often getting home late, which became a habit. Even during class, he would find ways to draw, making it impossible for him to focus on what he should have learned while the teacher was explaining the subjects.
When he got home, he would rest after spending his time drawing at school. During extra coaching sessions, Richard struggled to respond as well as he used to, and at his tender age, he was careless about his performance. When the results of their third-term examinations were posted, Richard narrowly passed as an average student moving into Primary Four.