Some days passed, and as usual, the school remained normal, which brought me comfort. The experience with the grinning kitten didn't occupy my mind much during those days, although I saw the kitten numerous times at school. The memory still lingered, but I learned to live with it, and the trauma lessened a bit.

My mom also kept an eye on my emotional and psychological well-being, as mothers often do. It's their right to be concerned about their child and want to make them feel better. To me, mothers are the best gift every child is given from birth.

On a Thursday, during the fifth week of the term, Michael invited me to his house. A conversation during our second break led to the invitation. For the first time since I knew Amanda, she was absent from school, which surprised both Michael and me.

Michael even mentioned that she was never absent during the first term. We speculated that Amanda might be sick and her parents allowed her to stay home to recover. Now, back to our conversation.

During the second break, we sat at our usual spot in the courtyard, enjoying the snacks we bought. While eating my doughnut, Michael surprised me with a sudden question:

"Paul, do you have a dad because you never seem to talk about him?" His question brought forth sadness in me, and with a heavy heart, I answered,
"Michael, my dad passed away a long time ago when I was just seven years old."

My response shook Michael, and he expressed sympathy and apologies.

"Oh! I didn't know. I'm very sorry. I..." Before he could finish, I interrupted him, saying, "Don't worry, it's okay," with a forced smile.

"I'll be honest with you; my dad also passed away when I was just a little boy. I was only five years old, Paul. We have that in common. We're both being raised by single parents, our moms. It's really sad, and it hasn't been easy for my mom to take care of me all this time. I suppose it's the same with yours," Michael shared emotionally. "Yes," I replied, pausing before continuing, "Michael, isn't life cruel for taking both our dads from us? It's not fair to me at all. I still greatly miss my dad. It pains me that he wasn't able to see me grow to this extent," I said, my voice choked with emotion, my face betraying the sadness within me.

"It's just too sad, Paul. Life can indeed be cruel sometimes. But now, all we have to do is make them proud. Just because they're gone doesn't mean they can't see us shine. They live in our hearts too. I don't think they would want to see us sad. So, we have to put that sadness away and be happy. Our happiness will make them glad," Michael said, his words infused with optimism.

His words lifted my spirits, and the sadness I felt dissipated. That day, our bond of friendship grew stronger. Michael became one of the best friends I ever had.

Soon after, Michael asked, "Would you like to come to my house one of these days, maybe tomorrow?" "Is that an invitation?" I asked, feeling a bit shy. "Silly you, of course, it is," he replied jokingly.

"Okay, no problem. Let's see how tomorrow goes. Since we're closing early tomorrow as it's Friday, I can just go there and spend not more than an hour because I wouldn't want my mom to come home and find out I'm not back from school yet. You know what I mean," I said.

"Yeah, I get it. No problem. I just want you to know my house," Michael said.

"Alright then, I'll be looking forward to going to your house tomorrow," I said before the bell rang to signify the end of the break.

Throughout that day, I looked forward to Friday. I wondered how Michael's house would appear. The day passed, and Friday arrived. The classes proceeded smoothly. When school closed, I followed Michael home.

Walking together, we passed my house until we reached a black aluminum gate enclosing his residence.

Michael pointed to the house, indicating it was where he lived. It was a simple two-story building, typical in Nigeria. Inside, the compound was neither too large nor too small. The sturdy brick walls were painted with colorful patterns of blue.

Entering Michael's house, I felt warmth envelop me as his younger sister, who was eight years old at the time, came to open the door for us. The spacious living room felt larger than mine, with well-designed couches of various colors surrounding the room.

A table was placed in the center, facing a small plasma TV mounted on the wall. The bright room emanated a cheerful atmosphere.

His sister, Monica, greeted both of us and informally inquired about who I was. I introduced myself to her before she went straight to her room, as she was occupied with her assignments. Monica looked smart for her age, and she had lighter skin than her brother.

As Michael went to change, I noticed his mother enter. I greeted her, realizing she must be Michael's mother. She greeted back and gave off a smile.

"You must be Michael's best friend in school. You're Paul, right?" she asked. "Yes, ma'am," I replied.

Michael's mom was as beautiful as my mother. Compared to my mom, she was fairer in complexion. Her slim build and long black hair contributed to making her look younger than her age. She was wearing a blue top and black tight jean. She looked like a model and also like a nerd because she was wearing transparent glasses.

"Well, Michael has said a lot about you. I'm glad he has good friends in school," she said, smiling. "You must be hungry, would you like to eat something?" she then asked. As I was about to say no, she quickly cut me short, insisting. "Don't worry, dear. You don't have to be shy. Feel at home." With that, she left to what seemed like the kitchen.

Soon after, Michael came out, with brown shorts and a black singlet on.

"Sorry for taking too long," he then said. "No problem," I replied. "I saw your mother like a minute ago; she went to get food for me," I said.

"That's nice. You really have to eat something after all," Michael said, sitting beside me.

Not that long, his mom came in with two plates of food, one for Michael and one obviously for me. My eyes opened wide at the two big meats I saw on my plate of jollof rice.

Michael saw my expression and laughed loudly, amusement evident all over him.

"It seems you love meat a lot," he said after his laughter subsided. "Yeah, I do. Don't you know I'm a foodie?" I replied, chuckling lightly. "Yeah, that's very true. How could I forget about that," he said, laughing again before we both started digging into our food.

While eating, Michael asked a strange question.

"Have you ever imagined the meat you're eating could be human?"

I paused mid-bite, glancing at the serious look on Michael's face. His expression resembled that of a deep thinker. I found the question peculiar. Inwardly, I began to ponder if I had ever entertained such a thought. The odd part was that he asked while I was in the midst of eating. I looked at him with a puzzled expression before responding.

"Michael, I've never considered anything like that, but now that you mention it, I can't help but think about it."

"Isn't it intriguing to think that people might have eaten human meat without knowing?" he added.

I simply nodded in response. It was the first time I had seen Michael behave somewhat weird, although only verbally. His words actually made me start to imagine the meat I was eating as human flesh. Suddenly, my mind tricked me into tasting the meat differently.

Michael noticed my displeased expression and burst into laughter, leaving me staring at him in astonishment.

"See, I got into your head. You're slow with jokes. Did my words suddenly make the meat taste different, like actual human flesh? I guess they did. It seems that's the best joke I've ever pulled, and it's worked several times."

His mom, who must have overheard our conversation, came out to the living room, heading toward the door as if she wanted to leave the house.

"Michael, stop scaring your friend with silly things," she said loudly. "Don't mind him, Paul. He acts crazy sometimes," she added, with a hint of amusement in her tone, after glancing in my direction.

"I'm coming, Michael. I just need to grab something," she said before exiting the house.

Eventually, my mind dismissed the idea that Michael had planted in my head. We chatted for a while before I noticed the time on the TV. I realized I had almost spent an hour at Michael's house. So, I told him I had to go home.

He bid me goodbye after opening the door and walking toward the gate with me. Once outside his house, I walked straight home, happiness evident on my face.

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I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter dear readers? Pls, feel free to vote and comment if you do.