A Second Chance

by Alessandra Ebulu

  "I shudder to think about how my life would have turned out if I had continued down that path. I didn't take school seriously, and didn't learn any skills. I thought all I needed was soccer. If I had gotten a sports scholarship to a university, things might have turned out better. But in retrospect, I realize that even if I had furthered my sports career, I couldn't play forever. I would burn out, or become too old to play and then I would have to find something else to do. And seeing that I wasn't one given to making sound investments, I would end up at rock bottom. But, someone came to my rescue." He noticed that the kids had perked up. Finally, they were listening.

  "Mrs. Rayne challenged me to find out more about myself. To discover what it was that I actually enjoyed doing. It took some time, but finding out that I liked looking under the hood of cars, and fixing them up was a blessing in disguise. Why was that? Because, I found something I loved, something I was good at and something that I could make a living from." Carter smiled at the thought of his shop. Working for himself was immensely satisfying.

  "I won't bore you all with the details of how I trained at different auto shops, how I went to night school to get my diploma in management, and how I ended up starting my own car shop. But all I will say is this. I was not the brainy one in my class. But introspection allowed me to discover what it was that I was good at. Once that happened, the rest became clear. You might not be the brains in your class, you might think you don't have any skills, but in each of you is something that would set you apart from others; something that would bring you money. You just have to find out what it is and work with it. When you do, hopefully, you will learn to live out your dream like I do now. Thank you."

  *~*~*

  Cater Simmons was nothing like the bully that Demola had known when he was in school. The first giveaway was the fact that Carter of ten years ago would never have admitted that he was nothing but an ignorant ass in high school.

  Also since when had Carter learnt the fine art of giving out sage advice? The last time he and Carter had come in contact with each other, the only nugget of wisdom Carter had been able to pass along to him had been to tell him to stop being such a freak and man up. Or something along those lines, and Demola was fairly certain that Carter and his friends had thrown in an "and stop talking so weird while you're at it." Like he had been able to control that. The morons!

  However, there was nothing moronic about this Carter and all he had to say to the kids. He was honest, down to earth and easily relatable. Hell, his advice had been the best Demola had heard so far, and that included his. The man confused him. What happened to the gorgeous but self-centered ass he had known in school?

  "Now class, please give a round of applause to our alumni who have spoken to you today," Mrs. Rayne said and urged the class to clap along with her. "More alumni will talk to you for the duration of the week, and please note that these men and women are going to be present all week long. You will have sufficient time to ask questions, and also push your luck for a chance to spend maybe a summer with them, observing them, and learning practical skills that will help you in the pursuit of your own careers."

  Demola watched Mrs. Rayne shake hands with the other alumni in the room. That was the only reason why he noticed her leaning in to whisper something into Carter's ears. Something that had Carter's eyes widening slightly in surprise. The wink Mrs. Rayne sent to Carter as she moved on to shake the hands of the man beside Carter had Demola even more curious. What exactly was going on between those two?

  *~*~*

  If ever there was a moment Carter had wished the earth would literarily open up and swallow him whole, now would be the most appropriate time. Giving a speech was one thing, and he felt a warm buzz in his gut that the teenagers had listened to him. However, he had not counted on Mrs. Rayne leaning close to him to inform him that he had a week to get Demola to forgive him and go steady with him; her words not his. What adult these days used 'going steady' in mature conversation? Obviously, Mrs. Rayne had been spending way too much time with her teenage students.

  How could she be certain that Demola was gay? Besides, what made her think that Demola would agree to be with him? He had not exactly been best buddies with the man when he had been younger. All things considered, Demola should hate his guts at the moment, and Carter could not blame him for that. It was the logical thing to do.

  Logic however, had nothing to do with the way Carter wanted to spend hours memorizing the shape and texture of Demola's lips. He was fairly certain that they would taste as amazingly soft as they looked. Especially with Demola's habit of giving his lips a quick flick with his tongue, which always ended with a slight chew on his lower lip that had Carter gripping tightly whatever was in his hand at the moment. Having a crush on Demola in high school had been hell for him.

  What he still couldn't figure out was how Mrs. Rayne had known about his crush. He had always assumed that he had done a good job of keeping things under wraps. But, if she had discovered his secret, then he had obviously failed in keeping that crush private.

  Mrs. Rayne clearing her throat brought him back to reality. His eyes swung to his right and found Mrs. Rayne standing next to Demola. They were both looking at him, Mrs. Rayne with a slight smile on her face and Demola with a slightly curious look, his head tilted a little to the side.

  "I said thank you for your speech," Mrs. Rayne said. "It was well received."

  "It was a pleasure," Carter replied. "I just hope those kids were actually listening. Everybody had something good to say to them today, and it's only the beginning of the week. Hopefully, by the end of career week, they will have learnt enough to help them make the right choice for their future." Carter watched Mrs. Rayne nod her head at his words, while Demola just continued to stare at him in that disconcerting way. What was going on in that man's head?

  "I'm sure they will have picked up a thing or two before the end of the week. This is after all a period of self-discovery for them. It should be a time for self-discovery for all of us. Now's the time to look back in time and see how far you've come; to ask yourself if truly you've accomplished all you wanted to when you were that age. It should also be a time to reconnect with people from your past." Mrs. Rayne gave a pointed look at Carter and Demola. A look that Carter noticed, but which Demola seemed oblivious to. He was still studying Carter like he was a bug under a microscope.

  "In lieu of that, I think you both should go get a cup of coffee together and talk. Of all the people that are here today, you both are the only ones from the same year. There are still other people from your graduating class that will be popping in during the course of the week, but at the moment, you two are the only ones here." Mrs. Rayne's words finally snapped Demola out of his trance.

  Carter watched the alarm fill Demola's eyes and his mouth open, in an obvious bid to reject the idea. But Carter was faster. Mrs. Rayne had given him an opening for his first date with Demola and he would be damned if he didn't take it.

  "That is a brilliant suggestion Mrs. Rayne," Carter said, then stared at Demola. "Rosie's still operational. We can get a quick cup of coffee, and be back in time for the afternoon session which starts in…" Carter glanced quickly at his wristwatch. "…an hour and a half."

  Carter watched Demola watch him as Demola tried to make up his mind. A lot of lip chewing went into the decision process as well. A lip chewing that had Carter so focused, he almost missed it when Demola softly replied with an "okay."

  "Great. Now you two boys run along. I need to get this place ready for this afternoon," Mrs. Rayne said and shooed them out of the class. Demola went ahead of Carter. Just as Carter got to the door, Mrs. Rayne called out.

  "Take care of him Carter. You've got a second chance at this. Don't blow it."

  Carter gave a quick nod and hurried after Demola. This was an opportunity he did not intend to screw up.

  *~*~*

  Demola had no idea how things had spiraled so quickly out of control. One minute he was half listening
to Mrs. Rayne talk about the time being a good one for the students to glean from the wisdom acquired by their predecessors, and the next, she had wrangled him into a date with Carter that he couldn't get out of.

  Although to be fair to both Mrs. Rayne and Carter, neither of them strong-armed him into agreeing. He agreed to coffee with Carter for two reasons. The first was so he could talk to the man and figure out what actually changed him, and the second was so he could spend some more time staring across the table at the boy-now-turned-man that he had always had a crush on. Did that make him pathetic?

  The walk to Rosie's was covered in a fifteen minutes stroll that was surprisingly filled with a comfortable silence. They both spent the time staring at the oak trees that dotted the landscape, trees that were as familiar as the smell of coffee, the sounds of human chatter and the sight of the blue-green colour of Rosie's walls that assailed their senses as they stepped into the coffee shop.

  A quick glance revealed a free table. Demola nudged Carter slightly and jerked his head towards the table. Carter gave a nod in response and together, they walked to the table, took their seats and spent the next couple of minutes staring at each other.

  Carter cleared his throat and broke the silence. "It's been a while."

  "Indeed it has," Demola replied and watched Carter try to suppress a smile. "Why the smile?" Demola asked with a smile colouring his own voice.

  He had forgotten how the smiles made the crinkles at the corner of Carter's eyes pop. How did he know that Carter had crinkles at the corners of his eyes that showed when he smiled and a dimple that only showed when Carter was smiling widely in a reclining position? That was a question he had no intention of ever answering.

  "I’d missed that."

  "Missed what?" Demola asked with a furrow in his brows. Since when had Carter become a man of few words? High school Carter had never seemed to have an off switch for his mouth. He had always talked and had always needed for someone to listen to him talk nonstop.

  "You. The way you talk. And the way you sometimes sound like you lived in the eighteenth-century. I've always found it cute." Carter said, rested his elbow on the table and placed his face on his open palm. The expression on his face was one of openness, which unnerved Demola.

  Damn! Did he just call me cute? Did he just imply that he has always found me cute? And why the hell is he telling me this now with that look on his face? The look that says he doesn't care that he's revealing that he's always taken a fancy to me? And damn! He is right! I speak like one of the characters in eighteenth-century England. I really need to stop reading historical novels.

  "You didn't seem to find it cute when you and your friends were shoving me into lockers. If I can recollect correctly, it was part of what you guys mocked me about then." Demola didn't know when the words burst forth.

  He had always believed that he had accepted the bullying as a phase, as something the boys couldn't control then. A sort of boys being boys thing that everyone should forget. It would seem though that being told now that the boy he had always liked, had liked him back and had still been part of the group that had tried to make his life miserable, was painful. If Carter had liked him as much as he now claimed that he did, why would he have taken part in that?

  Demola watched Carter open his mouth to respond, but whatever he had been about to say was cut short by the appearance of a petite auburn-haired girl who was wearing the Rosie uniform. "So, what can I get the two of you?" she asked.

  "I will have a cup of Irish coffee and an éclair please." The words jumped out of Demola's mouth, his subconscious already seeking the comfort foods his body desired whenever he was upset.

  "I'll have a latte with a Danish pastry. Thank you," Carter said with a smile.

  The girl smiled back at both of them, although the smile she gave Carter went on for a bit too long, which annoyed Demola a bit even though he really couldn't say why it did, and walked off to get their order.

  "I know. And I'm sorry about that. I wish I could go back in time and change the way I acted towards you then. I was an absolute ass." The emotions in Carter's eyes making them a deeper shade of the green than they initially were. "You didn't deserve any of the crap we heaped on you then. We were just immature kids picking on someone who was slightly different from what we were used to. I hope you would allow me use this week to make it up to you? To prove that I'm not the same man I was ten years ago."

  Demola stared hard at Carter. He had known immediately after he’d heard Carter speak that the man had definitely changed. The anger that he had just spewed was merely something that he had needed to get off his mind. It wasn't really indicative of him bearing grudges.

  But he was curious though about how Carter was planning to make it up to him. And what was Carter's goal in the entire matter? "And the end result of you proving yourself to me would be?"

  "You will agree to be in a relationship with me."

  Demola felt his jaw slacken. He blinked multiple times as his mind tried to process what exactly it was that Carter was saying. "You want to date me?"

  "Hell yes," Carter breathed, his smile widened. Oblivious to the stunned look Demola was certain was on his face at the moment.

  "Why?" He had to know. He understood that Carter might have had a crush on him ten years ago, but that was a long time to still carry a touch for someone. What was Carter's game plan?

  "Because I've always liked you. And I think I've been given another opportunity. A second chance with you. And I want to take it." The words were simply said. Carter stretched out his hand to pick up the cup of coffee that the waitress had unobtrusively dropped on the table; Demola had not even noticed when she came by.

  He had not been expecting those words. If he had heard them ten years ago, he would have been overjoyed and would have immediately agreed, or even told Carter that they need not wait for another day. But, he was older and wiser, he hoped. And he didn't think it was in his best interest to rush into anything at the moment.

  Carter though said nothing. He just kept staring at him. Obviously waiting for Demola to speak. And as Demola looked hard at the man, he found himself saying yes.

  *~*~*

  Hmmm. He must have gained weight. Either that or his mind was playing tricks on him. Why else would his jeans seem so tight and his turtleneck hug his torso that way? Yes, he had dug through his luggage to find clothes he had purchased about three years before. The aim though had been for him to look amazingly good-looking, not overweight. Carter made a sound of disgust and his eyes wandered to the clock on the wall. Five more minutes before he had to meet Demola at the hotel lobby.

  Carter released a sigh and slipped on his jacket. There was no time left for him to change. He would have to wing it and hope he ended up not looking ridiculous. And that went for his plan for the date as well.

  He needed Demola to understand that not only did he admire his good looks—and the man was fine—but he admired his mind, intelligence and his writings as well.

  Carter spent the previous night surfing the internet. He read some of the reviews on Demola's books and the reviews led him to making some purchases. Five hours later, and with the first book of Interwoven Shadows—a series about a young man's struggle with the water spirits that sought to control his life and determine his destiny—read, Carter had confirmed what he already knew. Demola could write.

  His nocturnal search had also churned out something else. United High School's Lit Class was set to create a drama adaptation of Demola's Dance with Leaves, that evening. It was a perfect opportunity for Demola to watch others enjoy his work, see his writing performed on stage, and the kids would get to meet the writer whose work they were reading, ask questions and maybe even get their copies of the book signed.

  In his excitement, Carter had placed an early morning call to Frank Edwards, the English Lit teacher at U.H.S. The man had been startled at first. But after listening to Carter, he had enthusiastically agreed. All that was left was to get Demola to
the school.

  Carter grabbed his keys and walked out of the room, the door closing behind him with a click. Quick strides took him through the hallway and into the elevator. He pushed the first floor's button and waited as the elevator descended. With a ding, the elevator doors slid open, giving him a good view of the lobby, and the sight of Demola standing beside the Chrysanthemums. The light streaming in through the window hit Demola's head, turning his brown hair to burnished gold. Breathe! Dammit!

  Carter took in a gulp of air and strode to where his date stood waiting for him. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

  He watched Demola flash him a smile that lit up his features. "No problem. I just got here actually." There was a slight pause for a while as neither of them said anything. The silence was a comfortable one, lacking any tension.

  Carter found his attention captured by a young mother and her son. The little boy, who could not be more than five, found the sliding entrance doors fascinating and kept wandering off to where they were, his outstretched little fingers trying to touch them with a look of intense concentration on his face, like an explorer seeking to understand how the world around him functioned. No matter the number of times his mother dragged him back to stand beside her as she spoke with the man at the front desk, he would wait until she was distracted and wander off to see his entertainment for the day. Eventually, his mother finished her conversation, took his hand firmly in hers, tapped his nose lightly and together, they walked slowly to the second set of elevator doors.

  The sight was so endearing that Carter had to smile. He had been that little boy. He felt eyes on him and swung his eyes to look at Demola who was staring at him with a smile on his face.

  "What?" Carter asked, still with his smile in place.