Chidi sighed for the umpteenth time. He had been in that particular position for a long time. He was bored to his bones. It pressed deep into his soul.
He yawned and pressed his forehead against the window; he did not even know how long he had been counting the cars that drove past his street.
”Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen”. He heard himself say out loud.
He noticed that each one of the passing cars moved slowly than the last one. He thought of how possible it was. He finally realized it was his tired eyes playing tricks on him. He had been staring at the vehicles for a long time.
For weeks now, his school has been on strike. So he has been stuck in the uncomfortable comfort of his small room doing almost or nothing. He wished for classes, assignments, anything at all just to get out of his room for once. His friends had all traveled home, but he couldn’t because home meant going back to his poor mum in their lonely little village. He has pressed his phone till it was drained of every excitement in it. Just a repetition of the same chats, same memes, same videos. It all now felt boring to him.
He yawned again and turned away from the window. He lay flat on the floor, staring at the ceiling, hoping maybe for some sleep.
Then his phone rang. The class group chat was alive again with chats. The class representative has suggested an idea. A football duel in the school field by 4 pm.
Chidi stared at it for a while. He wasn’t the sporty type, and he knew how rough those matches could get. But the thought of another hour in this room made his chest tighten. Running under the sun would be better than staring at the ceiling.
He got up and searched his bag for his old, worn-out jersey. He picked up his almost destroyed boot and then walked to campus.
The field was already alive when he arrived. He was shoved immediately into a team as the last man.
In the first few minutes, he played like a novice he was, stumbling and tripping over the ball. His mates laughed at him every time. But to his surprise, he didn’t feel bad. He felt alive. Even though the hot sun was burning, his face burned. By the second half, he found his rhythm and played better. With sweat pouring down his face and his breath rising and falling, he adjusted a attacked like he used to. He felt his adrenaline pushing through his veins. Something he had not felt in over three weeks.
When the game ended, he dropped to the grass and looked into the sky. His chest was still breathing fast. He was alive.
Malik, his friend, slapped his shoulder and joined him in lying there. “You did not travel?”
Chidi looked at him. “I thought y’all traveled home. If not, I would have been coming around to kill boredom.”
“Oh, you felt the boredom too?”
“Every single day. I hope they call off this strike.”
“Me too.”
Immediately, they heard their class representative shout from the stands. “Good news, guys!’
They all turned and looked at him.
“The strike has just been called off. Check the news.”
There were shouts of joy among themselves, with some hugging themselves.
Chidi was happy. He would not experience boredom again.
***NOVA***