Chapter 1
Divine sat in a cafe called The Anchor with his friends, the three founders. Coffee cups crowded the table between stacks of unpaid bills.
"We can't keep doing this," one of them said.
"We're out of money."
Divine stared at the bills and said nothing.
Flashback:
In a government/private mixed school, Divine sat at his desk, deep in thought. His classmate Tega walked up beside him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Did you do your home workout?"
"Miss Joy would be here soon oh."
The teacher walked in, and the class rose halfway out of their seats. "Good morning, ma."
"Good morning. How are you?"
"Fine, ma."
"I'd like to ask a question ... what would you like to become in the future?"
A girl raised her hand. "Nurse."
"Wow," the teacher said.
Another voice: "Lawyer."
"That's nice."
"Divine, what about you?"
She'd caught him staring at nothing again.
"I don't want to become anything."
The class went quiet. The teacher frowned. "What do you mean?"
He swallowed. "I want to build something the whole world will use."
The classroom exploded with laughter all except Tega.
"See this one!" someone shouted from the back.
"You never even pass WAEC finish."
Even the teacher smiled. "Sit down first. Pass your exams before you start changing the world."
Divine forced a smile, already ashamed of himself. He'd read, once, about a boy no different from him who'd built something the whole world ended up using — and he hadn't been able to shake it since.
After school, his classmates trailed him with jokes he pretended not to hear. He walked home alone.
"Good afternoon, ma."
"My son, how are you?"
"I'm not fine."
"Why?"
"Because everyone was just laughing at me today."
"What did you do?"
"The teacher asked what I'd like to become. I told her I don't want to become anything ... just someone who'll create something good for the world."
She laughed. "Don't worry, you'll do medicine."
"Ah! Me? Medicine? Mummy, no oh."
"Why?"
"Me that wants to travel outside the country."
"Eh? Divine? Travel keh? This boy is dreaming about America when we can barely pay school fees."
If nobody believes me, I'll believe myself.
