I did not like being second. No one remembers who came second. I wanted my throne back. I wanted to be the god of genius again. No matter how hard I studied, I could never overtake him. He was born brilliant. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to disappear. I wanted him to die. He taught me what hate is.
****
Nazir joined my class was on my birthday, Jan 5. He was shy. He was timid. He was a man of few words. He wore spectacles that were too large for his face. He had too much gel on his hair. He wore a grey sweater. He had a grey knapsack hanging from his shoulder. Later I learned that grey was his favourite colour.
Our first lesson together was art. Our art teacher had given us the freedom to draw whatever our hearts desired. He drew a blue mermaid sitting on red unicorn that impressed my teacher and everyone in my class. But not me. Nothing about Nazir impressed me.
****
There was a complete silence when the teacher first announced the exam results where I was not number one. You could hear a pin drop. I, the god of genius, had been toppled. All eyes were on Nazir Abdullah, the boy who had toppled me. Nervously, Nazir got up from his chair, picked the report card from the teachers hand before sitting quietly in his chair again.
I showed no expression on my face. I was emotionless. I was like one of those mannequins you find in the shopping centres. But inside, I was miserable. I was fuming. I was like an erupted volcano.
Number one belongs to me and he has no right to steal number one from me, I was shouting in my heart.
I was no longer rational. I was insanely jealous of him. I regarded him as my worst enemy. I declared a silent war on him. I vowed I would destroy him and win back my throne at any cost. But I did not manage to keep to my promise. I could not defeat him. Nazir was far more brilliant than me. I learned that there are some enemies you cannot defeat in fairness. You have to stab their back.
****
Keep your friend close but keep your enemies closer. That is what I did with Nazir. I charmed my way into his heart. I became his best friend. He doesnt have a clue that I am plotting his downfall. I am like a wolf in sheeps clothing.
On his birthday, Sept 6, I got him a present. It was a silver pendent of a unicorn that he could wear around his neck.
How did you know I like unicorns, he said with a big smile on his face.
I am your best friend. I am supposed to know what you like and what you dislike.
I could never understand his stupid fascination for horses with horns.
He invited me to his home. I was completely in awe of his vast collection of books. Reading was his favourite hobby. He even has a blog where he writes book reviews. His blog is called mynameisnazir. blogspot.com.
When you have no friends, you must have books to keep you company, he said.
Your days of not having friends are over. I will always be your friend, forever, I lied.
There was a big smile on his face. I cant wait to wipe the smile from his face.
****
I have planned my revenge carefully. His downfall would be dramatic. Every year our school has a drama competition and every class is forced to participate. As a first step towards my revenge on him, I volunteered to be the director for this years drama competition.
I decided to stage Julius Caesar, a tragedy byWilliam Shakespeare. I wanted Nazir to play the great Roman dictator who is stabbed in the back by his cabinet members and his best friend,Marcus Brutus. I am too shy to play the lead, Nazir said.
Please do it for me. I will make sure that you will look great on stage, I reassured him.
After much persuasion, Nazir finally agreed to play the tragic Julius Caesar.
I can never say no to you, he said.
I was consumed with happiness. For my revenge to work, it was essential for Nazir to play Caesar.
****
After two months of rehearsals, the play was ready to be staged. All of us invited our parents to the show. I made sure his parents had the best seat in the house. I wanted his parents to watch his dramatic downfall. His parents are partly to be blamed for my misery. His parents made the mistake of producing a brilliant child who took away the god of genius title from me. They must pay for their sins.
****
The scene I was anxiously waiting for finally arrived. Nazir as Julius Caesar entered the parliament, and his cabinet minister stab him one by one. He collapsed on the floor with blood oozing out from him. The scene of him dying was intense. The audiences applause was thunderous. But as the claps die down, only then did they realise the blood is not fake, and Nazir Abdullah has bled to death.
The actors were confused over what had taken place. They dropped the knives that had Nazirs blood on the floor. They had hard time believing that they had just murdered their classmate.
The audience screamed. His mother fainted.His father jumped from his seat onto the stage. He hugged his dead son and kept saying:
Do not die, my son Do not die, my son... Do not die, my son....
There was chaos on stage. The only one who was calm in the chaos was me. My plan had worked. The knives the actors used to kill Julius Caesar during rehearsals were fakes. But few hours before the play, I successfully switched the fake knives with real ones. The actors had no clue they were stabbing Nazir with real knives.
As long as Nazir Abdullah is breathing, I will never be the god of genius. And when I am not the god of genius, I am not happy. For me to be happy, Nazir Abdullah has to die. I wanted his death and my wish has come true.
****
Police investigated his death. They do not suspect me. They refused to believe an innocent 16-year-old boy like me had the potential to be a vicious murderer. I overheard the police inspector saying to his subordinates: Nazir Abdullah father is a businessman and all businessmen have enemies. I believe one of his enemies had planned this murder. They wanted him to see his son die in front of him.
I wanted so much to tell the police inspector never to underestimate anyone and that everyone had the potential to be a vicious murderer. But I did not open my mouth.
****
The school holidays were over. The first day of school was here. I was eager to go back to school. I was eager to be the god of genius again. I really believed my plan would give me the happy ending I was looking for. But happy endings were not written in my fate.
The moment I stepped into my class, I realised something strange had taken place. My classmates no longer looked like they used to look. They had changed. They looked different. They wore spectacles that were too large for their faces. They had too much gel on their hairs. They wore grey sweaters. They had grey knapsacks hanging from their shoulders. All of them had a pendant of a unicorn on their necks. They were beginning to look like the boy I had killed -Nazir Abdullah.
****
Our first class after our school holidays was art. Our art teacher had given us the freedom to draw what our hearts desired. All of them drew unicorns. Fear danced in my bones.
****
Exams were over. The results were out. Our teacher was giving out our report cards. I got number 10. I was the last in class. Everyone was ahead of me. Everyone was cleverer than me. I knew in my heart that Nazir Abdullah had not died. His spirit had possessed the soul of all my classmates... the soul of all the actors who had killed him on stage. Nazir has found a way to continue living from his grave.
I could not hide my frustration any more. I went berserk. I screamed my heart out.I beat my head against the wall till I bled and fainted. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a hospital bed. My parents had to commit me to a psychiatric ward.
Your son had a nervous breakdown, the doctor told my parents.
Your son needs to get treatment, the doctor added.
I had no choice but to stay in the hospital.
****
I told the doctor the whole the truth from the murder I had committed to how my classmates were beginning to look like the boy I had killed.
God is punishing me for my sins, I said.
Nazir Abdullah is alive. His spirit is living in my classmates. But the doctor did not believe a word I had said.
You just have an imaginative mind, the doctor kept saying to me.
The doctor refuse believe an innocent 16-year-old boy like me had the potential to be a vicious murderer.
Laughing, I said: Never underestimate anyone. Everyone has the potential to be a vicious murderer, including your own mother.
****
Two months passed by. I was still in the hospital. My classmates had come to visit me. They had brought along a strawberry cake.
How did you know I like strawberry cake I asked.
We are your best friends. We are supposed to know what you like and what you dislike, one of them said.
He cut a piece of the cake and put it in my mouth.
There are many books in your room one of them said.
When you have no friends, you must have books to keep you company, I answered.
They looked at me with sadness.
Your days of not having friends are over. We will always be your friends, forever, one of them said.
I had tears in my eyes. One of them took out his handkerchief and wiped away my tears. Then, all of them gave me a group hug. And I hugged them back.
They had big smiles on their faces. I cant wait to wipe out the smiles from their faces. I will charm my way into their hearts. I will pretend to be their best friend. They will not have a clue that I am plotting their downfall. I will be like a wolf in sheeps clothing. I will win back the title of the god of genius again. There are some enemies you cannot defeat in fairness. You have to stab their back.
