'A day’ — the series

2: ‘A day in my head'

Music?!
Lights?!
Stage set...
Tape rolling!!... aaaaand
ACTION!

Hi guys, I'm Khalid.
I'm not like the regular boys you see in school.
Not cool, trying to be social, not shy, but maybe too gentle.
Yeah, that's how I describe myself.
Cut! Cut!!
I was supposed to smirk a bit there, yeah?
My shirt creased there too, God! I'm not ready for this...

...ACTION!
I almost forgot, I may be a bit of a perfectionist too.
So I said I’m not like the regular boys around? It’s because of the things that go on in my head. Lemme show you…

‘Good morning!’ I said to myself (Yeah, I talk to myself too). It’s a new day, a Monday, my most hated day of the week. I woke up a bit late so 'I have to be extra quick than I usually am’, I thought. With the speed of a purposeful lightning bolt, I got me ready to hit the road. Fast-forward, I got to my class and there’s an unusual sense of orderliness in it. Everyone was busy writing. What’s wrong? I soon discovered, it was the deadline for submission of a two-weeks old assignment. Well, I hadn’t done it, and I wasn’t in the mood to do it. Who cares if I miss out on the marks it could attract? I’ll read hard for the exams and if I fail, well, thank God for the gift of life.
It was soon time for midday break and I had to get some things done, commitments I made. Yeah I wonder too how I’ve gone from been just the class sketcher to the important person I am today. On my way to admin, I met one of my numerous school crushes. She smiled, I almost melted but didn’t smile back. I frankly don’t know why, maybe my ugly face just wasn’t meant to get any prettier no matter. Well, I hope she knew waving my hand was my way of smiling and if she didn’t, well thank God for the gift of life.
I made my way back to class and just as I was done doing the stairs, I heard my phone ring. It was an unregistered number so with some curiosity, I picked it not knowing it was the call that will change a certain portion of my life. 'Hello' the voice that came from my phone sounded so unreal I had to check my phone to be sure it wasn’t music I was listening to. It was a girl from my school, in a lower level than I was and she wanted to know more about something she thought I was in charge of. Yeah, my commitments again. Rather than the absurdity of the topic she called to talk about juxtaposed with the average mentality of people her gender, I was stunned by her voice and somehow, I found myself playing our conversation over and over in my head. Sometimes, I feel like I don’t control my brain. Ten minutes later, still in my daze, I found my way to my class somehow and I remember there were two more lectures before the end of the day. I was still stunned by this mysterious girl who had seemed to poke my brain (and maybe my heart) over the phone. Lectures ended and it was time for practical sessions. In the laboratory, I was with my bespectacled best-friend and arguably the loudest guy in the class, whom I’d made friends with already in a group. Being the practical specialist, I did most of the lab work while they chatted away, occasionally recorded what needed to be put down and managed a little 'well done' every now and then. The practical period was soon over and we were out of the lab. There was a dull mood in the class after such a stressful day. As usual, people were gathered in small groups, the backbenchers packed their things and made their way home together. The class couple were out of sight. I did my job, sketched a picture that had been in my head all day on the board. It was an illustration of a faceless girl pulling an arrow out of a bleeding heart and in a way, it just described what dominated my thought at the moment. Three hours later, I was in front of my dusty mirror, I don’t remember the last time I looked in it but today was special. Still thinking about the caller from earlier in the day, I felt a little pressure below my cheek-bones, my lips threatened to part ways, my eyes seemed bigger and my eyelids seemed to hide away from sight. It was a face I’d seen only once before in the mirror. I was smiling, and it was strange. My faceless mystery, she certainly poked my brain, now I feel a storm brewing. What is threatening to happen is just what you see everywhere, but it’s unlike me, because I’m not like the regular boys you see in school.
My mum says I was a still-born, my face had no expression on.
My dad says he was a boner too when he was younger,
My friends say I look like I have a UFO hidden somewhere,
My inner voice says I’m just not like everybody else.
My name is Khalid, and I’m a weirdo.
But I feel all that is about to change…