I AM delighted to know the one that invented school is dead.

Only God knows what I would do to him if I met him face to face.

Seriously, who wakes up from nowhere and declares that he will make every child's life miserable by creating school?

I sometimes wonder how life would be without it, but I guess I need school.

Unlike most days, I was not motivated to go to school after hearing the news of my father's heart attack, but I had no option. I couldn't miss classes for fear of ruining my perfect record.

My first class was art class and I love that class. My favorite element of art class is my teacher who always walks in class with a jolly attitude.

She is always smiling and there is nothing wrong with that, but it becomes a problem when you have a dental formula similar to hers.

She walked into the classroom more excited than usual, with a smile enough to reveal her crooked teeth and endearing dimples. Her brown eyes shot at us with a sparkle and a gleam of joy.

I was concerned about her excitement. Teachers are usually excited when they are about to make their students suffer, so I had a bad feeling about her unusual excitement.

"Okay, students, I am very excited about the news I am about to tell you all." Mrs. Chinara blurted with a grin increasing in wideness. I couldn't help staring at her teeth that had no direction, which made me wonder why she never got braces for them.

I ignored that thought and prepared myself to brace the news. (Get it? No? Just me then?)

"So I have a project for you all." She said, causing the entire class to murmur in unison. I knew her excitement was going to bring bad news.

"You have not even heard what it's about and you are already complaining." She continued." So this project will take a month. I expect you guys to be in pairs. I want you to use art to portray both you and your partner's life story in a way that we all can understand. The presentations will be done during classes."

I had a problem with that project idea because I did not know who to partner with. It reached a point where I sat in silence, watching as everyone got up from their tables to pair up with their friends.

"Luca Corker." Mrs. Chinara said to me.

"Yes, madam," I replied, knowing she was going to talk about the fact that I was not partnering with anyone.

"You are having difficulties with finding a partner. I can help you with that."

"Aretta, can you partner with Luca?" She yelled, causing Aretta to walk towards my table.

My eyes widened and nervousness enveloped me. She was partnering me with a girl.

I am not good at talking to girls and the idea of working with a pretty girl like Aretta for a month scared me.

She sat next to me, which made me feel extremely shy. I was supposed to greet her and find out how she was doing, but my mouth went quiet.

I ogled her, trying to remove words from my mouth. She immediately met my awestruck gaze and offered me a dazzling smile, her thick pink lips parting to reveal a perfect row of teeth.

"Hi, my name is--- "

"Aretta Ruby Okorie." I completed her sentence before she could.

She arched her brows." You know my name?"

"Yes, we have been in the same class for a while now," I stated the obvious.

"But you know my second name, too." She eyed me with so much confusion. I knew all the names of the students in my class. I don't talk to any of them, but I know each person very well.

"Yes, why wouldn't I know it? It is your name, too." I defended myself. Maybe she found it creepy that I was that observant.

"And you must be Luca Corker." She said, bringing a smile to my face. I thought no one in my class knew about my existence. I am the quiet kid at the back of the class, so I expected no one to pay attention to me.

"So if we both know each other's names, then why are we introducing ourselves?"

"Because you were so quiet. I had to come up with something, but I didn't know what to say." She chuckled, and I laughed along with her.

"I guess that got me talking." What was shocking me was how I suddenly became comfortable talking to her when a few minutes ago I was so uncomfortable.

"So, are you going to give me your number or not?"

My heart melted. I know she was asking for my phone number because of the project, but she just made the record of the first girl to ask for my number. That's a big deal for me.

"Oh, let me write it down for you." I got a pen and wrote it down on the back of her notebook.

"I'll text you, thanks."

Okay, this girl knows what to say!

I don't know why, but it just means a lot to any male when a female lowers her pride and texts them first and I, like any guy, felt my heart dancing at her words. She was going to text me. I know it was for the project, but the point is she was going to text me.

"I guess we will talk about the project on text." She smiled at me and walked to her table.

As she walked away, I watched her. She had an elegant walk that accentuated her fair-skinned, slender body.

I was excited about that project. It would even get a girl to text me. So I guess Mrs. Chinara was right about being excited. It was such a smart idea.

*****

I watched my dad as he slept peacefully on the hospital bed. A tear formed in my eye and rolled down my cheek. I couldn't take seeing him sick.

The moment the bell rang, I had to exit the school premises quickly. I was only thinking about my father, so I stormed out of the school and drove myself to the hospital.

Seeing my dad in that condition saddened me to the core, but I was not aware of whether it would be a good idea to leave him alone. He needed someone to stay by his side.

Memories of all the good times we had immediately flooded my mind. I remembered the time when I convinced him to play a FIFA match with me. My dad is so competitive, so he agreed to buy me a car if he lost. The moment I won, my dad laughed at himself and bought me a car the following week.

Watching him like that was too much to take in, so I checked my phone for any new text messages and, just as expected, I found none.

"Son, you're here." My dad said, startling me.

He tried to sit up, but I immediately stopped him with my hand." Dad, I needed to check up on you to find out how you're doing."

"I'm fine." Those are the exact words that everyone who isn't fine likes to use. Maybe he forgot he was in the hospital and such a statement would be an obvious lie.

"Dad, you had a heart attack. You're not fine." I argued. I sadly forgot to wipe my tears, so I did my best to wipe my tears quickly. I did not want to worry him so much.

"I will be discharged in a few weeks. I will be fine. Don't worry so much and crying about me will only make me feel worse about my situation."

"I am sorry dad, I am just worried about you," I said, preventing myself from sobbing.

"The doctors said that I will recover if I keep taking my medication and I was advised not to stress myself too much so I might be off from work for some few weeks." He smiled. The positivity he showed was very encouraging.

"I miss you, dad. I can't wait for you to come home." I held his hand in mine.

"I will be home soon and when I come home, we need to play another FIFA match. This time, I will win." He laughed, causing me to laugh as well.

"If you lose, then you owe me another car." I augmented, and he nodded his head.

"But if I win, then you owe me good grades for an entire year." My grades were always perfect, so that seems like an easy condition.

"Deal... Be prepared to lose." I chuckled.

He smiled at me." You're the one who will lose to this handsome man right here."

I laughed at his statement. He wasn't lying because he was very handsome with his fair skin and hazel eyes. His eyes made him stand out because very few African men have hazel eyes and lucky for me, he handed them down to me, but I normally hide them to prevent unnecessary attention.

"You need to go home now and rest. "He said, looking at my school uniform.

"Yes, dad. I will visit again tomorrow after school." I mentally vowed to always visit him every day of the week.

"Okay, son. I love you." It always meant a lot to hear him say that to me. Those three words always reassured me that a rainbow can come out after a storm; that I have a reason to be hopeful.

" I love you too," I answered and walked away from him.

_____Authors Note_____

Luca must be going through a lot to see his father in such a condition. I hope everything will be alright for them. They seem pretty close.

What is or was your favorite subject in school?

I loved mathematics. How about you?