I was 9. Mum got me a proper timepiece. She got a similar one for my sister too, who, despite being older than me, could be taken for my twin. The watch was my most treasured possession at the time.
Before then, Mum had been gifting me wristbands shaped like watches, but they couldn't tell the time. I'm not being completely fair to the faux watches Mum used to get for me. They actually used to tell the correct time, just that they only do it twice a day. When mum finally got me a wristwatch that always tells the right time, I was overjoyed.
I would adorn my wrist with it and walk around the neighbourhood for no particular reason. While strolling, I'd raise, flap, and stretch my arms for no particular reason. To date, I gesticulate with my hands a lot. I guess that's one of the premises on which the habit was ingrained, even though my early romance with rap music contributed a whole lot to my hand gesticulation.
I admired the wristwatch a bit too much. Maybe I was obsessed. When I saunter about, I'd feel the whole world's gaze converging on my wrist. Some people actually admired my wrist, but mostly my sense of importance was bloated out of proportion.
Not that I really cared about many people's validation. I used to anyway, but that was before Lizzy aired out her admiration. Once Lizzy said, "I love your wristwatch," whatever anyone had to say didn't matter much.
Lizzy was the most intelligent girl in our class. Boys and girls hated on her. I guess it was out of sheer jealousy. But in my mind, I believed her to be not only the most intelligent but also the prettiest girl in JSS1 C, the class I was in at the time. We hardly spoke. That's fair because, then, I hardly uttered lengthy phrases to anyone.
It was a bright morning. After morning devotion in the school's chapel, as usual, I was one of the first to get back into the classroom. For a loner, without a chitchat clique, only those who ran from the chapel used to beat me to the classroom. While sitting with my chin rested on my left palm and my elbow propped on my locker, the sun rays penetrated the room through the windows and rested on my wrist, where my watch was neatly fastened. The sun rays flattered the silver-coated bezel of my watch, causing it to glitter more than usual.
The timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was seated a few seats away from the front row. Many people were walking into the class, and it was almost impossible for anyone to walk into the class without beholding the beautiful sight painted by the interlude of the sun rays and my wristwatch.
Lizzy walked in. I watched her. The rays also made their way to the class through the door and also walked magic on Lizzy's skin. Her skin popped. It shone brighter than I last remembered. Her seat was on the front row, but a column away from mine. She'd dusted her seat and was about to sit when she suddenly looked up, as though something had caught her attention. Lizzy started making her way towards the back of the class. Abruptly, she stopped where I was seated. She raised her tender hands and touched the face of my timepiece, her soft, warm palm brushing my hairy forearm.
"This is beautiful. I... I... I love your wristwatch." She finally aired it out.
"Thank you." That was all I could manage to say. I could tell that she wanted me to say more. Her piercing gaze was screaming, "Is that all?"
That wasn't all I wanted to say, but the words choked in my throat. She must've noticed, because her gaze relaxed and her lips curled into a comforting smile as she trotted back to her seat.
The watch went missing. The early morning sun rays no longer made sense to me. For the most part, my days were gloomy. While in chapel one morning, I spotted someone wearing my wristwatch, my prized possession.
Everyone was shocked to hear a yell from one of the quietest boys in the school. The compound master immediately summoned me and the accused boy, whose name I later learned was Prince.
"Why did you disrupt today's morning devotion?" I almost shuddered at the compound master's harsh and rash baritone voice. Every word I spoke henceforth was a sentence.
"Sir. He. Is. Wearing. My. Wristwatch."
"Sir, he's lying; the watch is mine." Prince spoke without stammering.
His boldness almost made me give up.
"How do you know it is yours?"
"Sir. E..."
Before I could complete my sentences, I heard a familiar voice saying, "Sir, the watch is his. I saw him wearing it last week." It was Lizzy's soothing voice.
Before I could contain my shock, I heard another even more familiar voice say, "Sir, I have the same watch; my mum got it for both of us." That was Edy, my sister.
Edy presented her wrist to the compound master for inspection. Looking at the compound's master's face, I could tell that he was torn between saying, "Who permitted you into my office?" and accepting the facts, staring him in the eyes.
He went with the facts and started inspecting my sister's watch, comparing it with the one the boy was wearing. The watches were twinning. The boy immediately knew that he'd been caught. He started begging. The compound master unstrapped the watch from his wrist and handed it over to me.
I walked out of his office with my sister and Lizzy by my side. My sister excused herself and dashed to her class. I walked in silence with Lizzy.
"Lizzy. Thank you..." I finally said. This time, Lizzy didn't wait for me to say more. Instead, she cut me short, much to my relief.
"It's okay." She squeezed my palms softly before doubling her steps towards our class.
I later heard that Prince was asked to come to school with his parents. The news meant very little to me. The most important thing was that my treasure was found. My sunshine was restored. The days stopped being gloomy. The early morning sun rays started making sense to me again.
