THE ONE CALLED J

A little boy was running as fast as he could, he was about 5 feet tall, dressed in a green jacket, and blue baggy jeans, he had small freckles on his two cheeks, he looked about twelve, in his right arm, he was holding a newspaper which was folded in a cylindrical shape. "Morning, Mrs. Payton," the short boy smiled amidst rushed breaths as he turns to a woman who was opening the door of her vehicle, it was a small black Corolla that was common for the average working-class citizen at that time. "Jude," she replied in his direction. "Why the rush?" she pesters warmly. "Can't talk right now." Jude continued, he was still running but wasn't as fast as he was moving before. "Dad would kill me if I bring this any later," he answers, motioning to the newspaper. "Alright then," Mrs. Payton smiled. "Greet Joshua for me, he really is a weird one." "Don't you mean J," Jude smiled? "We both know how much he hates being called Joshua." "Children will always be children," Mrs. Payton smiled as she entered her car. Soon, Jude arrived at a small bungalow, as fast as he could, he pushed the knob and quickly ran inside, there was a black-haired woman in her mid-thirties, she was frying eggs over an electric cooker. "Careful, Jude," she said. "Don't run, else you might trip over and hurt yourself," she looked at what he was carrying as she sighed. "Can't Jack just go to the postal office and change the address already, the mailman keeps delivering it to the wrong address and Jude is the one who keeps suffering from that mistake." "I am now a big boy," Jude smiled with a wave of confidence. "I can't hurt myself." "That's what your Uncle Ryan always said," came a deep gruff voice, the voice belonged to a man of average height, he had a receding hairline but other than that, he was quite handsome, he appeared from a door which was etched at the far end of the room (parlor) where Jude was. "And right now, the i***t has been in a coma for several f*****g months." He ends as he makes his way over to where Jude was, he snatched the newspaper the boy was holding as he quickly sank to the chair. "You were late this time, if you can't get my paper, then I don't know what use you serve in this house." "I... a..am so..sorry," Jude muttered, the man ignored him as he began to glance through the paper. "Hush honey," the woman frying eggs says dismissively at her husband. "We shouldn't use profanity in the house when raising kids." "They aren't ours, to begin with," Jack says aggressively as he sits on the sofa, Jude's face suddenly fell pale, he wasn't happy hearing that but it wasn't the first, the man had never missed an opportunity to make him feel like he wasn't his "They are just some unfortunate runts who are lucky we took them in and frankly, I am sick of all this s**t especially from that young brat, Joshua." "You know he prefers being called J," the woman smiled at him, though, she did it in a way that showed she wasn't unhappy with what he was doing. "He's just a fucking..." Jack was about to continue but was interrupted by his wife who quickly spoke. "Jude, why don't you go inform your big brother J that breakfast is ready and he should come downstairs to eat." "There's no need," came a deeper voice whose owner began to descend the stairs, the owner was a teenager, his facial looks denoted he was about sixteen, he was roughly 194 cm tall, he had blonde hair but he hid most of it in his head warmer as only the top showed, in his left ear, he wore a stud which comprised of a small ring and a crucifix etched at the bottom, he had blue eyes and was dashingly handsome, he looked like a Scandinavian god. "The wise man does not need to be reminded of things beforehand, why? he decides all and by the wise man, I mean me." The woman who was frying eggs couldn't help but smile, the boy never missed an opportunity to be narcissistic. "Joshua, you stupid dickhead," Jack who was sitting down reading his newspaper flared as he set his paper down. "You are yet to drop your bullshit pride, you have no use whatsoever, newsflash, the only reason why you are here is that your parents didn't want you and if you are the treasure you claim to be, they wouldn't have been hasty to dispose of you," the man continued as he got to his feet and stared deeply at the 6'4 stud who had a demeaning look on his face. "No matter what you tell to yourself, you will never be more than an irrelevant orphan who was never loved by his true parents." There was an awkward silence between Jude and the woman who was frying eggs in the kitchen. "It wasn't that my parents didn't want me that they threw me away," Joshua said smugly at him. "It's because they knew they were but pesky maggots who couldn't fathom the intricacies and the depth of the gift called I," Joshua smiled referring to himself. "Whom was bestowed upon them," as he pointed at the man who was before him. "Also, I am the best thing that ever happened to you, before I came along, several companies had turned down your resume, and the first day I entered this home where the nice woman whose only misfortune was to be wedded to an ignorant Buffon such as you had brought me here, you had gotten a job in one of the best banks in the state, coincidence?" Joshua said as he walked closer to him and looked down on him(literally). "You'd be a fool to think that way." "You young brat," the man said as he tried to slap Joshua with his right arm, Joshua intercepted him as he grabbed the arm the man was about to hit him with. "Careful, you are gonna hurt yourself." Joshua brought the man's arm down as he lifts the other and begins to pat him lightly on the head, it was really so demeaning. "I started betting yesterday and naturally, turns out I am not good at it, I am the best, and why, I made about 75 different stakes and stacked just 100 dollars on it, guess what, everything came, and I made roughly Six million dollars, the largest ever made money since mortals started betting, that's the difference between the J and mere humans, I no longer need to live under your roof, I have made myself in just eight hours while you have been struggling since the moment you was born and yet, you and poverty are like 5 and 6, it's like the saying goes, once a failure, always a failure," Joshua laughed as he turned towards his foster mom. "It's supposed to be a man's duty to provide and take care of the family, I have been the one doing that for as long as I remember when robbers came here, I was the one who stopped them and whooped their asses so bad they begged badly to get into the slammer," Joshua turned back at his foster Dad. "While you were wasting your salary on beers and the dumb f***s you call friends, I have been the one financing Mom," Joshua had a demeaning look as he patted the man's shoulder, the man was frozen in his position and it didn't take a genius to find out he was struggling to keep the tears from falling out. "Now, that I am going, you have a chance to be the man of the house." With that, Joshua made his way towards the door but he stopped as he looked in Jude's direction. "Lil bro, I would like for you to come with me but someone needs to be there for mama, I appoint you to be the new man of the house," Joshua smugly turned at his foster Dad. "You could take lessons from Jude." Joshua turned the knob, opened the door, and made his way outside. Joshua walked very confidently, he had a look in his eyes which denoted arrogance and with every step he took, there was a flair of authority with it. "Why did you have to do your Foster Dad like that?" came a lovely sonorous thin voice, Joshua turned to the owner of the voice, it was a light-skinned girl, roughly about 181 centimeters tall, she was really pretty with her hazel eyes and her angelic smile. "Because I can," Joshua replied her. "Mortals do things cause they should, one is supposed to respect his parents or any elderly figure in their lives but I, the J am no mortal, I only do things cause I want and can." "You really need to fix your attitude," she said as she began to walk, Joshua walking right beside her. "Else, one of these days, you are going to piss off the wrong person and he's going to beat the s**t outta you." "Eva," Joshua replied her. "What you should have said is, I hope no one pisses the J off cause he's going to wreck the s**t outta them." "Hmmmmnnn," Eva had a sarcastic grin on her face. Joshua oblivious to the smile on her face continued. "While I was seven, I was hit at full speed by a truck, can you guess what happened?" "Lemme guess," Eva shook her head. "You eventually woke up from the nightmare." "We both know mortals aren't dignified enough to be in my night-time visions," Joshua replied. "And to indulge you on what happened, the driver didn't live to tell the story, if you think his case was bad, you shoulda seen the truck." Eva couldn't help but smile at what he said but she knew if he saw her smile, he wouldn't stop, she quickly hid her smile and as fast as she could, she tried to change the topic of the conversation. "What do you think about Jolie?" "Jolie, the cheerleader queen," Joshua continued, his facial expression remaining the same. "Many find her pretty and all but she's a constant reminder that humans can actually survive without brains, I find her quite retarded." "Ouch," Eva thought to herself. "And I had Jolie's love letter, guess it would be best for me not to show him, it had more typographical errors than the president of Nigeria's speech." "Why did you ask about Jolie?" "Nothing really, just that valentine's day is drawing near and you still haven't had a date, seeing as you are hot," Eva giggled at the last part. "I thought you and Jolie would be a good fit." "Correction, I am not just hot," Joshua corrected her. "I am so hot the sun's core seems like an ice block in comparison, also regarding Jolie," he continued as he removed a small sheet of paper from his right pocket, it was marked with several sparkly stickers and heart captions. "I found her love letter in my locker" "That i***t," Eva thought. "I told her to relax, that I would sort things out with J," quickly forcing a smile. "What do you think about that nice gesture?" "It actually left an impression," Joshua's face had now changed from haughty to puzzled. "I am intrigued." "Really?!!!," Eva exclaimed. "You, intrigued, the J, the one who supposedly knows all, how?" "Well..." "But before you reply that," Eva interrupts. "For you to be intrigued, it means I am hearing some zinging in the air, so what are you gonna get her for valentine, some chocolates maybe." "You didn't let me complete my sentence," Joshua tells her as he began to squeeze the paper which he held, soon, the neatly folded paper had attained a rough ball-like form, Joshua tossed it away as he spoke. "I always wondered how someone who can't even construct a simple sentence without making grammatical errors be allowed to pass kindergarten." "J," Eva's voice had some emergency to it. "I know you have high standards and all, you think you are some sort of higher being." "I don't think, I know." "I am not kidding," Eva continued. "Jolie got asked out by tons of guys and she said no to each of them, it was a lot of pride she had to put down to send that letter to you, and also, she put a lot of effort and sacrifice into writing that letter, I mean to see those stickers, you can't say it wasn't romantic, I know not many people mean anything to you and frankly, sometimes, I wonder if I do but, if there's even a soft spot for me in that megalomaniac mind of yours that's clouded with just you, I ask of you to at least reciprocate her effort and get her something meaningful for valentine." "Megalomaniacs are deluded, the J is not," Joshua tells her. "Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night," Eva said dismissively. "But we really gotta get to school, thanks to me waiting for you to bash your Dad, we missed assembly and if we delay anymore, we are gonna miss first period." "I am not planning on going to school today," Joshua replies. "But really, I thought about what you said and I promise there will be changes, I am gonna get Jolie something." "Really?!" a bright smile lit up on Eva's face. "What are you gonna get? Tell me, in fact, I don't wanna know, I am sure someone as smart as you can figure out what she wants." "Don't worry, it will be a surprise and it will definitely be the best gift she ever got," Joshua smiled. "After all, the gift is from me." "Alright then, I will be off to school," Eva tells him. "See you later." "Wait," Joshua called. "It wasn't just six million dollars I won yesterday, I played with some bozos and obviously, I beat every single one of them, you should really check out my new place." "It better be worth it," Eva tells him. "You are making me miss my perfect attendance record." "Oh please, the only thing perfect around here is I," Joshua grins as he stares at Eva. "But there's something close-by that comes very close to perfection." Eva could feel red on her cheeks as she heard him say that, almost immediately as he had spoken, a Rolls Royce Phantom 2021 version pulled up just right before them. It was black-colored and gleamed brightly under the sun, Eva's red cheeks had vanished and in its place was a slight annoyance. "Is this beauty right here, it has an insane voice recognition technology, it is not yet up to my standards but since I am the humblest one who ever lived, I shall manage it," Joshua smiled as he commanded. "Open." The two front doors of the vehicle opened, Joshua entered the driver's seat, looking over at her. "You don't look psyched, come on, you can't tell me this s**t don't even impress you in the tiniest bit." "It's nothing, just a tiny headache," Eva lied as she turned towards school. "I am sorry, J but I can't come with you, I promise to drop by after school, where's the address again?" "Don't worry about the address," Joshua told her. "My underling," he said as he slapped the steering wheel lightly. "Is gonna pick you up soon after." "Okay then," Eva replied to him and walked on her way to school. "Just don't forget to get Jolie a present." "I am the J," Joshua begins with a flair of arrogance. "I never forget anything." Eva didn't smile at what he said like she usually would, she just nodded her head as she kept moving away. "She's a bit annoyed," Joshua muttered to himself. "Must be when I addressed my ride as close to perfect while she was expecting a compliment, it's nothing, I am gonna fix it, she's one of the fewest people I care about, she brought meaning to my life and I will do anything to keep her happy." Eva had arrived just in time for classes, it has gone like every other day, it was tedious trying to keep up with the classes, Jolie had tried severally to meet up with her but Eva had been avoiding her, she knew if she spoke with Jolie, she would be pestered and eventually spill the beans that the most narcissistic and hottest guy in the school had agreed to be her val. He was also the weirdest and funny enough, he always had the best grades, Joshua represented the school in several competitions, and everyone he ventured in, he always won with an insane gap. Once he went for a mathematics competition where he singlehandedly scored nearly 5000 points and the opposing team was struggling to get 1000, in every competition he entered, he made his allies and competitors feel useless and hopeless. He wasn't just good at what he did, he was the best and apparently, he could do everything.  Even the nerds in his school worshipped him. Joshua being who he was had no regard for anyone or anything and he didn't even try to hide it, Eva was the only girl in school that Joshua related with, the rest, he always had an air of indifference when relating with them. Eva packed her books in her locker, she sighed, it has been a hectic day for her at school, as she packed the last of her books, she moved back, and almost immediately, the door of her locker was slammed shut. Eva looked at who slammed her locker, it was a young damsel with green eyeballs, she had blonde hair which was styled in twin pigtails, she had an average height of 169 centimeters and surrounding her were taller girls, one was black and the other Asian, the three were dressed in cheerleader outfits. Eva usually felt jealous of shorter girls as she was about six feet and as a result, was taller than most of the guys in the school, this made many lack the confidence to approach her so she had never been in a romantic relationship for as long as she could remember. "Hey Jolie," Eva smiled. "Aren't you supposed to be having practice?" "For what," Jolie said smugly. "I am a natural-born stunt lady, I could do a triple backflip when I was ten." "That's good to know," Eva said as she now faced her and her friends. "But if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be and I wouldn't wanna go late." "Fine, I understand," Jolie's smug face had vanished and she now wore a face that resembled a cute puppy, she began to play with one of her pigtails. "So what did Josh say, is he gonna be my Val?" "Geez," Eva thought to herself. "And this is what I was trying to avoid all day, I wanted J to spill it himself," Eva opened her mouth to say something but as she stared past the ladies in front of her, her mouth remained open. "What made you mute?" Jolie asks as she turned backward and as she did, even she fell silent. Joshua was walking in the hallway, dressed with his head-warmer covering his hair partly and his stud at the left side of his ear, he wore a designer round-neck and as he moved, everyone couldn't help but stare at him, he had perfectly spotless skin, his muscles ripped out from his T-shirt and his sexy chest showed under the extremely tight t-shirt, he looked like a body-builder, sometimes, it was difficult to believe Joshua was a high-schooler. Joshua made his way towards the girls, looking over at Jolie who had begun to fidget, the two girls who were with her had turned jelly. "Are you on your period?" Joshua asks. Eva's mouth was wide opened. "For a genius, J can sometimes be an i***t, you should never ask a girl that ever, God, this is gonna screw this up." "Not really, except if you want me to be," Jolie answered her voice suddenly going octave. "Wow, she actually replied him," Eva thought. "Cool, I am not going to need to get you sanitary pads," Joshua replied her. "You are my val for tomorrow, I have got this amazing set-up for you, you gonna love it," he ends as he turns at Eva. "We don't have all day, come on, there's something I have gotta show you," He dragged her arm as he strides towards the entrance. As soon as Joshua and Eva had made it past the school entrance, Jolie screamed, her friends had blushes on their faces. "He's totally dreamy," Jolie blushes. "J, what the hell is wrong with you?" Eva asks him as they made it past the school building. "You never ask a girl if she's on her period ever." "Actually, it is 'you are not meant to ask a girl if she's on her period,' that's true if are to go by conventional standards," Joshua started. "God, I am going to regret this," Eva thought to herself but she asked anyway. "And what are the unconventional standards then?" "Society has structured everyone to live a life of meritocracy," Joshua continued. "That's why we see people tell therapists whom they haven't developed a bond with or know almost nothing about their lives because they have subconsciously placed them on a plane that they should submit to, it's the same reason most religious mortals speak to invisible beings whom they have no evidence exists, you see them do various sacrifices and change several lifestyles just to please a being whom might not exist, every man subconsciously seeks something or someone to worship or honor, it could be money, ideals," Joshua said as he stopped. "And most of the times, it's usually someone and I, the J, have placed myself as one who's deserving of such regard, that's why when I even asked Jolie a supposedly insulting question, she wasn't annoyed because of her perception of me," Joshua suddenly stopped as he could feel his eyes shutting, he turned towards Eva, she had collapsed to the ground, the air around felt thicker, he looked up and saw a thick pink mist around. "What the hell?!" Joshua gritted his teeth but nothing could beat what he saw next. He saw a strange creature, its body was colored pink with stripes of yellow and it had a strange head with seven eyes and wore a big white turban on its head, it had a puff of smoke for its lower body. It dashed towards him, it made a fist as if to hit him but Joshua quickly jumped back as he narrowly avoided the attack, he could feel himself getting even drowsier and he fought the urge to sleep. He heard a voice that seemed oddly familiar, it wasn't coming from the strange creature who was a few feet from his position and it sounded like the voice was being projected through a megaphone. "I am surprised you managed to evade that blow, the mist is enough to knock down even a boa constrictor, I just need to make it thicker, these are your last days, so much for the one calls himself J." The pink mist got thicker and as it did, the urge to fall asleep worsened, Joshua knew he couldn't fight it anymore, he had to find out what the hell the creature which was right before him was? If it had any weakness and how to defeat it, who was speaking? Also, what the hell the mist was? And he had to do it fast.