The Man

"Drink! Drink! Drink!
The man!".

Fred drank as his friends chanted. The place was dark but was slightly lit with a dim bulb which was placed adjacent to where he and his friends were seated. He had been drinking since 7pm amidst chatting about how life was made for enjoyment. His friends, men that you would easily call "The men from the underworld." "What was Fred doing here?" "How did it get this bad?"... It all started when Fred walked in on his parents arguing, he had overheard his mum several times complain bitterly about how his dad was cheating on her with several women.

"Look at you! You good for nothing man. You are a disgrace to manhood, we laboured all this while for all the wealth we have now, yet you neglect your family and disrespect me." His mother complained.

It always ended in his mother getting different stripes, evident like Zebra crossing sign on human skin. On this particular day, Fred had had enough, he was not going to see his mother suffer unruly by his father; he had to "man up". He walked in on them on one of such occasions and without saying a word, he stabbed his father with a knife he had gotten from the kitchen. The injury was pretty bad, his father begged to be taken to the hospital, as he was bleeding fast and profusely.

His mother, Obiageli, spewed at him:"That is what you deserve, good for nothing man!"

He bled to his death. His mother reported the matter to the police and the matter was taken to court. The judge, an average man, who should have been in his early 40's bent his eye glasses to give his verdict. He tried to stand in for his mother, but it was an obvious case of manslaughter, he is still underage and should be sent to a juvenile home for rehabilitation, the judge concluded his verdict.
After the burial, Nora, Fred's mother, took over the properties of her late husband, since they both shared a joint account and everything was in both parties' name. That was how she was able to suspect that her husband was cheating as she knew the credits and debits that occured in the account.
Two years had passed, and it was time for Fred to get back home.

"The man!" His mother screamed whilst hugging him tight.

They held a party for his return and that was when his woes began. As a single parent, Nora needed companionship and then she found love with another man named Henry, a womanizer to the core, Nora didn't care, she just wanted to have fun and reduce her loneliness. She however failed to realize that she was neglecting her only son.

"Please leave my child for me o." Nora had sparked at a stylist who had tried to advice Nora on how she was treating her son. "I give him everything he wants, did he tell you I don't love him, she further said.
The stylist apologized and thought, "after all it is really none of my business, I need money to take care of my own children."
Weeoo weeoo weeoo

"Police! Police!"

Everyone scampered away from the bar, Fred tried to run, but he was drunk to stupor, with a bottle of beer clenched to his hand, the police nabbed him. They had been tipped of that some criminals were engaged in illegal drug dealing and were sitting out at a bar. Fred was taken to the police station, still with his bottle in his hand alongside two of his friends, the other two had managed to escape. They searched the three of them and found "Coke" on Fred.

"Oboy! See something o." The Sergeant beckoned unto the constable.

The other two were granted bail as they couldn't find anything on them.
"Oboy where you get this thing?" The policer officer asked.
"I am the man, do you know who I am?" Fred said amidst being drunk.

Before he could say another thing, the police officer slapped the living daylight out of him.
He regained a bit of consciousness. "Oboy you think say we dey play here?" The police officer said with his right hand raised up like he wanted to descend on him again.
"I don't know about this sir." Fred replied in a much calmer and saner manner.

His friends had mischievously placed the drugs in his pocket as soon as they heard the police's siren.
"Keep him aside, we will treat his case later," one of the police officer said as Fred was still trying to get out of the shock that his friends had betrayed him.
He looked at his side, he saw the bottle of bear he had been holding, he picked it up. In his mind, he said to himself, "Man may fail me, but you my friend, will always be there for me."
He admired the bottle of beer while also trying to get acquainted with his now trusted Friend. In less than two minutes, he began to shed tears. While trying to get acquainted with his friend, he had read an inscription on the bottle that made him realize he was all alone.

The inscription read "Drink responsibly."