The Boy with the Lighthouse Smile

With his heart racing like a drum, Olumide stood at the door of his new school. After twelve years in a peaceful village, he found himself in the noisy metropolis of Lagos. He felt insignificant and alone amidst the deafening roar of automobile horns, the chitchat of numerous students, and the towering concrete structures.

With his lips closed, he felt the prominence of his front teeth as he stroked his tongue over them. His teeth had earned him the nickname "Bamidele" (meaning "the one who came with me") in his village. He couldn't help but wonder what fresh names he would encounter among all these strange faces.

A silence descended across the classroom as he stepped foot inside. Fascination flashed briefly before vanishing from his features. Moving towards a vacant desk at the room's rear, Olumide felt the heat of the room on his cheeks.

A new student is joining us today, the teacher stated to the class. "Olumide, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Standing up, Olumide felt a little tremor in his hands. He cautiously spoke, "My name is Olumide." However, he was careful not to open his mouth too wide. "I'm from Oke-Ila Orangun."

The entire class let out a snicker. A young man in the front row spoke up without lowering his voice, asking, "Oke-what?"

That's ok, the instructor said. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Lagos, Olumide. You will adapt without a problem, I have no doubt.

But as time went on, Olumide realized that settling in wasn't that great. As he moved down the halls, the murmurs accompanied him. Nobody would even sit next to him in the cafeteria. He was perpetually passed over for group assignments.

A bunch of lads came up to Olumide one day as he sat alone on a bench in the playground. Their commander, Chidi, was a towering young man, and his grin gave Olumide the willies.

"Hey, country lad," Chidi yelled out. "Why are you looking like that? It must be your teeth, I suppose!

Olumide felt the heat radiate from his face as the other boys giggled. He wished he could just disappear, to fall to his knees and never rise again.

"Is nobody going to say it?" Looking around at his companions, Chidi proceeded. "This guy's teeth are so big, he could eat an apple through a fence!"

As the laughter intensified, Olumide could feel tears welling up in his eyes. As he bolted from the schoolyard, he heard their jeers die out behind him.

Olumide spent the evening staring at his reflection in the cramped bedroom mirror. The aunt he was staying with in Lagos had already gone to sleep hours ago. Looking closely at his teeth in the reflection, he studied the reflection in the weak light. As he continued to stare at them, they appeared to enlarge.

His parents in the village had saved up for years so that he might attend a university in the city, and this notion kept popping into his head. Their hope was that he may improve his lot in life through education. But how could he achieve success when everyone thought he was funny?

Olumide awoke the following day with a strategy. His smile will vanish completely. Nobody would be able to see his pearly whites if he kept his lips shut. The crowd would go silent.

His solitary vigil lasted for weeks. In those rare instances when he did speak, he hardly moved his lips. His instructors were worried and decided to contact his aunt to find out how he was doing at home.

Even though Olumide remained silent, the bullying continued. It appeared to exacerbate the problem, if anything. He was taunted because his classmates took his shyness as an indication of his weakness.

Olumide was devoting his art class time to a meticulous painting of his village's environment when Chidi "accidentally" tipped over his water cup, destroying the work.

"Oops," Chidi mischievously muttered. Bugs Bunny, I apologize. I suppose you'll have to begin over.

Somewhere within Olumide, something snapped. The anger and hurt that had been building up for months finally burst forth. With a yell, "My name is Olumide!" he jumped to his feet and swung his chair backward. "No, not Bugs Bunny; not a rural lad. Holy cow!

The normally reserved boy's explosive outburst shocked the entire class into silence. Chidi stepped back, his smug manner fading, as Olumide looked at him, his chest heaving.

"You think you're so much better than me because you're from the city?" As he spoke, Olumide's voice quivered with emotion. "People are generally nice to each other in my village. We don't evaluate people solely by their appearance.

Mrs. Adeyemi, the art instructor, stepped in right away. Her voice was commanding as she forcefully beckoned Olumide and Chidi out of the classroom.

As she sat in her office, Mrs. Adeyemi gave serious glances to both lads. She inquired, "What is happening here?" .

Chidi felt self-conscious and looked down at the floor. But Olumide felt a burst of bravery. The continual taunting, the loneliness, and the pain he had been carrying with him since his arrival in Lagos were all details he shared with Mrs. Adeyemi.

The look on Mrs. Adeyemi's face softened as he talked. She looked at Chidi once he finished speaking. Asking, "Is this true?".

Skeptically, Chidi gave a nod. "I... I am so sorry, I didn't think it was such a big deal," he said.

Miss Adeyemi let out a long sigh. "Chidi, it's never okay to bully. Undermining another person's self-worth is always unacceptable. Thinking, she halted. "I think it's time we had a class discussion about diversity and respect."

After lunch, Mrs. Adeyemi turned the classroom into a circle. "Today," she said, "we're going to have a safe talk about what makes each of us unique, and why that's something we must celebrate, not mock."

Students took turns sharing safely about their unique characteristics, such as their accents, a birthmark, or an unusual hobby. A burden was lifted off Olumide's shoulders as he listened. He was not alone.

Olumide inhaled deeply when his moment came. A tale about people in my village with large front teeth is told," he started. They believe our smiles are like miniature lights that guide ships to shore, brightening rooms with their brilliance.

The startled expressions on his classmates' faces caused him to hesitate. Smiling is a gift that we are given to share with the world; my grandpa always told me that. So I'll be sure to keep spreading that message. For a while upon my arrival, I completely disregarded that.

The air in the room changed as he concluded his speech, and Olumide could feel it. Something kinder, more tolerant appeared to replace the animosity that had enveloped him for months.

Chidi put up a hand gesture. He said, "I'm sorry, Olumide," with genuine sincerity. My statements might have hurt you in the past, but I never considered that. Your grin... it's quite radiant. Similar to a lighthouse, as you mentioned before.

Over the subsequent days, Olumide became aware of a change. He became an active participant in class discussions and was soon invited to study groups by his peers. After overcoming his fear of showing his teeth, he noticed that he was smiling more.

As he made his way home from school one afternoon, he suddenly heard a name being called out to him. Chidi was jogging to get to him.

"Hey, Olumide," Chidi murmured, his breath coming in short gasps. I was hoping you might be available to play football this coming weekend. We are all congregating at the park.

Olumide paused for a second before smiling broadly. "I would be absolutely thrilled to," he enthusiastically stated.

Olumide experienced a profound feeling of inclusion as they strolled side by side, conversing about the impending match. He reflected on his path to this point in time, which had taken him from a little town to a large city, from rejection to acceptance.

Finding or discovering his identity wasn't anything he had to worry about, he understood. It was ingrained in his personality, his parents' teachings, the tales of his hometown, and his distinctive grin. Even though he now calls Lagos home, Oke-Ila Orangun will never truly leave him.

Before turning in for the night, Olumide took one last look at his reflection in the mirror. Instead of examining his teeth closely, he grinned a large, radiant smile reminiscent of a lighthouse. Without compromising his identity, he had discovered his spot in this vibrant metropolis, and he knew it at that very moment.

The football game that happened over the weekend occupied Olumide's thoughts as he slipped into slumber. He saw himself out there, joking and jogging with his new pals. Plus, in his dreams, he would always score, so when he did, he would rejoice with the largest, brightest smile that Lagos had ever seen.