Have a good read!
It had been three hours since my awful plunge into
the pool and I was still very cross. This Jimi boy deserved to die. The guy who
pulled me out had carried me to my room with the help of my friends. I think he
said a few things which I can’t remember; I was too busy cussing Jimi and
feeling embarrassed. I asked him to leave the room and stop fussing over me.
Amidst all of that, I admitted to myself that the fellow was quite handsome.
Whatever! I really need a break from guys. The handsome ones can have their
face skins peeled off for all I care. I woke from my post-drama nap rather
groggily and I must confess, it’s so hard for anyone including myself to
coexist with the groggy me. My friends were apparently not in the mood for my
bad attitude so they excused themselves. Am I that bad?
“Do you want to join us to the club
tonight?” I jumped right out of my skin. “Boma what is it now? You scared me
silly. I didn’t hear you come in. Mtchew” I hissed coldly. “Sorry oo. I didn’t
mean to scare you. Calm down. Do you feel better now?” she asked in a concerned
manner. I loved this friend of mine; she knew how to be a sweetheart. I had
known her since I was in JS3 and it has been amazing. She is like a sister even
though she did have her own baggage. But who doesn’t? I had two major problems
with her: her taste in men and her ability to be absent when you need her just
because she’s gotta be with some random dude or even chick. Well, this was one
of her gracious moments. “You never come to the club with us. Its time you did,
plus it could help with this prickliness. You could wear that green dress and
red shoes. You’d be just fine. It’s not like we are going to sleep with
men. You only live once babe.” She
continued without giving me the chance to cut in. After she finished rambling,
I waited 5 seconds before giving her my reply. You should have seen the look on
her face as she waited for my reply. “Fine, I’ll go with you guys, under one
condition. No over the top stuff” I answered while simultaneously giving her my
stern look. “Deal” She left the room and I laughed quietly to myself. I was
sure she was on her way to convincing Mary as well; that was going to be a
serious brawl.
At the club, we got into the VIP
lounge smoothly, thanks to some guy Boma met the last time she left school. The
music was deafening but the lights were awesome. As soon as we got in, Boma got
snagged by some dude and hit the dance floor. Talk about magnetic forces. I,
Sally and Mary hit the bar. Mary got a glass of sparkling grape juice; Sally
got a mix of vodka and cranberry while I got a glass of sherry. The two of them
said they wanted to sit at a sofa close to the dance floor so I went with them.
We got winks and catcalls and sent them flirtatious smiles in return. After a
couple of minutes, I was alone on the sofa while everyone was killing it on the
dance floor. The D.J was great, I love his selection and just bopped my head
and screamed occasionally as I watched Boma do her thing with all the poor
dudes scuffling to dance with her. Gosh! My eyes hurt. I rested my back on the
back of the sofa and closed my eyes for a bit. I had a smile on my lips when
they weren’t just mine anymore. I felt someone’s lips on mine. His lips- it had
to be a ‘he’- they were cold but soft. His breath was heavy with vodka and
chocolate, I think. The mixture was awesome. I panicked. My first kiss! What
was I supposed to do? I wasn’t sure I knew how to kiss so I just stayed still
and let whoever the stranger was do his thing. Common sense tugged at me and I
was forced to break out with something I hoped was a slap. I meant to slap him
but it turned to be just a gentle shove. Whoever it was got the message and
pulled away. My eyes were still closed, I needed time to process what just happened
and wished that when I opened my eyes, it would have been all imagined. I could
still taste Vodka and chocolate… the flavors were still ravaging my senses. When
I opened my eyes, I saw a stunningly handsome face hovering some inches above
mine. His eyes held something strong and I felt as though he were looking into
my soul. His lips were still slightly parted and reminded me of what just
happened. Where was the feisty me? I wanted to give him a slap; that’s what the
‘me’ I know would do. But here I was looking at this beautiful man with an
electric sensation swirling through me. “I’m so sorry. I really am. I can
explain what happened if you will listen” “I know you. I’ve seen you before. It
was you, wasn’t it?” I whispered. “Yes, it was. I pulled you out of the pool
today. I never really got to talk to you” “Get out of my face” I said gruffly
as I recovered. I cleared my throat and sat up when he moved away. He sat
beside me and took a sip from the glass he was holding. “Why did you do that?
How did you find me? Who are you? Are you stalking me?” panic began to rise in
me. “Calm down. Like I said I’m sorry this happened. My name is Ugonna Akadike.
I’m not stalking you and this happened… Well, I don’t know why it did because
it wasn’t supposed to” he replied rather calmly. I was getting angry at this
point. “Oh, so Mr. Ugonna just kisses random women after saving them from
drowning hours before and never knows why. If you don’t want me to create a
scene, better start telling me what you want from me and what all of this
really is.” I hissed. “Okay. I just happened to be at the pool with my friends
when you slipped and fell into it. I noticed you couldn’t handle the deep end
so I took a dive to help you. Afterwards, I tried to talk to you and introduce
myself but you were too embarrassed, I guess and asked to be left alone. You
never said ‘thank you’” he paused and smiled. “And now, I was at the other end
with the same friends playing truth or dare. I was dared to kiss a random girl.
My friends were squabbling about the kind of slap the girl would give me. I cockily
argued that she’d enjoy the kiss way too much to slap me. So we made a bet. I
was walking towards the girl at the bar to carry out the dare when I saw you
sitting here with your eyes closed. I don’t know why but I made a detour and
here I am. I apologize for disrespecting you. You can slap me now, so they can win
the bet” he said with a shrug. I relaxed and just smiled. He was being truthful
and in the spirit of gratitude for what he did for me, I was going to let the
whole thing slide. After all, I didn’t kiss him back but I damn well enjoyed
the kiss. “Thank you… for saving me at the pool” He smiled as he rose. “You’re
welcome.” I suddenly got tired of sitting alone so I joined my friends on the
dance floor. I was having fun and I knew that he was probably somewhere
watching me do so.
Whoever said being in your final year
is easy probably never went to the university.
Right
now, I’m trying to juggle my tests with my project. My project supervisor
really knew how to increase the pressure. I barely found time to see movies;
that’s a sure sign that I really am busy. My Dad called very often and each
time he did, he went on about how I had to try my best to remain on the first
class. That dude just doesn’t know that sometimes, you just don’t want to talk
about school. That’s what you get for having a very smart dad. I wouldn’t have
it any other way though. My classes today ended by 6pm and I was as tired as
hell. It had been two weeks since our weekend escapade and I could pay a
fortune to get that kind of break, but that would be paying for failure. I just
needed a nap. I had to wake up by 1.00am to study. I was enjoying the nap when
I was hit back into the reality of having annoying roommates. “Who is it now? I
don’t know why you guys won’t let people rest. Disturbing someone every time…”
I grumbled as I sat up. “Take the phone jor. The call is for you” Boma threw
the phone at the bed beside me and left the room. That girl knew just how to
get on my nerves. I called her all manner of names in my head as I picked up
the phone to see who the ‘important person’ was. This had better be good.
“Hello. Who am I speaking with?” I asked in the most hostile tone I could muster. A
person didn’t get sweets for waking me from my beauty sleep. “Hi. This is Ugo
from Lagos. I’m really sorry for bothering you. I could call right back if its
okay by you” “How did you get this number? I really don’t understand how you
find me every time and it’s beginning to creep me out” “I would apologize again
except I’m not really sorry. I didn’t want to push my luck at the club so I
didn’t bother to ask for your digits. I met Boma your friend later on. She came
to me saying she saw us kiss. I explained it all to her and told her I wanted
to get your number. She said you wouldn’t give it to me and that she couldn’t
either. She later agreed to let me have hers if I wanted; that she’d pass the
call to you whenever I called. So here’s the call” What was really wrong with
this guy; always messing with me? I was supposed to be cross, wasn’t I? Here I
was, secretly happy he called. I hadn’t been able to get that day off my mind.
He’s face was always in my head. There was a striking resemblance between him
and Chris Attoh, the Ghanaian actor. You know that means ‘ultra handsome’
right? “Ugonna, I have to get some rest now. You’ll have to call me back
tomorrow or any other time. And I do not appreciate your conniving with my
friends to do stuff that concern me, behind my back. Take this down” I paused
for a couple of seconds. “08064278888. Call me” I could hear him smile as he
said goodnight. I dropped the phone carelessly on the stand by my bed and fell
asleep with a smile on my lips.
The next day, I got a text from an unknown
number apologizing for disturbing my sleep last night and wishing me a great
day. Ugo. I had a busy day as usual so I barely had time to think of people who
saved me from drowning or kissed me when I least expected. At 5.45pm, Boma,
Mary and I were walking to the chapel for an evening service. “Dora, you are
funny. Firstly, you didn’t mention your kiss with Ugonna and now you keep last
night’s conversation to yourself. Na wa oo” Boma started. “Boma, are you
joking? And who’s Ugo? Dora na wa for you oo. If I did the same thing, you’d
probably scream down the heavens” Mary complained. “Boma, it was two nights ago
and not last night. Mary I’m sorry. It skipped my mind. I’ll gist you later” I
pleaded. They teased me throughout the service and had fun while they were at
it. By 11.30pm, I was almost pacing. I practically took a look at my phone
every five minutes. At some point, I called myself to order. He was just some
random fellow. For all I knew, he could be some wanna-be trying to hustle a
chick, to win some bet. I took my mind off him as I ate a bar of French nougat
and listened to Miley Cyrus’ wrecking ball. The rest of the week went without a
call from Ugonna so I forgot about him
Did I hear you say 'drama'?...
Stay tuned for the next episode!
Please drop your comments; I'd love to hear from you.
P.S: The image at the top of the page was drawn and colored by me.. :)
The phone number was made up. Its purely coincidental if it actually belongs to someone.
xoxo,
Nazzy
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