𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐄𝐃, 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀

[9] WHO IS HE?

Curse Ene Natasha Ogenyi.

I rolled my eyes for the nth time in one ride. Why wouldn't she even let me know where we were headed? I mean, I deserved to know why I was being made to bargain my life with Ogechi when I returned home.

If this wasn't going to be a secret Harry Styles concert, then I'd honestly not be impressed.

A soft yawn escaped my lips, the week's work taking a toll on me as I relaxed back into the seat and sighed at the comfort my body embraced. I gazed out the right window and drank in the fast passing scenery distractedly.

Blurs of overgrown lanky trees and withered bushes came to view as the car navigated into an untarred road and although Ene was the one who ordered this mysterious trip, my heart dipped at the thought of driving through the unfamiliar territory. Not to speak of the absence of other vehicles or any other passer-by at that. The significantly empty road didn't sit well with me.

I stole a glance at Ene but neither she nor the driver seemed concerned. The man kept nodding his head eagerly to the Yoruba drum beat, while Ene - you guessed it - still had her fingers on her phone.

Well, it was probably nothing.

So, I let my eyes flutter shut, disregarding my own gut feeling and instead, breezed through the thoughts of him.

What was he? A genius? A slacker? Bad news? Good news? Too simple? Too complex? Jeremiah?

It had been roughly 3 weeks since we started keeping contact, taking me through a maze of conversations with every text and yet, I couldn't place a finger on who he was. Perhaps Jeremiah was everything and nothing at all - he was the 8th wonder of the world.

In many ways, he reminded me of the ocean; wild but with the power to rein in on his turbulent nature. With every ripple in his personality, it was always something new to learn about him. Like how he was actually done with 'high school', as he loved to call it, and was supposed to be off to 'college' this year, but he had decided on a gap year instead, to 'get his shit together'. However, it was hard to imagine Jeremiah not having his shit together and it made me all the more curious, to dive deeper into his depths and see if he was really all he claimed to be. Or possibly, if there were dark sides to his still waters?

Maybe that was why I agreed to Saturday, tomorrow that is. Few days ago, Jeremiah made a request that infused my chest with an unexplainable radiance and at this moment, it blossomed in the dainty smile that stained my cheeks as the memory enveloped my mind.

Nelson Jnr: I find this town very boring.

Jeremiah had texted out of the blues as usual and like every other time, his accented voice had echoed at the back of my head.

Grace: Tell me about it

Had been my reply and his words were, infact, true. Khoffri district was as interesting as the average population allowed and nothing significantly exciting ever happened.

Nelson Jnr: Too mundane and the power cuts here are insane.

Grace: Glad to see you getting a hang of Nigeria. What's your idea of fun?

Nelson Jnr: Certainly nothing here.

Gaming is fun...when you're not playing a two players game alone.

Grace: 😂 Poor boy

Nelson Jnr: What's your idea of fun, Grace?