Consequences

Chapter 9

In the following days after my meeting Ola's friends, I started developing a steady friendship with Anita and Funke. They were nice, even though the first impression they gave me was that of being spiteful.

But they were good to me. They would, from time to time, ask me who was the lucky guy in the Campus. Anytime we went out together, I would tell them to relax. That soon they would get a chance to meet the mysterious guy.

I was poised on knowing a lot about Ola. And I wanted to know it, before my parents would introduce me officially to his family.

I had hoped to do that through my friendship with the girls. But since I didn't tell them who the guy was, It was hard getting any information from them.

Throughout this time though, Ola didn't show up. And apart from that very first day he made his appearance, it was difficult setting eyes on him.

In fact from the day Nancy introduced me to his friends, two months passed and I hadn't seen him.

He had become a mystery even to his friends as well. Not seeing him, I decided it might not be worthwhile hoping on him. And so while I was around his friends, I became somewhat close to Lanre and spent much of my time with him.

Lanre was a very funny guy who could make me laugh. By being around him, even his friends would laugh. With him, I never got bored as he had a lot of things to talk about.

His speciality for which I liked him the most, was  twisting serious issues and presenting them in a satirical fashion.

He could take a piece of  newspaper article about politics and explain it in such a funny way, that I would keep laughing and laughing.

Being in his company, I wasn't seeing Nancy a lot. But this didn't bother me as we were in the same department. I could always see her any time I wanted to.

However, my friendship with Lanre was becoming a rumor; a rumor  I didn't even know was hanging over my head.

I never knew about these rumors until one day going home with Nancy, we decided to stop at a shopping center to get something to drink. I parked my car and we went into the supermarket.

We got some coke to drink and decided to sit in the car and chat before going home for the day. This was when Nancy opened up to me.

"Tola, sorry if I have to ask you this question, but what is going on between you and Lanre?"
Hearing Lanre's name made me jolt making me spill my coke a bit. I was surprised Nancy was asking me this question.

"Why do you ask?" I asked her after taking a tissue to clean the that had spilled.

"It's the rumors that have been circulating since. Even Anita and Funke know about it and are convinced Lanre is the guy you have been talking about."

"But there's nothing between us. We are just friends." I replied.
"Tola, Lanre is someone who rarely make friends or mingles so easily with other women. So it is quite strange he would get too comfortable enough to come close to you."
"Why, where is the problem?"
"You want to know why?" I nodded.
"It's because he has a girlfriend outside the Campus he intends to marry." Nancy looked straight into my eyes when she said that. I frowned on hearing her as this revelation, came as a surprise to me.

It made me wonder why Lanre never told me anything about his intentions to marry. What  was he hiding from me and why?

"Nancy, I swear, Lanre has never told me anything about him having someone he intends to marry. And besides, I've never really asked him about his private life."

"Well I'm telling you now, so know how you behave around him." Nancy had that suspicious look on her face which anyone would have, if they felt, there was an affair going on.