•Daryl•
I trudged slowly into my room,slumping down on my bed as I got to it. My head pounded and spinned at the same time,it seemed like I was getting more acquainted with this feeling lately.
"Martins!" Yomi's shrill voice pierced my ears as he called out over what we'd liked to call 'dividers',the half-length wall demarcated the different rooms from each other.
I groaned,turning my head the other way to be met by the striking rays of sun which hit my face through the net-locked window which my bunk was situated beside. Letting out another groan,I turned face away,back to the previous stance.
"Wetin?!" I heard Martins reply from his room,Room C. "We get second leg of that match on Wednesday o,no forget" Yomi told him. "I don hear na..." Martins laughed,probably frustrated at how many times he'd been reminded about the match by Yomi.
In case you were wondering,we'd lost the match on Saturday. It was A class boys,science class against the C class boys,art class and they'd beaten us with a 2-1 game score. We'd argued with the referee who'd overseen the game that the player who'd scored the second goal was offside but he still concluded that the goal was valid. For that reason,we'd requested a rematch on Wednesday.
"West Wood boys,Am I hearing noise?!" Yomi's voice pierced my ears again,although he seemed farther this time so I believed he had walked to the corridors of the hostel. "I just need one scape goat this afternoon" he threatened,his voice becoming fainter as he did so I assumed yet again,that he was walking around the hostel,probably through different rooms and inspecting the siesta we were all meant to be observing.
Taking a deep breath,I peeled myself off my bed and took off my uniform so I was left in my white singlet and a pair of boxers. As I did,I noticed Temi walk into the hostel.
"See how this one is looking dead" I teased him as he imitated my previous action,unfastening the buttons of his uniform shirt and propping down on his bed. "Because you escaped abi,John Boko is just frustrating our life in that refectory" he sighed,sitting up in his place.
"Today wasn't just my day for rubbish abeg" I told him,laying down on my bed again. "Tell me about it" he agreed,as he took off his shoes as well as his socks.
"Come you!" Yomi's voice reverberated through the walls of my room again. "Is this your hostel? What are you doing here?" He queried the junior student who stood at the door of my room.
"Sorry Sir,Mirabel sent me to give this letter to Daryl" the boy explained. "Mirabel who?" Yomi inquired. "Mirabel in SS2,Royal Hill hostel" the boy explained. "Okay,get out" he told the boy after snatching the piece of paper from him and the boy was quick to obey.
"Daryl! Mail don dey full again o!" Yomi laughed as he rushed to me and Temi's corner,taking a seat on my bed. "Who sent?" Temi inquired with an amused expression.
"Mirabel,abeg who be Mirabel?" Yomi questioned. "No be that girl for SS2B,that fair girl wey get mole one side of her face" Sele infiltrated the conversation.
"Okay...that girl" Temi nodded,catching on with Sele's description. "Sele once you heard mail,your ear flew here abi" I told Sele.
"Yes na,why not?" He laughed making me shake my head. "Abeg,you people can read it if you want,I don't care" I told them,pulling my pillow to myself and resting my head on it.
"Daryl it's just a letter na" Temi told me,probably thinking I'd been pissed off. "I know,I actually don't want to read it. I dont even know the girl sef" I told him sincerely.
"Bosss!!" Yomi hailed,throwing everyone into a fit of laughter. I knew I wasnt being my normal self,but I couldnt help it. Normally,I would be interested in getting these letters,infact I'd become accustomed to getting them but today,I wasnt.
Normally,I would be getting ready to play on another girl's feelings but it seemed like my feelings were getting played on this time. I wanted to stop being vulnerable but I couldn't,each time I got something from Kainene,I started wanting something more.
If I got a bit of her attention,I would want all of it. If her gaze rested on me,I wanted it to be filled with something more. If she smiled at me,I craved her laughter. If she made me feel some certain way,I wished I could at least make her feel the same,no matter how minuscule it would be.
Now,I'd officially messed up. I knew I was being petty,I didnt need that bit of information from anyone. On Friday,when I'd watched her outburst at Kemi for putting her in a situation she hated,I felt attacked,I felt like she hated my presence.
After giving it a thorough thought,I'd managed to snap out of it and stop acting like an idiot back then but I'd totally screwed up today and that was the simple pure fact.
Why did I always take myself backward when I was making progress? She was finally starting to open up to me but I just had to let my pettiness get in the way. This wasnt me,why was she succeeding in bringing out sides of myself even I never knew I had?
****
I watched Weyimi conduct the junior refectorians from where I sat on Yomi's table. We were currently playing a game of whot card as the pots of food were still being distributed.
Wednesday afternoon food was almost the most anticipated lunch in Pacific Crest,the sumptuous meal of white rice and beef tomato stew and not to forget the waffles that always accompanied the main meal.
But today,I had not the energy to conduct the affairs of the refectory so I sat it out,confident that my co-workers would be in refectory as there was hardly anyone who sat out wednesday lunch.
"Daryl is last,Daryl is last!" Andrew chanted,drawing me back to earth as I observed everybody around me. Turned out that we were playing 'donkey' and while everyone else had their cards turned down over the table,only I still held mine up meaning I'd lost another round yet again.
Laughter filled the atmosphere from my friends who could barely contain their amusement. "Damola Daryl,where your mind dey abeg? Mirabel?" Yomi questioned from beside me,increasing everyone's laughter.
"Yomi,I go commot your mouth one day,I swear" I told him with a light smile. "See you,na 'DONKE' you dey like this o" he laughed. "I no dey play again abeg,I'm tired" I declared,placing my card down on the table.
"No oh,you cant leave the game,we agreed" Collins told me and I resisted the urge to snap at him. "I'll replace him" Tobi offered from behind me. "He is in DONKE,remaining Y and full stop for him o" Yomi warned as I stood up for Tobi to take my place.
"Ehn,wahala no dey" Tobi replied,adjusting his pair of glasses on the crook of his nose. "Tobi thank you joorh" I told him before walking away. After all,I'd had little or no interest in the game even since it began. I just needed something to occupy my mind.
I stared down at my feet as I made my way towards the refectorian's table. I looked up just as I reached the table,only for my gaze to rest on Kainene who sat beside Temi,chatting away ever so giddily.
I don't know how long I stood there before Temi finally noticed my prescence,averting his gaze to me which made her do the same. "Guy,how far na?" Temi questioned as I took a seat opposite them,looking between him and Kainene.
"I just dey o"I shrugged. "You're not playing cards again?" He asked,sitting up in his position. "I already even entered DONKE,I just gave up" I told him,making him laugh as well. I noticed how Kainene's gaze darted here and there,everywhere but me.
"Mad oh,what happened today? Aren't you good at playing cards?" Temi asked as his laughs subsided. "I dont even know" I told him.
"Temi!" Oghale's frustration laced voice infiltrated our conversation as she walked up to where we sat. "Yes" Temi replied,taking her hand in his as she reached him.
"What happened? Is it now you're coming back from school block?" Temi questioned,spotting her school bag still hanging over her shoulders. "Yes,Matron is frustrating me. Now she's saying I should collect details of every class arm" she complained as Temi stood to his height,helping her take off her school bag.
"For what now?" Temi questioned. "I dont know,I'm just tired abeg. From V.P to Matron wahala. I'm sure very soon Brother John will come with his own" she complained to him.
"Sorry yeah. Don't worry,I'll help you"he assured her before turning back to us. "You guys I'll be back yeah" he told us before walking away with Oghale. This was why you couldn't help but love Temi once you got to know him,besides his top-notch good looks,he was too much of a warm-hearted young boy.
Kainene sat in her place though,staring at Oghale and Temi as they walked away and I wondered if I could seize the chance and get to explain to her. It'd been a day since we last spoke and she was making sure we didnt get to speak again.
She avoided me in every possible way,so much that I'm surprised she was still seated here. "Kainene" I called,detecting the precariousness of my tone. She simply averted her gaze to me without a reply,her gaze flawless of any emotion,neither interested nor ecstatic about anything I was about to say.
"Can we talk?" I pushed on,even though it wasnt seeming like the best of ideas anymore. "Aren't we talking at the moment?" She questioned back. Just then,I fell short of words. What was I going to say to her? Where was I going to start from?
"If you dont have anything to say,then I'm going" she attempted to leave but I did well to stop her. "Wait,I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry" I told her.
"Sorry for what?" She questioned. "Everything" I replied. "Don't be. I'm the one who should be sorry for deluding myself that you were my friend. I've heard what you have to say,so..." she trailed off,taking to her feet immediately and walking off,not leaving any room to be stopped again.
I exhaled heavily,clasping my hands over the bridge of my nose. What was I really getting myself into? Kainene was like a storm that could never be appeased,like a volcano waiting to erupt and I'd placed myself right in the middle of it and started liking the smoke that kept escaping the volcano even though it meant destruction. Wow,I could be a poet if I kept this up.
I took out my notes,deciding to at least do one thing that would keep my mind busy. I didnt know what to say that would get to her,she was too unpredictable. When I thought she would get mad,she proved me wrong and when I hoped she wouldnt be too mad,she proved me wrong yet again.
The fact that today was Wednesday comforted me a bit,I would channel the negative energy within me to that ball on the field and perhaps that would leave me exhausted to the point I wouldnt be able to think.
My blood pumped wildly as the whistle went off for the game to begin. Being one of the mid-fielders,chasing after the ball which was currently being held by the opposite team was inevitable.
Aimua took off towards our post with Yomo and I in close range,Sele and Andrew closing up on the post as they were defenders. Assuming he'd gotten a perfect angle,Aimua kicked the ball towards the post only for it to get headed back by Sele towards Yomi and we finally gained possession of the ball. Turned out our decision to change our formation to a 4-1-3-2 formation was paying off.
Thirty minutes of running,dribbling and sweating gone,Alex finally scored our first goal making all other ten A class players run towards our side of the field and throwing our weights over Alex as we rejoiced. The remaining fifteen minutes were almost uneventful,before the referee who was our sports master called it half-time.
We headed back to our side of the field,gulping down cans of water we'd brought alone and the glucose Temi always did well to get from school on our behalf. Looking to the slabways as I panted heavily,still trying to catch my breath,I noticed Kainene and Jawal making their way together to the school block.
Something in me twitched yet again. Why seeing her with Jawal was beginning to poke me more was still unknown to me,I wasnt oblivious. I knew when a guy liked a girl and I wasnt oblivious to seeing how much Jawal liked her.
He stared at her from time to time,checking for her presence everytime he passed our class,he was trying to keep her close because he didnt know how to make his move or was probably just too scared to do it. Well,I wouldn't blame him on that part,Kainene was something else.
I felt even angrier when the second half started,my moves became uncalculated and unnecessarily aggressive. So much that ten minutes into the game,I received a yellow card for tripping an opponent.
That did little or nothing to soothe my nerves because another five minutes into the game,due to my running after the ball like someone who'd lost their nuts,my whole weight was pummeled against the ground as my knee contorted to a weird angle,as someone else crashed down beside me after tripping over my body.
That officially ended my time in the game as Martins who'd tripped over me had given me a slight cut beside my knee and as far as the rules of the game were concerned,even though I wanted to zap myself out of the pain and continue playing,I couldn't.
With the help of Temi,I limped to the sidelines of the field,taking a seat on one of the chairs. "You'll be okay right?" Temi questioned. "Yeah" I gave him a terse reply and he nodded before jogging back into the field. I sighed,watching the game continue without me as I'd been replaced by a substitute.
The deep heat spray which had been applied earlier to my knee stung under the heat of the sun,not to forget the injury I'd also obtained. But it didnt feel bad,maybe I'd needed a bit of this all along.
Okay,so basically,I didnt really feel this chapter. I don't know,it kinda feels like I'm writing clouds,like it's not connecting. Well,I think I'll leave that up to you to judge. I hope you're enjoying the story.
-Should Kainene forgive Daryl?
- Why do you think so?
-Does Daryl deserve this?
-Any thoughts on Temi?
Felt like I should share a few questions with you guys since I felt so empty when I wrote this chapter. Please do well to vote and comment guys!🤗 And dont forget to follow me @MarieB_5 for more interesting stories!
Thanks for reading🤗💕.