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Karma keeps catching up with me.
Don't ask me why, because honestly, I'm still struggling to find that answer myself. How come anytime I try to abandon my past and for once face reality, and pretend everything is normal— that I am normal— something ends up occuring that takes me back to square one?
Here I am, alone in my classroom, even when everyone's lounging around for break, trying to avoid someone who I can't even find in sight. From the moment the principal introduced him to the class, I have not being myself. I was hoping I would close my eyes for a minute or so, and perhaps when I open them, everything would be a dream.
But alas! He's still here.
I watched him get introduced to every teacher for the first three periods. He would smile— that stupid smile that makes every girl swoon, that once made me swoon— and pretend like everything's normal. For God's sake, he didn't even spare me a glance or anything and seriously, I'm already getting tired of it.
Abeg, I can't come and kill myself with hunger because I'm trying to avoid one boy.
I should get something to eat before I die here and nobody would even notice that I'm dead.
Immediately I walked out, I came face to face with the devil himself.
Why is this life just against me today? I should have just stayed inside, instead of falling into a trap I made myself.
He looked as if he was about to enter the classroom himself, so I guess I would have met him one way or the other. Besides, I can't continue to avoid him, it's high time I played the ball into my court.
"Ruth." He breathed, clearly startled from bumping into me.
"Mike." I gave a Cheshire grin, rubbing my hands together awkwardly. The way he was looking at me so intensely was making me quite nervous and flustered and I don't even know why. "How have you been?"
"I missed you calling me that." He murmured sadly.
"What?" I asked dumbly, pretending to be absent minded about those old memories. Honestly, it feels just like yesterday, when everything was just normal.
If there's one thing I can never get, then it should be normality. I've been craving for that for months, and it's been invalid, especially after the incident.
"My name I mean. You used to call me Mike, not until you left, I missed you calling me that."
I chuckled and bounced awkwardly on my white Nike sneakers, before letting a short breath escape my mouth.
His gaze dropped to my short straight skirt, which rested softly before my knees, then back to my eyes. "You have changed."
I raised a brow at him, confusion written all over my face. "How do you mean?"
"You look more beautiful, and more mature. Not that you weren't always mature, but you know what I mean." He rambled, now looking awkward and I blushed.
I gave a short laugh, gesturing towards him with my hands. "Thank you, you too."
He nodded, his face now looking extremely serious. My heart thumbed at his expression. "We need to talk."
"What about?" I asked him, crossing my hands against my chest.
"About why you left without even giving me a solid explanation. I have so many questions, so many things to say, and I know you do too. We should sit down and talk when you have the time."
I gave a short sigh, uncrossing my hands away from my chest, before resting my back against the door to the entrance of the classroom. "What makes you think I want to talk?"
He scoffed, looking at me in disbelief. "You must be kidding me Ruth, because you can't be serious. Don't you think that I, your best friend, well until you left, deserve an explanation as to why you left without even explaning why?"
"Why are you so convinced I left because of something serious? I told you it was my parents decision to relocate to Nigeria, isn't that self explanatory enough?" I rolled my eyes.
He sighed, rubbing his hands against his forehead. "Don't you get it? Not when I know you're lying! Your parents didn't decide to leave, you did yourself and you know it Ruth!"
"So what? Are you trying to say I don't know what I'm saying? I don't need to explain anything to you Micheal." I was livid, trying not to run my hands through my matted sleek bun on top of my bun.
It's times like this that I admire boys, atleast they're free to do whatever they want with their hair. Unlike girls, you have to be careful or you'll end up going to your hairdresser every week.
"Like hell you do because I'm your friend!" Micheal shouted angrily, drawing the attention of some of the students towards us.
"Was." I corrected him.
"You're being ridiculous right now." He sighed, coming closer to me to hold my hands in his. "Just tell me where we can meet so we can talk."
I didn't make a move to remove my hands, and he didn't try to drop them either. We just kept staring into each other's eyes like old lovers in the middle of the hallway.
I heard someone clear their throat beside me.
I blinked and quickly removed my hands from Mike's own. I cleared it throat and turned to face Zeke who was looking at us with squinted eyes.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" He asked, looking directly at Micheal.
"No, of course not." I scratched behind my ear a little, wincing as Micheal and Zeke stared each other down as if they wanted to know who could fight better.
I stepped between them. "Zeke, meet Micheal, my long time best friend from the states." Then I gestures towards Micheal. "Micheal, this is Ezekiel, my boyfriend?"
Micheal looked shocked as he turned his body away from Zeke to face mine. "Boyfriend?" He spluttered.
Zeke was the one to answer. "That's what she said bro, have any problem with that?"
"I really don't like you Ezekiah." Micheal told Zeke.
"It's Ezekiel, and the feeling is mutual."
I cleared my throat to reduce the tension, but it seemed as if they were in their own little world since none of them made an effort to move.
I laced my fingers through Zeke's own and pulled him gently away from having a face-off with Micheal. "Come on, let's go get lunch babe."
"Yeah." He murmured as we both walked away.
The last thing I saw was Micheal's hurt expression and the clenching of his fists as he made eye contact with me and walked into the classroom.
I sighed and continued walking.
-
"Micheal is back?" Zoe shrieked beside me as I shrugged my school bag off my shoulders, throwing myself on the soft sofa in the sitting room.
I nodded my head. "That's what I said. And do you know the funniest thing? I introduced them to each other today and they already seem to hate each other. It's hasn't even been a day!"
"Wow, this is really serious. What are you now going to do?" She plumped down besides me, looking at me as if I suddenly said I was tired of life.
I rolled my eyes. "What do you mean by 'what am I going to do?' We'll remain as classmates, nothing more. Besides, I just got together with Zeke, the last thing I want right now is for him to think I stepped out on him."
"You do know Micheal has feelings for you right?"
I sighed. Of course I know, I was just hoping if I bypassed it, it would be less obvious. "Had Zoe, I doubt he still feels like that. But yes, I do know he has a crush on me."
"So, you're just going to continue ignoring his feelings?" Zoe asked me, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.
"It's much more easier like that Zoe, it's not as if there's anything I can do about it. Have you forgotten that I'm with Zeke now?"
"You can't keep doing that Ruth! You can continue to stamp on his feelings and pretend as if it's nothing. I prefer Micheal better anyway, he's so much more pure about his attentions." She mumbled.
I rolled my eyes. "So is Zeke. Oh come on Zoe, I thought you were a fan of Ezekiel."
"I was, until you told me Micheal is back." I rolled my eyes and picked my bag off the couch, preparing to go upstairs. "Can I ask you something?"
I scoffed. "If I say no, would that stop you from asking me anyway?"
She gave a cringe worthy throaty laugh. Gosh, how is it that I'm the only one who behaves like a human being in this family? "You know me so well babe, but seriously, do you still like Micheal?"
I paused halfway up the stairs to think about it. Of course, in a way, I'm still attracted to Micheal. But that's beside the point, because there's absolutely nothing I can do about that now, not when I'm already with Zeke. He's done so much for me, and I don't think cheating is a good way to repay him.
Like what exactly?
"It doesn't matter Zoe, we can never be together."
"I think the both of you should sit down like adults— Well, teenagers, not adults— and talk, it's the least you owe him after you left America."
"What do you mean 'owe him?' I owe him nothing Zoe and you know that. And what do you know about love anyway, you're what, ten?"
She rolled her eyes at me, not in the least offended. "I think you're scared of leaving Zeke, which I don't understand because he's done nothing for you except to take you on a single date. You better get together with Michael before it's too late."
"You're speaking nonsense Zoe, are you claiming to know my feelings more than I do?"
"Zeke's just playing you Ruth, you should know that he's nothing but a playboy. I mean, have you seen him date anyone before you in school? No, because he's always either playing them like a football or mocking them. You better be wise or you'll be part of those girls."
"He said I was special!" I screeched, refusing to believe it. I mean, she couldn't be right, could she?
"Leave Zeke before it's too late Ruth!" She screamed before strolling down the hallway to her room.
Could she be right?