Happy Birthday vilalove09 ✨✨❤
From saying Alfred is the drug dealer that Nazeera saw to saying they probably had a one-night stand together to saying maybe they dated online or something, you guys are just full of amazing theories.
But for real, Nazeera is such a drama queen 😂❤
NOUMAN HUSSAIN
"So, Oppa," Nazeera started awkwardly over breakfast on Tuesday morning, her finger twisting around the edges of her cornrows, her eyes looking everywhere but my face, "How did you know that boy from Sunday?"
"Which boy?" I feigned ignorance and didn't even look up from the toast that I was eating.
"That boy na," She whined.
"Which boy na?" I asked her, mimicking her tone.
"Your friend," She whispered, her voice really low and subdued, "Alfred."
"You know I should be the one asking you that question."
"But I was the one that asked you first."
"And I'm the older one," I replied to her and I looked up to see that she was still toying with her cornrows, some sort of forlorn look on her face, "How did you guys meet?"
"It's a secret," She replied instantly, "I'm never going to tell you no matter how much you ask..."
"Okay, fair enough, just don't ask me to..."
"But you have to tell me how you met him if not I'll fall down and die."
Fall down and... God! "Why are you so obsessed with that saying? You know you shouldn't joke with something like dying."
"Because I know you don't want me to die. That's the only thing I can do to blackmail you into doing anything for me." She replied like she was reciting a nursery rhyme and I was actually starting to get convinced that she actually didn't understand the concept of what she was saying.
Like she was actually 7 years old instead of 17 years old.
"But why are you hellbent on knowing how I met Alfred though?"
"Because you don't even have any friends and from your chats, I could tell that..."
"Wait, hol'up," I interrupted her, an alarm going off in my head, "Which chat?"
"Your WhatsApp chat," She replied with a nonchalance that seemed so much like she was telling me good morning, "I read through them."
Wow. My mouth hung open in disbelief.
"And from the chats, I could tell that you guys are really really close. You guys might even be closer than we are but that's something I'll get back to later," She waved her right hand back casually while I kept watching her as if she was a growing zombie, "What I'm interested in knowing right now is how you guys met and how you guys ended up becoming this close, hmm? Hmm?"
"So you read through my chats?"
"Ehn ehn na," She replied ever so casually, taking another spoonful of food to her mouth.
"Wow! Don't you know that's an invasion of... That's an invasion of privacy."
"Invasion of..." She trailed off, and chuckled slightly as if I just made an irrational statement, "Invasion of privacy? There's nothing like privacy between siblings. I can even give you my phone to go through anything there."
"You're still a kid and I can bet that the only things on your phone are pictures of those guys and foods."
"Correct!" She beamed, then clapped her hands together loudly, "Not to digress from the issue at hand, how did you guys meet?"
"Well, we..." I trailed off, feeling a wave of nostalgia hit me and my lips stretched into a smile, "We met through sheer coincidence actually..."
"Wow," She interrupted me, her voice sounding like she was whining and her body leaning over the table as if she wanted to enter me, "Look at the way you're smiling, you've never even smiled like that with me. Should I be jealous? Continue sha, we'll talk about that later."
I shook my head at the irrationality of her statement, "Anyway, When I was in 100 level, I booked a driver through O'Drive and the driver that showed up was Alfred."
"Ehn ehn?" She interrupted me again, "100 level? Wouldn't he be very young then? From your conversation, you seem to be at least 2 years older than him so he should be like 16 then, how can he be a driver when he was 16?" She asked, her voice genuinely interested and it made me heave a sigh.
"Do you want to ask questions or do you want me to tell you how I became close to him?"
"Oh sorry," She made that sign of zipping her mouth and she threw the imaginary key out of the window, "Oya, continue, sir."
God! If drama was a person ehn.
"Well, he showed up where I was and I was really skeptical because he looked underage, extremely underage if I may add..."
"Of course, he'll look underage, he couldn't possibly be above..."
The look I gave her made her shut up and she even clamped her hand over her mouth.
As if that'd work.
"But he assured me that he wasn't underage and that he's a qualified driver and had to believe me especially after he showed me his driver's license besides O'Drive would never employ an unqualified or underaged driver so I allowed him to get into my car and drive me..."
She chuckled slightly, "I can already tell that it's going to be a drive of a lifetime."
"Oh, you don't know about it," I replied, the smile on my face deepening as I fully remembered the details of that night. How Alfred had struggled behind the wheel, how he had stepped on the brake a little too much, how he didn't even know how to differentiate between the brake and the throttle, how he didn't know how to use the wipers when it started drizzling, how he didn't know what the trafficator meant.
How he simply didn't know anything about driving a car.
How he managed to get into O'Drive as their employer was baffling then and would always baffle me.
I recounted everything to Nazeera, from how the drive started, how he drove, how we ended up getting stranded on the 3rd mainland bridge at almost midnight, how it was hard for us to get another driver, how when we eventually got one, the first thing Alfred did was to fall asleep and start snoring loudly...
"But that poor boy had been juggling several part times jobs together for more than 17 hours because he needed to raise money for his mom's chemotherapy."
Nazeera sniffed, an expression I couldn't decipher crossing her face as she pressed two of her fingers to her nose.
"He told me all these the next morning when he woke up because he spent the night here and I just... I was just full of pity for him. He seemed sweet, like an innocent cute little boy and he just seemed undeserving of going through something that cruel."
Something that inhumane at that very young age. His mom fell sick immediately after she was laid off from her housekeeping job and she deteriorated rapidly that she had to be hospitalized. She remained in the hospital, fighting for her life and Alfred spent his days toiling endlessly to raise money for her bills and his nights on the cold floor of the hospital corridor because he had no home to return to.
And he was barely even 16 then.
He didn't even get to graduate from secondary school.
He had relayed to me that raising her medical bills was difficult and he had to do lots of menial work but in the end, the money he got from those jobs wasn't even enough to pay for their daily bills. Eventually, through the help of a good Samaritan he happened to bump into in the hospital's corridor one day, they set up a bank account to solicit public funds and they were able to raise the money for days.
Only for the Good Samaritan to take off with the money.
That was when he intensified his efforts when he started juggling lots of part-time jobs and that was when God brought him to me.
Alfred has honestly been through so much that it amazed me how he was still able to be full of that much love and light, of that much happiness.
"...I think he actually grew on me at that particular moment, when he told me those things about himself on this same kitchen island as he ate plates after plates of rice, oh no, I think he grew on me when he was driving because instead of being angry at his sheer stupidity, I was only amused by him. He just..." I trailed off, struggling to find the right word, "He just has this aura about him that makes it impossible to get angry at him."
"I know, I know," Nazeera started muttering, almost distractedly with a distant look in her eyes as she stared into space but she seemed to catch herself just in time because the look, the normal Nazeera look was quick to make its way back to her face, "You seemed to really like him."
That elicited a slight chuckle from me, "Like? Well, Yes, he left me with no option."
How could I even not like him when in just four Sundays of coming over, he made himself even more comfortable in my apartment than I've ever been.
"Awwww, and I insisted on coming to CSA to make things interesting for you but..." She faked a sniff, "You already have someone that is making you happy."
"You didn't tell me you came to CSA because of me."
"As if that wasn't obvious enough," She sassed, "Do you even have an idea how all those Ivy-League schools were begging me to come to schools?"
My right brow quirked on reflex. Begging her to come to their schools, really?
"But I chose you, I chose to come here because of you but you already have Alf... You already have someone."
I didn't just notice how her tone slightly changed when she was about to mention Alfred's name and how she ended up not saying his name, right?
"So," She started awkwardly again, her fingers curling against her cornrow, "So is he in any school at the moment?"
"Why?"
"Huh?" She asked, brows quirking in confusion.
"Why are you so curious about him?"
"Because... Because... Just because..." She stuttered before she trailed off completely while I kept staring at her in amusement, "I'm just curious, that's it."
"Then ask him."
"I can't." She sounded bewildered.
"Why?"
"We don't talk."
"But you know him."
"Oppa!" She whined, "Just tell me before I..."
"No, he isn't." I interrupted her before she completed that statement, "He was going to write his WAEC and JAMB last year and he was already preparing for it but his mom had a terrible relapse around that time and he just..." I heaved a sigh, "He gave schooling up completely."
"Did you... Did you try to convince him?"
"I did." I did everything humanly possible to convince him but he was adamant, too adamant. I even wanted to get a personal caretaker to look after his mom but he wanted won't of that. He insisted it was his cross to bear.
"Hmm," She muttered in a quiet, pained, and almost teary voice, "He seems to have gone through so much."
He has and what I didn't understand right now was why Nazeera sounded so close to tears, why she sounded like she was feeling his pain.
I mean, how did she even know him in the first place?
"Why do you look so hurt on his behalf? Do you care about him that much?"
"Care about him ke?" She yelled out in panic, "I hardly even know him."
"Ehn ehn? How did you meet him then?" I asked her straight up, eyes intent on her as she squirmed under my scrutinizing gaze.
"We actually..." She started to say what she had insisted was a secret when she trailed off suddenly and she clapped excitedly while almost bouncing on her seat, "Did I tell you that the hospital I applied to already got back to me?"
I stared at her in confusion, willing my brain to remember what she was talking about and it took a few seconds before I actually remembered. She had gone to Coven Medical Center sometime last week to apply for a volunteering position.
"I got in! Like I actually got it." She squealed in excitement, "God! Oppa, you can't even know how excited I am."
"I can, it's written all over your face."
"Oh my God," She squealed again, "I'm starting next week sha and I can't waittttttt."
I didn't understand. She had volunteered as a caretaker in a hospital even though it had nothing to do with the course she was studying and I was sure it was going to be a very stressful job, she was still this excited.
I really didn't understand.
And I was also really scared about how she'll be able to juggle her studies together with this volunteering job with watching kdramas and stalking those her boys.
"And how will you be able to juggle everything together? You have lots of practicals to do in the school and you know how obsessive you're with watching kdramas and cooking, when will you have time to rest if you add this volunteer work to it?"
She looked down and thought for a while but she brightened up almost instantly, "I'll find. I only need to go to the hospital on weekends, two hours per day so it's really no problem."
"You sure?"
"Hmm hmmm," She muttered distractedly as she scrapped the remnants of her food and she ate it, "And besides if you're really interested in something, I don't think time is even a factor. If you prioritize something enough, then you'll be able to make time for it, no matter what."
Oh wow. I stared at her, the corners of my lips crinkling into a smile, "Who'd have thought you can say something that sensible?" I told her as I pushed myself off the chair to walk to the zinc but not before I saw her eyes widen in shock.
"Oppa, what do you mean by that insulting statement? I'm always overflowing with senses."
"Yeah, obviously, you just proved it."
She didn't reply to that but knowing Nazeera, I was sure she was shooting daggers at me as I did the dishes.
"So, Oppa," She started again and I had to force myself not to groan out loud but seriously? How's it possible that Nazeera never runs out of things to say?
"We're going to Lekki Crown tomorrow."
We? I frowned. I wasn't included in that we, right?
"We? Who are the we?"
Her reply was instantaneous, "Me and my best friends."
"Your best friends? Are students from your secondary school here?"
"No now," She whined, "My best friends are the twins I told you about the other time."
Hmmm? Her best friends are the kids she met in what? Less than two weeks ago? I didn't realize people become close that easily.
You and Alfred nko?
"So why are you guys going to Lekki Crown? What are they doing there?"
"We're going for a photo shoot."
"A photoshoot?" I frowned as I turned back to look at her, "Is it their birthday soon?"
"No, but our matric is next week."
"And?" I asked her, the frown deepening on my face because what she was saying wasn't adding up at all.
She shook her head slightly as if she didn't understand why she'd have to explain something that should be obvious to me.
"And we're going there to do our pre-matric photoshoot." She replied casually as if she didn't just say...
What?
Pre-matric photoshoot?
God! How?
"You're joking, right?" I asked her even though I was 100% sure that she wasn't.
"Of course not, I'm very serious. One of the aunties runs a photo studio there and she asked us to come for a free photoshoot."
Wow. I kept staring at her, wondering how her brain functions because what? A pre-matric shoot? The same matric some students don't even attend? Even I slept throughout the day of my matric.
"When it's now time for your convocation nko? What will you guys do then?"
"Oh, that? We're already making plans. We plan on doing lots of things..."
"You're already making plans for convocation when you don't even have a matric number? When you've barely even spent three weeks in school."
"Oppa," She chided in a motherly voice, "It's always good to plan. Is it now when it's time that you'll start doing rush rush?"
"So four years planning ahead?"
"It's still better that way." She replied me, then eyed me suspiciously before she kissed her teeth, "Don't tell me you've yet to start planning for your con..."
"Noo," I replied to her while wagging a finger in her direction as I started walking towards my room, "Don't start that conversation, please and besides, I need to get to school."
"But seriously, Oppa..." Whatever she was about to say was cut off when I slammed the door of my bedroom shut and that was when I was actually able to breathe properly.
Nazeera was... She was just... I wasn't even sure what word would properly describe her but I was almost sure that she was the only 17-year-old who was like that.
That childlike and just... Just stress-free.
I just really wonder how her brain works and what she thought process looks like.
**********
A couple of hours later, I was sitting in front of Miss Janice, my insides hardening into hard, painful knots as the young lady in front of me marked the scripts she had been marking since I entered her office.
She hasn't said anything to me. She had barely even acknowledged my presence. Well, except for that brief nod when I entered.
And me? I was just tensed as hell.
"So, Nouman, what do you say the problem is again?" She finally asked me as she rounded up marking the scripts she had been marking since I entered her office.
Her office was fully aired-condition with stacks of books taking up the entire top to floor self of the left wall of her office and the other wall was plastered with pictures award plagues and all.
"I'd love to change my partner for the project Ma."
Her right brow quirked questioning and she leaned over the table as if to get a proper look at my face, "And why is that? Your partner is an amazing person."
Amazing? I wasn't sure about that at all.
"We just... We just don't click."
"You guys just don't click? But you had an A the last time you worked together. In my opinion, you guys work well together."
Work well together? The first and only time we worked together, I nearly lost my mind by fighting off advances and blocking her numbers.
"No, we don't. It was really a herculean task working with her then."
"But you had an A, that should nullify the..." She trailed off suddenly, a questioningly look crossing her face and she slightly covered her mouth with her left palm as if something just dawned on her.
I moved back slightly on the chair, my right hand tugging at the collar of my turtle neck as if that'd slake the sudden awkwardness in the air.
"Wait, did you guys date when you guys worked together? Is that why you're so against..."
"What? No!" I paused to calm myself down, "There was nothing like that."
"God!" She veered back in fake shock, the corners of her lips drinking into what looked like an amused smile, "Why do you look so horrified? Is the prospect of dating Tito that scandalous?"
"No no, I mean it's not... It's not that," I replied to her, trying to sound as convincing as possible but that didn't stop my voice from sounding like I was on the verge of bursting into laughter.
Miss Janice, on her path, just burst into full-blown laughter and it made my lips stretch into a very huge smile.
"That's the problem with you fine boys," She started while looking through some files on the table, "It's either you're a chronic heartbreaker or you have zero interest in girls. I'd rather have you be the former than the latter though."
She placed a sheet in front of me.
"The names in bold are the students without partners, just pick one out of the two."
I saw the first name and I instantly crossed it out of my mind.
"I'll go with the second person."
Her right brows quirked even more questioningly, "Is that not a boy's name?"
"It is."
"So you're telling me that you'd rather partner with a boy instead of one of the two girls?" Her voice sounded like disbelief itself and she eyed me suspiciously as if she was trying to figure out what on earth was wrong with me.
"Hmm hmm."
"Wow!" She slumped against the backrest of her chair, "You're the only guy in this world that'd make that kind of decision."
"God! Aunty Janice, it's not..."
"Good! He addresses me like I'm his family member and not a stuck-up lecturer."
"A stuck-up lecturer? Why did I..."
"Don't worry," She interrupted me, "Auntie will soon call a family meeting to address that. We won't allow you to become that prodigal family member that you're hell-bent on becoming."
"I've been busy, you know how tedious my work is and how time-consuming being a student here is."
"Of course, you're busy," She replied sarcastically and she dismissed my words with a casual wave of her hand, "It's just once a monthly family dinner, Juwon," She addressed me by my yoruba name, "Once in a month, the least you can do for the family is to attend once in a while if once in a month is too much for you."
"I will," I choked on the lie that I was about to utter, "I will make amends."
"I don't believe you," Her reply was instantaneous, "I don't believe your words again, I'll only believe your actions from now on."
I couldn't say anything to that because what would I even say. Family gatherings weren't my thing and no matter how much they all tried to make me feel at ease and welcomed, I just couldn't fit in.
It was always too much to be in their presence.
"I have a class soon," Her voice jolted me out of my reverie, "So so so?" She spread her hands akimbo.
"I'll go with the boy."
She flashed me a faux smile, "You can't go with the boy."
"Why? This isn't even a gender-based project."
"It is now because I'm interested in you having a girlfriend."
I exhaled loudly and I momentarily wondered how the only people I'm close with in school were like this. From Alfred to Nazeera and now, Aunty Janice.
"Aunty, I don't work well..."
"You'll learn how to work well with them. If you won't attend our family dinners, at least, we should be assured that we'll plan a wedding for you in the next two or three years." She recited, sounding like a 12-year-old instead of the 27-year-old that she was.
"It's been long since we did a proper owanbe in the family, we're looking up to you."
Up to... God! I couldn't be more fortunate with the kind of people I roll with.
"Let me just go with..."
"No, no, no, It's either you go with Tito or you go with this new girl. The guy is not an option at all."
"But..."
"No buts Sir," She interrupted as she rose to her feet, "I'm running late for my class so I'll just assume Tito is still your partner."
What? "No, I'll just..." I trailed off to weigh my options with a feeling that I was caught in between the devil and the deep blue sea like I was being asked to pick a lesser evil of two evils.
But no matter how closed off and weird the actress girl was, working with her wouldn't be a terrible experience like working with Tito.
I couldn't even for the life of me put myself through the excruciating pains of working with Tito again.
"I'll be good with the new girl."
"Good! I'll think of this as a matchmaking thingy and I'll be expecting an outcome that's more than A."
Oh God.
"Or do you need help in that area? But you're a very fine boy, I don't think you should have any problem..."
I shot up from the chair with a speed that strained my muscles, "You should get to your class, I have somewhere to be."
A small knowing smile made its way to her lips, "I hope that somewhere is with someone of my gen..."
"Goodbye," I told her as I fled to the door and stepped out, "And my regards to your husband and daughter."
"Glad to know you still remember that I have a husband and daughter."
I closed the door behind me and it was only then that I was able to breathe properly.
Aunty Janice was an over-bearing extended family member from my mom's side and even though she was a warm person and an everyday go-to person, I'd have steered clear of her if she wasn't a lecturer in my department.
Being with her or anyone from mom's side was just too suffocating.
**********
DAVID
My palms went to my knees the minute I crossed the finish line as my breaths started coming out in wheezes. I was short of breath, was devoid of energy and I felt like I just run across the whole school instead of the normal meters I had been running for the past 6 years.
I turned back, still trying to regulate my breathing and expecting the next person behind me to be an ample distance away only for me to see Seyi cross the finish line.
I straightened up in shock, my earlier tiredness and breathlessness forgotten.
Fine, Seyi had been getting faster and faster these past few days but this level of fastness, crossing the finish line in just a few seconds after me...
It was sorcery.
I kept staring at the boy, at his ripped muscles, at his body that did not seem to break out any sweat, at how he stood proudly and firmly as if he did not just run a 200 meters race while I, the supposed king of the track was here sweating like a pig and struggling to catch my breath.
Damn Migraine.
"David," I straightened even more at Coach's approaching and towering figure before a realization dawned on me.
David. That was the first time Coach Kim would address me by my name since 100l, it had always been son with a proud undertone and now, I was suddenly David with an almost pissed-off undertone.
I felt a bitterness so strong rise up in my throat and felt invisible hands wrap around my neck, making me even more breathless than I had initially felt.
"What was that?" He asked me when he got to me, eyes and voice slightly crossed, "You slowed down during the race, was that deliberate, or do you suddenly think that track is your playground?"
What? I struggled to wrap my head around what was happening, to believe that coach was talking to me this way. Our relationship had always been that of a proud father and a son that was always making him proud. He had never spoken to me this way.
These words, this tone had always been reserved for Seyi and the rest of the team and not me.
"I'm not..."
"Listen, Son," He interrupted me, his tone calm and authoritative and my heart instantly soared at the endearment. Maybe, just maybe I had exaggerated his earlier tone in my head.
He moved closer to me, tapped my left shoulder, and started patting it gently, "See, the beginning of the highlight of your career is just in less than 20 days, you have to get your head in the game or you lose this opportunity forever, are we clear?"
"Yes, coach!"
"Good! I'll be expecting positive changes."
I started saying something but he had turned and was already walking towards where Seyi was standing in all his glory.
My insides turned and twisted.
"Good of you, Seyi. Nice improvement these days, I'm impressed." He told a smiling Seyi, his voice full of adoration and pride. His voice sounded like that voice that had always been reserved for me.
"Thank you, Coach."
"Thank your stats, keep this up and you stand a chance to go to African Championship."
Bullshit.
Very big bullshit.
That's very big bullshit and it'd have to happen over my dead body.
I'd have to die before Seyi will even get a chance to participate in African Championship.
"Thank you, coach," But he wasn't even looking at the coach, his look was directed at me, a full-blown sneer on his face.
And I almost chuckle at that because no matter how fast he gets, he'd never get as fast as I am.
He'd never even sniff African Championship not to talk of participating in the game.
That'd never happen on my watch.
He could be delusional all he wants.
A couple of minutes later, I was in the locker room, getting dressed after taking a shower and it was taking an awfully long period because my mind kept trailing off.
And no, none of my thoughts were about African Championship or Seyi. I was thinking about just one person and one person alone.
And that person was Dunni.
It had been five days since the party, five days since I walked out on her, five days since I finally said the thing that had been bugging me for over a year now.
That thing that I've vowed I never was going to say out loud.
And I turned out to be wrong but was I really wrong?
Had my insecurities really gotten the best out of my mind and had convinced me a harmless hug and consoling was something more?
If it really had, then I had hurt Dunni all over again, accusing her of something that she didn't do.
If I hadn't been so sure that she and Wale had something together, then we probably wouldn't have broken up, I most definitely wouldn't have walked out on her when she said she was tired of the relationship when she said the relationship wasn't heading anywhere.
Because it took exactly those two words for me to ghost her, for me to consider our relationship over.
She didn't wait for me to reach out to her after that, right?
"Captain," Someone called out beside me and I turned to see the Chike boy standing beside me and looking at me as if well...
I was a demigod or something.
"Hey Chike, how're you doing?"
"I'm good," He replied, grinning from ear to ear, "I'm very very good."
"That's good to hear," I told him, then looked away from him to continue dressing but Chike remained beside me and from the corners of my eyes, I could see him still grinning.
"You want something?"
"No... no, I mean yes," He stuttered and my brows furrowed in confusion, "I want to ask you something."
"What's it?"
"So, I. Was. Wondering. If. You. Could..." He was talking slowly, picking his words very slowly as if he didn't want to say the wrong thing.
"Iwaswonderingifyoucouldtellmeyourworkoutroutine." He finally rushed everything together and my frown deepened because what was that?
"I didn't get that."
He heaved a sigh and he raised his hand to rub his neck as if he was embarrassed, "I said if you don't mind, could you tell me your workout routine?"
"Why?" I asked, a smile making its way to my face and voice.
"Because... Just because..." He looked away from my face to focus on the locker and when he spoke again, his voice was so low that I could barely hear him, "Because I need to have defined abs and biceps as you do."
Now, this was definitely hilarious but I couldn't laugh out loud, not at his expense, not when he sounded so serious like his life depended on it so I decided to just humor him by playing along.
"But why?" I asked him, my voice mirroring his, "Your upper body is already well-defined enough."
"Uhh... Uhhh..." He stammered, refused to meet my eyes as he stared intently at the locker, "The thing is that," He started again, his voice even lower than earlier, "The thing is that I need to impress a girl."
I knew I said I wasn't going to laugh, but his expression, his tone, how expectant he looked... God! I was laughing like a lunatic before I knew what's up.
I threw my head back as I laughed heartily, ribs cracking laughter that made me clench my lower stomach and Chike veered back, an insulting look on his face.
"No dude, I'm not..." I tried to talk but I couldn't even articulate a proper sentence because I was laughing so hard.
Too hard.
"Chike, I wasn't laughing at you," I was finally able to tell him as I patted his left shoulder, "I was just laughing because you remind me so much of myself."
"Oh really?" He perked up.
"Yeah, when I was your age, I wanted to impress a girl so I... I started working on my body to have more defined biceps and six-packs."
"So did it work?" He asked eagerly and I had to force myself not to burst into laughter again.
Did it work? I guess it did because all I needed to get Dunni to stop being angry was to take off my shirt.
So it worked. "Yes, it did," I replied to him and he lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Wow! Can you tell me the exact things you did? I seriously need to impress the girl."
Again, I had to press my lips together to stop myself from bursting into laughter and I slightly rubbed my nose in amusement.
"Who's this girl? You seem to be totally into her."
"Yes," He blushed. He actually blushed with a little smile on his face and a reddish color spreading on his dark skin, "I want her to be my girlfriend."
"Wow." I rubbed my nose again and disguised my budding laughter with a sniff, "Amen to that."
"So, what are..."
"Chike," Another voice interrupted him and we both turned towards the direction to see one of our teammates standing by the entrance, "Coach wants to see you."
"Okay, I'll be there," He said to him, then to me, "I'll be back soon, cap."
I watched as he raced out of the locker room, my lips finally crinkling into the smile I had been trying so hard to suppress.
That boy reminded me so much of myself because what did I not do to impress Dunni back then when we were at 100 level.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
But look at us now. Look at where we are now.
I heaved a sigh, my mood dampening all of the sudden and my hands automatically reached out to grab my phone that was lying inside my locker with a single aim in my mind.
To call her.
I couldn't even count the number of times I've attempted dialing her number since Sunday evening but I always ended up cutting the call before it even goes through.
Because what was I supposed to say to her?
How was I supposed to make up for all the wrongs I've done?
How?
So maybe... Just maybe it was best things remain this way.
But would I really be...
"Guys, am I the only one who finds it weird how insanely fast Seyi is getting these days?" That voice interrupted my thoughts and my ears instantly perk up at that statement.
The voice was coming from the direction of the bathroom and I found myself leaning towards that direction so I'd hear better.
"Guy, you're not the only one oo. I find it really bizarre because he just got so fast in less than 2 weeks."
"So what are you guys thinking?" That was another voice, a third voice, "Do you guys really think he's doing something to enhance his performance?"
"Well, is there any logical explanation as to why he got this faster?" That was voice A again, "I mean, he almost caught up with David today, and let's be realistic, that shouldn't even be humanely possible, at least, not in just two weeks."
"I feel you, bro, I'm with you on that."
"So what are you guys suggesting?" That was the voice C again, "What do you think he's doing to get faster and faster by the day?"
"Well," The voice B started, his voice dropping down to barely a whisper and I found myself straining my ears to hear clearly, "Doping, perhaps?"
Doping?
Doping?
Doping?
And to think I thought they'd actually say something interesting.
Seyi doping was just impossible. He couldn't even possibly risk that.
And I wasn't the only one who thinks that way because one of the boys in the shower, probably the voice C started laughing loudly, comical laughter that made me almost burst into laughter too.
"Oh come on guys," He finally started in between laughter, "If you're going to make things up, at least, be creative with them. Doping? Really?" He sounded bewildered, confirming my earlier assertion that their theory was completely ridiculous.
"For starters, Seyi doesn't have the balls to do something that illegal," He continued, "And besides, We've been doing drug tests more constantly since AY got expelled, there's no way he wouldn't have gotten caught and why would he do something that'd jeopardize his life? If he should get caught doping, he won't allow be kicking his career as an athlete goodbye but he'll also be saying goodbye to getting a degree from CSA and even other universities. So why risk it? Because of what? African Championship? Abegg."
"True that," Voice A easily concurred, "No man in his right senses would waste his life away because of African Championship. It's honestly not worth it."
"Well, I'm just... I'm just really suspicious," That was voice B again, "He got so unbelievably fast in a very short period. Even if it's not doping, he must be doing something."
"Of course, he's doing something. He's working really hard and intensifying his efforts. If you want to get the same results, then work harder, afterall, miracle is another name for hard work."
"Alright oo, if you guys insist that's the case."
I relaxed against the locker with my mind working in overdrive as the boys went on to talk about other kinds of stuff. I knew it was suspicious how Seyi got that fast but it never crossed my mind that he might be doing something to enhance his performance.
But doping?
Nah, that was completely ridiculous and out of the equation, shey?
"The results of your last drug test are out!" Coach Kim yelled from the lobby and it was promptly followed by a loud banging of his hands, "Gather around, guys."
"The results are out," He repeated when we were all gathered in front of him but I wasn't even focused on what he was saying.
I was focused on Seyi.
He was leaning against the wall, smiling sheepishly at something on his phone without a care in the world.
He didn't seem bothered or even the least bit interested in what was going on in the room.
He didn't look like someone worried about failing the drug test.
God! I was really becoming a professional over-thinker.
But Seyi was... He had sounded so sure I wasn't going to represent CSA in the competition.
He had sounded so sure that he was going to represent CSA and win.
So what...
"So guys, the results are out," Coach repeated and he even repeated the gesture of banging his hands together loudly, "And none of you failed it."
Again, my gaze was intent on Seyi when he made the announcement and his stance gave nothing away. He looked like he wasn't even hearing anything that was being said in the room as he typed away on his phone with a hearty smile on his face.
I was definitely overthinking this.
"Guys," Coach banged his hands together again, "We have just a couple of weeks... Less than three weeks actually, to the preliminaries of the African Championship and y'all know the kind of media coverage it gets and how the whole world is watching. Now, that's on a bigger scale. On the smaller scale, you know how CSA is watching y'all like a hawk. A slip up from any of you, if anyone is caught with drugs, especially among you athletes, you're out. They won't even take long to expel you this time ago, just a day and you're out of CSA.-
And that being said, I don't want any dent in this team's reputation. I've worked so hard to bring this team to this level and I wouldn't want all my efforts to go up in flames just because of y'all stupidity. Are we clear?" He bellowed.
"Yes sir," My teammates thundered.
"Louder!"
"YES SIR!"
"Good, y'all may disperse now."
My eyes went back to where Seyi was and he was still typing away heartily with a smile that didn't fit into his demeanor on his face.
All of a sudden, he lifted his head and his eyes met mine. Our eyes remained locked for a while longer than usual before he chuckled and his lips curved into a sly and demeaning smile.
He kept looking at me with that expression before a vibration from his phone interrupted him and he went back to chatting away on his phone with the earlier smile replacing the sly one.
This boy isn't up to anything, right?
"Cap," Chike's voice interrupted my thoughts again, "I'm here for the lessons."
Yeah, but what's up with the pen and jotter he was holding?
Wahala for who no want to impress girls oo.
If you don't know who Chike is trying to impress, well, you're on your own oo.
Did you figure out how Nazeera and Alfred met in this chapter?
And Seyi... Well... What do y'all think? Because of African Championship, Seyi, and David... It's just premium gobe oo.
I'm not sure if I'll see you guys anytime soon because, omoh... but I'll try my best sha. Till then Saranghea ❤❤