Aside from the unintelligible babble coming from inside the JCR, the whole floor was fairly quiet. Not surprising, since it was a Friday night.
The humming device stole my attention once again and before I hit the green button, I pulled in a breath.
"Hello?" I exhaled.
"Akwasi." There was something like a shuffle, then a solemn "hey" followed.
When it seemed like he wasn't going to add anything, I said, "What do you want, Ethan? You've been calling me non-stop and I'm in the middle of something very important."
"Oh um sorry, it's just that I... really needed to talk to you." He cleared his throat. "I just came from Coach's office and she took the time to talk some sense into me. It made me realise that I took things a bit too far tonight."
"A bit?" I pushed my eyebrows up. "Dude, you totally overreacted! I get that you were upset, but it was absurd of you to go trashing out my locker for drugs. And tossing that crowbar at Seth? That was beyond messed up!"
"I know, I know, I know," Ethan chanted, "And I'm sorry, I really am. I don't know why I did all those things, I just lost touch of who I was for a split second," he huffed, speechless for a minute. When he spoke again, his voice was soaked in deep penitence. "If I could take it all back, I swear I would... but I can't."
I opened my mouth to say something, but Ethan's next utterance stopped me. "The last thing I want to do is to fight with you, Akwasi. I know it's going to take a lot to make it up to you, but I still want to try. Come to Eden's Lodge, I have a surprise for you."
A crease formed on my forehead. "What surprise?"
"You'll find out when you show up. I'll be expecting you."
"Ok. But before that, call Seth and apologise to him too."
"Sure, no problem."
He hung up and I pulled the phone off my ear, wondering what he had in store for me.
The door soon creaked open, announcing a second presence, and I turned.
"Did you talk to him?" Akunna stepped out. Deon followed, munching on a Mars chocolate bar.
"Yeah." I leaned against the banister. "He said he's sorry and wants me to come to Eden's Lodge for a surprise."
"Oh so are you going to go?" Deon quizzed through caramel.
"I dunno." My shoulders shrugged. "I mean I don't want to, but I also want to see what the surprise is about?"
"He didn't give you any clues?" Akunna asked.
"No. He just said I'll find out when I show up."
The two of them paused, mulling over the situation.
"Frankly, I don't think you should go," My roommate voiced out first. "I suspect that Ethan has something up his sleeve with this 'surprise'. What if it's a ploy to throw you of your game tomorrow?"
"It could be but... I don't know. He sounded quite remorseful on the phone, like he regretted everything that had happened."
"I think it makes sense that Ethan is trying to apologise to you with this surprise," Deon added. "The two of you have known each other since you were kids. It'll be stupid to throw away all those years of friendship just because of one fight. I think you should go see him and patch things up."
Folding my arms, I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. My mind was leaning more on Deon's words, but it also didn't cancel out the possibility of a ploy like Akunna had said. Ethan was capable of a lot of things. I noticed it when he ended Seth's relationship with Amina and turned him into an object of ridicule, even though they were friends.
Seth wasn't his only victim too. I remembered what happened to Daniel after he'd accused Ethan of using drugs to win last year's annual swimming competition. Daniel was telling the truth, but no one believed him, thanks to Ethan's charismatic attitude. And because Daniel couldn't handle it, he got kicked off the team for socking Ethan right in the face.
These two cases were enough reasons to reject this surprise invitation, but the more I thought of it, the more I grew curious. I really wanted to know what it was about. Ethan couldn't possibly try any of those tricks on me. We had known each other since we were 10-year-old boys, stealing toffees from our class teacher's desk anytime she wasn't looking. He was like the brother I never had. Would he really try to pull me down, so he can go up?
I bit my lip. Since my mind couldn't come up with any suitable answers, I thought of something else. "I don't know what Ethan has got planned," I said to the two guys in front of me. "But I don't want to face it alone. Will you guys come with me for support?"
"Sure," Deon responded in a heartbeat. "I mean, it's no big deal. Right Akunna?"
Our eyes shifted in his direction, catching the apprehensive look on his face.
"I dunno." He crossed his arms. "You guys know I don't like Ethan."
"Yeah, but this isn't about him," Deon countered. "It's about Akwasi."
"Look, I just want people I'm comfortable with beside me, ok," I spoke up. "Things between me and Ethan will definitely get awkward at some point, and I don't want to be standing there, looking at him like some kind of idiot. Plus, we won't take long over there. We'll just see what he has for me, then we'll leave."
The apprehension still sat on his face, bold and prominent.
"Just do me this one favour, Akunna and that's it. I swear, I won't ask you for anything else."
"That's not necessary, Akwasi," he sighed. "We're friends. What good am I to you if I refuse to help you when you need me the most?"
A smile touched his lips and I couldn't help smiling back. How did I ever get so lucky with my roommate? Some people had enemies for roommates, but I got a brother and a true friend. I couldn't be more grateful.
"Ok! Since we've all decided," Deon dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out his car keys. "It's time to jump into my Lamborghini."
"You guys go ahead," Akunna said. "I just remembered that I haven't taken my medicine for tonight. I'll just head back to the room and swallow them real quick."
"Ok, we'll be waiting for you in the car." I pushed myself up and followed Deon to the parking lot.
¤¤¤¤¤
"Uuhh..." Deon cleared his throat. "Are you sure Ethan asked you to meet him here?"
"Yeah, hundred percent." I pulled my phone out.
"But the place looks dead." Akunna leaned in from the backseat. "Look, even the porch lights are off."
My gaze flew to the dark building. No one was home, which made me even more confused because I was absolutely sure Ethan had told me to meet him here.
"Maybe he was just messing with you," Deon suggested. "He didn't actually think you'd come, he just wanted to test your patience."
"That is so stupid," Akunna scoffed.
"Hey, at least I'm trying to make heads and tails out of this situation," Deon shot back.
"I'm calling him." Fingers taut with determination, I went straight to my call log, ready to tap on his number, when a rapid knock startled us.
Nana Kwame bent low, smiling at us from outside Deon's window. He quickly opened it.
"Hey guys," Nana Kwame beamed. "Glad you could make it, Akwasi. We've been expecting you."
I stepped out of the car. "What is going on NK, and where's Ethan?"
"He's here, follow me." He moved towards the dark building.
Nerves were suddenly on red alert. What are they up to?
Deon toured over to where I stood and made a gesture, asking whether we should follow him or not. Akunna joined us next, shrugging on the lemon-green hoodie he'd brought with him when he went back to take his medicine.
"This reminds me of a horror movie I watched last week," he whispered. "The final scene started off like this, with the MC following a supposed friend into a dark building. The moment they entered, the friend turned into a demon and dragged the MC all the way down to hell."
"What?" Deon's eyes widened.
"That's not gonna happen to us, Akunna!"
"Ok, if you say so," he struggled to hold in a laugh.
"Hey, you guys coming or what?" Nana Kwame yelled from the entrance.
Keeping my guard up, I took bold steps forward, followed closely by my friends.
Nana Kwame opened the door, to nothing but pitch black.
I entered first, wondering where the light switch was until...
******
I know this chapter is shorter than my usual ones, but something big is coming.
Something very big.