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.
"And another thing I want to tell you is not to allow your closeness with Lanre affect your relationship with Ola." I wasn't moved by that statement and drank my coca-cola calmly. Nancy stared at me surprised.
"Babe na wao, you be character sha." She said shaking her head.
"And why is that if I may ask?" Looking strongly at her.
"Ola no dey reign again, na Lanre." I looked sharply at her asking myself why she would come to that conclusion.
If rumors were going on about me and Lanre going out, then there could be more to it than what she was telling me.
" Nancy is there more to this rumor? I mean have you all concluded I am sleeping with Lanre?" I demanded.
"Well seeing how easily you made the shift, one would suspect.... "
"Nancy let me tell you something. I have never made the kind of shift you think I've made. You know me quite well that I'm not brought up that way." Nancy refused to say anything. When I noticed it I kicked-started my car, and drove out of the shopping center on my way home.
The drive back home was a quiet one. I and Nancy didn't talk to each other until we got to her house. As she was about to come down, I remembered the phone call I made to my parents.
"Look for your information I might be meeting Ola's family any time soon."
"And how is that going to happen?" She asked baffled.
"My parents went out and I called to ask when they would be back. My father said they bumped into an old school friend of his, Mr. Segun. I don't want to believe it is Ola's father."
Nancy came down from my car and looked at me.
"You dis girl, but na wetin you take rub body? Ola dey one corner. Lanre wey hardly you go see am with babe, every minute ona dey together. Wetin you take rub body wey na only you dem dey see?" It made me seriously laugh.
"So you believe in all these things?"
"I'm surprised, I am. Because only you wan marry Ola, and it is you amongst us that is very close to Lanre. Two guy who are very close friends."
"Nancy, like I told you, Lanre is just a friend like the rest of you guys. So whoever is spreading rumors is wasting their time."
"Well, let it be as you say. Anyway, make I go. We go talk later."
"Okay now." She closed the door after we said goodbye to each other. I went home thinking about what she had told me. I couldn't believe my closeness to Lanre would cause so much heat.
After all, there was nothing romantic going on between us. I kept wondering why this would be a problem.
The problem is, Ola came to know about it and was angry with me. It happened on a Tuesday morning a few weeks after Nancy first told me about the rumors. He came and stood by my car and waited for me.
I hadn't noticed him standing there as he had not showed up for long. Luckily, I had left Lanre some thirty minutes ago. This was because on the days I wasn't going home with Nancy, he would accompany me to my car and wait until I left.
As I walked up to my car, I started searching in my bag for the car keys. Approaching the car and looking up I saw him. He was leaning with his back against the side door of the driver's seat with arms folded across his chest.
One look at him made me stop and stare at him. He stared back at me.
"Excuse me, that's my car you are leaning on."
"I know." He simply responded.
"If you don't mind I want to leave."
"Oh okay, sorry." He moved back a bit enough for me to open the car door. But as I was about to open it, he took hold of my hand. I held my breath and looked away.
"I was away for a few months and you end up with my best friend." At the mention of his friend I looked sharply at him.
He had all along had his glasses on but when I looked at him he had removed them. I saw those penetrating stares again and felt weak and paralysed. But I managed to compose myself and replied back.
"Who is your friend and besides, do we have anything between us?" With that he got angry with me. His anger baffled me because it was quite senseless. It looked to me as if he was laying claim to me without there being a formal relationship between us.
"Look stay away from that guy!" he barked.
"He's a good friend and I always keep my good friends!" I had to shout back
"Tola, I said stay away from Lanre!" I covered my head with my hands and closed my eyes in fear as I felt he was about to slap me. But he didn't, instead he was walking away.
I stood for a few minutes before I decided to open my car and drive back home. Just as I was about to do that, he came behind me and took the keys away from my hand. I was speechless, but I had to react. He couldn't do this to me.
"Ola what do you think you are doing? Give me back my keys."
I tried to snatch it from him but he held my arms and took me round and opened the front passenger door and told me to get in.
"I'm driving okay?" Before I had a chance to say anything he closed the door, went round and started the car and drove with you incredible speed out of the Campus.
I held my breath and closed my eyes. Fear gripped me and I didn't know what to do to get him to stop. I had to shout.