“Smallie, your pictures are ready, are you coming for them?” Mike asked.
“Where are they?” Gabrielle asked.
“They are with me. Would you go with me after the game?” Mike asked. Gabrielle kept quiet for a few seconds. She needed to see her matriculation pictures but she was scared of his girlfriend.
“I can come with you if you are scared of….Mike, what’s her name?” Agatha asked.
“Jane,” he responded.
“Honestly, I’m scared of her. Brian also warned me to beware of her,” Gabrielle said. Mike frowned his brows and looked away. He did not want the girls to notice he was mad at Brian.
“Mike, why is your face like this? Did you not see the way she attacked me the other day? Well, we will go with you, but you must promise us that no one will attack us,” Gabrielle said. Mike’s lips curved with a smile.
“Trust me, no one would come close to you guys,” Mike said with a grin.
Soon the game began and Agatha sat under the Dogo Yaro tree as usual watching them. She wished she could play like her friends.
Mike took the girls home when the game had ended. He had earlier told Jane that he would be in his friend’s lodge that evening, so he was not expecting her to come to his lodge.
His room was quite simple and neat. He had a small tabletop fridge, a small-sized television, a small student mattress, and a wardrobe, where his books and clothes were carefully arranged.
The small space he used as his kitchen was demarcated with curtains. Mike added some embellishments to the curtains to give it a funky look. The curtain was very light and allowed light to pass through it. One could see everything he had in his Kitchen.
He switched his television immediately after they got into the room. Gabrielle chose her favorite soap opera, she and her friend sat on the plastic chairs he had in his room. Mike tried to fix something for them as they fixed their attention on the television.
They were enjoying themselves when Jane came in. Mike was very surprised to see her. Jane stood still and gawked at the two friends, issuing them a warning with her gaze. She walked straight to the television and changed the channel. She flung her shoes and climbed his bed. Gabrielle and her friend exchanged glances.
“Mike, would you help us with the picture?” Gabrielle asked.
“Sh…sure,” Mike stammered as he began to walk towards his wardrobe. Gabrielle was so surprised. She wondered why he couldn’t reprimand his girlfriend for changing the television channel.
Mike came back with the pictures. He grinned before giving it to her; however, Gabrielle was not smiling at all. She took the picture without going through it and stood up from the chair. Agatha stood up too.
“Are you going already? Who is going to eat the food I’m cooking for both of you?” Mike asked with a sad face. Gabrielle was happy he was sad and nothing would ever make her stay.
“Enjoy your food, Mike,” Gabrielle responded with a grin.
“Can I walk you to the entrance of the lodge?” Mike asked.
“No dear, we can find our way,” Agatha said looking at her friend.
The girls walked out of the room and headed towards the entrance. They parted ways when they came out of the lodge.
Gabrielle walked coldly home. She did not know where Brian would be. They did not agree to meet again when he left in the morning. She stood at the gate of her lodge and began to wonder what to do. She made up her mind to go back to her friend’s hostel and spend the night with her on her small school bed that could not accommodate one person.
“Gabby!” Brian who was walking towards her lodge gate from the other direction, called. Gabrielle halted, heaved a sigh of relief before looking in his direction. She could not see him clearly, as it was already getting dark.
She walked weakly towards him and noticed his clothes were neat. She noticed she was not bothered by the stench generated by the weed he just smoked. She was so happy to see him that night and that was all that mattered to her. She felt like hugging him tight and leaning on his shoulder.
Brian was surprised to see her staring admiringly at him. He offered her his hand, Gabrielle accepted. He led her to her room. The occupants of the lodge did not stop throwing occasional glances at them.
“Thank you, Brian. I was scared you were not going to come today. We never agreed to meet anywhere this morning," Gabrielle said and he shrugged. Brian took her bunch of keys from her and unlocked the door.
Gabrielle threw herself on the bed and heaved another noisy sigh of relief.
"Check out my matriculation pictures," Gabrielle said, gesturing him to sit beside her. Brian hesitated because he had never sat on her bed. He took the pictures and sat on one of her plastic chairs.
He ran his eyes on her pictures and grinned. Gabrielle fixed her gaze at him and wondered why he smiled. Brian noticed she was staring at him so he looked at her and focused back on the picture.
"She is your sister, I guess," he said pointing at Danielle. Gabrielle moved closer, looked at the picture, and nodded her head.
"Why are you smiling, do you know her?" Gabrielle asked.
"Yes, her ex is my friend. She hates the sight of me," Brian grinned again and Gabrielle busted into laughter.
"Why did she hate you?" Gabrielle asked.
"It's a long story."
"You can share it with me, and don't worry, I won't tell her," Gabrielle said, still squatting closer to him. Brian looked at her and gave the album back to her. Gabrielle took the album and placed it on her lap, and continued waiting for his response.
"Gabby, I'm not going to tell you what I did to her."
Gabrielle gave up on his insistence. She stood up, dropped the album on her small bookshelf, and walked towards the small space in the room she used as her kitchen.
"Are you hungry?" Gabrielle asked. Brian shook his head.
"How is your mom?"
"She is fine," he responded.
"I will see her on Sunday. I hope she won't get mad at me for stealing her son?" Gabrielle said.
"I hardly spend the night with them."
"Where do you stay for the night?" Gabrielle asked.
"At my friend's."
"A man or a woman?" She further asked.
"Woman? No, I don't have any business with women. He is a man," Brian responded. Gabrielle looked at him and her face beamed with a smile. She just confirmed what the caretaker told her earlier. She became more relaxed.
Gabrielle switched her small induction cooker on to preheat her already cooked food. She took a bucket of water she kept beside her bedroom door, ready to have her bathe before going to bed. She stood still, looking at Brian who rested his head on the chair he was sitting in and hung his legs on the window, wondering why he hardly bathed. "Have you bathed?" Gabrielle asked. Brian nodded his head with his eyes closed. "Okay, I'll be right back. Please turn off the cooker after five minutes," Gabrielle said before leaving the room. Someone was using the only bathroom the lodge had, so she had to join the queue. She dropped her water and stood behind it. Other girls dropped theirs and sat on the pavement that was close to the bathroom. "I heard some people are faking it in this lodge just to avoid the boys," Bruno, one of the girls, smirked and looked at Gabrielle who stood like a statue of liberty. Other girls looked at her and giggled. "I even heard their fake boyfriends hav
Brian arrived at Beckwise stores later than Mike. Mike had been there for over an hour waiting for him. He was almost giving up when Brian walked in. Brian looked in different directions and saw Mike waving at him from a secluded corner. He walked towards him and sat on a chair. "What's up?" Mike asked stretching forth his hand for a handshake. Brian gave him a curt shake. "It's almost 6:PM, so you need to be snappy. Gabrielle is alone in the house." "Did she know you were coming to see me?" Mike asked. "Of course, you reminded me in her presence before leaving her house yesterday. She is aware." Brian responded. "She has told me everything and I decided I must see you. Her sister is my friend even though we did not go beyond friendship. I promise her that I will take care of Gabrielle. You are a man and I'm going to be honest with you. I love that girl and seeing you around her makes me uneasy. I want to politely ask you to stay away from her. I can protect her." "Sh
Plans to take Gabrielle out of Bangkok Brian felt a gentle tap on his back. He turned slowly and was surprised. Uka, one of the twins in room 4 was standing behind him smiling seductively. He looked around, searching for a free seat, however, all the seats were occupied. He stood up and gestured to her. Uka sat down and grinned. One of his friends who was sitting close to him created a space for him. Uka took the wrap of weed he was smoking from him. Brian rolled another weed. Placing the wrapped weed in the corner of his mouth, his long fingers then searched the pockets of his brown tweed jacket and finally emerged with a match. "Uka is Meche out of town?" Brian asked. Uka nodded with a grin. Meche, her boyfriend, had warned her to stay away from the group. He once fought the gang for giving her weed to smoke. "His mother invited him over. He is going to stay with her for a whole week," Uka said. Meche was the son of one of the University lecturers. People wondered why he k
"His name is Ernest. He owns about five oil wells in and out of the country." "I don't believe you, do you know what oil wells are?" Brian asked. "He inherited them from his late father. He is the CEO of Nexoil. Do you remember the one-year strike that took place during the David Martin administration? All schools were shut down for a year?" Gabrielle asked. Brian nodded. "I took up a job as a salesgirl in one of the shops around our house. He came around with his bodyguards and declared surplus. I served them diligently and he picked interest in me. I turned him down because I was just sixteen and marriage was the last thing I was thinking of. He stood up and walked into his car without paying for the drinks. I followed him immediately. He wound down the glass and flung a paper. I hesitated because he was there. When his driver drove him away, I picked the paper up. It was his residential address. I folded the paper and tossed it in the trash. My boss came and insisted
The nurse Jane and Mike were waiting for came later that day. Jane gave her the money. The nurse went back to the maternity home after giving Mike the second injection. "Thank you, Mike said. Jane smiled and nodded her head. "Honestly, Jane, I'm nothing without you. You are my world, my everything. Thank you for being there for me always," Mike said again. "I did it for us, Mike," Jane smirked. "If anything happens to you, I'm finished. My love for you is beyond explanation. I love you so much, Mike." "I love you too, honey," Mike said, clenching her left hand. "Please Jane, I need one more favor from you today, would you help me?" Mike asked. Jane nodded happily. "I have an assignment I wrote for one of my friends in hostel ten, would you help me deliver it to him. It will be submitted tomorrow morning, please," Mike pleaded. "Mike, I will deliver it before 6:am tomorrow. It's almost 8:30 and the second gate closes at 9." "Please, Jane, he paid for it already and would d
The next day, Mike woke up very early. He knew Jane would be there any moment so he dressed up and ran out. Bangkok lodge's gate was still locked when he got there, so he went to a nearby store and sat on one of the chairs. The owner of the shop fixed his gaze at him, probably wondering why he left his lodge so early. "Do you want to make a call?" The shopkeeper asked. Mike shook his head and looked away. The caretaker of the lodge came out of the gate holding a filter end of a cigarette by the corner of his lips. Obviously, his wife had refused to give a match to light the cigarette. He began to walk towards the shop. "Ojo, I need a box of matches," the caretaker said. The shopkeeper gave him a general lighter instead. "Hei, Mikeo, what are you doing here? I hope we are safe this morning?" the caretaker patted Mike on the shoulder. "I want to see you," Mike responded. Pa Uzo feigned him and focused on the cigarette he was trying to light. He ignited the lighter and held t
Jane, who had been searching everywhere for Mike, saw him coming towards Hall A, holding Gabrielle's hand. Fury began to choke her. She stared at them with burning reproachful eyes. Mike let go of Gabrielle's hand and walked towards her with smiles on his face. Jane turned and began to walk away angrily. Mike ran after her. He grabbed her hand, Jane tried to free her hand from his grip. "I searched everywhere for you. I went to the clinic, you were not there." "You went to the clinic? Did you see nurse Rose?" Mike asked. "She is on night shift," Jane said. "I met her before she handed over to those on the morning shift." "You went there?" Jane asked. "Yes, I woke up this morning and was feeling nauseous, I have to rush to the clinic to see her before she hands over. All the nurses I met must have gone before your arrival," Mike said. "How do you feel now?" Jane asked, lowering her gaze. "I'm fine, sweetheart, thanks to you," Mike grinned. "What are you doing with tha
The next day, Mike rushed down to Gabrielle's lodge to make sure Brian kept his promise. Jane was still sleeping when he sneaked out. He ascended the stairs hurriedly when he entered Anarchy Lodge. The students went to bed very late so they were still sleeping and everywhere was as silent as a graveyard. Gabrielle was awoken by the sound of her doorbell. She rolled on her bed, her friend who slept in her room was nowhere to be found. She sluggishly walked towards the door and opened it. Mike grinned and held her waist so tight as they walked inside the room. Mike quickly let go of her waist when he heard the sound of water splashing on her bathroom floor. He stared angrily at Gabrielle. "You...you...you...invited him right?" Mike stammered. There was a critical tone in his voice. "No, I did not," Gabrielle said weakly as she moved towards her bed. She was very tired. Mike was very annoyed but he did not want to show her how angry he was to avoid scaring her away. He clenche