My Best Friend

CHAPTER TWO

When I got home that day, I was exhausted. I decided to stop a little distance from my house on the cab that carried me and then I trekked a distance to get home. I wanted to exercise myself a little since the gym in our house was strenuous and I didn't have time to use them and I read the disadvantages of not exercising one's self from Google .

I was just removing my clothes when I heard a knock on the down floor door. I knew at once that it was Kingsley but in a country like this, you have to be double sure, so I peeped through the keyhole and my guess was right and then I opened the door.

An incident similar to that had occurred, a person knocked on our door and my father opened the door since he was expecting a visitor, but lo and behold, it was a criminal and he pushed my dad inside. Trust my dad, realizing that the criminal had no guns on him pounced on him and dealt with him severely before he contacted the police to take him away, that was the day I knew that the story my dad told me of how he had dealt with stubborn students in the university were true.

“my gee!!” I hugged him as he entered.

I liked Kingsley so much and I wished he was my brother. He was a very kindhearted, generous, lively and intelligent boy. Also he was of the same age with me.

“Yeah. You are just coming back now”, he asked me surprised.

“yes oh!! I just decided to trek a short distance to exercise my body, you know that this days, I have a lot to do and I haven't been going for morning jogging or even to gym”, I replied.

“I understand. So are you ready now or you want to have a rest”, he asked me.

This is one of the reason I liked him, he even wanted me to take a rest knowing how the hot weather experience would be for me been. I really liked this guy.

I took a short nap while he was busy goofing the web. I couldn't stay long knowing fully well that someone was waiting for me. When I woke up, he asked me of I was done.

“of course, or should I be sleeping like a pregnant woman”, I said and we both laughed.

I told him to come to the parlor so we can receive cool breeze so he took his Mac Book Air inside his bag and left for the parlor while I took my phone and laptop too on my palm and followed suit.

We had been trying to figure out how to avoid attacks while we were done with the chat system. We were almost done with the responsive part and done with user interface, all that is left is configuring the database to suit what we were doing.

When I got the idea of creating a chat system, I wanted to use it to s[y on my classmates and teachers who will definitely use the platform but later on, I discovered that there was more to it than just playing pranks on people's privacy.

I had always wanted to create a social networking website similar to Facebook and I thought this was just the beginning of the journey. Sometimes, I envy the CEO of Facebook, if I were him, I would get the updates of everything that my classmates were doing and who there were chatting with.

“Josh, come and see this headline”, Kingsley called me as I stepped into the parlour.

It read : a woman killed her husband with a bottle of bear after she caught him cheating on him

The source was Nairaland, I have seen headlines like that before so it didn't bother me much. What I thought was that he government had too much matters to settle everyday.

Kingsley showed me the CSS file he had created for the entire site based on what he had shown me me in the classroom. It was awesome when he showed me a sample HTML file he had designed using that same CSS file. We made some amendments to the code and it took us two hours before we came upon the perfect one.

After we had finished doing that, he continued surfing the net for an assignment we were given to submit on Monday morning and I continued to work on the database. After I finished that about 30 minutes later, I began to work on my website.

I used WordPress for my website since most of the personal websites run on it. I wrote a few blog posts and then I turned of my computer to rest. I don't like using the computer during the day, I prefer to write my outlines and assignments during the day and then sleep then at night I face the computer.

Kingsley soon got tired and asked to leave so I escorted him out till we reached the gate. I went back to inside and decided to read more news headlines, I loved to add some to my 'the matter page', a page on my website where I post latest hot headlines and pictures for people's reaction.

I was really bored at home. I always wanted to have a brother or sister whom I would at home with but whenever I teased my parents with the matter, their moods changed and so I stopped. To me, it was trying to tell them that they couldn't have another offspring.

As I sat looking aimlessly at the ceiling, then came my phone ringing. I was happy at last and then I picked it up without checking who it was, I just wanted someone to speak with . Also and behold, it was Vivian from my classroom.

“Hello darling”, she said from the other end of the phone.

I was like, this girl has gone wild oh, so I have now turned to darling. I ignored her as soon as I heard her voice and cut the line.

She called again, I don't like rejecting people's call, maybe they would be my helping grace tomorrow, but this girl's call was tormenting me inward. What does she want from me?I thought then I picked up the phone.

“I know that you don't want to talk to me but I want us to talk. I sent a message to you now on Facebook, please kindly reply so that we can chat”

“I told you that I would not be online today, didn't you hear me then?”

“but I just saw you active some minutes ago”

“Yes, so!!”trying to be rude.

“Please, I have something important to deliver”, she took off the line.

At first I didn't want to answer her but I just decided to check my inbox. This was the message:

Hello darling

I know that you are not comfortable with me around you probably because of what you heard about me but I advise you not to judge before you get to know me. I want you to give me a chance to prove that to you. Its true that I go with other boys but I have great regards for you and I will like you to be my friend..

Lots of loves

Vivian Asome

“shuu!! friend ke”, I laughed and refused to reply the message and I didn't even bother about it.

I sat patiently waiting for my parents to return as I watched 'kissing booth', a romance filled movie.

After watching it, I decided to reply her, and I told her that we were already friends and no need to extend the friendship . I poured out my mind to her and she said we will talk things over on Monday of which I refused.

“See, Vivian. There is nothing to talk about on Monday. I don't have time to waste, as you can see I am always busy in school”, I told her plainly.

Later my father returned first but I knew he would soon be out. I boiled water for him to take his bath and then I left the parlor to go inside to avoid his questions. I was waiting for my mother to return so we can gist. When he left, I slept off to be awaken by my mother's horn.

My mother had the habit of blowing her car horn to the loudest possible sound to make sure we were around. I got out of my room and went to hug her. I enjoyed hugging my mother, she was always accommodating and her body felt warm. I took her bag from her car and lock the pedals.

We went inside together the house, she began to bombard me with questions concerning school that day. I can't recall a day my mother doesn't ask me these questions.

I was around 6 o'clock in the evening and my mother went into the kitchen to prepare meal while I went to the fridge, took a coke and gulped the contents waiting for the food to be ready.

My father came back and my mother moved to hug him, this couples eh.

“Darling, welcome” ,he kissed her and they went inside. Our family would not eat dinner until we were complete. As he entered the parlor, I greetd him casually because I had done that before. He dropped the latest newspaper he bought on the table as he went to undress. I quickly scanned through it and found more amazing headlines that I read before he came out and we were ready to eat.

My mother served the plantain porridge among us and we ate chatting. This was usually the opportunity that my parents and I never abused. I asked them questions that bothered me and they told me things they wanted to tell me.

Afterwards, I went to my room allowing the old lovebirds, my parents to have a nice time. I knew that they needed it and I was old enough to know that so I never spoiled it for them. I took four tea bags of coffee too in case I begin to feel sleepy during the night.

As usual, I logged into my account and I saw 6 messages from Vivian. I was like, what is the girl driving at?she said she loved me as if it was today I started to hear that word?what does she take me for? I ignored her messages totally.

After doing my assignments online, I watched the tutorials I had missed concerning my intermediate tutorials. After I was through with that I faced my novel and typed 2 chapters of approximately 7 thousand words. By then, it was already 3 Am. I didn't take the coffee again as I slept off, by the way tomorrow is a Saturday morning.

The following morning, I didn't turn on my television as usual because we would be gathering at the parlor for a family time. My father doesn't go to work that day and my mother goes late so we cleaned the house that day.

We ate bean cake that morning with bread and chocolate. It was a heavy meal and I felt heavy too and I had to do the gym. My father went to his room to read, a bookworm. My mother left for work and I took excuse from my father to go visit Kingsley but he allowed me for just two hours. I quickly hurried up and took my second laptop inside a bag just in case. I couldn't risk all that I had walked hard for just go in vain. There were some bad guys who would always look for people to steal their things.

When I got to his house, he was drawing a comic character for his new comic book. Kingsley, was a great artist, he was the one who designed the cover of my first book ''The lion's den and other stories' and I compensated by getting him a laptop to go further and produce more dynamic ones using PhotoShop. He has also done a lot of cover designs and page fliers for me for free.

“Kingsley. Looks like you are busy”

“Yeah. I wanted to complete this comic I am writing before I get to rest”

I looked around and I saw that there lots of coffee on table while he did his sketch with a light-pen, then I realized that he hadn't slept last night.

I knew that we wouldn't stay long before he went to sleep so I suggested to him that we go for a mini-shopping down the street and he agreed.

We went to Ahmed Bala Stores and bought shawarma. I didn't eat mush just I chunk because I had eaten already but I knew he hadn't. Just like me, he had no siblings and now that his parents had traveled to the village, he had the whole house under control.

When we got back, I went to the bathroom to urinate. When I got back, He looked at me as he smiled.

“I knew it the moment I saw you yesterday with her”, he handed me the phone and I read the message. It was from angela. She sen

My heart will always belong to you.

I was terrifed. I tried to explain to Kingsley but he didn't want to hear either, he was still busy with the work so I gt angry and called herr phone.

“Hello”

“Hey!! Amajos, so you finally decided to call me today”

“Look, I didn't call you to crack jokes or chat with you. I called to tell you that enough of those messages. The next one I get and you would not like how I will take it”

“common calm down. If you insist I would stop sending the messages but just know that deep down my heart, there is a place you have occupied”

“I don't care even if it is on the top of the river, your heart if flowing on, I just want you to stop sending those messages before my parents mistakenly see them”

“okay. I will but..”

I cut the phone call. I knew she was to start tongue-lashing me with sweet words which I didn't want at the moment. I checked my clock and it was about 65 minutes left before I get back home.

Kingsley's house had no free WiFi so I turned on my hotspot so that we both could use. That same day he published his comic on my website though and made a couple of sales immediately. We discussed about our families and other relevant things including school activities, country, and of course our chat system.

When it was 10 minutes to go, I bade him farewell and I left for home to meet that my dad had gone out. I just opened ghe door with my spare key and went inside.

I didn't feel like taking anything that afternoon so I continued to surf the web mostly on my social media handles. People that bought Kingsley's book wrote great reviews on it with a 5-star rating so I decided to read it too. I bought it and read it, it was a really nice article if I should say. It was about the Ferrari that Otedola had bought for his daughters. He wrote about a desperate girl who wanted hers desperately that she went to the extent of using her womb for sacrifice but later on, she died in the process.

I took my bath, and then went back to face my computer.