Chapter 4
Patrick had just kissed a girl goodbye when he saw a girl waving at him from the right wing of the mall. He turned in the other direction and kept on walking. He was so much of a player, he didn’t know if she was someone he had left on a bad note. He pulled up the collar of his black polo top and adjusted his dark shades as he headed towards staircase that led to the cinema.
They say short men always do extra everything because they feel people always look down on them and belittle them, so they want to show they are just as capable as tall guys. If that was really true, Patrick was a very good example of that theory. He was charcoal black, 5 ft 4, with muscles he built to compensate for his vertical disadvantage. His charm was his wit, and he had gotten a fair share of girls just by making them laugh.
He was about to take his fist step up the stairs when she pulled him by the hand, and the curious look on her face turned to an angry one when they came face to face. She was just about an inch taller than him. “Why didn’t you answer me? I’ve been shouting your name.” She said, standing at akimbo. Her face was like the canvass of a confused painter. She had been crying, and her makeup was all over her face. For someone that was light skinned, it was very obvious, but it was clear she didn’t care.
“Oh! Bimpe, it is you? Sorry…I thought…” He was saying and stopped to laugh and lift up his shades. “What’s up with your face? Is this the new trend now? You young girls keep coming up with weird fashion.” He added as his eyes scanned all around the place. “Are you with Ahmed? Where is he?” He said with his eyebrows arched. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “What’s wrong?” He said looking at her intensely.
She looked up, and her eyes searched everywhere, probably looking for a quiet place they could talk. It was 8 pm on a Friday night, the whole place was rowdy, and loud music was playing at the bar by the mall entrance.
“Did you come with your car?” She asked and he nodded. “Great. Let’s go talk there.”
……….
The car was silent for a while and then Patrick said, “But Bimpe, you messed up big time. Ahmed is a…”
“I know! I know! He is a great guy, I fucked up.” She said and hit her forehead with her palm. “Patrick, that guy is just someone that keeps boys away from me on campus.”
“So…”
“Come on Patrick, you know sometimes girls just have this guy on the side. Not like I’m double dating or anything.”
After looking into space for a while, he said, “Men! Ahmed is a cool guy, but you know how he can be when he gets angry.”
“I know.” She said and rested her head on her clasped hands. “Please, I need you to let me into your apartment, so I can wait for him tonight.”
“Girl, where have you been? I moved out like two months ago.”
“Are you serious? Why?” She asked, shocked.
“You don’t expect me to stay with my best friend forever, do you?” He said with a frown on his face. “And I just dropped the key to the apartment with him yesterday.” He added. She looked at him for a second, and then bowed her head again. “But the Ahmed I know would definitely not be heading home at a time like this.”
She looked up excited as she said, “You know where he could be?”
“Yes I do.” He said and started up the engine of the Toyota Sienna space wagon. “I think I do.” He added.
