Chapter 7
Bimpe and Patrick were sitting by the edge of the rock, overlooking the city below. The large granite rock was probably formed from slow crystallization of molten magna centuries ago. The space wagon was still not starting up, and Patrick had called up his mechanic to come and check it out. It was an electrical problem that he had taken to the man to fix earlier on in the week, and was surprised when it occurred again.
Patrick was going on and on about a party he had gone for the day before in a secluded part of Ibadan, but she wasnโt paying any attention to what he was saying. Her mind was miles away, wondering if this was karma paying her a visit for all the bad things she had done in the past. She snapped out of it, and focused on the beauty in front of her. About hundred feet below was a fully lit up community, with tiny specks of light from cars and motorcycles moving here and there. โThis kind of reminds me of when Jesus was tempted by the devil.โ She blurted out all of a sudden.
โWhat? Whatโs that?โ He said and turned around to look at her. โGirl, have you been half-listening to a single word I have said?โ
โOh sorry.โ She said and chuckled.
โAnd How did you know how it looked when Jesus was tempted Satan? Are you Satanโs sister?โ
โNo.โ She said and laughed a little more before saying, โYou knowโฆthat Jesus movie.โ
โPassion of Christ?โ
โNo, Jesus of Nazareth. I watched it when I was a kid. There was a scene like this in it.โ
โOkay. So, as I was saying, Ahmed and I recently found a spot with rich deposits of Aquamarines.โ
โWhat? I thought you were talking about a party you went for where girls were walking around half n***d?โ
He turned around to look at her with a frown on his face before saying, โThat was like 15 minutes ago.โ
โIโm sorry.โ She said and closed the gap between them on the rock before adding, โOkay. Please tell me more.โ She added as she crossed her legs and straightened out the rumples on the bottom part of her red mini gown.
โWell, you know me and Ahmed have been mining Aquamarines in Ibadan North for a while now.โ
โOkay.โ She said and urged him to go on, even though she didnโt have a clue what he was talking about.
โAquamarines donโt have value like Diamonds or Rubies, or even Sapphires.โ He said and looked at her to see if she was following. She nodded and he went on with, โAquamarines are just like $100 a carat, so you need a shitt load to make some substantial income.โ
โOh! I actually thought you guys were mining diamonds.โ
โDiamonds in Ibadan?โ He said in between laughs, and when he saw the angry look on her face, he composed himself. โAnyway, earlier this week, we found a spot that could give us lots of carats of Aquamarine.โ
โOh! Cool.โ She said, sounding enthusiastic. Then like she remembered that she was no longer in good terms with her boyfriend, a sober look crept up her face. Then she looked at Patrick and said, โPatrick, why are you helping me?โ
โI donโt understand.โ
โYou know what I did, but you are still helping me. Why?โ
He looked into space for a while before saying, โBecauseโฆI donโt know, maybe because I like you.โ
โYou like me and you told Ahmed not to date me.โ
โWhat? Iโฆโ
โI overhead you telling him that the first time I slept over at you guys flat.โ
โWellโฆโ He was saying and stopped to scratch his head. โYou are a very beautiful girl, and you are on campus. I knew there would be different guys chasing you.โ He said and looked at her. He didnโt have to say anymore to pass the message. She looked away, and when she looked his way again, tears were rolling down her eyes
