Episode 6
“What’s the problem?” he asked worriedly
“Nothing.” I replied dabbing my eyes with my handkerchief as quickly as I could. I dressed up without saying a word to him, he kept staring at me but he didn’t say anything either. “I’m leaving.” I said in a strangled voice
“Ok—I’ll call you.” he said hastily
“Don’t bother ” I snapped
“Are you mad at me? ”
I didn’t answer, I just walked out of his house. When I got home, my parents were eating breakfast. “Where did you sleep last night? ” they asked in unison.
“uhm…I…I..”
“Young lady where did you sleep?” My father repeated angrily
“Aunty Katherine’s place. ” I lied. Aunty Katherine was my godmother
“Is that what you found difficult to say?” my mother hissed “Go freshen up and come and have your breakfast.”
I walked to my room without saying another word. Once I was in the safety and privacy of my room, I shut the door and continued sobbing. I finally realized how inconsiderate and selfish I had been towards Chuks. While I was crying, my phone vibrated. It was Somto, I immediately rejected the call. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him at all. ‘I should probably return Chuks’ call’ I thought, that’s the least I could do to lessen the guilt I felt. I dialed his number with shaky hands, when I heard his voice, I felt the urge to cry even more “Hello” I said, trying hard to pull myself together
“What’s happening to you Jane, have I offended you in anyway? ” he sounded so sad and pathetic
“No—not at all…you haven’t done anything wrong.I’ve just been feeling weird lately.”
“Why didn’t you just talk to me about it? you know you can tell me whatever is going on in your life, I’m here for you.”
“I’m really sorry Chuks.” I was trying hard to hold back the tears.
“What exactly are you apologizing for?”
“Uhm—the way I’ve been acting towards you.”
“No problem—just promise me that things would go back to the way they were between us during our first year.”
I smiled amidst the tears that clouded my eyes “I promise.”
I spent three more weeks in Warri and during that period I completely blocked Somto out of my life. Losing my virginity to him made me resent him, I thought it would make me attached to him but all I felt towards him was resentment. I vowed to avoid him till I graduated but I was just deceiving myself. When I returned to school, the first person I saw was Chuks, he was waiting for me outside my hostel. I ran into his arms and kissed him. We sat under a shade and began talking, just then I saw Somto approaching us. He looked really upset. I stopped talking,my heart began to pound and I suddenly felt hot and began to sweat profusely. The closer he got, the more scared I became. “Baby are you alright?” Chuks asked suspiciously. I didn’t answer him, Somto was just a few steps away from us.
“Hi” he greeted Chuks. They shook hands “Have we met before?” Chuks asked squinting
“I don’t think so—Jane can we talk?”
I laughed awkwardly “Sure—Chuks, please give me a minute.” I pulled Somto away from there and took him closer to the bus stop, few metres away from Chuks. “What happened?” he asked with sadness in his eyes. I wanted to yell at him but I quickly reminded myself that he was just a victim like Chuks, he didn’t know I had a boyfriend because I never told him so none of it was his fault. “I just think we’re going too fast.” I whispered
“Too fast? but everything that happened that night was your idea—besides, why are you whispering?” he spoke loudly and Chuks began to watch us like a hawk. I smiled at him before pulling Somto farther away “That boy sitting over there is my cousin—if he finds out about you he’ll tell my parents.” I lied.
“Oh—but that doesn’t explain why you ignored me for weeks.” he folded his arms angrily
“I’ll explain later—we’ll talk tonight, just leave before my cousin starts suspecting us.”
“Fine—I’m leaving but you must promise to contact me tonight.”
“I promise.” He left and I went back to Chuks.
“Who was that? ” he asked me the moment I returned
“Oh—that’s my cousin Somto.” I lied.
He looked at me suspiciously “Isn’t Somto an igbo name? how come your cousin bears an igbo name when both of your parents are urhobo?”
“em—actually his mother, my aunt married an igbo man.” I said confidently
“Hmmm—OK ooo” he didn’t sound convinced and this made me really scared. if I didn’t do anything about this love triangle as soon as possible, my game would definitely be up and I would end up losing both of them.
Throughout the rest of that day, I was in deep thought. I thought I would be able to avoid Somto and focus all my attention on Chuks but after seeing Somto earlier, my resolve and determination weakened. I needed to talk to someone about it, I needed serious help. I thought about talking to Tracy but I changed my mind because I knew very well that she would cheer me on and advise me to continue playing the game. I needed someone who would tell me the bitter truth so I went to Lola. She listened carefully while I spoke to her about all that had been happening. She shook her head and said “God help us.”
“What should I do? ” I asked impatiently
“You can’t keep seeing both of them—it will surely catch up with you. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. You have to end things with one of them and I suggest Somto.”
“Why? why does it have to be Somto?”
“Because from all you’ve said so far, it’s safe to conclude that what you feel for him is nothing but lust and infatuation.”
I instantly got irritated “You know nothing!” I hissed before storming out. She was obviously shocked by my reaction. I called both guys later that night and all seemed well again until the day Chuks and I went to the library together.
Chuks and I were reading in the library together when I suddenly felt a strong urge to pee. “I need to use the bathroom.” I whispered to him.
“OK babe but please can I borrow your phone? I wanna use the calculator, mine is malfunctioning.”
“Sure—you can have my phone.” I said without thinking about the dark secrets it contained. I unlocked the phone and handed it to him before rushing to the bathroom. When I finished using the toilet, I went back inside the library but Chuks wasn’t there. I walked outside and saw him sitting on a slab outside, he was staring at the floor. I walked over to him and tapped his shoulder “Hey..why did you leave.” He looked up at me and I discovered that his eyes were red and watery. I was shocked “babe what happened? ” I asked fearfully
“You got a text from someone” he handed me the phone “Here, read it.” I hurriedly collected the phone from him and read the text with shaky hands. It was from Somto! “Oh God I’m dead” I muttered to myself.The text read ‘Good afternoon my princess. I’m waiting for you at your hostel, endeavour to come back as soon as possible, I’ve got a big surprise for you—Love you.’ My phone nearly dropped to the ground “Chuks—baby it’s not what you think.”
He gave me a deathly stare “I tried to convince myself that I probably misunderstood the text so I checked all the previous texts sent by that same guy—he’s…he’s” he burst into tears and I immediately fell on my knees “Please just hear me out.” I begged desperately
“Isn’t that the same guy you called your cousin?” he asked in a strangled voice.
