The Hanging Vine
(episode 3)
Everyone and thing on the surface of this earth is subject to change so therefore, giving a second chance to someone you once wrote off doesn’t potray weakness but rather strength and empathy. Who would have thought that the almighty ‘Oscar’ I didn’t want to ever have anything to do with would make me smile, talk more of laugh?. The fact that he had a good sense of humor was an attribute that made me lower my guards down even though I vowed never to have anything to do with him. That evening was such an eye opener to me as to how much of a gentleman he was but nevertheless, I wasn’t going to let that one tiny gesture from an alleged chronic womanizer and playboy get to me. No way!
After the little show Oscar displayed that faithful evening in front of my school, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Can you just go back to your car and let me find a taxi in peace? Just so you know, you are obstructing my view with your car and also distracting me by standing this close to me. Please just leave me alone” I calmly said with a little sense of humor. I didn’t want to be rude in anyway because to be honest, I was low key enjoying his silly shenanigans. Despite telling Oscar to go away, he paid deaf ears and still went ahead to torment me. “I won’t leave you today until you give me your number. This isn’t a threat in anyway but just plain determination to get to know a beautiful angel like you better” he said with a smile on his face.
While Oscar was busy being sweet with words, I tried my very best not to let those sugar coated words of his get to me. Despite maintaining a smiley countenance, I still had my guards up. After about 10 minutes of not finding an empty taxi, I gave up hope of pushing him away and sadly accepted my fate that Oscar was there to bug my life. “Aren’t you tired already? It’s apparent that you are the reason I haven’t gotten a cab yet. I would have called you badluck but I rather save it because you made me smile regardless” I said. Before Oscar could persuade me for the second time to enter his car, a taxi finally came to my rescue. I immediately flagged it down and it stopped right in front of me.
On seeing that a taxi had finally come to take me away, Oscar felt defeated but wasn’t willing to back down just yet. To my greatest surprise, he entered the taxi with me and told me to shift a bit for him to seat properly. “You must be kidding me” I shockingly said but he paid me no attention. Shortly after, the taxi drove off leaving Oscar’s car behind. I was a bit scared for him because there have been reports of theft around my school area. Despite being worried for him, it was clear that he wasn’t in anyway worried for himself because after all, he was the son of a billionaire.
As the taxi drove to my destination which was Dora’s house, we didn’t utter any word to each other. It was kinda awkward for the both of us but we tried to act normal. As we got close to Dora’s house, I stopped at her junction to get some fruits for her. Oscar tried to pay for the fruits but I quickly turned down his offer because I didn’t want him getting any ideas that we could ever be friends. After what seemed like a 5 minutes fruit hunt, we entered back inside the car and continued our journey. Few minutes later, we were at Dora’s house.
When Oscar and I arrived at Dora’s house, I paid the taxi driver but Oscar insisted that the taxi driver should wait till we were done and ready to go. He didn’t want us to go through what we went through before finding another taxi. He waited outside while I entered inside the apartment complex to see Dora.
“Hey babe, I’m so sorry for your health. How are you feeling now? I got you some fruits” I said immediately Dora opened the door. “Awwn thanks Sophie, you are just the sweetest” Dora said with a faint smile on her face. One look at her and I could see how down and tired she was. It made me sad to see my best friend in such condition but I was happy to see her regardless.
Due to the fact that it was kinda late, I couldn’t stay too long at Dora’s house. “Babe I’ll be on my way soon but before I leave, guess who’s here with me?” I said. Dora was a bit hesitant to guess because she knew I hardly let anyone get really close to me so her mind couldn’t fill in the blanks. “Who’s downstairs? Honestly I can’t take a guess” she curiously said. In order not to push it any further, I dropped the shocker; “Oscar is here with me”.
Initially, it seemed like a prank to Dora that Oscar of all people would be outside her house. There was no way such a scenario could play out in reality because the Oscar she knew was one pompous and proud guy that hardly ever gets mixed up with situations that would bring him down from his ‘Alpha’ status. The way she percieved him was nothing close to how I perceived him but for all its worth, Dora’s judgments about his was undeniably the truth.
“OMG Sophie! How come Oscar is outside? Did he come with you or you just met him around my hood? This isn’t for real or is it?” Dora hurriedly said in between breath. “It’s a long story dear but the button line is that I met him at school and he decided to follow me here just because I refused to enter his car or give him my number. He is such a determinant person and a nice guy but that doesn’t mean I have left my sense and logical reasoning behind. It’s hard to trust a guy like him not after all you told me but it’s all good. See you tomorrow at school. Get well asap!” I said and took my leave.
When I got to where the taxi was parked, Oscar was seated at the back boot pressing his phone. “Time to go” I said as I opened the door. He quickly got down from the boot and joined me inside the car. Shortly after, the taxi drove off and headed to my house. Yet again, there was an awkward silence in the car but this time around, he spoke up. “How is your friend? Hope she is ok” he asked and I assured him that she was doing fine.
Finally, we got to my destination and as I was about to bring out money from my bag to pay the taxi driver, Oscar held my hand and pushed it back inside my bag; thereby signaling me not to bother paying. “Don’t bother, I’ve got this, remember he still needs to drive me back to school so I can get my car” he said as I looked deep into this eyes. My heart skipped several beats as I looked at the warm smile on his face. Urghhh! In as much as I tried to find something negative to pin on him, there was just none; at least not for now.
On seeing how selfless Oscar has been all through that evening, I figured there was no need refusing to give him my number because for all I knew, he had earned it. Just before I alighted from the taxi, I requested for his phone and he quickly gave it to me. I punched in my number, returned the phone to him and walked away before be could say anything else. As I took each step away from the taxi and into my compound, I could feel the happiness in his heart. It undeniably felt like he had hit a jackpot. I smiled all through as I walked into my house and shortly afterwards, the taxi drove off.
With each passing minute that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about all that had happened earlier. Deep down, I wanted to believe that Oscar wasn’t all I feared he was but sadly, that was impossible for me to do. The fact that he had showed few signs that concurred with every accusation Dora levied against him made me have second thoughts as to whether I could be his friend. However, without thinking too deep, I retired to bed for the night.
It’s been over 24hrs since I gave my number to Oscar but he hadn’t called yet; not even a Good morning message. As I went about my day, I tried as much as possible not to think of anything that had to do with him so as not to mess up my overall attitude for the day. Dora called in the afternoon to get the remaining gist about what happened the previous night at her house but I told her there was nothing more to tell; this was because I didn’t want to invest my energy and time on anything that had to do with him. Call me petty or not but this was the best possible way I could prevent myself from any further emotional strain or stress.
After a long day at work and school, I was on my way heading home when I decided to call Dora to inquire why she couldn’t make it yet again to school. “I still have a severe headache and have been advised by the pharmacist to get enough rest before I resume classes. Hopefully this would be my last day missing class as I feel more better each passing minute. Make sure you forward those assessments to my email so I can look at them” Dora said. I concurred to every word she said before saying “Goodnight” to her.
The call ended shortly afterwards as I walked to the school gate to flag a taxi. After sending close to 3 minutes there, I fortunately boarded one heading my way and in less than 15 minutes, I was home.
Immediately I alighted from the taxi, the first thing I noticed was a car that looked familiar parked opposite my apartment complex. In order not to assume anything, I hurriedly paid the taxi driver and was about opening the gate when the same car flashed its front light twice at me. I tried to ignore but it happened again and at this point, I was beginning to get a little scared. Just as I was about to ignore the car lights, my phone rang and when I looked to see who was calling, True Caller App revealed the name ‘Oscar Zen’.
Immediately the name popped up on my screen, my heart sank in. Thanks to the app, I was able to know who was calling even though the number wasn’t saved on my phone. After letting the phone ring for a little while, I picked up.
“Hello, Goodevening” I greeted, “Hi Sophie, Goodevening. I missed you today” the caller said. Still pretending as though I didn’t know who was calling, I began to probe the caller. “Who am I speaking with please?” I calmly asked and without hesitating, the caller revealed his identity; “It is Oscar”.
On hearing the name ‘Oscar’, my heart raced but however, I tried to comport myself. “Hi Oscar, nice hearing from you again” I reluctantly said.
While still on the phone, I tried to open the gate and before I could put my key into the gate lock to open it, the mysterious car flashed its front light again and before I could put together what was happening, Oscar alighted from the car and began to walk towards me. Immediately I set my eyes on him, I became speechless. Not in a thousand years did I ever imagine that he would do such a thing like this. The fact that he waited in front of my apartment for God knows how long just to see me kinda melted my heart. The smile on his face as he got closer made me smile too even though I was still shocked.
When Oscar finally got closer to me, he looked into my eyes and said; I miss you Sophie, would have waited here till Forever if that is what it would have taken me to see your beautiful face again” he said with a warm smile on his face.
As I looked into Oscar’s eyes that very moment, I wanted to say a thousand things but wasn’t able to utter a single word. Before I could summon the strength to say something, he dropped a shocker; “Be my best friend Sophie, I really really like you”.
Tbc
