It Was Not a Lie
BY
KAYODE ODUSANYA






















© 2016 Kayode Odusanya


CHAPTER 1

He smashed the cockroach with his shoes and watched it run off without its head. It’s a wonder how cockroaches can survive without their heads; then what part does the thinking?

Bayo looked up, and his eyes went back to the mysterious girl he had been staring at all day. He always had problems approaching girls he felt something for, but he wasn’t going to let this one go just like that, he had to figure out a plan.

The teacher started saying something that brought his mind back to the classroom; something about a group assignment. The girl shifted in her seat and Bayo got a better look at her. Thick black hair; brown skin; pretty face; athletic figure, just the way he liked his girls. She always kept an expressionless look on her face, so it was hard for him to tell the kind of person she was.

The teacher had started grouping people into three's, and giving them there various assignment titles. He would call three names, and ask them to move to the empty benches at the back, so they could get acquainted, and start discussing their assignments. Bayo thought of how he hated group assignments, he always liked to do his things solo. Before academic staff of the university he attended went on strike a couple of weeks ago, he and some of his course mates had been given a group work due to be submitted the next week. Then the strike happened, and it was 4 weeks now. He hoped nobody remembered the assignment when they resumed. He didn't even really care, because the ladies in the group always helped him out and he'd end up not doing much. His looks had always helped him out. He wondered why this particular girl had not noticed him yet.

Bayo heard the teacher call his name, and he signalled by waving his hand. Then the teacher called another name he didn't know; he didn't even know anybody's full names.

“That is the last group. And I am sorry, but you are one man down; you just have to manage.” The teacher said, but Bayo didn't hear that because he had just found out that he was going to be in the same group as the girl he had been day dreaming about. The girl picked up her bag and walked to the last empty bench and table at the back, and Bayo joined her.

“This is going to be your assignment.” The teacher said and handed them a small piece of paper. The girl smiled briefly, and Bayo caught sight of the finest set of teeth he had seen thus far. Her face was even more beautiful when she smiled.
“Hi? My name is Anu.” The girl said with a straight look on her face.
Bayo shook her hand and said “I am Bayo. So I guess we are in the group together.”
“I guess so.”
“And I can see you are not very interested in the work.”
“You guessed right.” She said and they both laughed.
“Let’s just discuss the topic, and then we'd go home and do some...” Bayo was saying then he paused when his phone started to ring. “Sorry, excuse me one minute.” He said before picking up the call. He spoke for a couple of seconds, and a frown appeared on his face around the last couple of seconds of the conversation.“Sorry about that.”
“No problem. Can I see your phone?” The girl asked with her hands outstretched. He handed it over to her, and the Sony Ericsson W810i passed an electrical current through it for the split second their hands held it. He was sure as hell he felt a jolt, whether he imagined it or it really happened, he couldn’t really tell.“Can I go through your pictures?” The girl asked.
“Sure.” Bayo said and was about to reach out and show her how to navigate through the phone, but he guessed she didn't need any help, as she was already helping herself. After going through a couple of pictures, she turned the phone to face him and asked,
“Is this your girlfriend?” Bayo looked at the picture and saw that it was the photo he had taken of Yemi, just this morning.
“No; it’s my kid sister.” Bayo said and she kept on flipping through the pictures without another word. ‘This girl must be a nut case or something, maybe that is why she does not talk much,’ Bayo thought.
“Don't worry; I am not a psycho.” She said without looking up.
“What?”
“I can read people's minds, and I know what you are thinking.”
“I wasn't thinking that.” Bayo said in defence.”
“Even if I couldn't read minds, your face says it all.” She said. Bayo started looking to the right with his left eye, and to the left with his right eye. Then the girl laughed and dropped the phone on the table.
“Are you trying to see your face or what”' she said, still laughing.
“Yes. I guess that is what I am trying to do.” He said with a chuckle.
“That is hilarious; very funny.”
“So the thing about reading minds, is it true?” Bayo asked when it got quiet again.
“So you really thought I was a Loony?”
“Well, kind of.”
The girl looked into space for a while before talking. “The brain is like a radio; Not really, more like a broadcaster and a receiver, in that it receives and lets out waves.”
“I don't get you. You mean the brain broadcast like a radio?”
“All your thoughts flow out of your brain like a wave on a frequency. And the brain also has the capacity to receive waves flowing from someone else’s brain. So if you meditate hard enough, you get the frequency through which the next person to you is broadcasting, and you get all his thoughts.”
“No way, that's crazy.”
“It might sound crazy, but it works.”
“How are you sure?”
“Because I tested it a couple of times and...Look, I’m sorry, can we change the subject? I don't feel comfortable talking about this any longer.” She said and rubbed her forehead.
“Wow. Just a couple of seconds ago you were so happy to talk about it.”
The girl didn't say anything, she just put on the expressionless face that Bayo had known her with. And then just as Bayo was about to speak, she spoke.
“I'm sorry, it’s just that my mom found out what I was doing with the mind reading thing, and asked me to stop because I was really getting deeper and deeper into it. I promised her I would never do it again.”
“Hmm! It seems very interesting though.”
“Get this book, THINK AND GROW RICH by napoleon hill, he talked about it in a particular chapter.”
“How come I have never heard of it before? It does sound really realistic.”
“I don't know. Maybe there are just some things we should leave alone if we want to live normal lives.” She said as she retrieved her phone from her pocket and waved it at Bayo.
“Oh! Cool. We use the same type of phone. Can I see yours?”
“Sure.” She said and handed it over to him. “So you don't have any Indecency on your phone, how come?”
“I'm not really into Indecency.” Bayo said and started going through her phone. “So why did you ask if I had Indecency? You like porn?”
“No. It’s just that…I don’t know…guys always have those kinds of stuff on their phone.”
“Cool, you have a lot of Rita Dominic pictures. We have one thing in common.’
“I really like her.” Bayo said.
“And also many pictures of Ini Edo.”
“The same reason; although I am thinking of deleting some of her pictures.”
“Halle berry, Angelina Jolie, Monica Belucci, Salma Hayek, Eva Mendez… and this girl, I don’t think…”
“Let me see.” She said and leaned over to look into the phone. “That’s Kerry Washington; the girl that stared alongside Chris Rock in I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE.”
'Oh, yea, Nikki, right? That was her name in the movie.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm! No Kim Basinger, or Joke silver, or Meryl strip, or even Sandra bullock, just the hot chicks”
“Well…I never really thought of it that way. So what's up with the work, I got to be somewhere.”
“The work?” Bayo asked. He had totally forgotten what they were put together for. “Oh. Sorry. I totally forgot what we have to do.”
“Yeah! But it is more like what you have to do, because I am not really into assignments.”
'Wait, why do I have to do it alone? I thought we agreed...”
“Please!” She got up just then to give him a hug and a peck on the cheek. “I'll make it up to you. I promise.” She said and started working backwards towards the door- her eyes still levelled with Bayo's. He noticed a girl at the door he had not seen before. The girl grabbed Anu from behind and she jumped, faced the person, and playfully punched her arm. Then she turned around and gave Bayo one last look and she was gone. He thought about that look; there was no expression in it, just like a stare- like a blank check.
‘So let me do a check on what just happened; I got to talk to the girl I have been dreaming about all week, and we are stock in a group together for at least a week, and we had a very nice conversation, and she even gave me a peck after only knowing me for just a couple of minutes, so far so good,’ Bayo thought to himself.

He looked around the class, and everybody was in one group discussion or the other. The teacher had left the class. It was 12.05 by his Casio watch, which was 55 minutes to end of the school. He packed his things and left.

CHAPTER 2

On his way home, all he could think about was Anu. ‘Did she know he had had a crush on her way before they met today?’ He thought to himself. The girl was like a mystery to him. It was too good to be true. It was deeper than attraction. And their chemistry was just too fantastic.

He didn't need to open a gate because their house did not have one. ‘It must have probably been built for GT bank or something,’ he thought. GT bank office buildings never have gates or fences.

They had moved into the first flat on the ground floor of the 2 storey building a couple of months ago. All the flats in the building were regular 3 bedroom apartments. His neighbour's mongrel gave him a greeting by wagging its tail and rubbing its rear on Bayo's leg. He got away from the dog as quickly as possible to get to his apartment. As he walked into to the apartment, wondering why the door had been left open, his sister jumped on his back.

“Yeah! Big brother is home.” She shouted out.
“Get off me and stop acting like a child.” He said as he turned around and around to shake her off. She was a petite girl, and at eighteen, she could pass for a 13 year old. Since she finished secondary school last year, Bayo had been her best friend and only companion. She was awaiting admission and didn't like to go out much.

“I am a child.” She said as she got off and gave him a playful shove. He staggered a bit then just sat on the couch closest to him.
“A child? If you were in London you would have gone through that stage, what it is called?” He said and snapped his fingers continuously, trying to work up his brain.
“You mean when they launch the girl out to the world, and she is viable candidate for suitors?”
“Yes. You read your novels well. But stay off the romantic ones, they'll ruin the way you are supposed to think.”
“Hmm! How am I supposed to think?”
“You...Aww shit. Let’s just forget all this talk. What have you been up to?”
“T.V, eating, sleeping; I’m really tired of this routine.”
“Sorry, you are stock with that for now.' Bayo said as he pulled off his shirt.
“So will you take me to the new cinema today?”
“The new cinema?”
“Yes. The one they opened close to...”
“Yes, I know about the new cinema, but you make it seem like we had a pre-agreed arrangement.”
“Please!” She begged with her hands clasped together. Bayo's mind flashed back to earlier in the day, when Anu said the same thing. ‘Women, they always have their way with men.’ He thought to himself.
“So what car would we drive there?”
“Yes! Yes!” She shouted in triumph as she ran towards the corridor.
“You still haven't answered my question.”
“The mechanic is bringing the Audi home any minute from now.”She shouted out from her room.

The TV was on and Bayo reached out for the remote to flip through the channels. Nigerian TV stations were getting more and more interesting to watch. He stopped at a channel that was showing what seemed to be a soap opera. In the scene, there was a guy and a girl talking, and then the girl moved up close and kissed the guy. They actually French kissed for a couple of seconds. A real French kiss; it really dazzled Bayo. ‘Maybe these Nigerian stations were not even safe for Yemi to watch any longer,’ he thought to himself. He always acted like she was his responsibility. Whatever she turned out to be was up to him. Just like yesterday she was celebrating her tenth year old birthday, and he was already in the university. If he didn't have problems with his academics then, he would probably be working in a bank somewhere on the island. He didn't regret what happened; it probably was for a reason.

His thoughts went back to Anu, and he was happy he finally got to talk to her today. He was thinking of inviting her out to the eatery at the ground floor of the computer lesson building the next day. Just as he was falling asleep, the land phone beside him shook him back to consciousness. He knocked a glass, half filled with water, to the floor as he stretched his hand to pick the call. “Shit!” He exclaimed as he quickly picked up the cup to stop it from spilling all its content. The phone was on its second ringing session when he picked it.
“Hello?”
“Hey. Bayo, you are home! Where is Yemi?”
“She's in the shower.”
“Ehh...Tell her I have something to do for Mark's mom and I would not be home early. I need her to prepare soup before your Dad gets back.”
“Okay. I'll let her know.”
“Everything cool back there?”
“Cool.”
“Okay. See you later.” And she hung up before he said bye. Maybe she was in hurry or something.
Bayo heard a car drive in as he replaced the receiver.

The Audi used to be there mom's car, till she got a “Kia Rio”, now it was like the children’s car. He's younger brother, Bode, was a book worm, and didn't show any interest in learning how to drive. Bode was three years older than Yemi, and he was thinking he would probably teach Yemi how to drive before thinking of Bode. The last of his sibling, Faith was just 10, and nobody thought their parents were still having kids when they had her. She got into secondary school last year, and was hardly ever home. Even her holidays were spent at their Aunt Lilly’s place.

He did some thorough check up on the Audi before letting the mechanic go. Apparently, he had already been paid, so there was no need for Bayo to give him any money.
He got back in the house and saw Yemi fully dressed, on the floor, trying to mop up the water Bayo had spilled on their marble floor.

“I saw a movie once where a man slipped from water spilled on the floor, and died. So don't ask me why I am taking this so serious' She said. She was in white and blue polo top, black jeans, and blue converse all-stars snickers. Bayo looked at her, and wondered why she always liked to dress masculine. He walked up to his room to drop his bag and change. He thought he needed a shower. A quick one, so he got into his towel, and just as he was about to walk out of the room, Yemi walked in, and went straight to the last wardrobe at the far end of the room.
“Hey! No privacy?” Bayo inquired.
“Sorry, just needed to get a rag in a hurry.” She said and was going through a pile of old clothes.
“And who said my room is where you find such?”
“Trust me; I’ve gotten a lot from here in the past.” She said as she held up a pair of boxers’ shorts and threw them away irritatingly when she found out what she was holding. Bayo just walked out of the room.



As Bayo lay down to sleep that night, he wondered what tomorrow would be like. He remembered earlier that night, when he and Yemi had sat at an eatery at the cinema, how happy she was to finally be out of the house. Life is too short to spend it doing nothing. He knew he had to make tomorrow and the days that were to come memories that would last in his head forever.

CHAPTER 3

Bayo felt a hand tap him from behind. His heartbeat stopped for a split second when he saw her. Except for the lip gloss, she had no other form of make up on, but the beauty was still striking. The expression on her face was hard to place. She was not shy and not confident at the same time. Bayo just sat there staring at her, and then she spoke. "Why did you want to see me?"
"You're so beautiful." Bayo didn't know when the words came out of his mouth.
"Is that what you called me down here for?" She started dangling her bag from left to right.
"No. No. Sit down." He motioned for her to take a seat opposite him. She stood for a couple more seconds not saying anything, and then she sat.
"Look, I really don't like coming down to this place, so tell me what you want to say, cos we don't have to submit the assignment till next week." She said and looked straight at Bayo. It made him nervous. He was wondering what happened to the friendly girl he had talked to yesterday. He finally managed to find his tongue after a couple of seconds. "So how are you doing this morning?" He didn't know if it was what he said, or how he said what he said, or just the timing, but the girl smiled.
"Fine." She replied.
"Okay." He said and there was silence again.
"So if you didn't call me down here to discuss the assignment, it means...you called me here for personal reasons?" She said. He didn't say anything, but his face answered the question. Then she averted her eyes.
"I don't know how to tell you this, but...I just like to be very direct before..." She was looking at the floor now. It can't be more than 'I have a boyfriend', Bayo thought to himself. She reached into her bag and tore out a piece of paper from a jotter, and then used her hand to cover the paper while she quickly scribbled something down. She handed it over to him; her face still with no expression. He read it and his face squeezed up in confusion. Bayo rolled up the paper in his hands and wanted to put it in his breast pocket, but she stretched out her hand indicating for him to pass it over.
"I don't normally care to tell people, but...You look like a really nice guy and all that, and I don't want you having dreams." She said as she put the rumpled piece of paper back in her bag. "I’m sorry, it's just the way I am."
'Whoa. What a waste’, Bayo thought to himself. He sat there staring at her, not knowing what next to say.
"Hey! You're making me feel very uncomfortable here; say something." She said and turned around to see if anyone was eavesdropping on their conversation.
"So…"
"Don't ask me how sure I am, because I know that is what's on your mind." Her eyes grew bigger as she spoke. You can't comprehend; you can't understand. You don't need to; just know that some of us are born this way."
"Hmm!"
"I do not feel anything, and cannot feel anything for you."
"So...So, even if I kissed you now...you wouldn't feel anything?"
"No."
"Can I try it?"
"Very funny; I'd probably throw up."
"Hmm!"
"What do you want from me anyway?" She kept her eyes on him, and looked away after a while. "There are a lot of more beautiful girls in that classroom, I'm sure..."
"You are different."
"You got that right. And that’s probably the reason why you and I can't be together." She said with a smile. Bayo laughed lightly at the joke and then settled back in his seat.
"Hey, don’t look at me like I am evil or something. I don't even know why I am opening up to you like this, or why I am still having this conversation with you." She started spinning her phone round and round on the table, but her eyes were still on Bayo. "Okay. Let me ask you a question, if I was straight, what would you need from me?"
"How do you mean?"
"I mean in a relationship or whatever."
"Umm! Companionship...a friend, a lover; stuff like that I guess."
'And sex of course.'
'No…I don’t place too much...Let me put it this way; You are one of the most attractive girls I have come across in a while, but when I first saw you, sex was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to...I wanted to own you."
"Wow! That is frightening. You wanted to own me?"
"Not like that..."
"I am playing with you; I get what you mean. I'm sorry, but I am what I am."
"Well..."
"You know, if you say it's my time and companionship you want, I can give that to you." She said, beaming with excitement. "I can be your friend. Yes, I can do that for once; would that be good enough?"
"Umm! Well...I guess so."
"Don't worry; this is going to be better than you ever imagined it. Trust me." She said with a wink.

CHAPTER 4

The week went fast and Bayo got to see Anu fewer times than he wanted; she said she had some family issues she had to take care of. On the last day of the week, Bayo came late to class, and was trying to locate an empty seat when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked and saw her indicating with a pen for him to take the seat beside her. She was wearing glasses, and had changed her hairdo. He could not even remember the hair-do she had on before, but this was definitely not it. The weave-on was low cut, sort of like Rihanna's hairstyle in the "Shut-up and Drive" video. It really brought out another side to her beauty. He sat and raised his eye-brow in greeting; she just gave him a “two thumbs up” greeting.

The class went on for another fifteen minutes before the teacher ended it. A girl on the same roll with them was trying to leave the class in a hurry when her scarf got tangled around Bayo's arm. The silk scarf came off the girl's neck, exposing a very revealing cleavage. "Sorry." Bayo apologized and handed it over to her. The girl smiled, collected the scarf, and gently cat-walked out of the class.
"Hey," Anu playfully punched him on the side. "you like her?"
"No."
"Okay, but you would like to have sex with her." Anu said with a mischievous smile on her face.
"What! Why do you have to be so raw?"
"I guess because I like to be very realistic. Besides, I can see the look on your face."
"So did you understand what the man was talking about with the..?"
"Don't change the subject." She said, with her face all up in his visual space.
"You are so...Why do you have glasses on anyway?" He said, looking at her quizzically.
"You are not going to change the topic. Do you want her?"
"You are making it sound like you can just get the girl to be at my feet or something."
"Hmm! Well...No. I just like it when someone goes after whatever he likes. If I liked you, I would not stop at any cost to get you, even if I just wanted to sleep with you."
"Hmm!"
She took a deep breath before speaking again. "Look, forget all the rawness, you're a guy, you can't fool me that you don't think of stuff like that. And it is good for your ego if you get stuff you feel you could not get." She stopped to get a response from him, but he just kept rubbing his chin. "I bet you feel that girl is way out of your league?"
"Well..., Maybe." He said.
"I bet you 100k you can get that girl."
"But...I don't want to."
"You don't want to because you feel you can't get her."
"Well..."
"Face it. If you could you would." She placed her hands on his shoulders before continuing. "I want you to do it for me. Consider it a favour for a friend."
"Do what?"
"Get the girl."
"Once again, what makes you so sure that I can get her?"
"Come on, look at you. You are a total hunk, which girl would not want you." She said and Bayo felt a little uneasy. "Or my God, you are blushing." She smiled at him. "Come on, I need a smoke. We'll talk more downstairs.'"She said as she got up from her sit.
"You smoke?'
"No. I had to say something to wake up your senses. I was beginning to lose you to daydream world." She said as they made their way out of the class. Bayo was in front and Anu a couple of paces behind. The girl with the big breasts passed by them on their way down the building stairway; Bayo and the girl made eye contact and greeted casually before moving on.


"Yes! Fresh air." Anu said and unfastened the first two buttons of her shirt from the top. "Are you staring at me? Oh my God, you are looking down my blouse; shame on you.” Anu said and started hitting Bayo with her bag.
"Hey! Hey! I was not looking down your blouse; I just looked at you for like a split second or something." She stopped hitting him, and the smile on her face disappeared.
"How old are you?" She asked.
"Wow. Are you collecting census data or something? How old am I?"
"No, seriously, I just want to know."
"24."
"24?" She exclaimed. She realized how shocked she must have looked, and quickly re-adjusted her face back to an expressionless one. "You mean you are going to be 24, or already 24?"
"What's with the age thing, you thought I was older? A lot of chicks always take me for an older guy; that is one of the..."
"What month are you?" She asked, cutting him short.
"January; January 7th."
'Mmm!. So your birthday was...20 days ago? Cool."
"Yes. So...Hey what's up with the glasses?"
"I don't wear them always. Come on, let’s get our things and go to your house." She said as she dragged him into the school building.
"My house? What would we do there?"
"I want to collect that Amanda Bynes movie you told me about- She's The Man. I think I like the sound of it.”
"I could bring it for you on Monday."
"Hey. We're friends, aren't we?" She stopped abruptly, and he bumped into her. "Why are you being so difficult? I am going to be so bored this weekend; I need stuff to kill time with."
"Okay." He said and reluctantly followed her.

CHAPTER 5

"So what's up?" she asked as he approached her.
"My sis didn't leave the key at the usual spot; I guess she is close by someplace."
She looked up at him, and then unplugged the ear phones from her ears. "What did you say?"
He looked at her with a tired look on his face before speaking. "I can't find my sis, and she's with the keys to the house."
Anu tapped a part of the car's boot, motioning for him to sit beside her. He obeyed, and she quickly closed up the space he had left between them. "I want you to listen to this ASA song, you'd really like it." She said and plugged up the earphones in Bayo's ears. He didn't struggle with her or say any word. He sat there not really listening to the song, just wondering what he was actually doing with the girl. Did he stand to gain anything from their awkward relationship? Just then, he saw Yemi, and he jumped off the car, but Anu pulled him back. "Come on! She is coming this way. Why do you want to get away from me so badly?" Second's before Yemi got within earshot of them, she pulled him close and whispered in his ear. "She's cute." He looked at her with a frown on his face.


"Hi?" Yemi said to Anu with a smile. She faced Bayo with a quizzical look on her face and dangled a bunch of keys in front of him.
"So why did you go out with the key?" Bayo asked her as he got off the car.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you this early."
"Where did you go?"
She turned around to face Bayo, her eye-lids were high up before she spoke. "That's none of your business." Then she turned to Anu and smiled, and then turned back to Bayo. "You didn't even introduce me to your friend."
Bayo turned around, with no enthusiasm. "Anu, meet my kid sister, Yemi."
"I’m pleased to meet you." Anu said and took Yemi's hand in hers.
"Hi?" Yemi said, before walking off to open the apartment door.


"Hmm! Lovely panting you have here.' Anu remarked.
"What? Oh! That?" Bayo asked, pointing at a hyper realistic painting of half naked kids playing around a river bank. "my dad kind of got that on impulse recently. He is not really into the ...Hey! Why are you looking at me that way?' Bayo said, with a frown on his face.
"What am I supposed to do, look up at the ceiling while you are talking to me?" She said as she sat next to Bayo on the sofa.
"No, you kind of had a mocking look on; like you were laughing at me inside or something."
"Why would I..." she started laughing before she completed the sentence."...I’m sorry, it's just that you looked really funny talking about that painting." she said between chuckles. Bayo lipped forward and she jumped off the couch, still laughing, but Bayo caught her and pulled her back down on the couch. "So you were making fun of me, right?" He held her down by the shoulders and started playfully shaking her whole body while face to face with her. She just kept laughing.
Bayo had stretched his entire body on the length of the couch in other to catch her. Her back was on the armrest and her legs partially on the couch. He slowly let her go when he became conscious of the awkward position they were in; His left elbow had been resting on her right breasts all the while.
He sat back on the other side of the sofa, a bit uncomfortable. Anu's laugh slowly faded away, until silence took over the room.
She shook the couch with her body weight to get Bayo's attention. "Why did you stop?" She asked in a low tone.
Bayo looked up at her. "Stop what?"
"Stop holding me...shaking me; you stopped all of a sudden, like someone entered the room. I was actually enjoying that playful side of you." There was a genuine smile on her face.
"Mmm! That's interesting." Bayo said and tilted his head to one side.
"You were probably about to deliver me from the forces of...the forces of..." she was saying with her face down and a smile still evident on her face.
"That’s very interesting." Bayo said and kept shaking his head. "Anyway, as I was saying, about the painting…"
"Are you cutting me off? You are actually changing the subject." She cocked her head forward, with a mischievous smile.
"Anu, drop it." Bayo said with a serious look on his face.
She covered her face with her palm for a while, and then she looked up. "I'm sorry." She said, as a little chuckle till managed to escape from her mouth.
"The classes end next week." He said and let it hang in the air.
"Yeah, that's true. You should probably come and know where I live before then." Bayo didn't say anything back. "Are you tired of our relationship?"
"Anu, that’s really funny you know."
"You know what I mean; are you?"
"No."
"Good. I thought you were going to give up so easily."
Bayo laughed a little before speaking. "I don't get you, give up on..."
"I think it's time to get you a girl though. You need some fun."
Bayo kept laughing and shaking his head. “You never seize to amaze me. I really don't..."
"Hey! Hey! I almost forgot." She said, cutting him off. "I need to take a picture with you." She got up from where she was and sat right next to him, leaning her back on the couch, so that their faces were inches apart when they talked.
"Why do you have to take a picture with me?"
"Umm! Just do me a favor and hold me like this." She said as she slipped Bayo's hand behind her, and moved her body closer to Bayo. "Now, do me another favour and look like we are a couple."
"What? Are you going to tell me what is going on" Bayo said and leaned forward with a chuckle.
She had already positioned her phone camera to face them, so she just pulled Bayo back beside her and CLICK! CLICK! "Perfect." she said and took a look at the picture. "Mmm! It's good."
"So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?'
"I'll tell you later." She said and jumped off the couch "I got to go."

CHAPTER 6

Bayo forced his eyes open to read the name on the caller ID. He squinted a little bit when he found out who was calling him at 3 in the morning. The line got disconnected just as he picked the call. He sat up in bed with his back to the wall, waiting for his phone to ring again.


He twisted his neck to deal with the stiffness he was feeling there, and then he put his pillow behind his back to get in a more comfortable sitting position.
The phone rang again after some seconds. "Hey!" He said with a tired voice.
"Sorry I am calling you this late, I just work up and I felt like talking to someone."
"Oh! It's okay. So what's up?"
"Umm! I'll not be coming over for classes later today. Actually, that is what I really wanted to tell you."
"Why? I thought we planned to hang out today?"
"Sorry! But I still want you come around though. Please! I’ll text you my address."
"Okay." Bayo said as he let out a yawn.
"Come around 4p.m."
"Okay."
"I’ll be expecting you.”
"Later."
“What’s wrong with you? I am meant to hang up first.”
“Sorry. I...”
“Okay, bye.” She said and the line went dead.


After his classes later that day, he was thinking of where to hang out before going to see Anu because he didn't want to go home and he still had about two hours to spare before she was expecting him. The organizers of the course he had been taking were saying something about their certificates being posted to them, and that they needed to go over the postal addresses they had left behind. He was not really in the mood to stay around and...
"Hi." A voice from behind him distorted his train of thought. He turned around and his heart skipped a beat.
"Hey! Hi." He managed to utter. ‘So...are you going to verify your address and all that?"
"No. I am positive I wrote out the right address." He hadn't really heard her speak before and was noticing the Hausa accent for the first time. "So what's up with your friend? Or is she like your cousin or something?"
Bayo's brain started to work. Should he call Anu his cousin, so that he wouldn't have a problem getting the girl? At least Anu had encouraged him to go after her.
"Oh! You mean Anu? We are just friends."
"Oh! Okay."
"She didn't come today. She had to get some things done at home or so." Bayo said and saw her eyes brighten up.


They talked about the classes; what he wanted to do with his life; what she wanted to do with her life; getting a good job; the state of the country, and occasionally he would find himself looking at her cleavage. He could not stop himself. She was leaning forward to talk to him, and she had on a plunging neckline blouse that exposed a fair share of her breasts. His eyes would be levelled with hers, and then it would go down for a while, and then come back up again. He hoped she didn't notice.


He didn't even think what he was saying was funny, but she laughed anyway. "Oh my God, you got to give me that movie. I really have to see that movie." She said, between laughs.
Bayo noticed they were the only ones left in the classroom. "If you really want to see the movie, I could give it to you."
"Great! I'd love that."
"My place is not far from here. You could come over and get it."
"Good." She said and looked at her watch. "Let's live now."


They kept talking all through the long walk to Bayo's house. She would occasionally bump her shoulder into his side as they walked. At times, it would be her breast hitting his arm or his side. And it just made Bayo's imagination run wild. She was much sexier and fuller figured than Anu.
His phone rang, and when he saw who was calling, he silenced it and put it back in his jeans pocket.


He switched on the TV for her when they got into the living room, and went he off to get the DVD from his room. "Yep! That's it. Drilbit Taylor. Just make sure you don't laugh yourself to death."
"I'll try my best." She said with a smile as she put the DVD in her bag. Then there was awkward silence. She had been talking all this while, now she got so quiet, and it made Bayo uncomfortable.
"You can stay a while if you want to. I kind of need the company." He said and she nodded at him. He walked over to the air conditioning unit, to increase it up a notch. With his back to her, he heard silent footsteps advancing towards him. She stopped right behind him, and when he turned around, they were inches apart. She stood there looking at him for some seconds, letting her eyes do all the talking. Then as he wanted to advance towards her, she moved up on him; kissing him passionately.

CHAPTER 7

The clock on his bedroom wall said 4p.m. His mind went back to about 3 hours before now, when he was thinking of what he would do with the spare time he had before going to see Anu. He let out a laugh. As he dressed, the image of the girl, naked in his bed flashed through his mind. He didn't even expect it to happen this fast. He was thinking probably on her second visit to his place. But apparently, she had had it in mind longer than him.

He threw on a pair of aviator shades, because his eyes were feeling kind of weak, then he took them off on second thought. ‘Anu was too eccentric; she’d probably ask him to take them off anyway.’ He thought to himself.
"Hey!" A voice said and Bayo jumped. He turned around and saw Yemi standing at akimbo by his bedroom door. He looked at her with a frown.
"You want to give me a heart attack?"
"I would love to if I could."
"Very funny; how did you get in?" Bayo said and dumped his body back in bed.
"The door was opened. You know that's really risky, right?" She said as she walked into the room and stood in front of him. "And why are you all dressed up?"
"Hey, aren't you meant to be at Aunt Lily’s place?"
"It doesn't mean I have to sleep over. For your information, it is almost 6p.m." She said and he looked up at the wall clock, it still said 4p.m.
"Shit!" He exclaimed and ran out of the room. His phone started ringing as he got to the door. It was Anu.
"Hey! I am on my way right now." He said into the phone.
“I was actually calling you earlier to let you know something came up, and I wouldn't be home"
"Oh! Okay." Bayo said, sounding deflated.
"Sorry. Can you come tomorrow morning? Please!"
"Umm! Okay."
"Can you make it around 11a.m.?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm sure."
"Good. See you then." She said and the line went dead. He turned around and saw Yemi standing behind him. He walked past her before talking, "Not one word." He said to her. She laughed and walked off.
"Aunt Lilly gave me cake for you, it's in the refrigerator." She shouted out from the kitchen. He ignored her and just went straight to his room.

………………..


Bayo rushed back into the house when he found out he had forgotten his wallet. He had to get some stuff for his mom from the store before going over to see Anu. He got back into the car and winked at Yemi. "Fasten your seat belts."
"Mom said no rough driving."
"Mom's not here, is she?" The car moved slowly out of their street and gained momentum as they got on the main road.



He parked the car across the road from their apartment when they got back home. When he had gotten all the stuff out the boot, he turned to Yemi. "Please tell mom I had to go somewhere."
"Do you mind telling me where?" She said, with a frown on her face.
"I am going to see my friend, the girl that came over here the other day."
"Anu?" She asked.
"Yeah. You remember her name. But don't tell mom that. Just tell her...tell her you don't know where I went. Bye." He said and ran off to the Audi. The engine was still running; he jumped into the drivers’ seat and zoomed off.


He got out of the car, took a look at the other buildings on the street before he walked to Anu's gate. Her house gate was high, and Bayo couldn't see inside the compound. He had already called her immediately he parked his car, so there was no point using the Intercom. He walked backwards, till he could see a portion of the house. The white building had grey painted window panels. He heard footsteps, and walked back to the gate.
"You came on time; that’s good." She said and used her index finger to motion him into the house. "Did you have any problem getting here?" She asked as they walked towards the building entrance.
"No. I actually know a couple of people that stay in your neighbourhood."
"Oh! Cool."
"Wow! You have really nice legs." She had on bum shorts and a tight fitting t-shirt.
"Thank you." She said, looking really shy. He had never seen her look that way before.


He saw a Sony PSP on the couch when he got into her living room. His eyes didn't stay there for long, as the sight of her living room left him in awe. There were paintings hanging on the wall in every corner.
"Mmm! You didn't tell me you guys were really into art."
"You never asked." She answered and picked up the black PSP from the couch before sitting. "So what do you want to do?" She asked him, looking him directly in the eye.
"That's a funny question."
"Why?"
"I don't know...It just sounds funny. Where are your parents?"
"They’re out." She said and went over to turn on the TV. Then she turned around to face him, like she just realized something, her face squeezed up. "Is that what you had in mind?"
"What?"
"You know what I am talking about. Oh my God. Where is your mind?" She said with a laugh.
Bayo sighed before talking. "You keep confusing me."
"No. You keep confusing yourself." She said, and then turned back to the TV. "What channel do you want to watch?"
"Just live it here." It was on MTV and the LADY GAGA’s 'Just Dance' music video was on.
"You want anything to eat? I can make you something."
"I just had breakfast; maybe latter."
"Okay." She said and sat right next to him on the couch. "So tell me what happened yesterday."
"Nothing much."
"Are you sure?"
"I had sex with a girl from the computer school."
She turned her head to get a good look at him but didn’t say anything. She faced the TV, and then looked at him again. "That’s very funny, dude. Ha-ha!" She turned the volume on the TV up and started moving to the song. After a couple of seconds, she stopped abruptly, turned down the TV volume and turned to face him. "Oh my God!!! You are actually telling the truth." she said and playfully hit him on the shoulder with her fist. Then she hit him again, and started laughing. "Oh my God! I left you for one day and you go on and...Oh my God!" She exclaimed and hit him again.
"Ouch! That actually hurts."
"Tell me about it; who was it?"
"Sorry, I don't kiss and tell." He said and she frowned at him. Then he looked at her "You probably don't know her." Bayo didn't know why he lied, but he just wasn't comfortable telling her who it was.
"I am positive I know every girl that would get your attention in that class."
"You don't know this one."
"Hey!" She exclaimed and grabbed his arm. "If I don't know her, I want to know her. Describe her."
"Why do you want to know who it was? You are not going to see her again anyway." There was silence, and Bayo couldn't tell if it was jealousy he saw in her eyes, but he hadn't seen her this way before.
"Why did you have to wait till I wasn't around?"
"I didn't plan it, it just happened." He said, and turned her head over to face him. "I never had my eyes on anyone but you."
"Hmm! That’s interesting." She said and smiled. "Follow me I want to show you something." She said and pulled him along as she ran towards the stairs.

CHAPTER 8

Heavy window blinds blocked sun rays from entering the room, so it was a bit dark. Anu switched on the light from a wall socket, and went off to a corner table with a laptop. Something made Bayo halt in his tracks. His gaze went from the body lying on the bed by the door, to Anu, then back to the person. Anu looked up at him. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't tell you, this is my brother's room." She said and waved him over. He didn't move from where he was. He wondered why she didn't lower her voice while talking.
Bayo kept his gaze on her- his face squeezed up, and then she finally got up and walked up to him. "Watch this." She said in a whisper when she was within arm’s length from where he was and then she turned to her brother and gave him a big blow on the back. Bayo was shocked, and he moved two steps back, ready to run, then he walked back into the room and frowned at her. She was laughing at the sight of her brother, stretching in his sleep, but never opening his eyes. After a while he went back to sleep. She was still laughing, and Bayo stood there, puzzled.
"What was that about?" He asked pointing at her brother- who was in boxers’ shorts, and white singlet. She laughed a little more before answering.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." She continued to laugh as she leaned on the small refrigerator that was beside the bed. Then she composed herself, and stood up-right. "I'm sorry; my brother sleeps like a dead man when he works the night shift."
"You scared me for a second there. I thought he would get up and give you some ass whopping." He said, and then took a look at the room. "So what are we doing in your brother's room?"
"Oh! The internet connection on my system just expired, and I want to show you something, come on." She said and pulled him into the room. His gaze staid on the figure on the bed; still not believing someone could be that deep a sleeper.


Anu showed him her Facebook page, and the picture of both of them that she had taken the other day was set as the profile picture. He told her the picture was cute, but he asked her what she was up too. She said something about making someone believe she was straight. She asked him if he was cool with it. He said he had no problem with it. Then she showed him some of her pictures on her web-log, and there were a lot with a girl, then a couple of others with a guy. He asked her who he was and she said he was her favourite cousin. She said he used to live with them, but got a new job that had him move to another state. The guy had the kind of face you could see once and never forget.


After a while she asked if he wanted to use the internet, he hesitated at first, and then said yes. She left him in the room, and he was there, going through his messages, and his gaze kept going back to Anu's brother on the bed, hoping the guy would not wake up while he was alone in the room. She came back after about 10 minutes, with a bucket of ice cream, and two spoons.
"Hmm! This brings back some memories.” Bayo said as she approached him.
"What? Oh! You mean moments with a previous girlfriend?"
"Yeah!"
"Mmm! So how come you don’t have a girlfriend right now? I’m just curious." She asked and the uncomfortable look on Bayo’s face made her regret she brought up this issue. "Hey! Sorry if you feel offended."
"I don’t feel offended. It’s not immediately you get out of a relationship you get into another."
"So..." She was saying and stopped to properly swallow a chunk of ice cream she had scooped into her mouth. “you just got out of a relationship? Like how many months ago was that?"
"Umm! About four months ago." He said and she squinted and counted with her fingers; from thumb to her middle finger, then she looked up at him "I’ve known you for about three months now, so that means…that means you broke up with your last girlfriend just a month before you met me?"
"Mmm! You did the math. I didn’t even realize that."
"So, was I meant to be your re-bound?"
"What?"
"Rebound; the person you get with immediately after you get out of a relationship, just because you want to forget your last relationship."
"What? No. What does it matter anyway? I didn’t get you. And just for the record, if you were just someone I wanted to rebound with, I won’t still be around right now."
"Mmm!" she exclaimed with the spoon of ice cream in her mouth and looked up at Bayo from where she was at the tip of the bed. He looked at her for a while, and then shook his head "You know what, let’s forget me and talk about you for a change. Tell me about your...your lesbian partner." He said with a laugh.
"Are you sure you want to hear about that?"
"Yes I do. I have not actually seen you with a girl before; for all I know, you could just be lying to me."
"I don’t get you."
"I mean, I have not actually seen you do anything remotely related to being a lesbian."
"Bayo, I thought we had settled this." She said. The expression on her face had changed to an angry one. "I told you at the beginning; I told you all what I could give you and all what I could not." She said and started walking out the room. He quickly reached out to hold her back. "Stop!" He said, and they stood inches from each other. He could sense some tension between them. 'This has to be sexual tension, I can’t be mistaken,' he thought to himself. Then she got out of her grip, and sat back on the bed. He sat back on the chair, but he didn’t face the computer, his eyes were still on her. She handed him the bucket of ice cream and said "It’s melting." He laughed and collected it from her. "I am sorry if I had you confused through any of my actions. I am sorry." Then she looked up at him "I’m actually…how do I say it to your understanding- I am the man in the relationship. I am the dyke, so I am kind of surprised that we get along so well. Or maybe that is why we get along so well." He handed her back the bucket of ice cream, and she took a scoop and handed back to him. "You want to hear a little secret?" She said and looked up at him from where he was with a funny smile on her face.
"Yes; although I doubt you can shock me any more than you have done already."
"You think so?"
"Shoot."
"You know that girl in class I wanted you to go for; the girl with the big boobs." He nodded at her, waiting for her to continue. "We used to be intimate. That’s until I found out she was bisexual. I could not take that." She laughed a little, removed the pillow from her brother's head, placed on his back, and laid her head on it. "I hated her afterwards."
Bayo finally got his breath back and asked "You're talking about Aisha?"
"You got to talk to her?” She said, looking surprise as she sat up. “I have never seen you guys talk since after that day." She looked up at Bayo and noticed all the colour had drained from his face "What’s the matter, dear?" She asked and Bayo looked at her speechless for a while before answering. "She’s the one I had sex with yesterday."

CHAPTER 9

The room got quiet for a while, and then Anu’s brother steered in his sleep. Bayo’s attention went from Anu, to the guy, and back to Anu. “Don’t worry, he is not waking up till his alarm wakes him, and that’s in about…" she said and looked at her watch "…an hour or so." She looked him straight in the eye. "I am going to be straight with you, I’m a bit pissed." She paused for a deep breath before continuing. "And it’s not because I don’t like the chick or anything, it’s because…" She took another deep breath "…I guess you would find out in due time." She concluded and started walking towards the door. Bayo didn’t get up from where he was seated.
"Tell me now; I want to know." That stopped her, and she looked back at him. There was a smile on her face. "Didn’t she tell you anything?"
"No. What was she meant to tell me?"
"I want to get a drink from downstairs, you should probably come along; my brother would be waking any moment from now."
"Should I be scared? Is he like a vampire or something?"
"So cute; you can still make jokes at a time like this." She said and smiled at him. The smile disappeared quickly, replaced by a stern look. "Bayo, let’s go downstairs." He got up and followed her reluctantly.


They got to the living room, and an old TONI BRAXTON video was showing on TV. She switched off the TV and walked up to Bayo. She didn’t say anything for about a minute, then without saying a word, she disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of coke in her hand. She perched at the edge of the couch that Bayo was sitting on, took a sip from the bottle, and then looked at him again. "You failed." She said before taking another sip from the bottle in her hand. "Of course I wasn't testing you at first, but later when…" she said and her voice trailed off.
Bayo was confused but he was a lot more irritated than confused. "I don't get what you are trying to say, please explain to me; How did I fail?" He leaned back and waited for her to continue.
"I’m not a lesbian."
"What?"
"I’m sorry. I just made that up." He looked at her, and a smile appeared on his face.
"I kind of suspected you weren’t."
"You suspected I was not a lesbian, and you still went and slept with that girl?" She said, looking really furious.
"But you wanted me to."
"That was a test."
"A test? What kind of test is that? You were urging me on, and you are telling me you were testing me?"
"Bayo, it was all a test. A test, Bayo, don’t you get it?" She said, close to tears. "If you really wanted me, you would not have touched that girl." She said and got off the edge of the couch. She walked over to the kitchen, and came back out without the coke in her hand. Tears were rolling down her eyes now and she didn’t wipe them off. "I thought you were different; I believed you were different." Bayo just watched her, dumbfounded, not knowing what to say to get out of the situation. She sat down, with her head leaned back on the couch. After a while, she got the TV remote from the stool beside her and turned it on. Her sobs were immediately drowned by the sound of BUSTA RHYMES rapping ‘Got You all in Check.’


After some minutes went by, he turned over to her, his voice, almost un-audible as he said "You said it was a test, then why didn't you get mad when I told you I slept with someone in class? Even if you didn't know who it was, at least I told you I slept with someone."
"Because I thought you were just bragging to impress me; boys do that all the time. They lie that they slept with this girl and that girl."
"Well, I am sorry; please give me a second chance." He was squatted down in front of her now.
She shook her head before saying anything. "You don’t get it. You don’t know what you've done. I can’t believe this happened again." She said and sobbed some more.
"What? Have you been through something like this before?" He said, and when she didn't answer, he got up and pulled up a stool right in front of her. "Let’s start over; no lies, no secrets." She still didn't say anything, but she was staring at him now and after a while, she shook her head again.

After a prolonged silence, she got off the couch. "Did you come with a car?"
"Yes."
"Can we drive someplace? Anywhere, I just want to get out of the house."
"Okay."

CHAPTER 10

Bayo turned up the sound system a notch to cover up the silence that seemed to be dominating the car. He took a glance at her and couldn't tell what was on her mind. He took another look at her, and he could see something; something was in her eyes as she looked ahead. It was like her mind was a million miles away. He waved his hand in front of her face; she blinked, but didn't say anything or change her facial expression. The music continued to fill the air.
He parked in between a H1 and a 1982 BENZ 230 at the parking lot of the mall. "Is this a Hummer?" She asked, her face to the side, examining the vehicle.
"Yeah; it’s a H1, not too many people have this in Nigeria; they feel it’s ugly." He said as he turned off the car engine. "It’s funny that it’s about $30,000 more expensive than the H2." Silence filled the atmosphere again. He laughed after a couple of minutes. She looked at him for the first time since they left her house. "What’s funny?" she asked, but not in an abusive manner.
"I’m just thinking of how you pulled that one on me; the lesbian thing. You kept it going for a pretty long time." He said and laughed a little more.
"Whatever." She said and looked the other way.
"So are you going to tell me about Aisha? What is the story between you two?"
"Do you prefer her to me?" The annoyance was evident in her voice now.
"What? Where did that come from? Anu…"
"You prefer her body to mine?"
"Anu…"
"What? I don’t have big enough boobs?"
"Bleep! Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?" He shouted. After a few seconds of silence, he turned her face towards him with his right hand; cupping her jaw with his palm. "I am in love with you; I don’t feel anything for her."
She looked at him a long time to see if he really meant what he just said.
"She has hurt me bad before, but this is real bad." Anu said leaned over to hold Bayo in an embrace. "This one is really bad. It is really bad because I love you so much." She said and started kissing him on the neck slowly. He raised her head to his face level and their lips locked. They kissed hungrily like they had longed for each other for a long time. The vibrating sound from Bayo's phone on the dashboard startled them, and they quickly disentangled. They both burst out laughing as Bayo checked his phone. It was a spam message. He deleted and threw the phone back on the dashboard.

When silence filled the air again, Anu rested her back on Bayo's chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"She had sex with my boyfriend. Or I think I should say my ex-boyfriend." Anu said, out of the blue.
Bayo looked surprised, and he saw the pain in her eyes as she said it. "You guys were friends?"
"We were the best of friends at the time."
"Wow! That is really odd; the fact that we sat together on a row sometimes in class and I didn’t notice any form of tension or familiarity between you two."
"Well…"
"And how did you end up taking the same course? Who came in first?"
"She did. I didn't know she was taking the course, and I had already paid for it before I found out."
"This story is still sounding very funny to me." Bayo said and adjusted in his seat.
"How do you mean?" She said as she turned her neck to be eye-to-eye with him.
"It is just too much like a movie or something. It does not feel real to me."
"Do you feel I am making it up?"
"No."
"Okay." She said and relaxed her back on Bayo's chest.
"I don’t think you are making it up. But...I do feel you are not telling me everything."
"I’ve told you everything that's important."
"You said you were friends, why would she just want to hurt you like that?"
"Hello! It happens all the time. Tell me you have not heard of stories like that."
"Okay, I have heard stories like that, but why would she want to do it a second time?"
"Why the Bleep am I still having this conversation with you? You're just a piece of shit?" She said in an angry voice and got out of the car.
"Anu!" Bayo shouted out as he got out of the car, slammed the door behind him, and ran after her. He got half way to Anu, and found out that the door on her side of the car was opened, and ran back to jam it.
"Anu! Stop!" He shouted out as she headed for the entrance to the mall. People started looking at them funny, so he comported himself, and slowed down his pace.


While in the mall, he walked up to her side and held her hand in his. He was surprised she didn’t make a fuss and throw off his hand. They walked aimlessly around the mall, until he led her to the liquor section. He picked up a six pack of Guinness, and 3 cans of red bull. He turned to face her "You want to get anything?"
"Yes; a bucket of Ice-cream." She said, avoiding eye contact with him.
They were heading towards the counter when he saw someone that looked familiar. He started thinking hard, and Anu noticed this as she looked up at him, and then she looked in the direction of his gaze and immediately stopped dead in her tracks. Bayo felt her tense up all of a sudden. She turned him in the other direction and started walking fast. "What’s the matter?" He asked and tried to make her stop, but she dragged him along, harder. He took a second to look back as she dragged him on, and it clicked in his head; he recollected who the mystery guy was. They had not gotten too far when the person shouted out "Anu!" She stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around.

CHAPTER 11

The guy walked up to them and greeted Bayo with a nod as he asked for a minute to speak with Anu. She looked liked a lost puppy. Bayo had never seen her look like that before and wondered what was happening.

"What’s wrong with you? You are not a kid, why are you acting like one?" The guy said to Anu, but she didn't reply him. Then he said some other things Bayo could not hear, because the guy had pulled her aside. After a while, he heard Anu laugh, then he looked up, the guy was also laughing. A few more words were exchanged and they hugged and said their goodbyes. He looked towards Bayo’s direction and nodded, Bayo did the same, and the guy walked off.
"What was that all about?" Bayo asked Anu as she walked up to his side. She bent down to tie the laces of her converse before saying anything. "That was my cousin."
"Yes, I already figured that out myself; why were you trying to avoid him?"
"He did something to hurt me."
"What did he do?"
"Hey! Am I under investigation now?" Anu said. She finished tying her shoe lace and walked off to the counter. Bayo walked up behind her.
"Anu, is it in anyway related to what we were discussing in the car?"
"No!"
"Are you sure?" He said, and she turned around to face him. He could not tell if it was anger or confusion he saw in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. He paid at the counter and they left the mall. While in the car, driving back to her house, he turned to face her and asked, "Was he the one you were referring to as your boyfriend?"
"What? Are you crazy?"
"No. I just asked a damn simple question!" Bayo barked back at her. "If you would just tell me the whole story with you and Aisha, I would stop asking all this questions." The silence came again.
He parked at the entrance of her estate and faced her. "Look, I’d really…"
"Okay! Okay! I will tell you everything." She said and kept quiet again for a couple of seconds. Bayo kept his gaze on her, and then she looked at him, and laughed. When he asked her why she laughed, she said the seriousness in his gaze made her laugh. She took a deep breath and then... "I told you about everything, but I didn't tell you that my cousin introduced me to my ex boyfriend. They were friends, and I was just pissed at him for letting something like that happen under his nose."
"What? He knew about your ex and Aisha?"
"Yeah, he knew. At least for a while, before I got to know."
"Okay, I get that know. But, if it was a couple of months ago, why is Aisha out chasing another guy you like? What happened to your ex?"
"I guess you would have to ask her when you see her."
"Anu…let’s just forget the whole episode, and start afresh. I won’t pry into your past again, and we can just move on." He said, but she kept quiet. "What? You got something against that? Or is there something else you want to tell me?" He said, but she was still silent. Then she opened the car door, got out, gently closed the door and bent down to be in Bayo's visual space. "I am a bit tired. I’ll come and see you tomorrow; there is something else I want to talk to you about."
"Why don’t you tell me now?"
"Bayo, I am really tired. I’ll see you tomorrow." She said and was gone before he could say another word.


As Bayo drove home, he wondered what she could have wanted to talk about besides all they had been talking about all day. He was starting to think he didn't know anything about the girl at all. He saw Yemi walking out of their front door with a girl as he drove up to his house. He took a closer look and recognized the person. ‘What? What is she doing here?’ he thought to himself.


She smiled as he approached them. His sister frowned at him. "Your friend has been here for a while now"
"Yeah! Sorry I didn’t call before coming over." Aisha said, and smiled. “I called you though, when I got here.” She added. Bayo smiled back and gave her a hug. Her Hausa accent was one thing Bayo had found appealing when they first met, and it just melted his heart again as she spoke.
"I’m sorry. My phone must have been on silent or something." He wondered why he didn't know she called, and then he remembered he hadn't stored her number on his phone yet. They stood inches apart, in silence, and then she held up a phone. I forgot my phone at your place yesterday; apparently, it fell between the couch."
"Oh! I hope you didn't have too many missed calls?"
"It’s my second line; I don’t use it that much." There was silence and uneasiness. Aisha turned to Yemi and gave her a hug. "Your sister here kept me company. Scrabble can really be time consuming, I didn’t even know that I had spent so much time here." she said and waited for Bayo to say something, but he was mute. "I got to go now. See you later." She said and waved at Bayo even though he was standing right next to her. . He grabbed her hand "I’m sorry, I was a bit lost back there. So many things happened today."
"Oh!" she exclaimed, and a smile came back on her face.
"Let me take you home." Bayo said after a long pause.

CHAPTER 12

"So where do u stay?" Bayo asked her as he fired up the engine. He was still uneasy; taking side glances at her, not exactly making eye contact. She had on a leopard-skin mini gown that stopped at the knee, and every time she moved in her seat, the gown got shorter.
"Actually, it’s not quite far from here; I’m sure I told you that the last time I was here."
"Sorry, I must have forgotten." He said and took a quick glance at her to check if she was pissed at him. "Aisha...can I ask you a question"’
"Yes?"
"Why didn’t you tell me you knew Anu?"
"Because you never asked me if I did." She replied. There was silence for a while. Her answer had come as a shocker to Bayo, but he quickly composed himself.
"She told me what you did to her?"
"I didn’t do anything that was abnormal."
"Oh! So you are justifying your actions?"
"I don’t see anything wrong in having an affair with my friend’s cousin."
"What? She said you slept with her boyfriend."
"What? That girl is still crazy."
"Are you telling me…?" A motorcyclist spewed curse words at Bayo as he rode pass his car. Apparently, Bayo had slowed down abruptly and had almost caused a collision. He waved his hand at the man in apology.
"Look, I had a short stint with her cousin, Samuel; I don’t know what she has been telling you" Aisha said- anger was written all over her face. "Anu is such a bitch!"


Bayo parked on the side of the road, and faced her. He looked her straight in the eye. He had a talent for knowing when people lie, and he wanted to be sure this girl was telling him the truth. "Please, can you start from the beginning?" He asked and rubbed off sweat from his forehead, using a white handkerchief. Aisha started laughing, and shaking her head.
"This is really funny." Aisha said.
"What is funny?"
"Everything you have been telling me in the last 5 minutes…for Christ sake, there was no boyfriend, and there has never been a boyfriend."
"What do you mean by 'there has never been a boyfriend'?"
"That is exactly what I mean; Anu has never had a boyfriend. I thought you knew."
"Knew what? Why would she tell me she has never had a boyfriend? I’m not like…"
"No, you don’t get it. She is a lesbian. Didn't she tell you that?" Aisha said, looking straight into Bayo’s eyes. The look on his face went from anger to confusion.
"No she’s not; she told me she just made that up."
"Made what up? I don’t get you."
"She told me she was a lesbian when we first met, but she said she just made it up."
"This is really funny." Aisha said and laughed. "So she told you she was a lesbian, and then she all of a sudden changed from that?"
"Are you telling me she really is a lesbian?" Bayo asked, looking very confused.
"Well, maybe I can’t totally say she is a lesbian, but she has never showed likeness to any guy before...except for her cousin." Aisha saw all the blood drain from Bayo's face. "Look, I was her friend for over 2 years, and I can tell you a lot about her."
"2 years is not enough to know somebody. How can you be sure?" He said as he shook his head.
"I am sure because I know a couple girls she has been down with."
"Down with?"
"I don’t have to spell it out for you; and don’t ask me how sure I am."
"So…did you get jealous and want to pay her back or something?"
"That’s very funny." Aisha said with a laugh. "I didn't care what she did with herself; she was a really good friend."
"So what happened?"
"The thing with her cousin happened, and we kind of stopped being friends." Aisha said, and ran her hand through her hair. There was silence for a couple of seconds. Aisha didn't say anymore, she just let Bayo soak it all in.
After a couple of minutes of silence, Bayo started up the car and drove off. Aisha gave him description, and he found out that her house was really not that far from his. He parked in front of her house and sat there, still lost in thoughts.
"So, I guess I would see you around?" Aisha said and as she got out of the car.
"Wait, you’re just going to live me like that?"
"I would have loved to stick around, but you look like you need to do some thinking."
"Then help me out with it."
"I think I have told you all I can."
"All you can? That’s really funny, and what also is funny is the fact that Anu was or still is in love with her cousin. Now that is weird."
"Wait…are you guys dating now?"
"Yeah, I guess you can say that."
“Oh!” She exclaimed in a low tone, and sank back into front passenger's seat. After a couple of seconds of silence, a tear drop rolled down her left eye. She used her right hand to wipe it off and was getting up to leave when Bayo grabbed her by the arm.
"Why are you crying? Didn't you know that we were a pair? You saw us together, everyday, for about three months, and you didn't know there was something."
"She lied to me?"
"She lied to you? When was that? I thought you guys didn't talk anymore."
"We settled a couple of weeks back."
"You settled? How come I never saw you together?"
"She wanted it to stay that way so that the plan would work."
"What plan?" There was a frown on his face now.
"She said she was going to help me get you."

CHAPTER 13

Bayo scratched his head for a while and thought in silence. He took a deep breath and faced her. The tears on her face had dried up now. The gown she had on had gone higher up her thighs, revealing a lot more than Bayo could take. Somewhere within him, he had a funny thought of just living Anu and sticking with this girl’s story.
"So she said she was going to help you out?" Bayo finally asked.
"Yeah! You guys were always together, so I thought she could help me out."
"We were always together; didn't that give you a hint that there was something between us?"
"As I said earlier, she had never been attracted to boys." Aisha saw where Bayo's eyes were fixed, and she slowly adjusted her gown. "I believed her when she said she would help me out."
"And then?"
"She stopped talking to me…I’m sorry…the other day at your place, I don’t normally act like that."
"Mmm!’"
"I didn’t know what overtook me."
"I…" Bayo was distracted by an incoming phone call; he picked up and said some things in a hurry into the receiver. He hung up and threw the phone on the car dashboard. "I got to go do some things for my mom…I’ll call you." He said, but she didn’t move from her seat. She looked at him, and then looked away. "I can’t say anything about anything right now; just let me call you up later, okay?"
"Okay." She replied and slowly got out of the car. He made a u-turn, right at the spot where he was parked, and honked the horn before driving off.
It was already dark by the time he got home. Yemi met him at the door. "Mr lover-lover." she said, doing a Shaggy impersonation.
"Where is Mom?" Bayo asked, ignoring her statement.
"She’s in the kitchen. So what is the deal with the two chicks?" She asked, hopping along with him, as he moved through their doorway corridor in a hurry.
"Hey! Where have you been? Yemi said you were around a couple of minutes ago, and then you disappeared again." His mom said. She had on shorts and a tee shirt and could have passed for his elder sister.
"Sorry mom." He said and pecked her on the cheek before sitting up on the kitchen cabinet. He didn't realize his sister, Yemi was beside him all the while until she sat up beside him
"I told you guys to stop doing that." His mom said; pointing the spoon in her hand at Bayo and Yemi. Bayo pushed Yemi off but stayed on. She frowned at him. "You too young man." Bayo’s Mom said. He got off and was walking out when his mom shouted out loud. "Your Dad wants you to check out that sound system in the parlour; I think something about a speaker not working."
"Okay Mom." Bayo turned around and saw his kid sister still trailing behind him.
"So what’s up?" She said to him.
"What’s up with what?"
"Are you in any kind of trouble?"
"What trouble?"
"With the girls; I can help you if you want."
"Oh! That?" He was in the living room now, and he bent over to check out the hi-fi "Hey, help me switch it on from the wall." He said to his sister. He manipulated some wires behind the speaker for a minute, then came back around, and turned on the sound system, and music filled the room. He walked from one speaker, to the other, putting his ear down to be sure they were both working. After doing that twice, he nodded his head. "Done." He said, and switched it off.
"Are you going to tell me about the girls or not?" Yemi asked Bayo as he walked off to his room. He was about to shot his room door when Yemi's foot got caught in it. "Hey, I am your sister; you can tell me what is bothering you."
"No I can’t, now please go to your room, and leave me alone."

CHAPTER 14

Bayo was awoken the next morning by his phone; he silenced it when he saw who was calling. 'She’ll probably think I am still asleep', he thought to himself. He was no longer in the mood to see her, even though they had agreed to meet today.


"Hey! No good morning?" He asked his sister on the way to the kitchen. She just walked passed him without saying a word. He pulled her back and held her in an embrace. She struggled to get out of his hold, but he didn’t let go. The sun was still rising, and there was no power supply, which made the corridor dark. But he could still make out a frown on her face. "I’m sorry sis.” He said, and she struggled even more. He finally let her go. She took a couple of steps in the direction she was heading, then turned back and walked towards him. She walked passed him, then turned around and playful shoved him aside. He dramatically made a sound like he was hurt, and fell to the floor. She laughed and went off in the direction she was originally headed.


Bayo picked up a chicken lap from the refrigerator, wiped off the frost before sticking it in his mouth. "Gross! How could you do that?" Yemi said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Do what? Eat chicken?" Bayo asked and offered her the chicken lap. She made a screwed up face and moved backwards. "You should try it, it is better this way."
"Just make sure you don’t come knocking on my door when you upset your stomach."
"After I read that article on the dangers of microwave…’ He said and shook his head.
"I was going to make scrambled eggs." Yemi said and sat on the kitchen counter.
"Hmm! And what would that go with?"
"Sausages.”
"Nice, please hurry, I am still hungry." Bayo said and grabbed a can of red bull from the refrigerator, opened it and took a long swig before placing it on the kitchen counter. "So you want to know what’s up with me and the girls."
"I think it’s about time.’ Yemi said and moved closer to her brother. He winked at her as she opened one of the cabinets and brought out a couple of eggs. Bayo coughed a couple of times like there was some part of the kitchen stuck in his throat, then he took another swig from the can, and placed it on the cabinet hard, so that it made a loud noise. He was quiet for a while, almost like he was waiting for his cue to start talking, then he belched.
"Eww! Just get on with the story already." Yemi said looking disgusted. Bayo laughed for a while, and then got serious.
"Okay. Here we go. Anu made me believe she was a lesbian, until she told me she was not one yesterday. And I found out that she and another girl in our class used to be friends, and then that girl now tells me that Anu really is a lesbian…and I already had something to do with that girl, during the time I thought Anu was a lesbian…and the…"
"Wow! Wow! Back up a bit. This is one hell of a story you are telling me."
"You bet it is." Bayo said, scratching his head.
"So, let me get it straight, Anu is the girl you came home with that one time."
"Yeah, quite a while ago"
"Okay. And Aisha is the girl that was here yesterday?"
"You got it."
"I don’t want to get twisted in all the lesbian talk, or friend or no friend stuff, gush, the story is so clumsy; I just want to know which one of them you want."
"What do you mean?"
"Deep down inside your heart, which one do you really want to get serious with?"
"I must say, with all that has been exposed in the last 24 hours, I do not know. I am confused."
"I think you have to make up your mind on that."
"I know. I know." Bayo said and started pacing the short length of the kitchen.
"I…I really do not want to dabble into your personal affairs, but…"
"But what, sis? Give me some advice. Say something; anything."
"Well, I don’t know who lied and who did not, but I know Aisha really likes you."
"Why would you say that?"
"Trust me, I am a girl, I know."
"I don’t know; I don’t know." Bayo said, shaking his head.
"Bayo, I spent like 4 hours with her yesterday, I know she genuinely likes you."
"Mmm! Could you be saying this because you enjoyed spending time with her yesterday?"
"Bayo, she is crazy about you, point, blank, period." She concluded. Bayo sighed, and looked straight ahead. It was evident he really didn’t know what choice to make.
"Well I got to go." Yemi said and jumped off the kitchen cabinet. Just as she was exiting the kitchen, she turned around. "Yeah, that reminds me; Dad said you should take some clothes to laundry for him. I think he kept them in the store." Bayo just nodded his head at her as she walked out.

CHAPTER 15

A week had gone by and Bayo had not spoken to either of the girls. They both called his phone every day, but he never picked up. Now, he found himself in front of Anu’s house, and he hadn’t even called that he was coming.


He rang the bell and waited. It was a weekday, and he could remember her saying that she was always home alone on week-days. He heard a curtain move in an upstairs room. He looked up and saw her looking down at him. Seconds later, she was opening the gate for him. "What in the hell happened to you? Were you sick or something?" She said, looking worried. He was surprised, as he expected a different approach. He just smiled and walked in. "I’m fine."
"So why haven’t you been picking my calls? I was going crazy, I thought…I don’t know what I was thinking…or thank God you are okay." A genuine smile was on her face.
They made it to her living room without saying much to each other. The air conditioner was on in the room, and was a sharp contrast to the harsh heat wave that was outside there. "Aww! This feels real good." He said as he sat down on the couch facing the television.
"Do you want me to get you anything?"
"I’m good…but on second thought, you could get me a coke."
"Okay. I’ll be right back." She said and disappeared.
"So what’s up?" She said as she handed him the already opened bottle of coke. He took a quick gulp and faced her.
"I spoke with Aisha." He said and the smile on her face got replaced with a look of worry. She sat down on the couch close to the TV, and crossed her legs. Bayo took a good look at her, and noticed it was the first time he had seen her wearing a skirt.
"I wanted to tell you everything, but…but I guess it would have been a hard pill to swallow.’ Anu said.
"So when were you planning to tell me."
"I thought I was going to see you the day after, but you weren’t picking my calls"
"Anu, have you told me one atom of truth the whole time I have known you?" Bayo asked and tilted his head to one side. She didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes. She just lay back in her sit and was biting at her finger nails. "Look, I am really sorry. Every lie just led to the next."
"So what is the truth? How do I know the truth?" You told me she slept with your boyfriend. I found out that there is and has never been a boyfriend." Bayo said and Anu was quiet for a while, then she quickly regained her composure.
"I can see she told you everything. But not everything I told you was a lie."
"So tell me. Tell me, really, I want to know. We can start with your sexual orientation."
“I thought we were over that…Oh! She told you?"
"She told me. She told me about your escapades"’ Bayo said, stressing the last part of the sentence. It made Anu laugh for a bit before responding.
"I also told you about that, didn’t I?"
"That was when you were still lying to me; you told me all that when I still thought you were what you really are."
"Bayo, your words are not making sense." Anu said, with her hands in the air.
"And none of yours have made sense since I met you." Bayo said, showing his frustration in the way he said it. She kept eye contact with him, and from her look, it was evident that she was trying not to lose control.
"She got things confused. When I first met her, I had just gotten out of this bad relationship with this guy, and she and my cousin really helped me through it." Anu said. "I never told her about the guy." She got up now, and started pacing.
"And what about the thing with your cousin?"
"As I said, I was really confused. I convinced myself that I could like him, because he really is just a distant relative." She said, and Bayo gave her the eye. "What? I don’t even know his mom." She said ran her hand through her hair. "As I said, I was really confused, and he was always comforting me. I didn’t know they were doing more behind me than in my face, till I caught them."
"You actually saw them?"
"Yeah, I did. I…let's not go into details.’"She said and sat on the long couch with Bayo. "You see, I felt betrayed by the two people I trusted the most in my life at the time. But I guess they meant no harm. I guess I was the one that got everything all wrong." She concluded and leaned back on the couch. "Then you came along. You came along when I was in such a bad state." She said with a smile. "I tried to ward you off with the lesbian thing but you didn’t give up. And then I started liking you...really liking you. And then…" She let her voice trail off.
"So, did you ever sincerely plan to help Aisha?"
"Plan to help her? I don’t get you."
"She told me that she had told you how she felt about me."
"Oh!" She exclaimed and paused for a little while. "I feel really guilty." She said and covered her face with her right palm. "I actually promised to help her, so I could get you off my back, but, I don’t know where my plan went wrong." She said and got off the couch. "I guess that's the part where I fell in love with you." She started pacing again, and stopped in front of Bayo after a couple of seconds. "She's a very sweet girl. I guess I was just a bit selfish right there."
"Mmm!"
"I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since we last saw."
"And…?"
“I am thinking maybe we really are just meant to be friends."

CHAPTER 16

He knelt in front of her and bowed his head, out of confusion. After a couple of seconds, he got up and walked over to the curtain. "You don’t have to feel guilty for what you did. If that is the reason…"
"Bayo, I have given this a lot of thought. I am serious." She said, cutting him off.
"Why?"
"I told you why."
"That does not make any sense." He said as he walked back to where she sat in the living room. He knelt and held her two hands in his. "Let us just start over like we just met." He said and smiled, which quickly disappeared from his face. Anu looked at him for a while before talking.
"Bayo, I am just too complicated. I don’t want to see you and I fight, and break up, and hate each other."
"No, that won’t happen." He said and she laughed. She got up from her seat, and he got up from where he was squatted beside her. Their eyes were locked now. Then Anu held him in a tight embrace.
"You remember when I first met you, and I told you that you would have more fun as my friend?" Anu said, in a whisper into Bayo’s left ear.
"Yes."
"We had so much fun didn’t we?"
"We did."
"Yeah we did, until we decided to take it to the next level; now look at all the drama that has unfolded."
"But…" Bayo was saying, and Anu stopped him by putting up her index finger on his lips. Then she withdrew, took a look at him, and kissed him on the forehead. She went back to holding him in an embrace, and whispered into his ear.
"I want you to date Aisha."
"What? What are you talking about?" He said as he pulled away from her.
"Please, just do that for me."
"Why would you want that?"
"It’s the best thing for me at this point, I think. And the girl is in love with you."
"Why would you want that?"
Anu started pacing the length of the living room now. "I know you were always attracted to her, but I was just kind of in the way."
"What are you talking about; you know I always liked you."
"Yeah, I know that. You liked hanging out with me, but you were attracted to her."
"Anu…"
"Please, just do that for me; that way nothing would really change between us." She said, looking out the window.
"What do you mean? I thought you hated her?"
"Not any more. She has been coming here every day since you stopped picking our calls."
"What!" He said and slowly sat on the couch.
"She is probably on her way here right now."
"Are you serious? I mean, about you guys making up?"
"Yes." Anu said as she walked towards Bayo. "She is a nice girl. She would be good..." A knock at the gate stopped Anu midsentence. She listened for a while and smiled. "It’s Aisha; that's her code knock. I’ll be right back." Anu said and ran out the front door. She came back like she forgot something, and stood in front of him for a couple of seconds. "Remember one thing; everything wasn't a lie." She said and ran out before Bayo could question her on what she meant.

He heard Aisha’s voice and it caused stiffness in his stomach. He picked up the bottle of coke from beside the couch and took a long gulp from it. They came into view holding hands and he felt a prickle of sweat come down his fore head. It was hard for him to comprehend that they could actually get along as friends. He looked at them both and sincerely, deep down inside, he couldn't make a choice. They were both lovely, and beautiful. Now they were smiling at him, and it seemed hard for him to believe that they were once enemies.
"Hi?" Aisha said and waved at him. He smiled and waved back, but she stood there, Anu’s hand still in hers. Then they laughed and looked at each other, then looked at him, and then laughed again. The laughing stopped, and Aisha put her hands around Anu’s neck, looked into her eyes, and they locked lips.
Bayo’s bottle dropped to the floor.


THE END

I dnt really understand d title of dis work of fiction

Lawlahdey, check this one out. Thanks.

kayo80:
Lawlahdey, check this one out. Thanks.

Thanks.. Will do that soon

Lawlahdey:
Thanks.. Will do that soon

Cool.

I don't get the last part... They were fooling the guy all along?

Omo!
Gobe nla
Why hurt bayo??