This is a work of fiction. Names and characters used in this book are fictitious and are the product of the author's imagination. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission from the author ©.


'Jane Kareem

Chuka approached the church auditorium oozing confidence. He had taken his time to look as responsible as he could. His neatly ironed, white, long sleeve shirt reminded one of a Hypo advert in which people had to wear shades to prevent the radiance of the bleached cloth from blinding them. He tucked it into a pair of gray trousers and donned a red bow tie as well. His shoes were so shiny; he wouldn’t be surprised if he saw his reflection clearly on them.

Chuka was generally pleased with himself. He firmly clutched his Bible and this definitely did the trick as far as he was concerned. He figured keeping the small Bible in his back pocket like others did could ‘disqualify’ him. This theory was further confirmed when Oga Brown, the middle-aged security man at the gate of the estate where he lived, commended his ‘boldness’ to carry his bible, unlike most of his friends did. The plan had seemed ridiculous to them, but like he’d told them earlier, anything for the fish. He was glad that it was working.

As he walked past the parking lot, he could not help but admire the beautiful cars, all glistening and reflecting the morning sunshine. He paused to check the time on his wristwatch. 8:50am. A toddler waddled past him, cackling as her father ran after her and carried her on his shoulders; they were soon joined by a pretty slender woman. Chuka guessed that she was the girl’s mother. ‘What a beautiful family, he thought.

He walked on and saw a signpost which read, Teens Church, with an arrow pointing to the right. He turned and found himself on a path with a number of young folks, like him. It wasn’t hard to tell who was forced to attend the service and who wasn’t. Mostly, by their facial expressions, he could tell. A set of identical twin girls chattering loudly, slowly closed in on him. He smiled to himself as he remembered his childhood wish of having twin girls only with Thelma, his childhood crush. They had been quite the pair, having grown up together and had virtually planned their lives out, just waiting for the future to arrive so they could live it together. It had seemed like a realistic plan until she relocated to The States with her family when he was eleven and she was ten. He hadn’t heard from her since then.

The twins had on exactly the same kind of clothes, shoes and jewellery; they even styled their hair the same way. It would require a measure of hard work, dedication and time with the two to be able to distinguish between them. Together, they made their way to the fairly large hall used as the teens’ church.

‘You’re welcome to church, sir,’ said a young teenage usher, beaming like a groom whose bride was approaching, as he made his way to one of the two entrances to auditorium.

‘Thank you,’ He replied.

Chuka walked in and the first thing his eyes captured was the beautiful lighting on the pulpit area. The air-conditioners made the atmosphere quite chilled, almost cold. He was grateful for his long sleeve shirt then. Another usher, dressed in the same colours of clothes as the first one and smiling just as broadly, directed him to a seat in the middle row. It was the row directly in front of the pulpit. Like he’d seen his mum do the few times he followed her to church, he sat on the chair and stayed with his head bowed for about 10 seconds before standing to join the rest of the congregation in worshipping. He knew he was supposed to pray but he couldn’t bring himself to. The worship leader was also a teenager, dressed in a pink dress and black stilettos. Her hair was neatly styled and her makeup was properly done too. She looked good, in a simple way – simple beauty. To his left was the rest of the choir, also worshipping.

‘Whoa! Ivan wasn’t lying when he said the hottest girls are here,’ he thought.

‘Aren’t you just grateful for life? Thank God for the air we breathe, to be able to sleep and wake up. Thank God for love, for salvation.’ It was the ‘Stilettos girl’ speaking, with her eyes closed and one hand up. With the other hand, she held the microphone. ‘Lift your hands and worship The Father. Praise God because He deserves it.’

The building was filled with people lifting their hands and praying. The instrumentalists did justice to the mood, following the singer in euphony. Hands lifted, lips moving, praises soaring, the people worshipped God. Chuka thought it was all too fancy. ‘These church folks sure know how to make it seem like they have it all going for them,’ he thought.

Soon, it was time for the message of the day. A young and vibrant young man in a business suit went up the pulpit. Chuka was impressed by his good looks and how confident he was. He sure knew what he was saying as he quoted portions from the Bible very often to back up most of what he said. However, he was finding it quite difficult to concentrate on what the minister was saying. He had attended the service for another ‘reason’ entirely. He scanned the congregation from time to time with the hope of finding her.

The young preacher prayed with them and it was time for the announcements. That was when he saw her. He had seen her many times on the street but this time she looked elegant. He absentmindedly mouthed a ‘wow’. The young lady walked smartly up to the pulpit and picked up the microphone. Her voice was just as melodious as he’d expected. After reading the announcements, she asked the first-timers to stand up for recognition. Chuka had made up his mind not to stand with them, but Ivan, his closest friend, had convinced him to. ‘You’ll be glad that you did,’ he had said.

He stood and received handshakes from those seated around him. After being given a warm welcome by the rest of the congregation, they were directed to a smaller hall, just outside the auditorium. There, they were divided into sections based on their age groups. There were eleven others in his group – seven ladies and four guys. After introducing themselves, they were all given a paper bag each. The lady assigned to them said it contained the church’s weekly bulletin, a CD of the pastor’s message, a jotter, a pen and a snack.

Chuka’s stomach did a back flip. In a bid to meet up, he’d ignored breakfast and was very hungry at the time. Ivan had called the church ‘Shawarma church’ when he first told him about it. He didn’t understand until the lady mentioned the snack. She invited them to the mid-week service and said a prayer with them. They dispersed after they dropped their contact details.

Chuka walked out of the room to a multitude of young people chatting in groups and taking selfies. Some were headed to the car park to wait for their parents. He looked around, hoping to find her again. He walked back into the nearly empty auditorium and she was there, talking to two younger girls.

He smiled to himself and walked out

…………………………………………..

Chuka got home feeling too weak to do anything. He was grateful that his mum had cleaned up the place; she was not back from church. It had been a while since he wore a tie and he hurriedly took it off. He walked into his room and sat on the bed. He took off his shirt and shoes and picked the bag he was given earlier at church. The first thing his eyes caught was the can of Mountain Dew and the neatly wrapped snack. Thankfully, the drink was a bit chilled and the shawarma was quite warm. He devoured it within minutes and lay flat on his bed. Cynthia was the last girl on that bed and that was four months before. His attention had shifted to a more expensive goal.

……………………………………………

The shopping mall was flooded as usual. All sorts of people came there to do all sorts, shopping the least of them. A large number came to take pictures, girls especially. With their dolled up faces, different hairstyles and fancy clothes, they swung selfie sticks in various directions and at various angles, making faces with interesting poses. Majority of the guys were there to impress some new girl by trying to buy their way into their hearts, or between their legs. Others were there on romantic getaways, at least ten proposals happened there every day. It was that crazy. Few care-free ones simply came to enjoy rides on the escalator. They weren’t hard to identify. They’d parade the second and third floors in search of nothing in particular. Once, a young teenager was so consumed in the fun of it; he simply went up and when he got up, he immediately went back down. He ended up being walked out of the mall by security officers.

This was Becca Bassey’s home away from home. She got a job at Nosa’s Place, the only smoothie shop in the mall, almost immediately after writing her final exams in high school. She had been to the mall with her mum to get some groceries for the family when she saw the sign about a vacancy for a waitress. She decided to apply and got the job. She resumed by 8am every day and closed by 4pm. Dr. Desmond Bassey, her father, drove her to work every day since it was on the way to the hospital where he worked. She took the bus home when she closed. At 18, she was awaiting admission into Obafemi Awolowo University to study Biochemistry. It was her third attempt and she was confident that it would be the last. The pay at Nosa’s was satisfactory. Apart from her weekly allowance which her parents never denied her of, she had enough money to tend to some of her needs and whatever tickled her fancy at whatever point in time. She also had enough to save and give.

It was a fine Monday morning in May and Becca was excited to be back to work. Daniel, her best friend and co-worker was quite chatty; there was never a dull moment with him.

‘Hello. Good morning,’ someone said.

Becca looked up. It was a tall wiry man, with an obviously clingy child.

‘Good morning, sir. You’re welcome to Nosa’s Place. How can I help you?’ She replied, smiling.

‘Well, I’ll like a smoothie, please,’

‘Which flavour, sir?’

‘I like banana.’

‘Then banana it is.’

She walked to the refrigerator behind her picked a banana smoothie, packaged it in the branded nylon and handed it to the man. He paid and left. The flow of customers into the shop was steady and fair; the only time there was an overflow of customers was when there was a promo.

‘Hey babe,’ Daniel said. Becca smiled at him. He looked unusually gloom.

‘Hey Dee!’ She replied. ‘How’s it going?’

‘How’s what going?’ he asked, bewildered.

‘Well, you know. It,’ she said giggling.

‘What is ‘It’?’ Daniel folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

‘I love it when you do that. Can you teach me?’ she asked, trying to mimic the puppy-eye look.

Daniel laughed. ‘You’ve been asking since forever. But you know it can’t be taught. It’s just like… there,’ he replied, repeating the action.

Becca wasn’t convinced but she didn’t push further. She had done a bit of Genetics in school and he was right, she knew.

‘Were you in church yesterday? I didn’t see you, and Uncle Tade was looking all over for you,’ she asked.

‘Yeah, I was. I just had to leave earlier so I could pick my grandma up from the airport,’ he replied.

‘She’s back!’ Becca exclaimed.

‘Yeah, she is,’ Daniel sighed.

‘Awwwn! It must feel so good to have your bundle of joy back with you,’

‘Come on, Becca. Bundle of joy? Really?’

‘No wonder you’re looking all glum,’ she said, making a face.

‘Na so I see am jare,’ he muttered.

Becca laughed. Daniel was not as punctual as she was, but whenever his grandmother was around, he almost competed with the security officers who opened up the mall. She had an overbearing attitude which was one thing he detested.

……………………………………………

Chuka opened his eyes gently. He could almost see T-pain screaming ‘All I do is win’ in his ears. He disabled the alarm and walked into the bathroom in a cadaveric manner to ease himself. He collapsed back on his bed, ready to continue sleeping but the persistent knocking on his door would not let him. Again like a zombie, he unlocked the door and there stood his mother. She was dressed in a long ankara gown with her face made up.

‘Yes?’ He muttered.

‘Is that your ‘Good morning’?’ Elsa Okonkwo asked, obviously irritated.

Chuka rolled his eyes and reluctantly mumbled a ‘Good morning ah’. He never referred to her as ‘ma’ as he should. As far as he was concerned, she did not deserve his respect. Instead, he would say ‘ah’ to fulfil all righteousness.

Elsa frowned slightly. ‘No work today?’ she asked.

Chuka rolled his eyes. ‘She never remembers anything!’ he thought. ‘I told you yesterday. I took the day off. I have something to do at the bank.’

She sighed. ‘Alright. I’m off to the shop. There’s a loaf of bread on the dining table and eggs in the kitchen. Lock the door after me, please.’

‘Okay. Bye.’

Chuka followed her to the door and watched her drive off. The feelings of admiration which he fought very often to suppress surfaced again. She was still very beautiful and took good care of herself. She was doing quite well for a single parent. She owned a big supermarket – one of the biggest in town. She did her best to make sure he never lacked whatever he needed.

He shut the door and headed for the kitchen. He prepared his breakfast of bread and eggs and headed to the sitting room to watch TV while he ate. His mum never allowed it when she was around. ‘All meals are restricted to the dining,’ she would say. Only snacks could go beyond the dining area as long as she was there.

The clock read 8:30am. On a normal day, he would have been at work. He was on a session break and decided to work at his uncle’s photography studio to keep himself busy. He loved the job because not only did he get to learn a lot and have enough free time, he also got to meet a lot of pretty girls.

He made his way to Mnet Action and tried to concentrate on the movie being shown. His phone rang; it was Ivan.

‘Guy, where you dey?’ Ivan asked as soon as he picked the call.

Laughing, he replied, ‘At home now. Where else could I possibly be at this time of the day?’

‘I don’t know. Work?’ he replied. ‘Anyway, how far yesterday? Any progress?’

Chuka shook his head. ‘You know this is why you hardly ever score any goals. Why you dey rush me now? Have you forgotten that this one is different?’

‘Whatever. I need that money, but more importantly, I can’t wait to see you fail,’ Ivan said mockingly.

‘Calm down. I have three months to get her and trust me, I won’t fail.’

Ivan sneered, ‘Whatever man. Talk to you later.’

Chuka smiled. Ivan had every reason to doubt his success with this particular girl. She was not the usual type and he knew it. Once in a while, they placed bets on girls. He won most times. He was a tall, good-looking and fairly rich guy who had a way with words. Not many girls could resist this. Ivan, on the other hand, was not so blessed with good-looks even though he was also from a well-to-do family. Thus, he seemed to have a harder time getting the girls.

Chuka left the house some minutes past ten to beat the people traffic common in most banking halls on Mondays. His ATM card had expired two weeks before. It had caused him some inconveniences and he needed to get another as soon as possible. The banking hall was crowded as expected. He sighed and walked slowly to the customer care unit. A short queue stood in front of a young plum lady with her eyes fixed on the laptop screen on her desk, and chewing gum quite loudly. All the available chairs close to her were occupied. He joined the queue and fixed his earphones ready to play music.

‘I wonder who employed this one that is chewing gum like an ashawo in a bank,’ said an old man to no one in particular. He hissed loudly. ‘Aunty, hurry up! We don’t have all day!’

Chuka giggled and increased the volume of the song he was listening to, bobbing his head gently to the rhythm. Soon it was his turn.

‘Good morning, Mister…’ the plum attendant said, smiling.

‘Chuka. My name is Chuka,’ Chuka replied, trying his best not to look disgusted. He looked at her ID card. Her name was Omobolanle Olaiya.

‘Okay. Mr. Chuka. How may I help you?’ Omobolanle asked.

Chuka carefully laid his complaint and she gave him a form to fill. He filled it and was directed to someone else for another ATM card. Thankful that he didn’t take as long as he had expected, he walked out of the bank relieved. A slightly shorter figure bumped into him.

‘Ouch!’ said the person. It was a girl.

He slowly removed his earphones. ‘I am so sorry. I wasn’t looking at where I was going.’

‘No, it’s my fault,’ she replied, obviously embarrassed. ‘This cap…’

Chuka looked at the cap. It was branded. Nosa’s Place, it read. She removed the cap and smoothed her hair. She looked at him.

Chuka’s eyes widened. It was her. The new fish.

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Jeus:
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Am here nd following with keen interest

Thanks for d mention bruv..all eyes on deck

Jeus:
aprilwise IecheM Dapo97 segzy17 sunshine26 Angelinastto sunshine46 souloho19 Matrycx dadebayo1 Evans407 Lovelyn dingdang ighodaovictor Hawlahscho Tinalex wins18 timmyblast dhamiylhola devilmycry akuracy dredmatthew234 peacesamuel94 eunisam Holytitus zeeboss sebastine1994 AlamienDagash Nphzzycute Ikdbabie Rock01 Evans407 Davidhero rachealfst redon12 prinxxdave talk2saintify mercichoco Folaoladapo redon12 kajsa08 Okebarn segzy17 Ikdbarbie Nwiboko26 kevwe10 YINKS89 Debbiesmart switplum Odinz oxysyntabel mutalib24 Foladapo Missmossy gtin Enigurl muxyray Hawlacho Gabbyraze devilmaycry

Following.........

Am following. Thanks for the mention

Jeus:
aprilwise IecheM Dapo97 segzy17 sunshine26 Angelinastto sunshine46 souloho19 Matrycx dadebayo1 Evans407 Lovelyn dingdang ighodaovictor Hawlahscho Tinalex wins18 timmyblast dhamiylhola devilmycry akuracy dredmatthew234 peacesamuel94 eunisam Holytitus zeeboss sebastine1994 AlamienDagash Nphzzycute Ikdbabie Rock01 Evans407 Davidhero rachealfst redon12 prinxxdave talk2saintify mercichoco Folaoladapo redon12 kajsa08 Okebarn segzy17 Ikdbarbie Nwiboko26 kevwe10 YINKS89 Debbiesmart switplum Odinz oxysyntabel mutalib24 Foladapo Missmossy gtin Enigurl muxyray Hawlacho Gabbyraze devilmaycry

i dey here gallant

Elsa Okonkwo drove slowly into the parking lot close to her supermarket. With her heart racing, she glanced at her rear-view mirror to see in what direction the black Camry which had been following her would turn. The car drove past and she heaved a sigh of relief. Perhaps she was being unnecessarily paranoid, but she had every reason to. Two weeks before she had received a text message from Olukunle.

‘Sweet love, it’s been a while. Hasn’t it? I’m in town. We should meet.’

Fourteen simple words which made Elsa’s heart palpitate. Olukunle Ajani was the only one who called her ‘Sweet love’. It had been twenty years since she last heard from him. How did he find her after all these years? Questions poured into her head – questions whose answers she would get only if she met him. That was a risk she was not willing to take. He belonged in her past and it was only right that he stayed there.

……………………………………………

Becca looked down the road desperately hoping to see the yellow colour of a commercial bus approaching. She had been waiting for only five minutes but it seemed like eternity. She checked her wristwatch intermittently and silently prayed for a bus to appear.

‘Continually looking at that wristwatch will have no effect on the time, you know,’ Daniel said, folding his arms.

‘But I can’t help it. I don’t want to be late,’ she replied. ‘And you should stop complaining and join me to pray for a bus to come soon.’

‘Late? We still have like two hours before service starts. Why the rush?’

‘Anything can happen in Lagos. Crazy traffic is one of them, you know.’

He shrugged and looked ahead, a rickety danfo, roaring loudly approached them. Becca heaved a sigh of relief, trying to hold the dance in her legs in. She would do it in church. It was Wednesday and she had invited Chuka to the mid-week service. ‘God sure answers prayers, doesn’t He?’ she asked Daniel, grinning.

The thought of Chuka brought a smile to her face. It had been a very awkward meeting. He had waited for her to withdraw from the ATM at the bank and walked her to the bus stop. She could count on one finger, the number of times she had seen him on the street. They never had any reason to talk to each other. She hadn’t made any friends in the estate since her family moved there about seven months earlier.

‘I was at your church on Sunday,’ he said.

‘Really? That’s good. I believe it was a fruitful experience, right?’ He nodded. The word ‘fruitful’ sounded quite religious to him.

‘You should attend the mid-week service the day after tomorrow.’

‘I think I will. It starts by 6pm, right?’ he asked.

‘Yes. It would be really nice to see you.’

‘Alright, I’ll be there.’

The bus was almost filled. There was space for just three more people. Becca watched as the man seated beside her picked his nose with what can only be described as either concentration or zeal, or both. He unashamedly wiped whatever his fingers found on his bleached red T-shirt. Disgusted, she moved closer to Daniel.

‘Aunty, do you want to squeeze life out of me?’ he asked, a puzzled look etched on his face.

‘Please endure. I’m begging you. I’ll tell you why later,’ she replied. Sensing that he was going to keep complaining, she added, ‘It’s not like you’re that fat anyway.’ Daniel frowned, but kept quiet. Becca laughed and winked at him.

……………………………………………

‘You seem pretty serious about this thing,’ Ivan said as he watched his friend trying to select which T-shirt would work best for him.

‘Twenty thousand naira, a gold medal, though virtual, and the pleasure of it all… These things are definitely not things to be unserious about,’ Chuka replied, smirking in front of the mirror.

‘You seem to have forgotten that this babe is a child of God. You are going hunting in the house of God, for real,’ Ivan said, squinting. He was used to squinting to show emphasis when he spoke.

‘Abeg! Na them dey bad pass,’ Chuka said, rolling his eyes. ‘I almost forgot. The place was quite cold on Sunday, a crew neck sweater would do.’ He hurriedly picked out a white one and put it on.

Ivan stared at him. He loved his determination.

‘What do you think? Chuka asked, turning to face him.

‘I’m not gay,’ he responded with a straight face.

Chuka laughed. He looked at the clock. ‘It is time.’

……………………………………………

‘You came,’ Becca said as she watched Chuka approach her, hands in pocket.

‘I told you I would,’ he replied. He took time to assess her. She had braids on and packed them into a ponytail, more like Ariana Grande. She rocked a blue chiffon shirt on a pair of black trousers with blue flats to match. His eyes danced on her chocolate-complexioned face as he took in its innocence, marred by a few pimples and spots. She was actually quite pretty. He was carried away and did not notice that she had been talking to him. ‘I’m sorry. What did you just say?’

‘I was asking if I could have your number,’ she replied. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’

Chuka was taken aback. The story usually didn’t go that way. He would ask for her number eventually, but not so soon. But on second thought, nothing had gone as planned with her since he made the bet with Ivan.

‘Of course you can,’ he replied. She handed him her phone and he typed his number. She saved it and looked back at him. She was going to say something when someone called her. Chuka looked in the direction of the voice. It was a guy.

‘I have to go now,’ she said. ‘I’m really glad that you came. See you on Sunday.’

He nodded and watched her walk towards the exit where the guy stood. His phone rang. It was his mother.

……………………………………………

‘Who was that? He didn’t look very familiar to me,’ Daniel said, as they made their way out of the auditorium.

‘His name is Chuka. I met him on Monday at the bank when I went to withdraw money for Bro. Jimi,’ she replied.

‘And you got him to come to church today? I’m so impressed.’ he said, raising an eyebrow.

‘You’re either being sarcastic or skeptical, or both. Which one?’

‘How would you know?’

‘You raised your left brow,’ she replied, keeping a straight face.

‘Come on, Rebecca! You know it doesn’t mean anything. What’s it with you and these brows raising thing anyway?’

She grinned. ‘It’s true. I see you up to six days a week. I know you.’

‘Fine. It is both. It’s just quite creepy if you met a person on Monday, invited him to your church and he actually honoured the invitation,’ he said, laying emphasis on honoured.

‘Chai!’ she exclaimed. ‘Daniel Oghenetega Johnson. He was in church on Sunday, and he came uninvited. You see yourself?’

Daniel burst into laughter. ‘A grown man like me. See as you drop name on top my head.’

Becca watched her best friend in awe. She joined him in laughing.

……………………………………………

Elsa held the phone to her ear, desperately waiting for his deep voice to come through. She had been calling him for almost one hour since she got home but he wasn’t picking up. She had called Frank, her brother with whom he worked to confirm if he had left the studio. He told her that Chuka had left at the normal closing time. Frustrated, she dropped the phone.

Could Olukunle have found out about her son? If he could have gotten her number after so many years, what else did he know? Could he have somehow gotten in touch with Chuka? The loud knock on the door interrupted her trail of thoughts.

She looked out the window to see who it was. She heaved a sigh of relief. It was Chuka. She briskly opened the door.

‘Good evening,’ he said, walking past her. He slouched on the couch.

‘Evening dear,’ she replied. ‘What happened? You weren’t picking your calls.’

He took out his phone. ‘I was busy.’

She stared at him, pouting in displeasure. She had enough headache from worrying about him. She was not willing to add to it. ‘Will you at least tell me where you’re coming from?’

He looked at her surprised, ‘Since when do you care?’

‘I will not let you talk to me like that, young man. What has gotten into you?’ she said, anger kicking in.

‘Well I’m not in the mood to talk to you at all.’ He stood up. ‘I went to church. Hope you’re satisfied.’

‘Church? What church? Since when do you go to church?’ she asked, bewildered.

Chuka smirked. ‘Since I found a reason to. Good night.’ He walked into his room leaving his mother to her thoughts.

……………………………………………

Oluwaloseyi Pedro gazed at the fat pot-bellied man standing in front of her. He talked loudly on the phone in a very distinct Igbo dialect. The fingers of his left hand were each decorated with rings, such that the mass of the fingers below each ring were bloated with blood due to restricted flow. He looked like someone who would be a member of a cult according to how Nollywood portrayed them. He had been on the phone since he walked into the supermarket about thirty minutes earlier. She glanced at him momentarily and tapped her well-manicured fingers on the desk from time to time, as if to remind him that she was waiting for him to make payment for the items he had bought.

‘Sir, I need you to pay for the things you bought so you don’t disturb other customers, please,’ she said in a high-pitched voice in an attempt to conceal her anger. The fat man lifted his hand, telling her to wait. A middle-aged woman walked up behind him and Seyi gently pushed the items on the counter to the side and motioned for her to come closer. She paid for what she had bought and left.

The door opened and her boss walked in. She watched her as she scanned the road for a while before walking into her office. ‘What is she looking for that she couldn’t check before she came in?’ she asked herself.

‘Oya answer me now,’ the fat man said impatiently. Irritated, she attended to him and he left.

‘Seyi, Aunty is calling you,’ said Bob. He was one of the cleaners at the supermarket. She had always thought that the name didn’t fit him. She imagined that he had probably created the name to blend in in Lagos like the popular Jenifa character. She left the counter and walked briskly into the small office which served as the manager’s office.

‘You sent for me, ma,’ she said, shutting the door behind her.

‘Yes dear. How are you?’ she replied.

‘I’m fine, ma. Thanks.’

‘Has any strange person come looking for me lately?

Seyi scratched her head, not because it was itchy, but because of how awkward the question seemed. ‘No ma,’ she replied. ‘Is everything okay?’

Elsa Okonkwo sighed. ‘Yes dear. Please let me know if you notice any strange person acting somehow here, okay?’

Seyi looked at her puzzled. She wanted to ask what exactly she meant by ‘strange’ and ‘somehow’. New customers visited the supermarket very often. How was she to know who was strange by her standards and who wasn’t? Why didn’t she just tell the security guards? Many questions plagued her mind but the look of apprehension on her face made her reconsider. She had come to love this woman whom she had once hoped would be her mother-in-law.

‘Okay ma,’ she replied, nodding.

She had not heard from Chuka in a while. As much as she hated it, she did miss him.

……………………………………………

Chuka’s eyes darted to his phone. It had been a long day at work. His uncle had done a photoshoot for a group of models for a ladies’ magazine. One of the girls had made advances at him all day but he could not concentrate on her. His thoughts had been of Becca and he could not wait to end the deal. He was running out of time.

‘Uncle Frank, I’m leaving,’ he said, peering into his uncle’s office. Frank had a hot cup of coffee in front of him and was typing away on his laptop. He did not respond.

Chuka knocked on the door. ‘Uncle Frank…’ he said. Frank looked up.

‘Hey! I’m sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow. Take care. Greet your mum for me,’ he replied hurriedly.

Chuka shrugged and left. He dialled Becca’s number. They had planned to meet at the mall after they both closed from work. He never believed in the slow and steady winning races. As far as he was concerned, whoever came up with such quote was most likely drunk. However with Becca, he was willing to give it a try.

……………………………………………

‘You’re going on a date?’ Daniel asked, his face contorted with surprise.

Becca frowned slightly. ‘Date? Who said anything about a date? We’re just hanging out.’

‘That’s the exact term people use when they are going on a date but are trying to cover up.’

Becca laughed. ‘Is somebody jealous?’ He raised a brow and she laughed louder. ‘I just want to get to know him, you know. Nothing out of the ordinary.’

Daniel grinned. ‘Just be careful, okay?’

‘God’s got me covered’, she replied. ‘Say hi to your grandma for me oh.’

Daniel shook his head and walked away.

Her phone rang. It was Chuka.

……………………………………………

Olukunle Ajani stared at the tall, good-looking boy walking in front of him. In fact, calling him a boy was a misnomer. The young chap had his complexion but looked like his mother. ‘Elsa must be proud of her son,’ he thought.

He turned and walked away with a smile on his face.

following.. buh d characters in d stowri re many.

guy u gat a nice piece dre pls kip updating...

AlamienDagash:
following.. buh d characters in d stowri re many.

as in ehn
I'm confused.
I keep struggling to find something interesting.
But I know it's gonna later make sense but this can turn readers off...
OP pls do something

so u no go update again iye?

‘Thanks for walking me home,’ Becca said to Chuka as they stood in front of her house.

‘You’re welcome. Thanks for hanging out with me,’ he replied.

‘It’s been a while since I went beyond the confines of Nosa’s to at least go window-shopping. I had fun.’ A brief smile crept into her face.

‘I’m glad you did,’ he replied. ‘You should go in now. It’s been a long day.’

‘Of course. Good night.’

Chuka watched her walk in. He had made progress. They had walked round the mall talking and admiring the items on sale. He got to know more things about her like her fascination with Chemistry and absurd love for nuts. It had been a smooth evening until Seyi showed up.

The slender, light-skinned beauty who was his ex had approached them while they stood at the entrance of a haberdasher. On seeing her, his heart had thumped so loudly within him, he was almost sure that Becca had heard it.

‘Hi Chuka,’ she said, smiling. Her eyes, lined with black stood out among her other facial features.

‘Hi Seyi,’ he replied, trying his best to conceal his nervousness by keeping a straight face. He looked at Becca; she obviously noticed the tension between them but was trying to keep her cool. ‘This is Becca, my friend. Becca, this is Seyi, also my friend,’ he said.

‘Of course we’re friends,’ Seyi replied, smirking. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Becca. It’s Rebecca in full, right?’ she asked, offering a handshake.

Becca, not knowing what to make of the situation, took her hand. ‘Yes. It’s nice to meet you too.’

Chuka hurriedly spoke up. ‘We need to get going now. It’s nice to see you again, Seyi. Goodbye.’

‘Alright.’ Facing Becca, she said, ‘Take good care of yourself.’ She didn’t wait for a reply before walking away.

Chuka was grateful that Becca had not asked any questions about her. He was not willing to dive into his memories of Seyi Pedro. She had become prettier since the last time he had seen her. She was another major reason why he had not visited his mother’s supermarket since they broke up. She seemed to have gotten over him, but he wasn’t sure if it was the same for him.

……………………………………………

The scent of the curry filled the kitchen as Seyi opened the lid of the small plate housing the golden powder. She sneezed three times and hurriedly added a tiny scoop to the sauce which sizzled loudly on the gas cooker in front of her. As she made to stir it, the aluminium spoon which she had forgotten to take out of the saucepan burnt her.

‘Ouch!’ she screamed, letting go of the spoon and sticking her palm under running water in the sink to soothe the pain.

‘What happened?’ her mother asked agitated, as she pushed the door open.

‘I burnt my palm,’ Seyi replied, her hand still under running water. ‘Please come help me out here while I take care of this.’

The short, middle-aged woman walked in and gently rubbed her daughter’s palm. ‘Do you still have ‘ori’ in your room?’ she asked.

‘Yes, I do,’ she replied and walked out of the kitchen.

Seyi applied the slightly yellow cream, whose smell she hated, on her palm. A burning sensation from it prompted her to put it to face the standing fan close to her bed. The rush of air provided a measure of comfort.

Her thoughts shifted to the events of the day. She had seen Chuka, and he had introduced her as his friend. In as much as she really doubted the sincerity of that statement, she pretty much understood him. He couldn’t have called her his enemy anyway.

She thought of the girl who had been with him. A new catch, perhaps – she wasn’t sure. She wished she could reach out to her to warn her about Chuka. She deserved to know who he truly was. She had meant it when she had told her to take care of herself. She would be wise if she took her advice.

Seyi took her hand from the surface of the fan and touched it tenderly. If only she could do something about her heart the same way. She was burnt on the inside – Chuka had burnt her.

……………………………………………

The feel of the warm water crashing against her supple skin created a therapeutic calm within Becca. After a long day at work and hanging out with Chuka, she deserved it.

Bro. Jimi, her boss had announced that they would have one-day breaks, after five days of work, starting from the next week. About three more people had been employed at the shop, thereby reducing the stress that she and her other colleagues faced. While that was something to be grateful for, something else had gotten her worried.

Chuka had been warm and bubbly until they had met Seyi. She had seen the tension in his eyes and how eager he was to leave her presence. Seyi’s eyes, however, seemed to have held contempt for him but whenever she faced her, there was a tinge of pity playing in her eyes. She had wanted to ask Chuka but he obviously did not want to talk about it.

Whatever happened between them must have been a big deal since neither of them could hide the fact that they had a profound history together.

She would find time to ask him.

……………………………………………

As Ivan watched his cousins play with each other, he could not help but admire the innocence they exuded. The sounds of their laughter filling the air birthed a nostalgic feeling within him. He wished he could become a child again and revel in the feeling of not having a care in the world but to be happy. He missed not being afraid to make mistakes.

‘Alice, stop pulling your sister’s hair,’ he said sternly to the youngest of the duo.

The chubby four year old girl disentangled her fingers from her sister’s hair. ‘I was only trying to weave it like mummy does,’ she replied innocently.

‘Practice with one of your dolls, then,’ Ivan said, picking up a plastic doll from the clutter of toys at the far end of the room. ‘Here’s one.’

The child ignored him and played with her shoe laces instead. The sound of the doorbell stopped Ivan as he made to sit. He walked to the door and peeped through the tiny opening in it to see who it was. It was Chuka. He opened the door hurriedly, grateful for the company.

‘Hey! What’s up?’ he said, as they shook hands.

‘I’m good. What have you been doing? You look quite worn out,’ Chuka said.

‘Babysitting… again,’ Ivan replied.

‘Jess and Alice?’

‘Yep. Their mum said she had an emergency job at a wedding this morning and dropped them here last night.’

‘Aunty Bisi really should stop that thing. It’s not nice at all.’ Chuka replied, frowning.

‘You can say that again, Ivan said. There was a pause. ‘I’ll go get them to join us here.’

Ivan swiftly ran up the staircase and showed up some minutes later with one girl in his arms and another holding on to him tightly. ‘Carry me too,’ Jess, the older child screamed with glee, not letting go of her cousin.

Laughter found its way out of Chuka mouth. Ivan switched on the TV and tuned in to Cartoon Network. The girls kept quiet and fixed their eyes on the screen.

‘How did yesterday go?’ Ivan asked Chuka, smoothing his rumpled shirt.

‘It was fine until the devil herself showed up,’ Chuka replied, anger lurking somewhere in his voice.

‘So the devil is female now? Cool! But I’m not sure which of your devils you’re talking about.’

‘Who else would it be if not Seyi Pedro?’

Ivan’s smile quickly disappeared. ‘That babe is still in this town?’

Chuka sighed. ‘I was just as surprised.’

‘Did she see Becca?’

‘Yes now. They even talked briefly.’

Ivan laughed loudly. ‘Sweet!’

……………………………………………

The tall, lanky man in shades stood in front of his car. Like a lioness watching her prey, he watched with undivided attention as Elsa honked for the gateman to open the gate. She had not replied his text for over three weeks. And as the saying went, since the mountain would not come to him, he had come to the mountain.

After about thirty minutes, he knocked on the big black gate and introduced himself as her friend. Kote, as the young gateman was fondly called, asked him to wait while he asked his madam.

Elsa had done well not to bring any of her friends home, except those from church who sometimes visited her when she didn’t attend the service, and none of them was male. She had a hunch that it was Olukunle and she needed to do something fast. She knew lying would not work. If she didn’t meet him now, he would find another means eventually.

‘Let him in,’ she told Kote while she gathered her defences.

The doorbell rang. She gently opened the door and standing in front of her was her worst nightmare – Olukunle Ajani.

……………………………………………

It had been a long day hanging out with Ivan and all Chuka could think of was rest. Tired, he pressed the doorbell. His mother showed up. There was a form of fear in her eyes and he thought for a second that they were being robbed.

‘Is everything okay?’ he asked.

‘Yes. Come in.’ Elsa replied. She had not even questioned him as she had been doing for the past few days. He walked into the sitting room and saw a tall man sitting on the couch.

He looked at his mother, disgusted. ‘This woman will never change,’ he thought.

‘This is the great Chuka around whom your world revolves, right?’ Olukunle asked with a sly grin plastered on his face.

‘Who is this joker?’ Chuka muttered and headed for his room.

Olukunle grinned. He had his kind of temper. ‘This joker is your father,’ he said.

Tension hung in the air like a thick cloud of smoke. It threatened the cool and light feel that the cold air from the whirring air conditioner was supposed to provide. Chuka glared at the bulk of human flesh seated across him and felt a rush of emotions course through him, yet his mind could not fully process any thoughts. His lips quivered and a burning sensation consumed his face.

He turned back and observed his mother’s expression, desperately hoping to find a clue that inferred that what he had heard was a lie. But she stood behind him with fear written all over her. She trembled as tears travelled freely down her cheeks. He stood fixed at a point, not knowing what to feel or do. He found his legs moving but he was not sure in what direction they moved. Minutes later, he found himself in his room and crashed to the ground. Grabbing his pillow, he let out a loud scream.

……………………………………………

‘How could you do that?’ Elsa screamed as she charged at Olukunle. ‘Who do you think you are to invade my privacy after all these years. You think you can just walk in here and begin to run things again? You must be crazy, Kay. You must be really crazy!’ she screamed.

‘Calm down, woman,’ Olukunle said, not at all moved by the drama he had created. ‘He is not a kid anymore. If I’m not wrong, he should be about twenty now. He was bound to know anyway.’

Elsa wished the ground would open up and swallow him where he stood. Something was definitely wrong with his head. She wondered how he had managed to live as the mentally deranged person he was without being thrown into an asylum for almost twenty-one years. That was why she had left him. She could not believe the turn her life was taking.

Trembling, she spoke up, ‘You’re satisfied, aren’t you? You got the grand entry you were seeking, right? Now, get out of my house!’ She pointed at the door with her fingers shaking. ‘I never want to see you again, Olukunle Ajani.’

Olukunle stood and straightened his shirt. He slowly walked towards the door. On reaching where she stood, he looked her in the eyes.

‘It appears that I have to remind you how things go. You don’t dictate to me – never have, never will.’ Squinting, he moved his face closer to hers. She moved back. ‘Sweet love, I run things here. Don’t forget that.’

Elsa heard the door creak, followed by a bang. Silence enveloped the room and for a minute, she wished it was all a nightmare. She looked in the direction of Chuka’s room and a burden as heavy as an anvil dropped in her heart. She had hurt her son, again.

……………………………………………

The rays of the sun peeping through the window rested on Chuka’s bare back, bringing about a mild sensation of warmth at the spot. He tossed and gently opened his eyes. He yawned loudly and sat up, all the while trying to figure out the reason why he felt funny in his chest area. Soon, all the memories of the previous night rushed at him and he clenched his fists.

He thought of his mother and how disappointed he was in her. But then, he shouldn’t have expected less. All she had ever done to him was to hurt him more and more. He had considered leaving her many times but he couldn’t bring himself to, since that would not soothe the pain. Besides, he was not willing to suffer in the name of freedom. The title of ‘The Prodigal Son’ did not sit well with him.

His eyes caught an ant struggling with a crumb of food almost larger than it. He watched with rapt attention as it carried its burden faithfully, not dropping it even once. He smiled wryly. The realization of what he needed to do to clear his head hit him. He needed to get busy. One name rang in his head – Rebecca Bassey.

……………………………………………

The red colour of the Hibiscus flowers gracing the flower bed in front of the storey building where Daniel lived brought a smile to Becca’s face as she walked towards the tall black gates of the house. It had been a while since she had visited him – they got to see very often at work.

‘Good evening, Azeez,’ she greeted the short security man, who also sold petty food items in a wooden kiosk in front of the house.

‘Aunty na you! Long time!’ he exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear to reveal a set of yellowed teeth with a chipped canine. It was obvious that his teeth had coloured due to years of smoking. Even then, a lighted stick was cradled between the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

Becca laughed. ‘Yes oh. Hope you’re good.’ He nodded. ‘Is Daniel at home?’

‘Oga Dan dey house. Him never commot since he come back from church,’ he replied, moving the cigarette to his mouth.

‘Okay. Thank you,’ Becca replied, walking into the compound hurriedly. The smell of cigarettes nauseated her. She took short steps to his apartment and knocked on the door.

‘Aunty Becca!’ Ejiro, Daniel’s youngest sister screamed. She jumped at her and wrapped her arms around her neck. Laughing, Becca held the 6 year old girl and hugged her tightly.

Daniel walked out in a polo and shorts. ‘What’s all this noise about?’ he asked. On seeing Becca, he smiled. ‘Becca… Come inside jare.’

‘Wait!’ She held his hand. ‘Is your grandma there?’ she asked in hushed tones.

Daniel laughed loudly. ‘No, she’s not. She has a slight fever and has been in bed all day.’

Becca was going to say ‘Thank God’ but she was not sure if it was appropriate for the situation so she stopped herself. She couldn’t possibly thank God that the old woman was sick. She grinned instead.

‘What brings you to our humble abode this evening? It’s been a while since you came here,’ Ejiro said, leading her to a chair.

‘I was quite bored so I decided to take a stroll.’ She smiled. ‘And I think I missed you.’

The child laughed and hugged her again.

‘Stop acting like a spoilt thing and bring her a drink,’ Daniel said. She frowned at him and walked reluctantly to the kitchen.

‘You and your small wife sha. Anyway, when is grandma going to leave?’ Becca asked.

‘I have no idea, and it’s quite annoying. I wonder how my mum managed to live with her all her life. It’s almost like hell on earth,’ he said, obviously frustrated.

‘I don’t envy you at all,’ she said, laughing.

Ejiro walked back in with a cold can of soda in a tray.

‘Awwwn… See my little homemaker,’ Becca said. ‘Thanks a lot, dear.’

‘She has the best teacher in the world,’ Daniel said. ‘This guy!’ he added, raising his thumbs to face him.

‘Yeah right,’ Becca said, winking at the girl. She laughed.

‘Na una sabi. You know it’s true’

‘No one is arguing with you na, oga.’ Becca said, a mock grin on her face.

‘In other news, did you notice that Chuka was not in church today?’ Daniel asked.

‘Yeah… I should have called him but I don’t have enough airtime. I’ll go visit him before going home. Thanks for reminding me.’

‘You know where he lives?’ Daniel asked, surprised.

‘Of course. We live on the same street.’

‘Interesting,’ he said.

……………………………………………

Chuka was taken aback to see his mother standing beside him. He had not seen her all day. He slowly removed his earphones, not taking his eyes off the screen of his laptop.

‘Someone is here to see you. She said she’s from church,’ Elsa said.

He nodded and she left. She looked like she had been crying and he was almost moved to reach out to her but his pride and the weight of the hurt he felt wouldn’t let him. His mind shifted to his visitor. He considered that it might be Becca. He chose not to get his hopes too high since he had dropped his address at the church the first time he went there. It was probably just someone from the follow-up team.

He walked to the living room and there she was – Becca Bassey.

‘Hey…’ he said.

‘Hi. Good evening,’ she replied, smiling. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m okay. Please sit…’ he said, motioning for her to sit on the couch.

‘That won’t be necessary, I’ll be leaving soon. I just came to find out why you were not in church today.’

Chuka was quite puzzled. A phone call was way easier, but then it was not bad either since they lived on the same street. ‘I had a long day yesterday and I was quite down.’

‘I’m glad you’re fine now.’ She added, ‘You’ll come for the midweek service, right?’

‘I’ll try to,’ he replied.

‘Okay. I need to go now.’

‘I’ll walk with you.’

Together, they walked out of the house to the street. Chuka could only think of how lucky he was. Earlier, he had decided to intensify his efforts over her to keep himself busy and perhaps boost his mood, and she had coincidentally made herself available. A visit to his house was a big deal. He had to take it a step further. They were close to her house.

‘Do you mind hanging out with me again on Friday?’ he blurted.

Becca gazed at him and tried to convince herself that he meant no harm. Perhaps she would be able to get him to talk about Seyi. ‘He seems hurt,’ she thought.

‘Sure. I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’ll really like that.’

‘Thanks,’ Chuka said. They were soon in front of her house and said their goodbyes. He watched her walk in.

‘Game on!’ he thought.

Seyi sighed as she watched a teenage girl and a guy who was probably older than her by a year or two, play with each other unashamedly on the isle facing her. The girl laughed heartily throwing her head back and attempting to punch him, while he simply held her hand and made faces at her. It was that time of the day when the flow of customers into the supermarket was at its minimum since many would have gone to work or had purchased what they needed earlier.

There had been a time when she had hoped that she could be like that with Chuka but he had never really shown any interest. Many times she had wondered why he was always stiff with her and yet claimed to love her. She had held on to him because she believed that she was lucky to have him.

‘Hello,’ the guy said, smiling at her. For some reason she could not explain, she was glad that he had not approached any of her other colleagues.

‘Good afternoon,’ she replied, smiling back. She faced the girl beside him and nodded.

He dropped the basket on the counter and she proceeded to do her job.

‘So where are we going next?’ the girl asked, her eyes lit with excitement.

‘Home na. Mum would be waiting for us.’

‘She can wait just a tiny bit longer for us to go see a movie, don’t you think?’

Laughing, he replied, ‘You want our mother to die of hunger, abi? I’m too hungry to go anywhere but home, abeg.’

Seyi looked up, taken aback. ‘Our mother?’ she thought. She had conveniently labeled them a couple and was rolling in nostalgia but they were just siblings.

With the girl still trying to convince her brother, they paid for what they had bought and left.

Seyi held her head in her hands and sighed again. She could not explain what was happening to her, but deep within she knew that it all had to do with Chuka. Since she had seen him at the mall, she had had many thoughts of him. She did not understand how she could still want to be with him after being hurt so severely.

She thought about Becca again. Was it possible that he was being sincere with her? She did not seem like any of the other girls he had been with that she knew about. The idea of Becca being a threat did not appeal to her. She needed to fix it. She would get Chuka back, Becca would be safe and everyone would be happy.

……………………………………………

The sound of the creaking door woke Elsa up. She had dozed off on the couch where she had sat since she got home. She had had a splitting headache and decided to come home earlier than usual to rest.

She looked on at her son as he smoothly avoided her gaze and walked towards his room. He had avoided saying many words to her since Olukunle had shown up, and all her attempts to talk to him since then had proved futile. He would shut himself in whenever he was home or hang out with Ivan on weekends.

Olukunle had called her a number of times after the incident but she had refused to pick his calls. He flooded her phone with texts but she never replied any. There was not much he could threaten her with anymore – the damage had been done.

She had thought that the relationship she had with Chuka before Olukunle showed up was bad. But now, she missed the few smiles they shared, she missed the times they laughed together. She even missed his rudeness. A feeling of guilt swept over her as she pondered on what to do to help herself with her son and the headache which seemed to have subsided returned. Feeling dizzy, she picked up her bag and headed for her room.

……………………………………………

‘Thanks for coming.’

Becca, beaming with smiles, quickly pocketed the one thousand naira note which the gentleman to whom she had just attended gave her as a tip.

‘I saw that,’ Daniel said, grinning.

‘You saw what?’ she asked.

‘A beautiful naira note… The eldest of all the naira notes actually. Abi?’

Becca laughed. ‘It’s my day today, isn’t it?’

‘Oh yes it is! You should totally take me for a treat to celebrate.’

‘Take you for a treat? What happened to the one we had yesterday?’

‘It wasn’t on point jare. What are you doing tomorrow? We should totally hang out.’

Becca smiled slightly. ‘We totally hang out everyday at work, don’t we?’ she asked, laying emphasis on ‘totally’.

‘Why are you killing my vibes, Becca? You know what I mean,’ Daniel said, keeping a straight face.

‘Don’t vex now. I was just teasing,’ she paused, expecting a reaction. He didn’t show any. ‘But I’ll be busy tomorrow. Maybe after service on Sunday, what do you think?’

‘Works for me,’ he replied, grinning. Looking behind her, he added. ‘Here comes another customer. Let’s see if she will have any tips to offer.’

Becca turned to attend to the lady approaching her. She could not believe her eyes. It was Seyi Pedro.

……………………………………………

‘That movie was very dumb,’ Ivan said. I can’t believe I wasted my data downloading it.’ He hissed loudly and took a big gulp of the orange drink in front of him.

‘It wasn’t a waste at all, trust me,’ Chuka replied. ‘I enjoyed it from A to Z.’

‘I didn’t expect any less. Everybody knows you’re weird.’

Chuka laughed. ‘I think you’re the weird one. If you call this one dumb, I wonder what makes sense to you.’

‘Whatever. Come… What’s up with Becca now? Time dey go oh!’

‘I’m still on it. We’ll be hanging out tomorrow. It’s time to take it to the next level.’

‘Bad guy. I’m so sure that I’ll beat you this time.’

Chuka shook his head and smiled. He took a sip of his drink.

‘Have you seen Seyi since the other day at the mall?’

‘No, I’ve not. I don’t have any business with that girl anymore. She’s bad luck.’

Ivan stared at his friend. ‘I thought you guys had something back then, you know?’

‘It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? We’re done.’

‘Whatever you say, man. So where are you taking Becca next?’

‘I’m still not sure, but whatever it is, you can be sure that it’s going to be sweet.’

…………………………………………..

It had been a long day and all Becca could think of as she laid in bed was her outing with Chuka the next day. She was not sure of what to expect since he had been the one who asked her out. She had begun to consider a way to make him talk about Seyi but was grateful that he had spoke up.

However, one thing that had left her puzzled was why he had asked her out. Truly, she tried to convince herself that he was probably just a nice guy looking for friends. But on the other hand, from experience, she had figured that ‘once’ was being nice. Twice meant something else was involved.

She turned to sleep face-up and focused on the moonlight resting on the ceiling. She wondered if she was being foolish in the name of help.

She had managed to avoid taking anything from him, especially at their last outing and he hadn’t pressured her either. It had left her wondering if he truly had any other motives than friendship with her.

Her mind shifted to Seyi Pedro. She had looked more calm than she had been at the mall the other day. She was not as feisty and spoke to her with a kind of softness that was in hiding when they first met.

At some point, Becca thought she would ask about Chuka and all but the pretty damsel had not uttered a word concerning him.

Her phone buzzed, alerting her that she had a text.

‘That’s funny. I thought I switched it off,’ she thought aloud and reached for it. It was a text from Chuka.

Here’s to wishing you a great night’s rest. I look forward to tomorrow. Sleep well.

Curiosity was eating deep into her bones and she could not help it. Going out with Chuka was like the sun in the solar system, around which many things revolved. She felt a need to reach out to him, yet she could not ignore the fact that he was most likely after her for something else.

‘Not everyone is the same. I really should not judge his motives by the actions of others alone. I might be hurting him even more,’ she thought.

These thoughts lingered until she drifted into a deep sleep.

Ride on.

Creative and now getting set.
Ride on, you're the man!

CHAI! see story line.
I love d mixture of names: igbo, yoruba, edo, delta.
makes me get their personalities without squinting my face to remember who is who.
ps: hope ull keep up with the long updates.
*following*

Still waiting