Triangle

Present day Can’t believe I’m doing this, one thing I know for sure is this is one of the best decisions I’ll ever make, that’s what I had to tell myself just so I could go ahead with the decision I made. I picked up my phone and looked at the notification bar hoping I’d get a text from him, still nothing, I let out a sigh while holding tears back, the flight would take off soon and this would really be the end, and also a new beginning, that was what I had hoped at least.

The flight was taking off already. I unlocked my phone to go through our pictures again. looking at pictures of us just brings back memories, I wish my heart didn’t ever fall for someone like him, I wish he loved me back too, I thought to myself while tears rolled down my face, I guess I couldn’t hold them back for too long “I loved you, I still love you” I said while staring at the photo.

A flashback- Ladi and Michael. 100l.

I let out a deep sigh as I waited for my roommate Florence to step out of the bathroom, it’s been 15 minutes since she stepped in and five minutes ago when I called out her name she replied saying she’d be out in a minute.

“Well it’s more than a minute, would you be fast please I have a meeting and I really need to pee” I said as I paced about the room. Finally the doorknob turned open, she was out.

“I’m sorry” she said with a grin.

I didn’t reply and reached for the bathroom “hmmmm, what’s this smell, ewww” i said using one hand to cover my nose, “this stench is killing” I wonder what she ate or what’s going on in her system “Uhm, sorry about that too” she laughed out loud and walked towards her bed. We were four who shared the room. That was the school’s policy so everybody had to adjust even people like me who loved to be alone and enjoyed their own solitude, somehow it’s been going well and I have been getting along with every one of them in the room.

It’s almost 5:30pm and I really hate to be late for meetings but I always end up being 5-10 minutes late. I increased the number of steps I was taking making me walk even faster. I let out a deep sigh as i approached the entrance of the hall. Climbed the stairs to see few people seated in the classroom already I hurriedly stepped in and took a sit in the front row.

“Hi, welcome” I heard a voice say from behind, I looked back to see a young lady, who should be about my age or older than me a little, she had a smile on her face and kept looking like she was waiting for me to give a reply “Uhm, thank you” I said as I forced a little smile, maybe I should have said more and asked questions like a normal person but I was like this, reserved I didn’t talk to people only when there was a need to, and it wasn’t out of a bad place, I just wasn’t very good at having conversations with people I wasn’t very familiar with, and this has been a big issue because I always get misunderstood and sometimes called proud.

“okay, guys, it’s nice to have you all here, my name is Jemila and I am your course rep” she smiled and paused then continued “this is the first meeting we would be having in this department and I’m so glad you all were able to make it, we wouldn’t be doing much, we’ll just have to write our names on this piece of paper and talk about when lectures will start officially……..”

okay this meeting is boring, I thought to myself as I placed one hand in my handbag which was rested on my thighs and brought out my phone, didn’t know when I laughed out loud after coming across a funny tweet I immediately looked up to see if I had gotten anyone’s attention, thankfully everybody was busy and nobody heard that, I turned my attention back to the course rep

“ so here’s the sheet of paper, please do well to pass it across” she said as she placed it on the desk of two sits before mine I placed one hand in my bag to bring out a pen while waiting for the sheet of paper to get to me, I continued listening to the course rep as she spoke “ so lectures wouldn’t start until two weeks’ time, because most lecturers aren’t available yet so i” just before she could complete the sentence a thick masculine voice interrupted I paused writing my name on the piece of paper and looked back to see a young dark guy, putting on blue tees “Why should lectures start in two weeks’ time, when the curriculum clearly states that lectures start this week” he said with so much seriousness, everybody’s focus was on him.

“Well, that’s the information that was passed down to me from the head of department so if you have any questions you should head to his office and see him” the course rep replied and continued the sentence he had interrupted earlier.

I still had my gaze on him, I didn’t get why a guy who looked like a typical bad boy would be so bothered about lectures not starting any time soon, I mean everybody loves some free time why was he being such a nerd, I was still looking back and lost in these thoughts when I noticed he had been looking at me for a while and I hadn’t noticed, I turned my head towards the front immediately and continued writing my name like I wasn’t just staring at him, I knew he caught me red handed, I wondered what he was thinking of me, I hoped I didn’t seem like a creep.

Finally the meeting was over, I stepped out of the classroom before anyone did, again this was my thing, I always left gatherings like this before anyone else. I hated engaging in conversations with people I didn’t really know and most times they do not speak the language my soul speaks. I reached for my earpiece in my bag as I plugged it to my ears,

“Hey” I heard a voice calling out from behind but I didn’t answer I thought it couldn’t be me so I continued walking.

“hi, excuse me” I heard the voice again but this time it sounded louder and even closer, I paused and took out the ear plug from one of my ears as I looked back. Omg, it’s this guy, I thought to myself, he probably wants to ask me why I was staring at him. I paused, looking at him and thinking of what excuse to give before finally forcing out a word

“Hi” I said, “you walk too fast you know, I had to run to catch up with you” he replied, waiting to get an answer from me, I looked at him, thinking of what my reply was supposed to be, I knew I walked fast but he was obviously exaggerating

“You look lost” he said.

Okay, now I had to speak “excuse me” I replied while keeping a serious facial expression like he was talking nonsense, I mean he was talking nonsense “You look like you just got duped” he said with an unbothered facial expression like he enjoyed watching me react to his unpleasing words.

“Okay, if the reason why you stopped me is to tell me all this, then you are cancelled” I said as I plugged in my earpiece back, I was about to take a step “Wait, please” he said, I paused

“That was a joke, a bad joke” he continued “Yeah, it was a really bad one” I nodded and raised a brow up and stared at him, now I see him well enough to notice he has such beautiful facial features, he was way taller than me, and he had a slender body like he was a model “Uhm, my name is Michael, I figured it would be better if I had the phone number of one of my course mates just in case they pass another info and I am not around”

“okay, so” I replied, I hoped I didn’t sound rude but I didn’t want to be too forward and call out my number, he probably thought I had the course rep’s number, I waited for him to ask first.

“Can I have your number?” he asked “Yeah, sure” I replied “Here” He handed me his phone and I entered my number, “what’s your name?”

“Ladi” I replied “Okay, I’ll save that” he smiled.

*****

I woke up to the disturbing tone of the alarm I had set for 6:30am, I rolled over to a side of the bed, and stretched out my arm trying to find my phone to snooze it for five more minutes, “arrghh” I muttered, still trying to find what position I placed the phone at, finally placed my hand on it, I raised it up to my face to see 7:15 am.

”oh, shit” I said as I hurriedly sat up and grabbed my bible to say a prayer, it must have been ringing for a while now, how did I not wake up earlier, I said a short prayer and ran into the bathroom with my kit,…

it’s been two weeks and lectures start officially today, I must say I made the most of those two weeks, got familiar with my roommates and even the school surroundings, can’t say much about my course mates though, haven’t really had a proper conversation with most of them, the only time I heard anything about the department was on the group chat when the course rep posted the time table for classes we would be having , and I haven’t heard from Michael whom had collected my phone number, only when he called to ask me to save his number on my phone.

I stared at my notebook, while hitting a finger on the desk, the lecture was scheduled for 9am and it was 9:15am already, so why wasn’t the lecturer here yet, and Michael too, I’ve tried convincing myself I really didn’t care if he was present or not but a part of me still wondered if he was going to make it to class and if he wasn’t going to make it, what was the reason, hope he’s doing fine.

By 9:30am the lecturer stepped in, there was still no trace of Michael he obviously wasn’t coming to class and this was weird, for someone who was mad lectures were postponed, I finally decided he probably had no idea so i stylishly texted him while the lecturer was giving his introductory speech.

*hey, are you there* it showed delivered, I looked up to the lecturer who was still talking about his certifications and how much he loved passing knowledge to students *hii there, what’s up?* he replied *lectures!!, in class right now, aren’t you aware?*

*what! No, I had no idea*

*well, the lecturer stepped in not too long and is still busy with his introductory speech, so I guess you could still make it*

I waited for his reply but I guess he was mad I didn’t tell him earlier, I’ll call him when the class is over, I locked my phone and turned my attention back to the lecturer who was now talking about how we were all lucky to be here and he didn’t have such privilege when he was our age.

“So my name is DR Ajiboye Eniola, and today we will be talking about human anatomy” the lecturer said while writing the course code and title on the board.

I don’t know what made me look back but I’m glad I did, I turned to see Michael walking in, he had a violet vintage shirt on with black fitted pants that didn’t look tight, he looked exactly like those models, our eyes met, and he winked at me and headed to a sit at the back. I blushed slightly and turned to see if the lecturer was looking, thankfully he wasn’t. He was now seated and had his attention on his laptop.

I felt my phone vibrate and unlocked it to see a message from Michael *what did I miss?*

*nothing much, except for the long boring talk about how we are lucky to be here and his certifications*

*lol, I guess I’m lucky I came late then*

*yeah, you are. lol*.

I locked my phone and turned my attention back to the lecturer who had now delved fully into the topic, I promised myself to pay close attention to every detail at lectures because this was where I could get all the knowledge I needed about what I was learning and moments like this which most people overlooked are the most important, they will determine if we were masters of what we had learned or just passersby.

Finally the lecture was over, I wrote the last letter of my surname and passed the attendance sheet as I got ready to leave the classroom, I turned to see Michael talking to a course mate, he must be quite the people’s person, I mean he was good looking and most people love being friends with attractive people and he also had good social skills, he was definitely the ladies’ man.

I contemplated about walking up to him to say Hi, but he was still engaged in a conversation with the young lady so I decided to just leave. We didn’t come to class together after all and maybe he wasn’t even interested in talking to me.

I plugged in my earpiece and scrolled through the play list, Sia songs are my mood for life, I played elastic heart and put the playlist on shuffle. I was hungry so I decided to head to the mall not too far from the department.

The music I was listening to suddenly stopped and I felt my phone vibrate, I brought the phone out of my bag to see *incoming call from Michael*, I answered.

“You left without me?” he said

“You were busy and I didn’t want to interrupt” I replied

“Oh, okay. Where are you?”

“Towards the mall by the department, wanna come?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there”

“Okay, I’ll be expecting you” I said as I ended the call and took a sit at the little chill spot the mall had. The mall wasn’t too big as well but had some of the best raspberry ice cream and meat pie which was my favorite.

I ordered for my fav. Three scoops of raspberry and a meat pie, I thought about ordering for Michael too but I didn’t know if he accepted things from people he wasn’t good friends with or if raspberry and meat pie were his thing.

“I see you’re having a good time” a familiar voice said from behind I took a bite from my meat pie and turned over to see Michael, I couldn’t give a reply at the moment so I nodded in agreement and tried chewing faster so I could talk. He walked towards me and took a sit in front of me now staring directly at me and my mouth as I chewed. I felt the lump of food slide down my throat. I reached for my bottled water and gulped down a little. Now I could respond to Michael “Hiiii” I said “Hiii” he replied, He still had his gaze on me, making me even more nervous, I speak out so I don’t make it obvious “Do you care for some?”

“No, I wouldn’t want to shorten the ration of a foodie” he chuckled “Hahaha, well, I wouldn’t want that either, was asking to get you yours”

“Oh, well. I don’t mind”

“Okay” I replied

“Three scoops of raspberry ice cream and a meat pie please” I said to the young man taking orders, I see him make a grumpy face like he was tired, I ignored though, because this was how most of these waiters and waitresses behaved.

“Two scoops” Michael said to the waiter I then remembered I didn’t even ask him what he wanted and instead just went ahead to place an order “Oh, I’m sorry, what would you like to have, is raspberry and meat pie your thing?”

“I’m okay with anything that tastes nice and goes well through the throat” he said “Fair enough” I laughed out loud

I see the waiter carry out a tray and walk towards us. He placed it on the table and made a fake smile “May I have bottled water please?” I asked

He nodded and went ahead to get it.

*****

We were now done with the snacks and were having conversations and laughing out loud, people who didn’t know us would think we’ve known each other for years and it did feel that way. We had another lecture scheduled for 3pm, and it was 2:30pm already. I decided to ask Michael if he was aware, he probably wasn’t because I was the one who informed him about the lecture we had in the morning.

“We have another lecture by 3pm”

“Yeah, betty, told me” he replied.

I wanted to ask him who betty was, but I figured she should be the young lady he was talking to earlier, I wondered how he was already so close to her that he called her by her pet name, betty is obviously the short for Elizabeth, but I decided to just say okay and act unbothered “Oh, okay”

“So have you been added to the departmental group chat?” I added “No, I don’t see the need when I have you”

I found that statement very funny, he was probably like this with other girls and that’s why he was already calling Elizabeth, Betty.

“Right” I laughed out loud like it was nothing, he was obviously kidding “I’ll message the course rep to add you up”

“Okay, thank you” he replied “We should head to class, lectures start soon” I said as I searched through my bag for my purse to get my atm card and pay for the things I ordered.

“So it’s compulsory?” I said, holding my phone to my ear, I had received a call from Florence my roommate, she informed me that the general course we had was very compulsory and I had to be there because they were signing attendance. I really didn’t want to go because I had menstrual cramps and I felt really weak, it was the loud tone of my phone when Florence called that woke me up from the nap I was having.

“Yeah, turns out it is, and you know there is no way I can sign for you while you’re not here, we could be in big trouble if I get busted”

“Okay, I get. I’ll be there soon, please save a spot for me”

“Yeah. Sure. I will” she replied

This was such a drag for me, the good thing is the hall where the general course was holding was close to my hostel, but still I hated the fact that I had to step out of my room. You know one of those days when you just want to be curled up in bed, and far away from the outside world?, that’s what I was having and not being able to keep up with it was frustrating.

I was thirty minutes late, and apparently I was the only one who was because the hall was filled up, I stepped in quietly trying not to get anybody’s attention, I couldn’t even turn my gaze around to figure out where Florence was seated, she was probably at the other end, and walking over there would definitely call the attention of some students and maybe the lecturer. I saw a free spot and rushed to take a sit, I didn’t even realize the company of students I had joined. They were a like a group, one that consisted of one girl and three boys, they were known for always causing nuisances wherever they found themselves and although the young lady among them was usually quiet when they made certain remarks in classes and even church she never for once stopped moving with them, even when they got her in trouble.

I unlocked my phone to see two new messages from Florence and Michael, I was so stressed and angry at the fact that I had to come for this boring lecture that I forgot to call Michael and inform him about the lecture, I tapped on Michael’s chat to read “you didn’t have to come, I already signed for you” now it clicked, he had asked me to see him and I told him I couldn’t because I had cramps, and didn’t feel like going out at all, so he had that in mind and risked signing for me, he’s such an angel.

“thank you so much Mic, *hug* emoji”

“can’t believe I wasted my time and came all the way here, when you were generous enough to help me sign” I added “No, you didn’t waste your time, I actually want to see you” he texted back. And I know it’s too early but this sent butterflies up my stomach.

“wait for me after lectures?”

“okay” I replied.

“Would you please put down your phone, the lecturer’s looking over here?” the girl in the lousy group whispered looking really worried. I guess the last punishment she and her team had was hectic and taught them a lesson, because for the first time her boys were quiet all through class. I locked my phone and turned my gaze to the lecturer who was now writing out an assignment on the big white board in front.

Lecture was now over, I was still at the spot where I was seated though, I had to wait for the students to go out, we were too many and nobody wanted to stay back they were all rushing to get fries at the cafeteria, it was limited so it was a case of first come first serve. I didn’t have to text Michael about where I was seated because he saw me earlier already and he texted me to stay right here and he was going to meet me. While waiting I heard Florence’s voice

“Madam, well-done o”

“Omg, Florence I’m so sorry”

“You couldn’t even reply my text” right after she said it, I realized I had received a notification for a message from her but I failed to open it because I was carried away with Michael’s message.

“Oh, really, I didn’t check it” I unlocked my phone immediately to read the message which was still in the notification bar, it read “where are you?.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to get the lecturer’s attention by looking around so I picked the nearest free spot”

“It’s fine, someone took the spot already, I tried buying time but when I didn’t get a reply I told him to go ahead and sit” she said “Okay, fair enough. Thanks a lot though”

“You’re welcome, see you at the hostel, I have another lecture right now so I guess you have to go alone”

“Oh, it’s fine. See ya” I replied The hall was now empty, enough for me to see it was just myself and three other students who were left. There was no trace of Michael. I decided to send him a text.

“where are you Mic?”

“right outside the hall, would you please step out” he replied. So he made me sit here while he was outside, I didn’t get his point, I thought he wanted to see me.

I stepped out to see Michael, with paper bags, they were filled and I wondered if somebody had given it to him because he couldn’t possibly walk down to the mall to get all these and walk back here, when he could have easily taken them to his hostel “heyy” I folded my lips “hi, you look tired you should go back in and rest, sorry you had to come all the way here”

“I’m fine, and thanks a lot for helping me sign the attendance”

“What’s with the paper bags though?”

“They are for you”

“For me?” okay, this was a shocker, I didn’t get how they were for me, and can’t remember asking him to get me anything “Yes, for you. I figured I should get you some provisions and a few junks since you wouldn’t be going out for a while”

I was a few emotions away from crying, I had mixed feelings, good ones, he’s so kind and an absolute angel, I stood looking surprised and thankful at the same time.

“Mic, thank you so much”

“you’re welcome Ladi, Come on, you need to rest, I’ll see you off to your hostel” he said.

I spent the evening answering questions from my roommates about who had gotten me all these, and what he was to me and if he liked me or he was single, I kept trying to convince them he was only a friend but they found it hard to believe. But that was really all he was, a friend, a good friend, a loyal one. I couldn’t jump into conclusions and assume he liked me just because of his kind gestures towards me, and though I had no control over how life plays out I was ready to dance to whatever tune it played.