OBIANUJU
©️ Princess Juliet
Episode 18
Friends
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OBIANUJU
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“Uju na! st©p crying”. Funmi begged , patting my shoulder as she tried to console me but I was too panic stricken to listen , the tears kept on rolling down
Demi is out there about to take an oath and it is all because of me!
Oh God! why is all this happening? why can’t that “bastard let him be? Is it by f0rç£ to be a ….argh! I couldn’t even spell out the name as it sounded so deadly….
I decided to ask Funmi about it …
“The oath ,what is it all about?” my voice c@m£ out hoarsely
“I don’t really know”. her voice was a bit strained , “all I know is that it is some kind of initiation to join a gang”
“Gang”. I repeated, urging her to continue
“Yes! A gang is a cult group and Dave’s gang is the most feared and respected in this school.They go around humiliating students and lecturers alike
“For real!”I retorted with wi-de -open eyes of shock , ” and the school did nothing about it?”
she hissed silently. “what will the school do! they are all from rich and well-connected families…..
“oga oooo!… hmmm! so you knew all this and yet you d@t£d the beast..
“erm that is because I erm wanted to feel among”. She stuttered
Oh right! and see what it resulted to , a messed up face!
Suddenly , the door was flung open and Demi stormed in with…..Tobi
Like seriously! when did Tobi get here?
“Stand up, let’s go”. Demi gestured with his hands, his voice was coldly monotonous but soft …
I swallowed ha-rd , trying to stand up but fell back to the be-d ….
I was so weak!
“You are alright?” Demi and Tobi asked in unison
“Yes, but my friend isn’t”. I replied, pointing to Funmi who sat there staring at Tobi
“Oh!”Demi shifted his gaze to her “who is she?”
“Dave’s girlfriend, the one he used in luring Juliet out”. Tobi replied, looking at Funmi with disdain
“Ah!” Funmi g@sped audibly in shock as she mumbled some inaudible words.
“Don’t mind him , she is my friend”.i quic-kly bu-tted in
“Friend indeed”. Demi scoffed and then faced Tobi
“Will you drive her home?”
“No!” Tobi replied bluntly
“Then why are you here?”Demi snapped at him
Tobi sighed. ” I just wanted to be sure Juliet is alright”
I stared puzzled at the two “pretty boys”
What is wrong with them?
“D**n! Demi cursed silently, then how the hell will she get home?”
“She can come with us…I mean we stay in the same hostel”
“Same hostel”. Demi muttered, staring ha-rd at Funmi
Obviously! he didn’t recognise her!
“She is Funmi”. I added and his eyes grew wi-de in surprise
“Funmi! you are Funmi?….. argh! he folded his fist ti-ghtly, “Dave is a beast, how could he beat a woman up like this?”
“Be careful with you words”. Tobi warned and Demi huffed , ignoring him
“Can you walk?” he asked Funmi
“Yes!”Funmi answered shyly
“Good!”he moved closer to the be-d, picked me up bridal style and then Faced Funmi
“Let us go”
“Shuu!it is late na , why can’t you just spend the night here?”Tobi suggested
Spend the night kwa! In this hell hole! No way!
“No Thanks!” Demi simply said and walked past him , out of the room into the sitting room where the “vile creatures” were p@rtying ha-rd …
I buried my face in Demi’s che-st to avoid seeing their faces , especially that of Dave as I was so scared of him …..
“Good night Demi!” An icy voice bade
“Good night!” Demi gr-unted his response, walking out of the house into the cold night ; then he put me down on the floor and opened the doors to his car with the key …..
“Get in!” he instructed Funmi and I and when we did , he climbe-d into the driver seat , started the ignition and drove off ….
*
The drive to my hostel was a silent one as we were all lost in thought…well! not me as I wasn’t even in the right state of mind to think
I just sat there, my phone in my hand , staring at Demi who kept his eyes on the road as he mumbled to himself , hitting the steering wheel at intervals
he was angry and I knew it!
but why! Is it because of the Dave! the initiation!……..or wait , is it because of me?
Chai!Uju, see what your stupidity have caused, no, no, I can’t let him stay angry at me..
I took a de-ep breathe. “baby!” I called softly
“hum ..hum!” he answered without looking at me
“Can I spend the night at your place?”
“Why?” he asked
Seriously! did he just ask me why? I bec@m£ nervous all of a sudden
“erm that is because I am scared”
he sighed. ” yes you …..he paused , “erm I mean No”
My heart churned in pain , is he trying to push me away?
“you can sleep over tomorrow”. he quic-kly added
“Okay!” I muttered , leaning back on the seat and looked at Funmi in the rear mirror to see her crying silently….
I looked away knowing she was in pain!!!
*
It was way past midnight when Demi parked out in front of my hostel ….
“we will see later today”. he simply said
“Alright!” I agreed , opening the car and slid my legs out one by one as I alighted ; then I waited for Funmi to climb down and when she did , we began walking towards the house..
I kept my ears open, expecting to hear a goodnight from Demi but was disappointed, all I heard was the sound of his car starting as he drove off…..
“Ah!he is angry at me” I said aloud bitterly , shaking my head in dismay
“No Uju! he is only confused”. Funmi corrected , “give him a little time to clear his head”
with that , she took my hand into hers and gently pu-ll-ed me as we climbe-d up the short step, walked throu-gh the long pas-sage to the room next to mine , her room ..
I was in no mood to face that annoying Faith!
Entering , I coll@psed on the be-d .
I unlocked my phone and dialled Demi’s number but it rang until his voice mail picked up .
Eeehe! what is happening??why is he not picking up ? I was so overly worried…
“babe!It is past 2am , let’s sleep”. Funmi called, yawning
Sleep ke! when my b©yfri£ndis still mad at me!
“You can sleep”. I told her , dialling his number again but it was the same ….
Yay! I said it , I said it now , Demi wants to start avoiding me ooooo.
Ha!What will I do? ehen , I nee-d to take his hurt away , I nee-d to find a solution to this mess …
Just then my br@in cli-cked and the words of his step mum pla-yed inside my head
“Call me whenever you feel something is amiss”
Yes! Yes! she is the solution, I nee-d to call her right now!
with shaky hands, I Scrolled throu-gh my phone for her number and when i saw it ,I cli-cked on it, dialling
She picked it on the second ring
“Hello! who is this ?” her sleepy voice rang throu-gh
“it is me Juliet”. I replied , nervously
“Juliet! Juliet! which of the Juliet?”
“erm your step.. erm I mean your son’s girlfriend”. I stuttered
“Oh! Juliet”. she sounded so excited , “how are you? I have been expecting your call . Is anything wrong, why did you call by this time of the night?”
I broke down in tears . “It is Dave”
“Dave! the cult guy!!what happened to him?” She asked in a rush
“he ..f0rç£d …Demi ..into .. joining ..his gang .. and .. it .. is .. all .. because of me”. I muffled in between tears
There was a pause and then she said
“This is too bad, do you have his number?”
why is she asking me that?
“No!” I replied
“Han! Han! you want me to help you and you didn’t have his number”. her voice sounded so harsh, “hmmmmmm! nawa ooo”
“Ma!” I called ,pleadingly
She sighed. “Fine!do you have the number of anyone close to him?”
“No I don’t ….I paused trailing off when I remembered I have Tobi’s number”
“Yes!Yes! I have his friend number , but I really don’t know how close they are”
“It doesn’t matter , s£nd it to me so I can start working on it”…..
“Ah! Thank you ma, thank you very ma”. I appreciated, sighing in relief
she chuckled lightly. “It is nothing , and one more thing , Let this conversation be a secret between us
“Secret!”I repeated , confusedly
“Yes ! Don’t tell Ade about it , you know how arrogant he can be at times”she stated and yes , she was right
My b©yfri£ndcan be annoying sometimes !
“Alright ma, I won’t tell him”
“Good girl!” She remarked, “and don’t forget to s£nd the number
“Yes ma!” I agreed and ended the call….
Phew! A big relief!
Sharply, I scrolled down for Tobi’s number and when I found it , I copied it and s£nt it to her ; then I la-id on the be-d beside Funmi, fiddling with my phone abs£ntmindedly when a message from Demi popped up .
Immediately, i cli-cked on it
“Good night baby”
My heart exploded with happiness, Demi texted me , he isn’t angry with me , he still loves me …..
with a smile on my face , I drifted off to sleep….
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Next morning
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The voices in my head bec@m£ more and more insistent and i gro-an ed out of sleep . I slowly opened my bleary eyes and saw Funmi curled up in a corner of the be-d, beating her che-st as she cried
I hissed silently, is this still about Dave?
Lazily, I sat up in the be-d and moved closer to console her
“Funmi! st©p crying na, what has happened, has happened”
“No Uju! you wouldn’t un-derstand how pained I am” she said softly, meeting my gaze
her face was all red and swollen!
I sighed softly “I un-derstand it is painful but you have to move on , the “bastard isn’t even worth your tears”
she shook her head negatively. “You got it all wrong there. I am not crying because of Dave , i am crying because of Tobi”
“Tobi! why will you cry because of him?” I asked, clearly confused
“That is because I still love him”
Love kwa! what the hell is she saying?
She continued. “Do you remember the handsome guy i told you about , the one who used and dump me”
“Hun! Hun! ” I nodded my head with keen interest
“It is Tobi”. she said in an unclear voice
“Tobi!” I repeated to be sure I heard right and
she nodded slowly
“So Tobi was the one who de flowered you?” I asked, still finding it ha-rd to believe
“yes!”
“Haba now! this is no right… Ahhh! and still he treated you like trash”. I retorted,shaking my head slowly in pity….:
She snuffled . “you saw it right , you saw the way he looked at me … argh! Tobi hates me , he really hates me …..
Taking a de-ep breathe, I was about saying something when a knock sounded on the door ….
“Who is that? Funmi asked , wiping her tears from his eyes
“It is me, Ademilade”
My skin tingled with excitement.
Ademilade!my b©yfri£nd!Omoo! he c@m£ this early just to see me!
quic-kly, I got off the be-d and rushed to the door and opened it to see my b©yfri£ndstanding in front , he was dressed in black and looked handsome as always..
“Ademilade!” I called , jumping on him ,I was just so excited to see him
He chuckled softly , holding me firmly as he walked into the room;then he put me down on the carpeted floor , facing Funmi
“hi Funmi!” he greeted, “I am sorry for coming unannounced, I just wanted to see my girlfriend .
“It is alright”. Funmi as-sured , smiling lightly and as for me , I was grinning from ear to ear
Awwww! my baby is so ro-mantic!
“but how did you know I was in here?”
“I kinda figured it out”. he shrugged , glancing at his wristwatch as he frowned lightly at me , “it is 7;50am,why aren’t you dressed for school?”
I scratched my hair , I completely forgot about my morning lectures!
“Erm i don’t think i will go today”
“Why?”he furrowed his eyebrow in a de-ep frown .
“I nee-d to take Funmi to the health centre”. I replied and Funmi g@sp audibly in surprise
“Uju!”she called softly
“No!I object to that”. Demi stated , shaking his head “it is way too early for you to start skipping clas-ses”
“but Funmi nee-ds someone to…….I tried to say but he cut me off
“Don’t worry , I will take her there myself”
“Really?” I asked , staring at him in surprise
“Yes babe! go and bath”
“Thanks!”I mumbled, leaning forward to give him a quic-k k!ss; then i walked out of the room to my room …
“And be fast about it”.he called after me
“Alright Ade mi” . I replied , excitedly…..
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The door to my room was wi-de opened and I walked in just in time to see Faith rush out of the bathroom..
“cold ooo! cold”. she muttered , shaking like a leaf.
I hissed loudly as I ambled to the be-d side , pu-lling off my clothes
“Han !Han!Uju , this one your face is like this , are we fighting?”she asked , pausing for a moment to stare at me …
“No ooooo!” I simply answered , walking into the bathroom as I had no time to batter words with a snitch!
Stepping into the bathtub , I brushed my teeth and had a quic-k bath ; then I reached for my towel, wra-pping it around my b©dy as I returned to an………empty room.
Amazing!So she did not even wait for me ..hun!okay ooooo, she can go to hell for all I care
Opening the wardrobe, I searched throu-gh it for a black go-wn and soon found one .
A short designer go-wn I bought in Abuja!
This will be perfect!
Humming a “Celidion” song , I towelled off , put on an undies and hurriedly changed into go-wn; then I brushed down the long hair and put on a black sneakers.
I gr@bb£d a white bag , shoved my books into it and rushed out of the room , locking the door …
“You looking beautiful!”a voice remarked from beside me ………..Ademilade
I smiled lightly as I turned sideways to him
He was leaning against Funmi’s door, his hands in his pocket , as he stared at me with a spark in his eyes
“Why are you out here?” I placed the key un-der the door mat and moved close to him
“Waiting, your friend is bathing”
“Haba! then you should have come into my room”
“No! I prefer it here”. he said with a light smile
I faked a frown. “You saying you don’t like my room?”
“I didn’t say so”. his voice was a bit strained , like I was boring him
“Oh!” I chuckled nervously and quic-kly changed the t©pic
You know , I don’t want to spoil the mood!
“So will I wait until Funmi is done ?”
“Yep!” he replied , popping the p “except you know how to drive”. he mumbled the latter p@rt but I heard him clearly
I scoffed silently, is he kidding me?
“I know how to drive”. I huffed and he sh0t me a surprise look
“Really!”
“Yes! My dad taught me how to drive . I learnt so fast that he promised to buy me a car”. I stated proudly
“So did he buy you the car?”he asked calmly, brushing the hair off my face
I sighed sadly, “No, he bought cars only for my three elder brothers..
“Oh dear! I bet you were so heart broken” . he said with a note of laughter in his voice ,
And from the smug look on his face , I could tell he was Joking around …
“Go away Jo”. I retorted, giving him a pla-yful punch…
“Fine! Fine!Fine”. he took his car key out of his pocket and handed it to me
I looked down at the key and then back at him
“What should I do with it?”
He sm-irked. “Isn’t it obvious
Like seriously! he wants me to drive to school
“Then what about you?”
“I will make use of a taxi”. he replied glancing at his wristwatch, “by what time will you by done with lectures?”
“11:oo am!” I replied
“Good!”I will come to your Faculty after my clas-s then we will go to my ap@rtment together , you will be spending the night with me
I smiled inwardly
“That is if you want to”. he quic-kly added
Chai!the boy can kill someone mood!
“I want it oooo”. I rolled my eyes and he laughed
“Alright!run along , and don’t get into any mischief
“Okay sir”. I drawled, slinging my handbag over my shoulder as I walked throu-gh the long pas-sage, out of the house…
Climbing down the short stairs, I jumped a gutter to the white Venza ; then I got into it and honk the horn loudly , telling the girls taking pictures in front to vamoose …
Abi now! Or shey they did not see me ni!
I press the break pedal and on starting the ignition, I pu-ll-ed out of the road and drove the car down the bu-mpy road as I headed to school ….:
*
Getting to school , I drove throu-gh the hvge gate , down the tarred road until I got to my Faculty—The faculty of Law and then I parked out in front .
I alighted from car and began walking towards building when a dark girl blocked my path , so I cannot pas-s …
“Who are you?” She snapped at me
I stared at her puzzled , do I know her? not at all!
She continued. “Why are you ri-ding Demilade’s car?”
Chai! is this the reason why she st©pped me?….nawa ooo… well! since she wants to know , I will have to tell her …
“I am his girlfriend so I have the right to ride his car”. I replied , holding the keys for her to see
“Are you satisfied now?”I asked mockingly and without waiting for her response , I shoved her aside and walked into the building, climbing up the long stairs to the Lecture room
What nons-en-se!!!!
*
As expected, the lecturer was alre-ady in clas-s so I pas-sed throu-gh the back door to avoid attention, but still all eyes were on me including the lecturer’s
“And why are you just coming to clas-s by this time young lady?” the woman in front of me thun-dered ….
I swallowed ha-rd nervously, glancing at Shakirat who was staring at me with her mouth wi-de open .
“Erm my friend was sick and I erm had to erm take her to the hospital”. I stuttered
That is a big fat lie”. My subconsciousness screamed at me and I felt guilty all of a sudden
But did I lie? no Funmi was sick right !
The woman scoffed. ” Do you think that Is an excuse? by the way , what is your name ?”
“It is Juliet …….”
“Obianuju “. she completed and I nodded slowly
how did she know?
“Wow! I have being earnestly searching for the writer of the article on the notice board and here she is ,the beautiful and brilliant writer….
I blu-shed . “Thanks ma”
“Don’t mention dear, Just keep on with your good works”. She said, averting her gaze as she faced the clas-s
“We will continue from where we st©p in our next lessons”
Having said that , she picked up her books and left the clas-s
I wi-de-ned my eyes in surprise, Just like that!oh yeah! I must be very late !
“Juliet oooooo!” Shakirat called , motioning for me to come closer which I did , sitting down beside her ..
“Ah! babe! See the way you are shining ! see your go-wn , your bag, your shoes… argh! even you hair….
“It is called bone straight”. I cut in, smiling proudly
“Mogbe ooo! so this is what they call bone straight…ah! I don’t know”. She screamed, brushing the hair with her well-polished nails
I stared at the nails with admiring eyes, ma-king a mental note to fix mine also
Shakirat continued. ” so how much did you make the hair?”
“400, ooo”. I answered truthfully and she knitted her eyebrow in a frown
“So you mean you spent that hvge amount of money for hair.. haba! Juliet, it is not right”
I shrugged lightly. It is not my fault na and moreover , my b©yfri£nddidn’t complain ”
“Even though, you still….she paused, trailing off , her gaze fixed ahead of her
“trouble is coming”. She muttered and quic-kly, I followed the direction of her eyes and saw Susanna marching towards me , the “dark girl” following behind her
Oh!now I un-derstand why she questioned me, she is Susanna’s friend!
“You this asthmatic patient , leave my b©yfri£ndalone”. Sussanna screamed out her lungs as soon as she got to me
I hissed silently, which kind of embarras-sment is this na
She continued, “Why is it so ha-rd for you to listen? Is it because of the money he is spending on you ? Oh! or because you now ride his car … hmmmh! ah! Demi cannot use you to do anything, he is just using you”
“Then let him spell it out to her himself”.Shakirat snapped at her and She scoffed, eying Shakirat coldly
“did I talk to you?”
Shakirat sm-irked. ” it is obvious you are shameless if not , you wouldn’t be here fighting for a boy that have left you tay tay”
“Yes! I nodded my head in support
Susanna cl@pped her hands lightly as she laughed
“and who told you that? Incase you don’t know, I was in Demi’s place last night”
“You liar! he was with me all throu-gh the night”. I blurted out, clutching my fist in anger
How dare she lie to my face!
She stared at me puzzled for a moment and then she sm-irked
“oh! so you were the one he went to see last night…Han! Han! Interesting!.. I guess he got tired of you and that is why he returned to me in our house”
“Tell her ooooo”.her friend bu-tted in and they both laughed…
“What! was the only thing I could say as I was so confused
How did she know Demi left his house at night? was she really at his place last him? Is Demi still d@t!ngher?If yes , is that the reason he refused me following him home last night …
Placing my head on the table, I st©pped my ears as I closed it to the harsh mocking sounds rolling up and down the hall…
I felt so ashamed, like I was d@t!ngsomeone else b©yfri£nd……Demi must answer to this !!
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Ademilade
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Behind my smile is a breaking heart,behind my laugh, I am falling ap@rt , behind my eyes are tears.Look closely at me and you will see the boy I am ..isn’t me.
I am just trying to be fine, no, I want to be fine….
*
*
Alighting from the taxi, I paid the driver and held the door open for Funmi and when she climbe-d down , we walked throu-gh the gate to the ever-crowded health centre…
“Jeez! how do sick people breathe in the kind of environment”. I thought but said aloud and Funmi laughed
“Don’t tell me you have never been here before”
I Shrugged. “Well! Just a couple of times , and that is for research works
“Oh! you are a medical student , I completely forgot”
“I nodded abs£ntmindedly. ” so how did you meet Dave?” I blurted out , and then caught my breathe
I never intended to ask the question but I guess my curious self got the best out of me …..
“You don’t nee-d to answer if you don’t want to”. I quic-kly added
She gulped down ha-rd . “I know you are still angry, i know you feel it is my fault , I know you only pretending to like me because of your girlfriend”
Bingo! how did she know!!
“But believe me when I say I am de-eply sorry for everything….
Sorry! and what will sorry do? will it takeaway the pain in me? no, but what can I do?nothing ….
I sighed softly. “It is alright”. I as-sured and her eyes lit up
“Really!”
“Yeah! so I will be leaving now , i have a morning Practical to catch up with”
“Alright Demi, Thanks for everything”
“Okay!” I simply said and began walking to the gate when she asked
“Can I get Tobi’s number?”
I st©pped in my track , turning to face her.
“Tobi! do you have any business with him?”
She shook her head negatively
“Why then are you asking for his number?”
“Erm that is erm because I nee-d to eem talk to him. she stuttered
I scoffed silently, talk to who? that betrayer!
“A word of advice miss , treat up your swollen face before Jumping into another mess”
“But I really nee-d to talk to him”. She insisted and I huffed , ignoring her as I walked throu-gh the gate, out of the health centre ..
If she wants his number then she should ask him!
Standing in front of the hvge gate , i was about flagging down a taxi when a black Camry pu-ll-ed up in front of me….Kewe
Like seriously! What does he want? he has been disturbing me with calls , all of which I ignored….
“Demi!” he called , rolling down the window
“What do you want?” I asked coldly
“I nee-d to talk to you bro”
“I am not interested”. I barked, expecting him to drive off but instead,he alighted from the car and walked over to me
“plea-se we nee-d to talk”
“Just get the fv¢k out of my way”. I yelled
“No I won’t”. he retorted, standing right in front of me “i know you are angry , but you really nee-d to listen to me ….
“So you can betray me again”. I jeered
“I didn’t betray you and never will I”.he half yelled and that was it , I exploded
“You bastard! I took you as a friend, I confided in you and told you everythingfu-cking thing about me , how dare you snitch on me …Hun! Is that why you advised me to give in to Dave?” I yelled not minding the scene we were creating
“No Demi! I also joined the gang a few days back”
“You just joined?”
“Yes! do you remember the day you called to tell me about your late mother being poisoned”
I nodded
“Good! I was in Dave’s house that day , the bastard threatened to Kill my elder sister if I don’t take the goddamned oath”
I froze on the sp©t.
“why didn’t you tell me?”my voice turned to whispers and I looked at him , conflicted
“Dave told me not to tell you”. he exhaled de-eply, ” I was so scared, I couldn’t sit back and watch my sister die”
“D**n!” I bit myl-ips and tried to hide my pain by burying my face in my palm …
This was becoming way too much, what is the “bastard “gaining from all of this?
Kewe continued. “We nee-d to fight back Demi, we nee-d to break free from Dave grip”
” We! who are the we? me and you”
“Not only us, there is Tobi , Bola and even the SUG president is not left out”
“And how do you know all of this?” I questioned him
he shrugged . ” well! Let me say , I made a research
Oh yeah!he is a smart one but not on this , Dave is a beast and won’t hesitate to wipe us out if we dare go against him..:
“Can’t you see Demi…………
“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”. I cut in , “Can we plea-se get going now or we will be late for clas-ses”
he sm-irked. “You are just too stubborn!
“You can say that again”. I smiled lightly , breathing a s-en-se of relief, a relief knowing that my best friend is my best friend
*
TBC