THE PINK CLOUDS
________________________
????
✒ Episode_9
Richa-rd walked little further away from Prof. Grace’s house when heard Rebecca shouting calling for him. He turned and watched her as she walked to him.
“I was s£nt by my mum to ask you for a favour,” Rebecca disclosed after she had st©pped walking.
“What is it?” Richa-rd asked.
“Well, it even makes me uncomfortable to say it,” Rebecca replied.
“Come on, just tell me,” Richa-rd said.
“Okay, my mum said to tell you that you should plea-se accompany me to the market if you are not very busy,” Rebecca requested.
Richa-rd kept quiet for a while without saying.
“I knew it, it was ridiculous of me to say that,” Rebecca said as she turned to go back.
“Is okay, I can accompany you,” Richa-rd as-sured.
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes I will,” Richa-rd responded.
They walked back to the house where Richa-rd found Prof. Grace still sitting in the living room.
“Sorry for calling you back, I want you to accompany Rebecca to the market. She is doing the monthly shopping for us this time,” Prof. Grace announced.
“That’s okay with me ma’am,” Richa-rd as-sured.
Prof. Grace gave him the key to her car and her credit card to Rebecca.
Rebecca and Richa-rd walked out to the car that was parked at the front of the house. They both entered the car and Richa-rd started the engine.
“I’m surprised that you don’t know to drive,” Richa-rd said to Rebecca as he started driving.
“Well, in the next two years, I will start driving,” Rebecca responded.
“That means you are sixteen years old,” Richa-rd laughed.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I disclosed my age to you,” Rebecca cried out.
“It would have been better if you had told me earlier,” Richa-rd replied.
“So you brou-ght this t©pic in purpose to make confess, right?” Rebecca asked.
“Actually not, I was just asking. And I used my common s-en-se to know your age from your answer,” Richa-rd replied.
“From now on, I will be careful when I answer your question,” Rebecca smiled.
“So, who taught you how to drive?” Rebecca asked.
“I was taught by friends about 3 years ago,” Richa-rd replied.
“I thought you were going to say it was your father,” Rebecca said.
“I wish it was really him too,” Richa-rd replied.
“What happened to him?” Rebecca asked.
“Actually, both of my parents died 10 years ago,” Richa-rd replied.
“Oh that’s terrible, I really am so sorry to hear about that,” Rebecca apologized.
“Is okay,” Richa-rd replied.
“I also lost my father 3 years ago,” Rebecca announced.
“I’m sorry to hear about his death too,” Richa-rd replied.
“Well, it looks like we have something in common,” Rebecca said.
“Yes I think so,” Richa-rd smiled.
“So, where are you from?” Rebecca asked.
“I’m from a town called Okene, located in Kogi state,” Richa-rd responded.
“I know it is a nice place,” Rebecca complimented.
“Yes it is,” Richa-rd replied.
They drove out of the university and headed the town’s central market that was 10 kilometres away.
While they were driving, they were over taken by a lady in a little Toyota. Richa-rd turned and looked Rebecca.
“Will you plea-se focus on your driving?” Rebecca said.
“I was wondering if I could teach you how to drive,” Richa-rd offered.
“That will be illegal, I’m sixteen, remember?” Rebecca asked.
“Who cares about the law anyway? I started driving when I was 15 years old,” Richa-rd revealed.
“Wait a minute; you said you started driving 3 years ago earlier. And now you said you were 15 when you started driving. This literary means that you are 18 years old,” Rebecca noticed.
“Nope I just wanted the level of your Mathematics,” Richa-rd said trying to outsmart her.
“For your information Mr. Mathematician, I am not a dumb kid,” Rebecca laughed.
“Of course you are. And the good thing is that you are a fast learning kid,” Richa-rd said.
“St©p pretending Richa-rd , you have alre-ady busted yourself just like I did,” Rebecca said.
“Really?” Richa-rd asked.
“Yes of course, I Know your real age now, you don’t nee-d to act bossy around me anymore,” Rebecca said.
“Don’t forget, I still have authority over you since I’m your teacher,” Richa-rd hinted.
“You are just two years older than I, we can be categorised as age mates,” Rebecca laughed.
“Is that what you think?” Richa-rd asked.
“Yes that’s what I think,” she replied.
They drove for some minutes before arriving at a shopping mall close to the central market. They got down from the car after Richa-rd had parked it in the parking space.
“I like your hand bag,” Richa-rd said as they were walking to an ATM machine located next to the shopping mall.
“Thank you,” Rebecca smiled.
“Did mum buy it for you?” Richa-rd asked.
“Not really, I bought it last Christmas,” Rebecca replied.
“Is red your favourite colour?” Richa-rd asked.
“Why do ask?” Rebecca responded.
“I’m just asking,” Richa-rd replied.
“Pink is my favourite colour, what about you?” she asked.
“I love black,” Richa-rd replied.
“That’s cool,” Rebecca commented.
“I would love to see you wearing pink,” Richa-rd said.
“Really? Can I ask you why?” Rebecca said.
“I just want to see if you choose the right colour to favour. Because if doesn’t look pretty on you, is not the right colour for you,” Richa-rd said.
“Don’t worry, you will see me in pink one day,” Rebecca said smiling.
“Do you know what?” Richa-rd said.
“No I don’t,” she replied.
“I think you should choose red to be your favourite colour,” Richa-rd suggested.
“And why should I do that?” she asked.
“Because it looks pretty on you,” Richa-rd answered.
“Really?” Rebecca asked as she st©pped.
It was then that Richa-rd realised the magnitude of what he had said. His heart started beating fas-ter as Rebecca st©pped walking.
“Why do you st©p walking?” Richa-rd asked.
“Never mind, let’s keep walking,” She said and they continue to walk.
They arrived at the ATM machine and Rebecca used her mother’s credit card to withdraw some cash from the machine. After that, they headed towards the mall. As they were about to enter the mall, they come across Janet and Riskat going out of the same mall.
Richa-rd quic-kly looked away after ma-king an eye contact with Janet . He pretended he hadn’t seen her and started talking to Rebecca. They walked pas-s each other without say hi.
After they have entered the mall, Janet turned and looked them.
Somehow, Richa-rd did not feel anything. Rather, he was happy Janet had seen him with Rebecca.
“If she think she is beautiful, Rebecca is also pretty,” Richa-rd thought with smile on smile on his face.
“What happened?” Rebecca asked when she noticed the smile on Richa-rd ’s face.
“Is nothing,” Richa-rd replied. They met the receptionist at the mall and gave her the list of items they want. The receptionist went around and gathered everything the put on the list.
After he was done, he asked one of the workers to take the items to their car. The worker took the items and put them in a cart. He then pu-ll-ed the cart to their car that was parked outside the mall. Richa-rd opened the trunk for him and he put everything in it. Richa-rd and Rebecca entered the car and drove to the central market where they bought many vegetables.
“Will you plea-se take me to one of my friend’s house? It’s been long since I last visited her,” Rebecca requested.
“No problem, anything for my student,” Richa-rd smiled.
They entered the car and headed to her friend’s house. It was a small bungalow with a low fence close to the main road. Richa-rd parked the car beside the house and Rebecca got out of the car before Richa-rd even st©p the engine.
She headed toward the entrance of the house and knocked at the door. Her friend walked to the door and opened it.
“What a surprise, you didn’t tell me you are coming,” Her friend said.
“We c@m£ to shop and I used that opportunity to come and pay you a visit,” Rebecca said.
“Oh that’s very nice of you,” her friend appreciated.
“Why don’t you come in?” Her friend continued.
“Actually, I’m with a friend,” Rebecca responded.
“Where is she then?” Her friend requested.
“He is a boy, and he is in the car,” Rebecca replied.
“You even come with car? I never knew you had a male friend that drives a car,” her friend said as she walked out of the house.
“Now you do,” Rebecca smiled.
“Isn’t that your mother’s car?” her friend asked.
“Yes it is,” Rebecca replied.
“So who is this friend of yours?” her friend curiously asked.
“He is the one I told you about who teaches me mathematics,” Rebecca explained.
“Ohh, you mean your hero?” her friend sighted.
“Oh yes,” Rebecca laughed.
“I would like to meet him,” her friend insisted.
“Okay,” Rebecca replied.
They walked to the car and Richa-rd opened the door when he saw them getting close to the car.
“Hey Richa-rd , I would like you to meet my friend Alice,” Rebecca introduced.
“Hey Alice, how are you doing?” Richa-rd asked.
“I’m doing well, how about you?” she asked.
“I’m doing great Alice,” Richa-rd replied.
“When she said she c@m£ with a friend, I thought she got herself a b©yfri£nd,” Alice tea-sed.
“Did she say I was her friend? I’m her teacher, not friend,” Richa-rd said.
“Don’t mind him, he is just two years older than I,” Rebecca interfered.
“Is that so? I certainly know that before you were born, I know how to talk properly. So it means I have a lot of experience before you were born,” Richa-rd replied.
“I have never seen a two year old kid that can talk properly. Kids at this age ha-rd ly know they exist,” Rebecca argued.
“Well, I’m quite different when I was a kid. My mum started s£nding me on errands since I was a year old,” Richa-rd said.
“Oh my God, what a lie,” Rebecca laughed.
Alice folded her arms and watched as Richa-rd and Rebecca and Richa-rd argued.
As far as she could recall, she had never seen her friend talking to any boy like that.
“Why are you looking at us like that?” Rebecca asked. When she noticed how Alice was looking at them with a smile on her face.
“I was wondering if you guys would come into the house,” Alice offered.
“Actually, her mum will complain if we stay long,” Richa-rd answered.
“I think he is right,” Rebecca replied.
They talked for few more minutes before the decided to go home.
They headed back home at about 2 O’clock pm. When Richa-rd parked the car, Emmanuel ran out of the house and welcomed them. He also helped them in taking the items they bought into the house.
“Did something happen? It took you longer than I expected,” Prof. Grace said.
“Actually, I visited Alice. It’s been long since I last visited her,” Rebecca replied.
“That’s very nice,” Prof. Grace replied. Richa-rd helped Rebecca to take the items they bought to their sto-re.
After they were done, Richa-rd announced that he will be going.
“Why don’t you have lunch before you go?” Rebecca offered.
“I’m okay actually,” Richa-rd replied.
“Don’t be like that Richa-rd , wait and eat before you,” Prof. Grace interfered.
Rebecca asked Richa-rd to wait for her in the dining table.
Rebecca went to the kitchen and got him the food that her mother cooked not long ago. It was a pounded yam with fried vegetables. She brou-ght the food on a plate on a plate with cold bottled water on the other hand.
“Here you go,” she said with a smile on her face as she kept the food on the table in front of Richa-rd .
“Thank you,” Richa-rd smiled back.
Richa-rd started eating the food, while Rebecca went back to the kitchen and c@m£ back with another plate of food for herself. She sat down opposite to him and started eating.
?????
??
In the evening, Janet returned with Riskat from her cousin’s house. All day along, Janet thought about the incidence of seeing Richa-rd with Rebecca. She felt so sad when she saw him with her. The fact that he didn’t show any sign of nervousness scared her more. She tried all her best to hide her feeling from Riskat.
Whenever Riskat tried to bring the t©pic up, she quic-kly change the t©pic. Even after they went back to Maryam’s house from the mall, she bec@m£ less active and couldn’t talk much. She never knew she had feelings for Richa-rd until after she saw him with Rebecca.
“It seems like something is bothering you,” Riskat said as they walked into her room.
“Actually not,” Janet responded.
“You you can’t hide anything from me, I’m your best friend,” Riskat said.
“I’m just feeling sick and bored,” Janet replied.
“Is that so? Then you nee-d to have some rest,” Riskat responded.
“Yes, I think I go back to my room,” Janet said. “Alright, we will talk later,” Riskat responded.
?
Rebecca walked out of their house and met Amira who was sitting on a bench un-der a tree. The tree was close to the main road that leads to the inner section of the staff quarters.
“Hey,” Rebecca said as she sat beside Amira, who was busy with her phone.
“Hi,” she responded as she looked up.
“We haven’t talked today since morning,” Rebecca said as she sat down beside Amira.
“Yes, I went to your house and was told that you have gone out,” Amira replied.
“Oh yes we did,” Rebecca replied.
“You went out with Richa-rd , didn’t you?” Amira asked.
“How did you know?” Rebecca asked.
“I saw you guys when you were returning,” Amira replied.
“We went to the market and even proceeded to visit Alice,” Rebecca announced.
“Oh really? Did she give you my book?” Amira asked.
“No she didn’t, we didn’t even talk about it,” Rebecca replied.
“I never give her my things again. I gave it to her almost three months ago and each day we meet at school, she will tell me that she has forgotten it at home,” Amira complained.
“I think she has lost it,” Rebecca laughed.
“She won’t dare, she knows how much I love the book,” Amira said.
“So did Richa-rd take you to Alice?” Amira asked.
“Yes he did,” Rebecca smiled.
“It looks like you guys are getting close along lately,” Amira said.
“Well, it turns out he is not that bad,” Rebecca replied.
“Am I missing something?” Amira asked.
“Actually not,” Rebecca replied as she hit Amira on the shoulder.
??
In the night, Richa-rd was called by Paul when he was watching a movie on his computer in one of the lecture theatres close to his dormitory.
Paul: where are you right now?
Richa-rd : I’m in L.T 3 in Agric dep@rtment
Paul: Alright, I will be coming.
Richa-rd : Okay, until you come.
About five minutes later, Paul arrived at the lecture theatre and found him sitting alone all by himself.
“Hey, you like doing everything alone; wouldn’t it be better if you sit among other people?” Paul asked as he walked to him.
“Well, I prefer to do everything alone in a quiet place,” Richa-rd responded.
“That’s very nice of,” Paul responded.
“How has been your day?” Richa-rd asked.
“It was okay. I looked for you in your room in the afternoon but couldn’t find you,” Paul announced.
“Why didn’t you call me then?” Richa-rd asked.
“I didn’t have airtime in my phone at that time,” Paul replied.
“Well, I was in Prof. Grace’s house at that time,” Richa-rd replied.
“That’s good,” Paul said.
“I just wanted to talk to you about yesterday’s incident,” Paul said.
“Oh don’t worry about it,” Richa-rd replied.
“I’m glad that I have a friend who will tell me the truth,” Paul continued.
“Well, I just hope you will make use of it,” Richa-rd responded.
“But to be honest with you, I have tried many times to st©p myself, I just end up failing at the end,” Paul complaint.
“Have your parents known about this?” Richa-rd asked.
“No they don’t,” Paul replied.
“The best way to st©p yourself is cut‐off all contact all those friends of yours,” Richa-rd advised.
“I will try doing that,” Paul relied.
Paul sat down beside Richa-rd , they talked for about an hour before he walked out of the theatre and left Richa-rd .
???
Around 11 am, Rebecca gathered all her books and walked to her room. She had been studying in the dining table for the past three hours.
She dropped the books in her bookshelf as she got into the room. She changed into pyjamas before she sat by her be-d and went throu-gh her phone. She chatted with few of her friends on Facebook before she finally decided to sleep.
But as soon as she lied down, she kept remembering the things that happened between her and Richa-rd during the day. It was the first time a boy had ever run in her thoughts. She tried to sleep, but she couldn’t sleep. She stood up and went to the living room and turned on the TV. She took out her phone and looked for her friends who were online. Luckily for her, she found Alice online. She quic-kly started a conversation by s£nding her a message.
?
Rebecca: Hey so you are still awake
?
Alice: Yes I am. What about you? I have never seen you staying up this late.
Rebecca: Yes, is strange. I couldn’t sleep today.
Alice: Perhaps you are thinking about some ;).
?
Rebecca: Not really
?
Alice: So how is Richa-rd ?
?
Rebecca: Okay I guess
She dropped her phone on the sofa and went to kitchen and opened one of the drawers. She took her the ch!ps she kept hidden and walked back to living room. When she unlocked her phone, she found out Alice had alre-ady went off.
She continued watching her movie as she ate the ch!ps. About an hour later, she fell asleep in the living room.
➖➖
????
Janet tried her best to sleep but she couldn’t sleep. She lost control of herself and quic-kly stood up and walked to her phone that was charging some feet away from her. She unplugged the phone and dial Richa-rd ’s number. It rang for a while before Richa-rd answered the call.
Richa-rd : Hello
Janet : Who was the girl I saw you with earlier?
Richa-rd : Did you just call to ask me that?
Janet : Oh, I’m sorry to bother you
She ended the call and went back to her be-d and sat down. She started regretting why she had even asked him that in the first place.
????
???
Story_Continues?
?????