WOUNDED ? ?
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BY RUTHIE LEE ? ?
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EPISODE 14
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I was woken up by the sound of my message notification tone and I gro-an ed when the bright light from my phone almost blinded my eyes.
My eyes scanned the message I just recieved from Mabel and I sighed.
It was the address of the place I’ll be meeting my client tomorrow. I sighed and shoved my phone from my face.
I turned my other side to see Tochi fast asleep with the dress she wore last night.
I got up and got re-ady for clas-s that morning.
Dressed in a black sh0t and a white shi-t, a white sandal to go with it, I tied my br@ided hair in a ponytail and made a big bun after.
I head to clas-s early that morning and like expected. I saw Samuel, sitting alone and studying before the clas-s begins.
I walked up to him and hearing my footstep he turned.
I smiled. “HI”
“Oh.. Uhm… Hi Bridget, Good morning!”
I sat down beside him and placed my books on the desk.
“Good morning” I replied.
He seemed like he wanted to say something but remained quiet about it.
He should speak up, if he wants to.
I let him be anyways, I won’t f0rç£ him and about last night… I hope he’s not bothered by it.
He shouldn’t be… I guess.
Clas-s started and surprisingly Samuel seemed a little bit out of it today. He was mostly lost in thoughts half of the lesson, finally the clas-s ended and we all got together in the empty clas-s to work on our project.
Samuel and Paul c@m£ with their l@pt©ps and it just made the explanation and everything we’ve been talking about easier.
Thirty minutes pas-sed and we all called it a day on the project.
Paul and Aisha left leaving Samuel and I, I was patiently waiting for Samuel to get his books and his l@pt©p into his ti-ght back and when it looked like the l@pt©p was getting bigger than the bag, Samuel sighed and gave up.
“Should I help?” I asked and he shrugged.
I unZi-pped the flat looking bag even wi-der and shoved the l@pt©p inside the bag, opening the four corners wi-der and placing it on the surface on the l@pt©p…
“What do you mean by I shouldn’t fall in love with you?” Samuel suddenly asked ma-king me pause.
I looked up at him.
“What do I mean? What else can it mean?” I gave a half smile.
Samuel sat on the desk behind him and gave a sigh. “Sorry I know what it means, I… I meant why?”
“Why?” I sighed and turned back to the l@pt©p and the bag… “I have my reasons.” I shrugged.
“Oh I see, or perhaps is it because of me?” He asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Like I said before, it’s not because of you, like you’re perfect the way you are, but I’m not perfect” I shook my head.
“I’m not perfect either.” Samuel suddenly state.
I smiled and looked at him from my brows. “You don’t know it but you are.!”
He sighs. “Should I not be perfect?”
“What the hell” I laughed.
“Samuel, do you actually like me?” I asked… again.
Last night he said he didn’t know.
“… I do” he blurted out and my heart skipped a beat.
I was hesitant for a while but I spoke up. “We both share a mutual feeling, but… We’re bad for each other, and no it’s not you, it’s me and no do not change because of me.”
I’ve always thought I’d never be in a relationsh!pafter my first one, well not actually in a relationsh!p, I’ve always thought I’d never like someone, not that I liked my first b©yfri£ndthat much, I guess I just d@t£d him because I wanted to fit in, I wanted to like try out the ‘relationsh!p’ thing everyone was talking about and I just pushed myself into d@t!nghim without actually liking him that’s why our relationsh!plasted for only a few months. So I’ve never really liked anyone, until Samuel.
I mean he’s just so cute, loveable and just everything… And everything you would find yourself falling for and now I’m still tripping even though I’ve alre-ady fallen. Funny.
First time I’ll be feeling like this towards someone, and it hurts when you can’t even reach out to the person you like after confirming you like the person and after you’ve confessed wow.
“I still… Don’t un-derstand…
“Samuel” I called interrupting him.
“Just don’t like me… You’ll never get anything good out of it” I said Zi-pping the bag with a sudden f0rç£ that c@m£ out of nowhere.
Samuel gazed at me.
“What?” I arched my brows at him.
“Nothing” he shook his head.
He can’t get anything good d@t!ngme
“Great, I found you guys.” A familiar voice said at the back of the empty clas-s and Samuel and I turned to see Kingsley walking in.
“How did you know we were here.?” I asked handing Samuel’s bag to him.
“I asked around” he replied. “So my clas-s is done for the day and I decided to come see my two favourite people” Kingsley simpered.
“Since when did we become favourite?” I sm-irked.
“Since today, I was bored and all my friends ditched me.”
“That explains it all!” I smiled.
“So let’s all go gr-ab some food at the canteen…
“I’ll be heading home first” Samuel interrupted.
“What? why?” Kingsley asked.
“Not feeling so good” Samuel replied.
I gave him a look. He looked back at me.
“I’ll see you during our next clas-s” Samuel stated, gr@bb£d his bag and walked out of the clas-s.
Kingsley turned to me. “That was weird Sammy has always been good, but today he’s suddenly not feeling good, my hunch is telling me something happened between you two”
“Your hunch is pretty s-en-sitive” I replied. “Anyways, I’m hungry let’s go eat” I changed the subject.
Kingsley smiled. “Now you’re talking!”
Kingsley hand slid around my shoulder as we walked out of the empty clas-s room and I looked up at him and gave him a warning look.
“Oh plea-se, if I were Sammy, you wouldn’t have given me that look!” Kingsley stated ma-king a funny expression.
I laughed. “Like he could do it.”
“What do you mean?” Kingsley scoffed.
“I tried putting his hand on my shoulder one time and he almost pas-sed out when both his hand and my shoulder c@m£ into contact” I expound and Kingsley bur-st out laughing.
“Sammy’s attitude will never seize to make me laugh.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re mocking him, are you indirectly calling him a clown?”
“I’m not! So anyways what happened between you two, cause from my own perspective, that boy is re-ady to follow you anywhere you decide to go!” Kingsley asked.
“Are you always this nosy?” I scoffed.
“You replying me with that, means you don’t want me to know what’s going on between you two, but guess what? Sammy being a honest bird will tell me anything!” Kingsley grinned.
“Well suit yourself” I shrugged.
//
The day sped up like a breeze, and Samuel was so very quiet in each clas-ses we took that day and I was suddenly feeling guilty. I know he’s quiet and all, but with me, he always trying to say a word or two. At least trying to keep the conversation going even though he’s not a conversation type. Can he be less sweet in my head… This is starting to get sad and annoying. I hate to see him this way, but it’s actually for the best.
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It was Friday morning and how I will keep saying that I love Fridays because we have just two clas-ses, it is Friday, Friday has its own joy to come.
But then coming to clas-s and seeing Samuel’s sullen expression towards me brou-ght my joy down. And just when clas-s was over I recieved a message from Mabel. It was a picture of a man, the man I’ll be meeting today…
Suddenly the Friday’s joy disappeared.
Our second clas-s was a bit interesting because the teacher was being funny. Samuel managed to smile on one of his jokes and the smile just affected me and I smiled too.
After clas-s, Kingsley c@m£ up to us like a shadow spirit and f0rç£d us to eat lunch with him.
*
The three of us occu-pied a table at the back of the popular canteen and ordered our food.
As usual, my hunger was striking and just halfway throu-gh my food, my phone starts to ring, I dropped my phone and answered the call.
“Mabel?” I sighed into the phone.
“Did you see the picture I s£nt to you?” she asked.
I glanced at the two boys in front of me.
“Yes I saw it” I replied.
“Good, it’s alre-ady 4:30 so by 5pm or a few minutes past five, make sure to put on one of your best dress, take the ru-bber, just in case he forgets and…
” Yes I know, plea-se cut the call.” I gr-unt.
“Huh? What’s wrong Bridget, you sound uncomfortable, you’ve never felt uncomfortable about this, is something wrong? Tell me what it is? Is someone bothering you?” Mabel asked… The curiosity in her voice was more annoying.
“It’s no one plea-se… Just… I get it, I’ll go there and get this over with” I gr-unt angrily and hung up.
I slammed my phone on the plastic table and breathed in and out.
“Whoa is everything okay?” Kingsley asked.
“Yes, everything is fine” I replied.
I glanced down at my food. “And I suddenly lost my appetite” I said and pushed the food forward.
“You seem angry, are you sure everything is okay?” Samuel asked me.
His calm voice though.
“Everything is fine.” I breathed out. “And I have to leave!” I said standing up.
“So soon?” Kingsley added.
“Yes I nee-d to run an errand.” I shrugged.
“Okay, it’s till tomorrow, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Samuel replied.
“Yes” I gave a half smile. “Till tomorrow”.
“Okay then bye” kinglsey sighed.
“Bye” I stated.
I walked out of the canteen and dashed home immediately.
Getting to our hostel and to my room, I noticed the door was looked and I quic-kly brou-ght down my bag to take out the room key, but my hand froze when it couldn’t gr-ab anything like a key from inside the bag.
“What the hell.” I g@sped.
Tochi’s not home and she must have locked the door thinking I gr@bb£d the spare key when I foolishly left it inside.
I gr@bb£d my phone and called Tochi. She picked up immediately and I was glad.
“Where are you?” was the first thing I asked.
“Uhh. Outside campus, what’s wrong?” Tochi asked.
“I forgot to gr-ab the spare key on my way out and now I’m standing outside our locked room” I explained.
Tochi g@sped. “Really, oh no, and I’m on my way home but I’m stuck here in traffic”.
Traffic!!
She wasn’t kidding, I could hear angry car horns coming from the other side of the phone.
“I’m very far away from campus and on a normal day without traffic it’s an hour and half journey but with the hvge traffic I’m Stranded and don’t know when I’ll get back I’m so sorry” she apologized.
“It’s okay” I breathed angrily and cut the call. It was my fault anyways.
“This is so annoying” I said to myself.
The stupid metal door was annoying me. I nee-d to get in, take a quic-k bath, dress up and go meet my stupid client. But no I had to forget the stupid keys too.
And how Lagos is always so damn busy on Fridays.
If Tochi doesn’t come back soon, I won’t be able to meet the client and I won’t be able to rest either, what am I going to do…
Minutes pas-sed and I stood out of my door sighing every once in a while and after an hour pas-sed, my legs starts to hurt and I decided to call maybe. I told her I was cancelling today’s meeting, she asked me why, but still being angry, I cut the call and ignored when she called back.
I nee-ded to rest, my back hurts and so does my legs I’ve been standing here for an hour and I have no where to go… Or do I…
I gr@bb£d my phone and called Samuel and he picked up at the second Ring.
“Samuel.” I breathed out.
“Bri… Briget” his thick but calm voice called.
“Yes its me, are you home?” I asked walking out of the building and checking the now grey evening skies with my eyes.
“Yes I am, why?” he asked.
“Can I come over!”.
“Yes.. Sure…” he replied and I smiled.
“Thanks” I smiled and cut the call.
I quic-kly texted Tochi. *I’m at Samuel’s, Call me when you get home*
And she replied with. *Okay I un-derstand, will do so*.
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T. B. C