My hands froze.
I stared blankly at the phone and read the text over and over again. Was I
dreaming? Chocolate?
My sweaty hands
trembled as I punched on the keyboard.
Chocolate?
I could see the ‘typing’ symbol and my
eyes widened in anticipation. Minutes later, a message popped up.
Yes,
chocolate.
My lips twitched
in a smile as I was typing,
Why
chocolate?
You’re
sweet, lovely and addicting just like chocolate. The colour of your skin also
makes the name perfect for you.
I could feel the
rush of blood to my veins. I flopped on my bed and rested on my fluffy pillow.
Hmm…
I typed and
stared at the screen, awaiting a response from Najib. I didn’t see the
‘typing…’ symbol and I hesitantly waited for a response.
What was he
doing? Eating? Reading?
Fareedah,
can I ask you something really awful? -Najib.
Bring
it on. -Fareedah.
If
I say it, hope you won’t smack my head when we meet?-Najib.
Hahaha.
No of course.-Fareedah.
Your
dressing…don’t you like colours? You can dress fashionable and still look
decent you know?-Najib.
I couldn’t
reply…I really had no idea of what to say. I also knew that I didn’t meet up to
Najib’s expectation…that I would never meet up to Najib’s expectation.
I’m
really sorry if I got you irked. It’s a harmless question…I’m just curious…-Najib.
It’s
okay Najib. I love colours and I love to wear nice clothes. -Fareedah.
He seemed to
take the whole day to finish typing and I toyed with the pink pouch that
covered my phone.
Okay.
By the way, my sister called me not less than an hour ago. She said she had
travelled to Lagos for an art exhibition. Imagine…without my permission! Her
course mates have written five tests and she’s touring the states in Nigeria. Am
Inot a good brother? -Najib.
I’m
sorry Najib. I believe she’ll realize her mistakes and appreciate you soon. -Fareedah.
Thank
you, Fareedah. Talking to you has made me feel really better. Will you be in
school next tomorrow? I want you to meet my sister and we can go out after
then.-Najib.
Okay,
I’ll be in school. -Fareedah.
Talk
to you later. Have a great day!-Najib.
He wrote and
went offline immediately. I clicked on his display picture and what popped out
was a picture of his grinning face, putting on a lemon t-shirt and white
face-cap. He sat amidst three men, who looked like his friends, with a cup of
juice in his right hand. He was different from the rest; his smile was
breath-taking and graceful.
I laid on my bed
and stared at the picture for close to thirty minutes, before my alarm rung,
indicating that I needed to read for Professor’s Audu’s test.
***
It was a misty
Wednesday morning. The weather was foggy and chilly. It was the kind of weather
that would tempt you to pull the covers over you and remain in bed until the
late part of the morning. However, the worship to God matters and also
attending Mrs. Lanre 8:00 am lecture.
Mrs. Lanre was a
disciplinarian that took her lecture time too seriously. She was one of those
lecturers that shut the door close once they enter the lecture room. She was
also the type that never misses lectures and gets to class on time. I have
never missed Mrs. Lanre’s class and this morning would not make it the first.
The fact is that
the weather wasn’t the only thing that made me wake up late. Najib was the main
thing. Believe, me, I could hardly sleep. I tossed around on my bed and
imagined Najib in his usual bright face and glittering eyes. It was just a day
and I was eager to meet him again. Believe me also, I have never liked a boy
this much. Yes…I have had several crushes (Ahmad in 200 level, Abdul Quadri in
Ibadan; when I visited my aunt, Qaasim when he had just relocated to our street
with his parents last year). These crushes didn’t last up to a month and they
were not as serious as this.
I had enjoyed my
hours of sleep and didn’t get distracted from my studies. I dreamt of Najib…that
it was Thursday and he had come by my lecture room with a bunch of
nice-smelling flowers.
‘This is for you, chocolate. Would you like
to have pizza?’ he stared at me in a loving way that made me smile shyly.
My colleagues whispered and Raqibah scoffed
beside me. We walked to the car and red petals were bestrew on our paths. My
veil swung in the air and I displayed my white-thirty-six set of teeth.
I had walked to
the kitchen to make a cup of milk. It didn’t help matters…I still dreamt about
him…all till Mom came by this morning to wake me up.
“You didn’t
sleep well. Your eyes are red and puffy,” she looked at me fixedly.
“Don’t mind me,
mom,” I waved my hands nonchalantly, pouring the bottled water into a cup. I
was still on my night gown and I opened the curtains, the rays of the morning
sun almost blinding my view.
I felt like the
characters in the movie that was facing the effect of a hangover in the
morning.
“You need to
reduce the way you read. You ought to be serious but you cannot compare
yourself with Raqibahoo. She is a book on her own.” Mom laughed and I joined.
She adjusted the
wrapper she had tied to her chest and chewed on her miswak. “I’ll go change
now. I want to drive to Mama Abigail’s house.”
I pulled the cup
form my mouth and gawked at her. “Really?At this time of the day? You’re still
not very fit health wise…you haven’t completed your drugs. You haven’t even had
breakfast. Please oo, you’ll have to
wait,” I insisted.
I always felt
thrilled to display the daughterly role to my mother. I knew how much she
appreciated it.
“If you say so,
my daughter,” she replied silently, sinking into one of the dining chairs.
“I’ll go buy
bread from Vincent’s shop. Do you want mashed fish sauce or scrambled eggs?” I
asked.
“I’ll prefer the
fish sauce.”
“Okay.” I
returned to my room to change into proper clothing.
I couldn’t help
but glance at my phone for any new message or a missed call. It was as blank as
it was since I last chatted with Najib.
I opened my
wardrobe and a feeling of guilt swept through me. Mom was wrong. I hadn’t been
awake because I was reading Professor Audu’s note. I couldn’t even read his
note during the day. I would stare at the book and the lovely picture that
Najib had used as his WhatsApp profile picture would appear on the pages.
Within minutes,
I was downstairs, buying bread from the shop just opposite our house. I
returned a few minutes later and made breakfast.
I returned to the
room shortly after and spent time, ruminating over what to wear. Dressing up
for school had never been an issue for me. I could dress up within five
minutes. This morning was however different. I stared at my pile of clothes and
couldn’t choose a nice and colourful outfit to wear.
Despite the cold
weather, my face became sweaty as I rummaged through my clothes and thrust them
to the floor. I knew that I would have a big assignment of re-arranging my room
when I returned from school.
I was still in
the process of searching when I caught sight of a red and green gown. A distant
cousin had given me as a gift, on her visit to our house. I hadn’t thought of
wearing the gown till this morning.
It was a bit
tight and it kinda displayed my body figure but I really wasn’t bothered. I
reached to the section of my wardrobe where I kept my old set of clothings and
selected a medium-sized green hijab. I added a brown powder to my face and used
a bit of brown lipstick.
“Isn’t this what
Najib wants?” I twirled in front of the mirror, smiling widely and posing for
an imaginary picture.
“Fareedah,
you’re taking too long to dress up. Aren’t you still going for your 8:00 am
lecture? I’m already going to the car.” Mom called from the living room and I
hurriedly packed my books into my black-sparkling bag and wore the wedged
sandals I had worn during Sallah last year.
I walked to the
living room, buttoning the top of the gown. I had just looked when I noticed
that my mom had been gazing at me.
“What are you
putting on Fareedah???”
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