MUNA

Part 5 : THE TECHIE

As an introvert, you crave intimate moments and deep connections, and those aren't usually found in a crowd.

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Audrina's POV

Audrina had been elected as the vice president at the charity group meeting, which was held every Friday and that was a lot of work. She always drove to the meetings and on days when the meetings were wrapped up on time, she went to her office to do some work.

Directing and instructing corps members was excruciatingly frustrating and it demanded a whole lot of patience to not vex and slap somebody's son or daughter. 

Honestly, Audrina was accustomed to seeing numerous faces at the charity group meetings, and being the vice president, she had to know some of their names. 

Yet she didn't know one particular girl's name and she needed to. Audrina had seen her on rare occasions and these occasions were uncomfortable situations for any conversation of any sort.

She was the only girl she wished she had enough confidence to talk to. It wasn't because of a crush or anything in particular; although Audrina thought she was insanely pretty, even in those ridiculously baggy khakis of hers, she always made sure to give them a perfect crease at the center and she always had her khaki jackets around her neck. Bougie. 

She just wished she could approach her and just talk to her without being awkward, even though she was so sure that she was the friendliest girl in the charity group. 

She had the cutest smile Audrina had ever seen and she smiled quite often. Not to be a stalker, but Audrina seemed to catch a glimpse of her at the exact time she's smiling. She recently made that observation. She just had that personality—the one that made those close to her feel proud and happy to be around her.

Audrina always wondered if she and Tj were a thing. He was always with her. Always.

I guess they are close, she thought. Muna wasn't all looks, either.

She was actually one of the smartest in the group. One time the group had gone on an outreach to the suburbs of Ikoyi, and she had given one of the most heartwarming speeches Audrina had ever heard. 

Her words were impressively reassuring and she smiled often.

Her smile was gorgeous.

"Audrina, are you coming with us for the charity outreach?"

A voice had made Audrina turn back to her laptop. She was on a video call with a bunch of excos from the charity group as they organised yet another charity outreach for the corps members.

"Nah, I'm not so sure I would make it next Friday. I am coming down with the flu, guys."

They were all expressing their concern with sad facial expressions. 

"Are you on meds already?" I asked the charity group secretary. 

His voice sounded so concerned and she appreciated it.

"Yeah, thanks."

She sat up and scratched her head. "Uhmm, what was that tablet you were always taking for your sore throat the other time?"

 He had also just recovered from the flu, so he could relate. Everyone could actually relate, though. Cough, catarrh, and sneezing were basically a monthly illness for some people.

"Strepsils. That's the name." He answered almost immediately.

"I could help you get one and bring it to your place." He made an expression with a wink that made her smile. He thought he would have a chance to shoot his shot with her for the 700th time, but Audrina knew better. There was no chance on Mars.

"Oh, okay, cool." She smiled in appreciation.

He grinned at her response and the others just laughed along.

He actually had a crush on her; she had no clue.

She sniffed her nose after giving the last word a long drag, hoping to call back the attention of Ralia to the video call. 

"I will be around tomorrow though; I can still cope with this runny nose of mine for now." 

She reached for a tissue close to her and blew her nose into it while they had final conclusions on how the upcoming out-reach would go. 

The headaches were coming down on her and she needed to end this call. ASAP.

Ralia was the charity group's president and she was an efficient one too. 

With Audrina being her vice, it meant that her responsibilities for the fast-approaching outreach would now be delegated to the other excos.

Audrina wasn't sure Muna would be coming for the outreach because she had been absent at the last charity group meeting so she didn't think too much about missing the outreach. 

Deep down, she hoped everything would go well and turn out successful. She loved rendering acts of service to people and she sometimes thought it was her love language. 

Either way, she was always open to assist with any issue if any arose, and she was actively responsive on the WhatsApp group chat for the charity group.

The video ended after they concluded budget and logistics discussions. Audrina went back to coding as soon as the call ended. 

She did a lot of coding on a daily basis, focusing mainly on backend codes and this was one of the causes of her reoccurring backaches. Constantly on her PC, on the dining table, in her room, in bed—everywhere she went, her PC followed, and her back was receiving the slow burn. 

She was a web developer—a good one at that.

She took off her glasses, wiped her eyes a bit as she let out a long yawn and then put her glasses back on. Back to work.

She called it a day after her back pains had heightened to an unbearable point. Her mom had suggested she go to see a masseur but that was a no-no for Audrina. 

She couldn't stand body contact. There is probably a term for this sort of feeling—maybe a phobia—but everyone who knew her or was close to her knew not to touch her for whatever reason. 

It irked her so much. Even when she had to play her role as vice president during the charity meetings, she always stood on the top of a plastic table when giving orders and directions to corps members who were nothing less than 3500, all clustered in a hall that was meant to fit just a thousand human beings. 

Being in the midst of such a crowded space would make her nauseous and eventually cause her to pass out. The table on which she stood was a huge help. 

When she spoke, she seemed to command an audience; even though she had to shout sometimes, her voice had some form of authoritative tone in it, which she was quite aware of, and she flexed it at times.

Someone once told her that they would love to hear her sing with that voice of hers. She just told the person off. That was definitely not happening, mostly because she was among those who only sang for their own audience.

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