Paint Me (GXG) ✒️

29

I wasn't expecting much from Fareedah. I thought she wasn't going to reach out anymore, or probably reach out when we had gone home for the holidays and were resuming back to the new year. But, I was in shock when I saw her anxiously pacing the front of my hostel on a breezy evening after about three days that I has written my last paper. My lips spread into a smile as I walked up to her, catching her attention from a distance. If I hadn't stepped out from my hostel to give Inoma something at the relaxation centre, I wouldn't have seen her. "How are you?" I asked with a wide smile when I got to her. I didn't want to get too excited or get my hopes up high, I cleared my mind and stayed in the present.

"Fine," she replied, trying to hide how nervous she was as she slipped into her usual cool and relaxed aura. "You?"

I nodded, shrugging as I replied, "Fair." Ignoring the tremble in my knees, also the lump that had formed in my throat, as I tried to ensure I sounded clear and proper. I didn't want to sound too excited, so she would know I wasn't going to shake from what I had asked her, and would stand my ground.

"Are you done with your exams?" she asked, fiddling with her car keys as she swayed from one foot to the other.

"I wrote my last paper three days ago."

She nodded, reply with a simple 'Hmm'.

Not wanting to assume why she was standing in front of my hostel, I asked, "Why are you here?"

She frowned a bit, replying, "I wrote my last paper yesterday."

I chuckled. "Then why are you in school?" as I asked her that, I saw Inoma and Christopher walk out of the relaxation centre and began to walk towards where we were.

"What is she doing here?" I heard Inoma whisper to Christopher, but I guess it also couldn't be called a whisper as both Fareedah and I heard her clearly. Christopher nudged her and urged her to simply pass us by, but she wasn't having it.

I had been avoiding having any Fareedah discussion since the night at the lounge. I used exams as an excuse, and I think as I didn't speak of her and she hadn't been coming around, they assumed we had ended things for real. But they didn't understand how mentally unstable that would make me, simply ending things with her without a try. I'd keep hating myself for not putting in effort.

"Inoma..."

She didn't let me finish talking before she asked, "Kedu ihe ị na-eme ebe a, Madame? (What are you doing here, Madame?)"

Fareedah frowned a bit, obviously not understanding what she had asked, so I quickly stepped in. "Inoma biko pụọ, m ga-agwa gị okwu ma emechaa (Inoma please leave, I will talk to you later)," I told her with a pleading look.

"Mba (No)." She stood akimbo, while Christopher held onto her arm in an attempt to pull her, yet not make her mad. "Cee, nwa agbọghọ a na-akwa naanị gị akwa, gịnị ma ị hapụ ya ka ọ laa ehn? Biko, họrọ udo gị (Cee, this girl only makes you cry, why not let her go ehn? Please, choose your peace)."

"Nke a bụ m na-ahọrọ udo m. Biko, ka anyị kparịta ụka ma emechaa, ọ bụ onye ihere (This is me choosing my peace. Please, let us have the discussion later, she is a shy person)."

Inoma rolled her eyes, as she said, "Always looking out for her, even though she always looks out for herself. Before you know it now, she will make you return back to crying every night and not eating. I am honestly not in approval of her." She hissed out loud, letting Chistopher successfully pull her away, as she continued to talk about her dislike to Christopher.

Her hiss had earned us a couple of stares, which had made Fareedah fidgety. "She isn't a fan of me uh?"

I nodded. "Give me some seconds, let me go change I will be back so we can leave this place," I said as I took a handful of my bubu, running into the hostel to go get dressed.