𝐈𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

FORTY-ONE

Now I'm dancing in the rain
Since You called out my name
You came like lightning and saved my soul

EVAN

The clanging of the iron chain net of the basketball hoop was followed by a loud thud which echoed throughout the indoor court, the sound waves bouncing off every wall—and mirror—and into my ears, thereby amplifying my problem. I groaned in faux exasperation, letting out a hiss as the light skinned boy ran the length of the court, celebrating.

Sebastian and I were in the basketball court situated on the ground floor of the boys' hostel (just next to the common room), taking turns shooting hoops. And oh boy, was he a showoff. I'd been able to do nothing but stand at a perfectly calculated angle and make flawless clean shots into the hoop, while the boy dominated the entire play area, effortlessly pulling off several skill moves—against himself, because I wasn't trying to gain possession—, dribbles, hook shots and finally, a dunk. Yes, that was the reason for his current endless round of noisy gloating. Oh, did I mention he'd not missed a single shot?

I had to admit, sports was one thing this boy was better than me at. If anything, it impressed me. Not a lot of people were capable of that. Dare I say, it was a feat.

How he'd even managed to get me to accompany him to the court for a round of what turned out to be self-basketball (knowing fully well I wasn't a sports person) was another story altogether. However, since we were already here, I figured I might as well ask him the question that'd been tugging on my mind since Friday evening. He was finally done with his seven minute long celebration and was walking in my direction, pulling on the hem of his green Nike T-shirt to wipe away the light perspiration from his face. His thick carved eyebrows raised in relief as he dropped his shirt and moved his hands to crack his neck, drawing my attention to his neatly shaved moustache and goatee.

"You're staring." His voice almost caught me off guard and I let out a chuckle in response, keeping my eyes trained on him. "Don't tell me you're still in awe of my raw talent. Pshaw—"

"Rest, my gee," I cut in, making the boy erupt into a fit of loud hysterical laughter which in turn, made me laugh while we walked to a low bench on the side of the court. "See, I actually have something to ask you."

He nodded his head in response, and we took our seats. He stretched his legs out in front of him, placing both hands on either side of him on the bench and leaning backwards so that it seemed his full weight was on both hands. The grey shorts he had on bore the original LAKERS logo, and on his feet were a pair of white/green Air Jordan III's. His stare reminded me of the reason we were currently seated on the bench, and for some odd reason, I had the feeling he was aware of what I was about to ask him.

"Do you really believe in God?" I asked and got a simple "yes" in response. I wasn't satisfied, so I pushed on. "Why?"

"Why what?" he asked me with an amused smile. "Why I believe in God or why I'm sure there's a God—my God?"

I shook my head, for the first time unsure of what to say. I'd carefully rehearsed these questions in my head over the course of the last two days, but now, it seemed I had nothing to say. And since I never said anything unless I'd completely thought it through, I settled for saying nothing at all. 

"I can't convince you to love God, that's trash. Loving God is a decision only you can make for yourself. What I can do, though, is to tell you anything you want to know about my God to the best of my ability and hope I do well enough to interest you, that it prompts you to find out more for yourself. And one thing I'm going to tell you right now is that God is love."

"Love yeah? Why then do bad things happen to good people who love this 'god'?" I challenged, craning my neck so I was looking directly at Sebastian. The boy in question chuckled, shook his head and turned to me with a smile that actually reached his eyes. Suddenly, he seemed fairer than he'd ever looked—even with the poor lighting of the indoor court.

"Look, God is not like man. We don't always understand His ways, but one thing I do know is that all things work together for the good of those who love God. I don't believe in predestination, but I'm certain God uses every event to His glory, one way or the other. And one way to bring ultimate glory to His Holy name is by being the God who never goes back on His word. And His Word says, 'no eyes have seen, ears heard, nor mind conceived all which the Lord has prepared for those who love Him'. So while weeping may endure for the night, we're assured of endless joy in the morning."

I shook my head in awe and some disbelief. He seemed so confident in every word he uttered. Here I was, struggling to ask questions I'd memorized for two days, but Sebastian was here giving me a perfect impromptu essay. I tried hard to make myself believe he was only completely brainwashed, but the greater part of me knew that wasn't it. He was so sure of what he was saying, even with everything that'd happened to him. I was certain he'd experienced something greater than I could think of. Once again, I was speechless. 

Finally finding my voice, I settled for a joke to ease myself of how tense I felt. "Look at you going all preacher on me," I laughed and he did too, "I heard enough on Friday. Thank you!"

He threw his hands up in mock surrender, smiling to his eyes once again. "What can I say?"

I shook my head at his antics, bursting into laughter once again. 

"You knew, didn't you?"

"Since Friday," he nodded in response, crouching to massage his ankles. I smiled. Since he admitted what I'd suspected, I figured it would be only fair to admit what I knew about him as well. 

"I know about you, you know." I stated, and the boy froze in his position. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was trying to mask the fear and shock he was possibly feeling at my revelation, while trying to figure out if what he thought was what I meant. Well, he was in luck because he guessed right. "I know what happened to you that night."

Slowly, he rose to face me. His eyes were wide as saucers, and his posture was rigid as if I'd poured a bucket of ice water down his back. The radiance he'd exuded previously was totally replaced with a mask of pallour. I noticed his lips twitching, and I furrowed my brows, confused at his reaction. I thought the whole nation knew. 

"I was watching the news when your story came on." I admitted. I could swear the boy hadn't blinked once in a full minute. Instead, he swallowed; the peristalsis very evident as a result of his defined Adam's Apple. "I followed the story—up until that news station suddenly stopped airing on DSTV. I knew I'd seen you somewhere before the moment I saw you at that table on our first night, but I only recognized you when Willow passed out. The trepidation was obvious on your face."

"I figured someone would recognize me eventually." he said, letting out a shaky breath, then turning away from me to stare across the court at nothing in particular. 

"Didn't you ever wonder why?" I asked. He nodded, leaving me in shock. Wasn't he the one so confident just a moment ago?

"I still do." 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!🎊🎉

I know it's day two, but what gives? How'd you guys spend the New Year's?

Sincerely, I've been anticipating this Evan/Chimdindu interaction for a loooong time. Evan has a lot to learn and Chimdi is such an angel, always. There's actually the part two of this chapter coming up. It's actually ready and I thought of a double update, but abeg, let me not do pass my power.

So, maybe tomorrow or next when I've made progress with the next chapter after the one that follows this one (I hope you understand😭), I'll update.

My phone is bad, so if I suddenly end up not updating, you know the reason. Anyway, we're making progress.

Anticipate more #Sevan in the next chapter. I love these two! They're like pepper and yoghurt. Ugh. <3

Please leave your thoughts about this entire interaction and don't forget to vote.

Bye!