Back At Sixteen

Chapter ten

I stand there as I watch Azeeza being dragged away from me, a pang of unease settles in my chest. The clouds above seem to mirror my mood, their gray-ness seeping into my heart. I don't know where this feeling is sprouting from, but I feel it in the bottom of my so-called abyss heart. I don't want Azeeza to leave; I crave her presence and her fiery spirit, I want to see that smile she gives whenever she thinks she's the one winning our little fight. I want to hear her blab about unnecessary things that eventually gets on my nerves. I don't want to see her lips quiver, or her smile drop. And I can't bare the sound of her cry, most especially if I'm the reason she shed tears.

“So, you are leaving?” I say, trying to sound like the man I am, but instead I sound like a depressed weasel. That's all I could utter.

A few minutes after Azeeza's uncomposed friend rudely interrupted me, a young man about my age arrives, claiming to be their ride. Azeeza's friend, with her sharp tongue and quick wit, had apparently called him before I even emerge from the house. It looks like Azeeza is unbothered about leaving so I just stand and watch, even though a part of me is screaming for her to stay.

When they reach the gates, as they wait for Bala, our security guard to open the door, Azeeza frees herself from the hands of her bubble gum friend's grasp to wave at me. Before I could respond, her friend pulls her hand and drags her away; like a mother shielding her child from harm.

I'm that harm, it seems .

I slump onto the block of short stairs leading to the main entrance, where we stood before. I breathe a sigh, and curse myself inwardly, these rainy days are going to get me bad. It's barely even much rained this year, but the gloominess and gray-ness of the clouds right now had made me act like a total moron towards Azeeza, and I couldn't even put her friend in the right place too.

I don't want to go inside because my mood would not accept both Ashir's and Shuraym's hanky-panky, not even Sadiya's.

Just as I'm lost in thoughts, heavy droplets start to drop one after the other, and I fight the urge to run in to seek shelter. Before I think any further, the rain decides to shower so heavily, obscuring my vision. It's time to head inside.

“Small Oga!” I hear the familiar call of Bala in the breezy rain. I surveil the premises to find him, but I fail a few times before I finally spot him running towards me with an orange umbrella.

“Small Oga, those girls wey come before, one dey for outside dey cry.” Bala yells due to the deafening sounds of the rain drops. My heart skips a beat at the mention of this, “which one?” I almost stutter.

“The black one.” I briskly took his umbrella and ran to the gates. Azeeza's friend was what people would refer to as yellow pawpaw, so it had to be Azeeza.
Azeeza's complexion is a smooth earth colour, not black as Bala stated.

I yank the gate door open, and if not for the noisy rain, you'd hear its sound from a mile away. I see her standing in the rain, her right hand clutching her left arm, and I could also see the motion of her head bobbing to and fro, she's sobbing like a child.

I quicken my pace, my heart racing with concern.

“Azeeza!” I call, my voice barely audible above the rain, she doesn't respond. I rush to put my umbrella over her head, she stops and look up, her eyes widen, maybe suprised to see me.