Celebrity

Return to Africa?

I stood there by the side of the road in disbelief. I kept thinking to myself, "How did I go from a celebrity pouring her heart out to me to potentially returning to Africa?"

"Hey, Thomas!" I looked back to see who was calling me. It was Max, running to catch up to me. I didn't want him to see me like this, so I put up a fake smile and told him to hurry. When he finally caught up, we went to class as usual.

Later on, at noon, I was strolling around the park - the same park where I met Ava. It hit me that I wasn't going to be able to build on a potential relationship with her, as friends at first, but maybe lovers? I suddenly remembered that I didn't even get her number, but anyway, that doesn't matter anymore.

My phone started vibrating in my pocket. I looked to check what it was about and saw it was a phone call from my dad. I took a deep breath and answered the call.

"Hello, Son. We've booked a flight for your return to Zambia. It's in three days." Three days. I had only three days to save my stay here in America. I thought to myself that maybe if I got a good-paying job, I might be able to pay some of the fees.

I got back to the room where I met Max. "Bro, there's a party happening this Saturday, and we need to attend," he said with so much excitement. He even handed me a ticket. But what he didn't know was that I would be leaving the day before, and I'm finding it hard to tell him because I'm practically his only friend. Sooner or later, I will have to tell him that I'm leaving, but not now - maybe tomorrow.

"Sure, of course, we will. Why would we miss it?" I said, matching his enthusiasm.

A few hours later, at night, I laid in bed looking at the ceiling, thinking to myself, "How the hell am I going to fix this?" Then a random thought came to my head: "Just ask Ava Wilder for help." But I immediately ruled out that thought because, one, how the hell should I contact her, and two, she's probably dealing with her own problems.

I will have to go job hunting tomorrow morning and see if I can get some benefits from the job. The next morning, I jumped out of bed and instantly got into job search mode, using the only tie I had. The first opening was at the library.

I got into the library to see an old lady by the counter with glasses reading something. "I heard you were hiring," I asked.

"Yes, we were hiring, but we found our person already." I was so disappointed to hear that. I said my thanks and left. Before I shut the door, I saw Emilia by one of the shelves, looking gorgeous with longer hair and some pretty nice bangs. Then I began to recall what happened at the party.

I tried to be brave and impress her with strength. Somewhere in my conscience, I decided to apologize without even realizing I was in the same aisle as her. She gave me a glance and continued to look through the shelves. I pretended like I was looking for a book. I slowly approached and tapped on her shoulder.

"Can we talk?" I asked, whispering because it is a library, after all.

"What do you want from me, bitch?" Wow, totally not the answer I was expecting.

"Shhh," the librarian shushed us. "Can we take this outside?" I pleaded with her.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, freshman," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because I hate freshmen."

"Can you two walk out!" The librarian said angrily.

We slowly walked out of the library. As we got closer to the exit, I glanced at Emilia, and I could tell she was angry. When we got out of the library, she immediately faced me.

"You see why I don't like freshmen." This was not how I thought this interaction would go when I first approached her. She began to walk away from me when I grabbed her by her hand.

"Wait," I said out of desperation. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did the other night." She looked at me with absolute disgust in her eyes, like she couldn't even believe I went as far as touching her.

"Let go," she said without even giving any thought to my apology. I eventually let go of her, and she walked away. After I lost sight of her, I remembered what my mission was.

I looked all over town, searching for a job that would be well-paying, but my search came to no avail.

***
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The next morning, I got out of bed early to try and see if I missed a place, but it still didn't seem like I had found a place I hadn't already checked. My inner voice kept saying, "Just reach out to Ava," but I ignored it. I didn't want to bother her. I had only two days to find a solution for my situation.

I got back to my dorm room and saw Max, who seemed like he just took a shower based on his wet hair. "Where you been?" he asked, "before I start assuming again."

I looked at him and began to tear up. He came up to me and gave me a hug. "Bro, what's wrong?" That's how I told him everything, from the scholarship getting terminated to my meeting with Ava Wilder.

He sat on the chair and looked up to me. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" he asked.

"Because I thought I'd find a solution before that day," I replied.

"Isn't the solution obvious here?" he said. "Hit up Ava Wilder."

I thought about it again because I felt bad about taking advantage of her money just because we once... "Even if I do that, I don't even have her number," I said.

He looked at me with disappointment, shaking his head sideways. "Instagram, it is then," he said with a disappointed look on his face.

"What are the chances of her actually replying?" I replied.

"None, but we have to try, unless you want to leave. Do you?" "No."

"Exactly." That's how I whipped out my phone and began to text her on Instagram. After I sent her the message, all that was left was to wait.

***

The following day, when I got out of bed, I went to the bathroom and began looking at myself in the mirror. I realized I had only one day left until I had to leave for Zambia. After I freshened up, I checked my Instagram DM to see if she replied to my text, but there was nothing new there.

I began to lose hope. As soon as it reached noon and there was still nothing from her, that's how I grabbed my bags and started packing my stuff. Max walked in on me doing that.

"Bro, wait, have a little hope," he said, getting my bags away from me.

"There's no point in waiting anymore. She's not gonna reply," I said, after I had completely lost hope.

Immediately after that, my phone rang. I picked it up to see it was my mom.

"Hello," I said, putting my phone to my ear.

"Hi Thomas, it's mom. I just wanted to say we can't wait to see you back home. I know you must be sad about returning, but cheer up because we, your family, are waiting for you."

"Thank you, mom," I said, and that's how she hung up the phone. That's when I knew nothing was changing unless an unlikely miracle happened.

***

The day had finally come where I had to leave America. At least I came here; others back home would have killed for this opportunity, but now it's over. Like they say, all good things come to an end.

After a couple of minutes, I got my bags and it was time to leave. I said goodbye to Max, who I could tell was holding back tears. I got on a cab to the airport.

When I boarded the plane, I began to remember that night I met Ava, which was a dream come true. Too bad I will never see her again.

After a six-hour flight, I arrived in Ndola, a town in Zambia. I got on my phone to see my Instagram DM, and to my surprise, Ava had read my message.