Dear Red

Five

The thing with Ken was he was everywhere I turned in school after that Saturday. He set up a good computer network for Mr. Aniche and when the rest of the staff saw the pure genius in his computer, they made Ken offers he couldn't refuse. He was getting paid handsomely to re-programme phones and laptops. It was hard to resist the jokes and tidbits of information he shared from different teachers' phones and computers. Sometimes, he walked with me to class or winked when we crossed paths. I visited him in the computer lab or the Physics department room whenever I had free time and he was always playing a new track, dedicating a song to me or telling some amusing story.

Komugasa Melissa reached out more toward me as time flew by. She bought me snacks when we walked by the canteen and sat next to me whenever we had science lessons in the lab. She shared a lot about her family and her fears concerning her heart problem. Sometimes, I sat with her through medication in the ambulance, reading my notes or a novel. The new medical team was friendly and familiar with my face. Her new doctor, Mr. Okiror, shared stories about his family and what was going on beyond the school gates. He also told me about Melissa's progress. Most of the time we spent together, it was just the two of us, talking and having fun. She wasn't estranged with her loyal friends, Tahebwa Rachel and Kamwiga Esther and neither was I estranged with my circle of friends. We just set aside time to talk constantly. 

On Friday, movie night, we made plans to watch the movie together; Melissa, Esther, Rachel and I. After having supper, I decided to take a quick shower. I put on a cashmere sweater over my black dress and finished off the outfit with African sandals, as always. Music was already playing in the main hall when I approached it which meant that everyone had gone ahead of me. The lights were off and everyone was on their feet, dancing. The Form Threes were a loud, excited group so it was not hard to find Melissa and Co. in the crowd, dancing away. She gave me a quick hug when she spotted me and over her shoulder, I saw Rachel and Esther exchange a quizzical glance. "You have a nice perfume," she told me as she pulled away to show me my seat. Rachel and Esther continued to dance. They were pulling the same moves, dancing as perfectly as clockwork. Melissa stopped them. "Not now, guys!" she said. Rachel turned to her. "Why not? You've been away so long, this has to be perfect before holiday time," she told Melissa. Melissa looked at Esther. "Essie..." she began with a pleading look in her eyes. "Rachel is right. Routine 3 needs our urgent attention," Esther said. 

I was busy following the conversation when someone tapped my shoulder. I turned. It was Jjemba Sarah. Guilt washed over me in sickening waves. Ever since the Gala, I had not said a word to her, much less visited her in hostel yet we had been close during the sports season. I was about to begin my apology when she spoke. "Hey Tina. Someone needs you in control room," she said. I started to ask who but she had turned, ready to lead me up. Since it was an unwritten rule that you didn't question a Form Six, I followed her as she made her way through dancing people to the control room which was elevated from the rest of the main hall. When we reached the Form Six sitting area, she disappeared into the crowd of Form Sixes and I continued up toward the only source of light in the hall. The DJs, two Form Sixes, were leaving control room. I waited while they slipped past me, without even acknowledging me. It was useless to knock on the control room door since music was pounding through the entire hall. I pushed the door open. Ken Rugamo stood alone facing the control unit for the entire hall. He was looking appealingly handsome in blue jeans, a white button down shirt, white trainers and a black blazer with a scarf hanging loosely on his neck. It was going to be increasingly difficult to keep the relationship strictly platonic on my part and with the way he was looking at me, it seemed the same applied for him. I walked in, shrugging away this realization from my mind and closed the door behind me. It didn't take more than a step to be next to him and the size of the space we were in surprised me. He smiled and eased a hand round my shoulders, drawing me more closely against him. His scent gave me a sweet sensory assault. I remembered Melissa's comment on my perfume and smiled to myself. He would get an assault of his own, straight from Rasasi. I leaned my head against his shoulder.