Looking In (a Nigerian Story)

Chapter 5

When I saw Dolapo's fiancée I got the shock of my life, she had been one of the seniors in queen's college that made my life miserable, Tejiri, at first I assumed it wasn't her and was still looking around for the fiancée till Dolapo took me over to her side and introduced us, my countenance instantly became sour.

"hi" I said to her

"I know her, and I think I should take my leave" I tell Dolapo

As I turned to leave, she followed me

"Tade, wait !!!" she exclaimed walking briskly

I pretended as if I didn't hear her and kept on walking away

I felt her catching up with me and she grabbed my arm

"Tade" she called my name in a small voice

"Don't bother, you're free to marry my cousin, I just want nothing to do with you, is that okay?" I say turning to look at her

"but we can't be family and not be on good terms" Tejiri said looking as if she just made a valid point

"if you watch TV then you would know that it is totally possible, we'd just see each other, say a polite hi and walk past" I say (if I see her id ignore her, after dunking my head in the toilet, she has the nerve to think I'd like her or just plainly accept her)

I look behind and saw Dolapo coming, she follows my line of sight and turns to look at me desperately eyes pleading (bitch so you can beg, wow, I'm going to make you beg a lot more)

I turn and walk out.

..................................................................................................................

When I got to the hostel today Vanessa was around and in a very interesting dilemma.

Five different guys she's seeing decided to come and pick her up tonight and only one of them was a UNILAG student she and her friends had been thinking on what to do since.

In my mind I was happy, I mean I was so happy to know that she would finally get caught, I was smiling with all my teeth, pretending to be listening to music with headphones but nothing was playing (best strategy for eavesdropping).

"Vanessa, what are we going to do now" one of her dumb friends ask

"I have an idea, let me ask my mother" I hear Vanessa say (so her mother even knows she's a Runzz girl, interesting)

I turn to the other side of the bed am lying on just to hear better still pretending to be listening to music

When her mum picks up Vanessa puts her phone on speaker so her friends would also hear

"hello mama" Vanessa says

"hello"

"mama, I get one problem" she says speaking broken English

"wetin again ooo? Vanessa, you no go kill me" her mother replied

Vanessa: "I get five guys wey won see me this evening, wetin I go do?"

Vanessa's mother: "ehn, shey anyone don come"

Vanessa: "no"

Vanessa's mother: "which one get money pass"

(I began to laugh at this point so her mother was also looking for the richest man among them)

Vanessa: "Tobe"

Vanessa's mother: "na Tobe you go follow"

Vanessa: "wetin go happen to the remaining four"

Vanessa's mother: "you go tell one say you no dey school say you don come home, tell the other one say you sick, tell the remaining two say you get menstrual pain"

Vanessa: "mama na you sure pass" and cuts the call

And prepares herself to lie

She calls the first guy who was called Tunji

"Tunji don't come again oo, my mum just called me that I have to go home, I'll see you later, alright, love you" she hung up turns to her friends

"it's working oo"

(I can't still believe her mother was in on this, what a bad mother)

Vanessa called two others and told them she had menstrual pain and that they should meet later

The last guy was a UNILAG student and he had been waiting for her, she went downstairs and told him she was sick (she acted so sick he believed her and left)

Then she got dressed and not too long after the supposedly richest guy, Tobe, came to pick her up and she went out...

Unknown to her, the student had eyes everywhere, immediately Vanessa left a girl came to my room and started asking me about her, I answered honestly not thinking much about it besides I thought she was Vanessa's friend but turns out she went to tell Tunji that Vanessa was seeing other guys.