Girls Who Dreamt of Castles

Chapter Four

"Youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret."
- Disraeli.

All youths liked to party. Fun was engraved in the deepest parts of their young souls.

Adira and Anna arrived first at the bar. It was a large space filled with plastic chairs, tables, empty bottles, and loud music, and everyone present, both young and old, looked happy.

Anna, of course, didn't dress like a swagless person but the weight under her eyes plus the dark circles that ran along it made her look more of a clown.

"So, when are they coming?" Anna asked. There was a bored expression, mixed on her face and she looked tired too. She craved a drink but longed for solitude the moment she left her house. She didn't want to be in the midst of people no matter how close she was to them.

"You look like death," Adira teased. Her eyes were glittering and though her friend didn't smile, hers was still intact. She had been trying her hardest to make her laugh but the girl wouldn't even crack a smile.

"Where did Ndidi and Brenda say they were again?" she asked casually, obviously ignoring the joke thrown at her.

"On their way," Adira responded, watching her carefully. As she pushed forward to peer at her, her heavy braids poured on her face, covering her eyes. She straightened her shoulders, then pushed the hair behind her ears, twisted it into a bun and held it up in a high style before putting it in place with a rubber band.

She smiled when she was done. "Don't worry, by night end you'll loosen up," she added, trying to cheer the other girl up.

"Boring," came the listless reply.

"Hello, hello!"

Ndidi came in, snaking through the arranged tables and banging her head to the music while locking hands with Brenda.

Ginger by Rema played in the background. The loud music wasn't meant for the sad nor soul seeking, it was obviously for party freaks like she and Brenda.

She came to full sight, her face heavily beat with bright colours. As a makeup artist, she liked to represent just anywhere.

Brenda's skinny figure also materialized her long legs in full view from the skimpy dress she wore. They both were, by far, the most dressed.

While the others wore gowns, Ndidi wore a playsuit; her thick, thighs open for all eyes to see. Her coily hair was rolled into a bun which brought out the simplicity of her gold necklace. She was the only one amongst them without braids. She looked aggressively stunning.

"I saw this one on my way here," she said, pointing at Brenda before helping herself to a chair.

"Trek, trek!" they chorused and then laughed.

Brenda hugged everyone on the table before she found her seat. When she pulled away from Adira, she held the bun she had wrapped and pulled it off, letting the long ringlets fall flawlessly over her slender neck and down to her back, hiding her profile.

Adira, Anna, Ndidi, and Brenda had been friends for a long time. They found each other in school and though they hated each other at first, after some conversations, their friendship began to blossom with time. They studied English, Accounting, Business management, and Nursing respectively. As it was hard to find and get a job, the ladies made up their minds to take an entirely different path.

All except Anna.

Adira became a local model, same with Brenda. Ndidi a makeup artist and then Anna who was lucky enough to get a job at a local bank. They were all beautiful women who worked for virtually everything they had and through their differences, they still made time for each other.