Rugged To The Core

Chapter 38

A/N: A reader spotted a blunder with my Yoruba and she was sweet enough to correct me (Thanks once again, love!) I am not a Yoruba girl, I can't even speak or understand my own language. So, please, you beautiful Yoruba people, If you spot a mistake, epp your sista!

Btw, who can guess my tribe... 😏

Lucky

     I walked into my room and found Naomi sitting before my study table, her eyes were fixated on the screen of my laptop. Can't get enough by Basenji blared throughout the room. I noticed she had discarded her blazer and her shirt, leaving her in just her white camisole and her khaki skirt.

"I see you've made yourself comfortable." I said, announcing my presence.

"Abeg It's hot and there's no light, ugh!" She whined, fanning herself with her right hand.

"Here," I walked up to her and handed her the small white bowl of fruit salad. "Mum said you should manage it till food is ready."

"Awwe, thank you!" She gladly accepted it and dug in. I watched her eat in silence awhile. "Oh, by the way, my brother called, he'd be home soon."

"Oh, that's great." I gave a tight lip smile.

Since she was holding the bowl up – so close to her face – Naomi eyed me through the rim of the bowl. "Alright, spit it out. Something's been on your mind for a while now."

You know me so well, babe...

I sighed. "Okay well, how do I put this... Okay, um Best-has-a-little-thing-for-me."

"A little thing?" Naomi said cheekily. "I think you should find a different word to describe what Best feels for you."

"So you knew..." I voiced, climbing my bed. "And you didn't tell me..."

"It wasn't in my place." Naomi replied as he drove a piece of watermelon into her mouth.

"Seriously? Okay, but it was in your place to tell me about Abel."

"Oh come, that's different. I don't have any business with sasquatch but Best is my friend, I couldn't tell you knowing fully well you didn't like him back and risk having him decide he doesn't want to be friends anymore because of the heartbreak."

"Well, we were talking and I teased him about working out and It just came out, he just blurted it out. Best was pretty mad, I guess It was my fault because I wasn't concentrating on him whilst he um was talking -"

"Hey! So you couldn't even keep your eyes on him whilst he confessed. This girl, you're ruthless!"

"Stop na, I already feel bad enough." I pouted, folding my arms. "Anyways, he was mad but today, we had a heart-to-heart and now we're at a good place."

"Hmmm, Best is okay with the friend-zone?" Naomi stopped to swallow her food first. "I'm kinda surprised and proud at the same time. His last crush was messy. He liked this girl, Ife. She transferred here from a boarding school. Ife was really pretty and Best liked her a lot. Initially, we thought she liked him but then next thing we heard, she was pregnant and accused our then Art teacher of being responsible. Best tried to talk to her but she told him he wasn't 'man enough' for her and she kicked him to the curb."

"Jeez, that's some story..." I said, scrunching up my nose. "Was she really pregnant? And by the teacher?"

"I don't know... " She said, gesticulating with her fork. "It was never confirmed, her parents forced her to school someday and she told them he was responsible. I think they arrested him, I don't know if she was really pregnant because there was a rumour around that it was a ploy to punish him for turning her down when she threw herself at him."