CHOOSING.

12. Please, not this again!

By the time we were through with lunch, I couldn't remember when last I had been that full. Downing a drink of water we got up to leave and I was ready to go back to pack for the holiday. Little did I know that Caleb had other plans, good plans at that. I was surprised when he took a turn away from where we had come from. "You made the wrong turn," I interjected before he could go too far.

"I know," he replied with a boyish grin. "Are you coming?" He asked before walking on. I hurried to catch up which was not an easy feat with my heels. I was soon having regrets about wearing them after all. Soon, Caleb stopped at an all round shop. "Do you have any pairs of flat shoes for ladies," he asked the attendant. My jaw hung somewhere close to the ground for a couple of seconds before I recovered.

"How did you know?" I asked. Did he have mind reading abilities or what.

"You have been glaring at your shoes for the past ten minutes," he said right before he started laughing at my startled expression. In no time, we had me in comfy flats and my heels tucked away in my bag. (Thank God for mind reading guys.) A couple of minutes later we were at a sports centre I had no idea existed thanks to being an indoors person. There were like all kinds of sports, from archery, to Rooney tennis, to indoor games, to board games, you name it. I had never been a sports person but even I was impressed. Caleb took me for a tour around and was quite surprised to see several familiar faces. I turned towards him in question and by the grin on his face he knew I had noticed. "Most people from church come here to have fun," he explained. Right then Cathy came towards me dressed in a tennis skirt and T-shirt a racket in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I come here to play," she said with a shrug. "And before you blame me for not bringing you here, I did ask you several times to come but you declined saying it was too far. I should have known all you needed was a good looking guy to ask you to come," she said with a smirk while looking at Caleb. So much for being my friend, she had to go and embarrass me. Caleb looked really amused and this only made it worse.

"You never told me it was this beautiful," I tried to defend.

"Yeah, sure. As if it would have made a difference," she said before sauntering away. That woman!

"Come, I'll teach archery," Caleb drew from my murderous thoughts towards Cathy. He took my hand and pulled me towards an empty slot on the archery field. I sure hoped I was at least as good at it as I had been with darts. It took me sometime to get accustomed to the weight of the bow. My first few shots landed feet away from the target eliciting laughter from Caleb who thought it was hilarious. This annoyed me to no end and I took in deep calming breaths before deciding to stop his laughter. I took the correct stance, focused onto the target and took aim shooting three arrows in quick succession. They all landed within the inner circle, quite impressive for a first timer. Caleb stopped laughing mid laughter and instead got attacked by a severe coughing bout. I stood there with a satisfied look on my face waiting for him to compose himself. When he was done, his eyes were filled with tears from his choking and he was looking at me in awe. "Something wrong honey?" I asked condescendingly, right before I placed the bow down and walked away. I heard his hurried footsteps behind me as he tried to catch up.

"How did you do that?" He asked not quite hiding his awe.

"Oh that's easy. I just aimed and fired, simple as that," I answered. "Next time don't laugh too early, the last laughter is always best," I gloated. I'd like to say am a gracious winner but right at that moment I couldn't help rub it in, after all he laughed at me. He led me to a lounging area where Cathy and some other guys from church I had never talked to before were resting. "Cathy, guess what," I said cheerily.

"Lemme guess, you want me to buy you a drink," she said with an eye roll.

"That, and something else," I said.

"Spill it," she prompted.

"I just shot three arrows into the centre circle in quick succession. You should have seen Caleb's face, he literally choked on his own laughter," I said all this while fighting back laughter from the horrified expression Caleb was wearing on his face. A couple of the guys who had been looking bored perked up with interest.

"You broke his record," one said excitedly.

"I did?" I asked curiously. I hadn't thought it was such a big deal but it turned out it was. Caleb was not looking too bright and I felt guilty for gloating about my little victory. "I guess it was a lucky shot," I said trying to dissolve the tension in the air.

"Actually, it is. You're good, congrats" Caleb said placing an arm around my shoulder. We made ourselves comfy on the chairs and spent the afternoon chatting away with the others. Cathy caught my eyes several times and rose her eyebrows in question in regards to Caleb. I just shrugged and let it go. When the sun began to set, we walked back towards campus in a large group. We talked and laughed and bid each goodbyes till we meet in a month's time when the next semester began.  At the crossroads, Caleb offered to walk me to my place and I gladly obliged. We walked on in silence until we reached the apartment block I lived in. He was the one to break the silence.

"I really enjoyed your company today," he said.

"Me too. I had so much fun," I conceded.

"You're so much fun," he said with a chuckle. "And a very proud winner, you should be glad am a sore loser," he added jokingly.

"About that, am sorry for boasting like that. I didn't know it was a huge deal," I explained.

"Oh, don't worry your pretty mind. A little competition is welcome any day," he said lightly. We lapsed into silence as we reached my floor. "Soni, I..." He was cut off by an excited Ombachi.

"Hey, Soni I have been waiting for you here all day," he said happily until his eyes landed on Caleb behind me. "Oh I didn't see you there," he addressed Caleb stiffly.

"Ombachi, this is Caleb. Caleb, Ombachi," I introduced the two of them. For some reason they both seemed tense and the lively mood seconds ago was now gone.

"I have seen you in church before," Caleb said.

"Yes, I have been coming to church since Soni asked me so nicely. Aren't you the posh guy who plays the piano," Ombachi asked with a not so friendly sneer. I didn't know it it was just me but I felt like the testosterone levels were at an alarming high.

"I am. And we both know how nice Soni is, maybe a little to nice for her own good," Caleb replied shoulders tensed as if ready to attack. They were talking about me as if I was not standing right there. My eyes danced from one of them to the next, unable to determine what this was all about.

"Guys," I called cautiously. They both turned towards me still holding their postures. They were so identical in their expressions I would have laughed hadn't it been for the animosity between them. "Sorry, to break your little glaring match but am tired, am going to rest."

"Okay," Caleb said right before he pulled me into a hug that was far tighter than necessary. "Have a goodnight," he said with a smile that made me forgive him a little.

"Goodnight Soni," Ombach said and pecked me on the cheek, dangerously close to my mouth. At this Caleb turned and stomped away while Ombachi went back to his house a smirk on his face.

I entered my house torn in between being angry at them for catching me in between whatever rivalry they had and just giving in to my exhaustion and falling asleep. Right when I thought things were looking up, I was back at the start, caught in the middle. As I fell asleep my mind kept chanting, "not this again! Not this again!"