The Precious Figure

Chapter 14

The examination period was filled with incessant and frantic activities. I had spent the last two weeks, reading effortlessly and writing my exams with the determination to get the best grades.

Okay. Confession time: I couldn't do without listening to Najib's voice. There were periods that I would read for ten minutes and spend the next two hours talking and laughing on the phone with him. However, for the past three days, our call hadn't lasted long and there had been no chats or text messages. At first, I thought that he wanted to give me a break so that I would study well, but he confessed some few days after that he had his daily workload in his office had been overwhelming.

Yesterday, we spoke for barely three minutes and he hung up the call without calling back. Exams were over and I was eager to spend more time with him. An idea struck my mind when I opened a novel to read after breakfast. I had never gotten the opportunity to visit Najib in his office. Even when I suggested to him, he waved his hands nonchalantly and muttered a reply that said it wasn't necessary.

'What if I make his favourite food and pay him a surprise visit?' I grinned at myself as I stood up and headed for the kitchen.

I was walking with a doleful look, wondering why Najib would be engrossed with work in the same period when I had just completed my exams. We would have had a swell time together!I hummed the lyrics of Bruno Mars' When I Was Your Man; the music that I had listened to a countless number of times in Najib's car. My lips twitched into a smile as I imagined the triumphant look on Najib's face when I show up with a large cooler, filled with amala and efo riro; his favourite. I knew that it would lessen the work tension and revive our spark again. Our great love that was scarce to see. I had once suggested to Najib that we should share a YouTube video with the caption 'The best love story in Nigeria.'I was lying on his laps and laughing between mouthfuls of suya. A large collection of suya laid in the newspaper wrap and we munched the peppery grilled meat one after the other.

"You're a dreamer chocolate," Najib had said, laughing uncontrollably and tickling my hands till I spilled the meat in my mouth without control.

I grinned like a Cheshire cat, picturing Najib's face and the way the corner of his lips creased whenever he smiled. It was a lovely sight to stare at. I would always fantasize spending all day, staring at Najib's face. He was the most handsome man I'd ever set my eyes on. His twinkling eyes were beautiful and magnificent. His soft-luscious lips could be tempting to stare at. You would almost run the risk of brushing your lips against it...

"Fareedah...concentrate," I soliloquized, reaching for my phone and playing Bruno Mars' Marry You. It was one of Najib's favourite songs. He would sing it while driving, stealing lovely glances at me and pointing a finger at me when it got to 'I think I wanna marry you' part. We could just get married immediately and start a new family...and I'd become Najib's wife...then we'd tell the world how we met and fell in love...

"Fareedah, concentrate!" I said to myself again as I reached for seasoning cubes and salt in the shelf. Minutes later, I was engrossed in cooking but I still couldn't fight the picture of Najib's face that clogged my thought.

After making the meal, I packed a large quantity (I knew Najib wouldn't be able to complete half of it) in a cooler and returned to my room to change into a nice outfit.