The Forbidden

Part 3

I looked at him straight in the eyes and said "He is an ex-boyfriend". Right then my phone vibrates signaling I have a call, I check and it is Brian calling me. I leave it unanswered but he persists calling until I hear the question "aren't you going to answer that?" I say "No". Kevin then grabs the phone from my hands and says "hello! Who is this and how may I help you?" I hear him telling Brian that he can leave a message if he wishes. He then disconnects the call. I am left speechless and embarrassed due to the drama unfolding before my eyes. So I remain silent and the bus leaves for Mombasa.

Kevin breaks the uncomfortable silence and tells me "Hey, we came here to celebrate, let us not make this drama spoil it. We can talk about Brian whenever you are ready". I sigh in relief and tell him "We might as well talk about it and close the chapter". So I look ahead and narrates to him about Brian.

It was freshman year when we met. I was new in Nairobi and didn't have a lot of friends and coming from a different culture made it difficult for me to make any. Everything was different, from the food, dressing, and even the language. I spoke fluent Swahili and English while most of the people spoke sheng. I did not know my way around town and whenever I asked my female friends to take me, they were always busy with their own stuff. Brian would take me places and never said no whenever I needed someone to take me somewhere. He was a charmer and soon I was falling in love with him. We dated during my time in college but it was a rocky relationship. There were other women around and would sometimes even call my number to abuse me. I would get mad and call it off with Brian. He would come back on his knees crying, begging, promising and even swearing that it was not true. I did not have friends of my own that I would talk to and go have fun when am not in class. I would spend most of the weekends alone watching movies. After sometime, I would still take him back but deep down I knew this was a doomed relationship and I needed to leave him for good. I just needed to gather the courage.

During my last semester, I completed my thesis early because I was attending my cousin's wedding in Pemba. I took it to the dean but they said they were not collecting it yet. "But I am going back to my hometown, "I persisted but the answer was no. So I gave it to Brian with clear instructions to deliver it before the deadline. I was off for my holiday! Yey! All the time I was on holiday, I would remind Brian about my thesis and he promised that he had delivered it in time, so there was no need to worry.

The shock was on me when results were out. I had passed all my exams except project because my thesis was not handed in! I could not believe Brian had the nerve to do this to me. So I called him. "Hi my dear, how are you" he answers. "Well, that depends on whether I am graduating this year or not", I say. "What do you mean? Of course we are graduating!" he jokes. So I ask him "did you hand over my thesis? Because results are out and I failed that specific subject." He goes silent for a minute before answering "of course I did! I swear I did! Why would I do that to you? I will go there tomorrow to clarify everything, "he promises.

I waited and there was no feedback from him and I knew I had been played. I cut my holiday short to go to Nairobi and sort the issue myself. I arrive in Nairobi the following day and heads to the dean's office and explain the situation to him. He asks me "Are you sure he delivered because according to our records, we have not received it". I call Brian and asks him the name of the person that he gave my thesis to. He is surprised that I am in Nairobi. "Are you at KCA now?' he enquires and I tell him yes. He then says "ok, wait for me am coming".

He shows up thirty minutes later. When I saw what he was holding in his hands, my heart shattered into a million pieces and I just broke down crying. "Why! Why!" I kept shouting at him. The dean then asks me to write a letter explaining what happened before he could accept my thesis. I took a pen and a paper and penned down the events then signed it off. I gave it to the dean who also signed it and I walked out of the office.

I did not know where I was going to but I just needed to get out of there. I rushed to the stage to catch a leaving matatu to take my anywhere but here. "Yusra! Yusra! Wait!" I hear my name being called but I do not stop, I already knew who it was. As I reached the stage, a hand grabs me and says "hey, let me explain please" Brian says crying and kneeling down in front of me. People already gather to see what is happening. I look at him in his eyes and tell him "there is nothing in this world that you could possibly say to me that will change my mind". I quickly board a matatu and leave him there.