Yesterday's Future 2✔️

7. The only thing that gave her life meaning.

1:59am,
Simi's bedroom,
NIG.

"Finally! The Simi I know is back," Ada pointed out with a note of relief in her seat. "That old you was a pain in my ass and I don't want to ever see you like that again! I'm just glad you showed up at the party on Friday. You see, this why you should go out more often, it can be therapeutic. I mean look at you back in your essence like nothing happened. Your head is back in the game. Abeg, keep it in there.

"Look around, this is going smoother than ever Simi and the boys are gingered too. Tony asked me when night rehearsals are going to start. They don't want to sleep because of you because they're ready to go all the way for you. It's not just your dream anymore. It's theirs too." With a smile on her oblong face, Ada wheeled her seat towards the office desk where her phone, MacBook Air and Simi sat.

"I got a mail from the dance school this morning, Benji is sending his best dancers from Lagos so we can start rehearsals asap. You know we need to work on your moves, they're a bit rusty and we're still very much behind schedule..."

"My dance is not rusty." Simi rolled her eyes, jumping down from the desk, and about to walk towards the door.

"Oh dear, you should have seen you at that bar on Friday. Even vodka couldn't save you."  Ada scoffed returning her attention to the laptop screen in front of her.

Staring idly at the TV under her duvet, two in the morning, her head was in the clouds. Simisola Badmus pondered over the events that happened earlier downstairs in the studio, especially the meeting with her manager when the rehearsals were over.

Thinking about it now, maybe Ada had been right and it was the party that cheered her up or... maybe it was the sudden realization that sulking over abstract things was pointless, and sulking wasn't ever her thing. She was usually the type to let that shit go, move on or handle it head-on, not this dead pathetic and unexciting type that Adam was making her into.

Three nights ago, after the new French restaurants opening at Wuse, Simi had watched Ada and the rest of the crew getting along, taking shots, laughing and having fun without her from the bar where she sat and drank alone. It dawned on her that things weren't the way they used to be, and she was losing her touch - because of him, that everyone else has moved on and that sooner or later, she would have to too. There and then, as she swigged two harsh shots of tequila, made up her mind it was time to go back to her team, her music and her life. Yup, it was the party. She stood up and they all cheered when she joined the table .

Making music was her life, the only thing she knew how to do effortlessly, that gave her life meaning. Without it, she would have become nothing. Academically, Simi was average and she had very few interests. Music was her passion, her career, her reason for waking up every morning, and she couldn't afford anymore distractions. It was also a daily reminder of her late best friend. He had always seen her as a music star, even more than she ever did and making their dreams come pass kept him alive in her head till date.

"You are a natural Simi. Sooner or later you'll need to get out there and do something with your gift. You're special, you've got the voice, the words, the vibe, and with the right steps, you'll go far. You're more than just an anon writer for the school blog. I see a singer in you, I see Nina Simone, that woman you love so much, I see her in you."

She hadn't taken him serious then, probably wouldn't have if he was still alive. In fact she had poked him laughing hard, told him to pass the joint that was in his hand, that he'd been smoking too much and needed to slow down.

"Me? Sing? (Simi laughed again.) You don't know what you're saying. I can't even face the students in my class let alone sing to them. Where would I even start from? See... I just wanna get my stuff published and if I'm lucky I'll end up a- a ghost writer or something. I don't know. I just don't see myself ...out there." She passed the joint back to him and gulped her bottle of water, repeating her own words in her head.