Psyche

Everyday Life

What in the world are we going to do? Look at what everyone is going through.

Days stretched to weeks
Weeks turned to months.
Two months.

Dimeji and Tola were sat at Domino's. They laughed animatedly devouring every piece of their pizza. They decided to buy another when Irene showed up which they weren't sure of after how she stood them up for two times already.

It had been two months since the triangle had last seen each side. They called each other when necessary but it wasn't enough and they set out dates to meet. Irene had cancelled every one but today seemed different because she promised to be here.

Tola on the other hand wondered if she didn't want to face him. They had reconciled at least that's what he thought or maybe it was just girls problem. He never understood Irene and that's why he failed her every time. Whose fault was it anyway, no one understood any girl.

The door was pulled and a figure came into view. Dimeji dropped the pizza that he was about to gobble and sighed. Cleaning his mouth with the serviette, he tapped Tola who was stringed in his thoughts.

Tola's brows raised and Dimeji motioned him to look at the counter. His eyes almost bulged out of the socket.

There stood, a tall light skinned girl with brown braids scattered all over her face. She was wearing a flowered Ankara gown that reached her thighs with a black gladiator sandals.

This girl never left Tola alone. Who said girls couldn't ask a guy out. Here is a living testimony.

Her eyes darted around looking to see if she would find any of her mates. She came alone and this was Baner's ex students favourite hangout. Her eyes found what they were looking for and after collecting her order with a bottle of coke, she walked towards who her eyes found.

"Hey Dimeji and the honorable".

Tola rolled his eyes while Dimeji gave a fake smile and stood up to excuse them but Tola dragged his elbow back and they spoke with their eyes.
I don't want to be any part of this.
So you'll just leave?
Free me guy
I would give you my PlayStation.

That did the trick. The girl in question looked at them both and sat down placing her phone, the coke and her box of pizza. Tola internally groaned but comported himself when Dimeji gave him the stink eye. Not even your PlayStation can save you if you groan.

Having balanced well on her seat, she suddenly stood up, searched under the table, turned to the convenience, repeated the same thing twice. Tola and Dimeji both looked at themselves and laughed.

She raised her brows in confusion intending to ask what was funny but Dimeji spoke first ending his laughter abruptly. " I hope you are doing well, Oyinkansola. What's with the searching, did you lose something."

Oyinkansola squeezed her face in disgust, "eww, it's Oyin. I am looking for your other side. You guys are practically hooked so where's she?".

Tola waved his hands in her face in an attempt to catch her attention. She stared at him and he motioned to his mouth which was opened wide.

"She's here".

Oyin let out a long hiss and stood up. " I don't have your time. The person I am waiting for is here not like you care anyway."

"I am sorry, just sit down back. We know you aren't waiting for anyone".

Oyin looked down at her sandals then at them and finally sat down. She heaved, "Tola, I don't know why you hate me so much. I don't even know why you can't grow up. It's been a year already. Stop making me regret my action. I don't regret anyway". Oyin went back to sipping her coke.

Dimeji nudged Tola to say something and then excused himself to get another box of Pizza. Tola suddenly became tense. He didn't know what to tell her. He didn't just want to have any girlfriend. It was stress. Not that girls are stress but he didn't fancy it. It was better they remained friends than complicating anything. The only person that had come that close to shattering his high barbed wire walls was well. We all know who.

He shifted in his seat, dropped his phone and looked at Oyin. Her eyes were almost jumping at him, asking him to forget what happened and just embrace her as she was. She just wanted a friend. She had faced rejection severally and he was just another checked box of her rejection list.

According to most African societies, the school of thought houses that the man is the head of a home. He should be the bread winner, provider and earn the woman's respect and submission not the other way around. Hence, Tola's mindset. He had grown up in an environment where the man is deemed to make decisions and the wife or woman supports it.

It baffled him that Oyin would have the guts to stare him square in the face without faltering and ask him out. Hell, he enjoyed the attention of girls but he was scared shitless to ask anyone out. He felt it was safer to be the person's friend and suppress those feelings. Her asking him out should have been joyful but his heart was somewhere else. He however decided to apologise for being stupid but it was the way he felt. He would just remain on her good side instead.

"Oyin," Tola began.

Oyin stopped sipping and deadpanned, "Are you done with thinking of how you should apologise rather than chicken out?"

Tola chuckled, "Well, something along those lines". He cleared his throat and gave her a serious expression, " You really are a bold person. I can't even begin to imagine what it took you to walk up to me that day. Believe me I admire you. You didn't even mind if I would become one of your checked boxes.."

Oyin squeezed her face in confusion before interrupting him, "Checked what?".

...boxes and please can you just hear me out?". Tola paused and Oyin nodded slowly, "You were my friend and I didn't want things to get complicated. I just wanted to remain that friend you'll always come to meet when you want to vent or rant. I hardly make friends with girls because I don't want them to get the wrong idea that I want to date them or lead them on. I didn't even start talking to Irene first. She did and we grew to be better friends. Can we go back to being good friends and forget the past? We'll just laugh about it later on. I am sorry for acting like that. You just scared me."

Oyin closed her eyes and took deep breaths. She opened them and responded, "it's okay at least you didn't give me the cliche speech of you're beautiful, kind, blah blah, you know the rest". Tola smiled revealing his neatly arranged dentition. "I forgive you and you can take the pizza. You have been looking at it since forever."

Oyin shifted the pizza to him and he reached out to take it. He broke it into half and gobbled it one after the other. He licked his fingers after swallowing and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and mouthed, "Incoming."

Tola adjusted and dusted his top that some crumbs had fallen on.

Dimeji approached them with a grin and another box of pizza and said, "Hey guys! What did I miss?"

Tola and Oyin both laughed.

Irene didn't show up again for the third time.

Note:
It's Coldplay's solo.