Psyche

°Ix. F.r.i.e.n.d.s

Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience, this is the ideal life.
_Mark Twain.

Dimeji loved the serenity of the lounge. The walls were painted in cream encapsulating the chandelier. The plush rugs warmed his feet giving him a feeling that warmed his heart. It wasn't choking or eerie like when he closed the curtains in his room. It didn't make him more gloomy no it illuminated the hidden light in him. Not the darkness or fear in his heart. The lounge had everything his room lacked- the wide peach sofa, the coral loveseat, a flatscreen TV, it even had a damn fridge. He considered exchanging this for his room every time. It was the same feeling he got whenever Irene or Tola smiled. It gladdened his heart knowing they could still show some teeth despite what they life had thrown at them.

Dimeji's father rarely came here so it doubled his love for the lounge. The flat screen TV positioned on the wall was tuned in to the football channel. The blues were playing against the red devils today. Tola tapped on his phone with smiles on his face. It wouldn't pass another girl telling him of what he already had. Half of the pizza hadn't even been touched. This was serious.

"What's making you shine your brown teeth, eh! You haven't even touched the pizza and the funny thing is you have prolly heard all those things that girl is telling you". Dimeji said earning a smirk from Tola who dropped his phone and took a slice from the box.

Tola munched a little and lifted his gaze to Dimeji's prying eyes, "We both know that my brown teeth is whiter than your white teeth". Tola said and continued munching.

Dimeji looked around for a throw pillow and threw it at Tola. He missed sending the  content of the box to fall on the rug. Tola didn't see it coming and jumped for nothing. Dimeji sighed and realised where it had touched. He stood up immediately shooting his arms in the air.

"Jesus! My mum will kill me. She just changed this rug two months ago. Did it stain the rug?" Dimeji half shouted at Tola who hadn't even made a move to check if the rug was stained or not. He stood over Dimeji's head checking for any damage.

The plush rug was baby pink and had a soft comfy feeling. If he tried to clean the stain, he would spoil the rug but if he left it, it would still not be okay. It was a lose - lose  situation. Dimeji examined the rug. The stain was bad but luckily some landed on the tiled floor. They heard Omolara shout from the living room.

"Someone is here to see you. Come and get the door". Omolara shouted with her funny voice.

Tola stifled a laughter before going to answer the door while Dimeji packed the pizza and put it on the mahogany table. Tola arrived with the guest and Dimeji perked up with light twinkling in his eyes.

It was their very own opposite. Irene. It had been a while since they had hung out but they had spoken over the phone. Irene was clad in a sunset orange off the shoulder blouse on a denim dungarees in a skirt form. On her legs were her favorite white sneakers that had multicolored ropes. She started to come and sit but Dimeji stopped her.

"Where thou goest? No shoes in the lounge, sister. There is enough stain already". Dimeji said in a humor tone.

"No shit, Sherlock. Funny that's the first thing you say to me". Irene reached for her sneakers and pulled them off. She was lucky enough to have worn a sock. Although it was like net. Her feet brought out sweats when she stood in a place for a long time. She removed them and strode to the loveseat where Tola was already sitted.

"Is there any Yoghurt in your fridge, Dimeji? If we're going to do this, I will need some of it to get through". Irene said reaching out for the remote to change the channel. Nobody was watching it anyway.