My brother was a medical student in another university and he had come around to spend a few days with me to let off some steam after writing his MBs(first medical exams). They both hit it off immediately, like they had known each other for a long time. I never took it for anything. Besides, I was very busy working on my final year project, so I was happy for him to help me distract her while I worked towards finishing and graduating. By then she was in 200 level(second year). I never took any sort of meaning from their sudden closeness, and even when he left after two weeks, she always inqured about him any time I spoke to her. She kept asking when next I would invite him over, that she missed speaking with him, and so on. Warning alarms started ringing in my head, but I often dismissed them. My brother knew I had this girl at heart, and will never betray me by going after a girl he knew I was interested in. Or so I thought.
All of this changed about five weeks to the end of my final year. I hadn’t seen Yewande for almost a whole week and she had not been happy about it. I decided to pay her a visit in her room one evening after I had left my project supervisor’s office. I didn’t call her before going as I wanted to make it a surprise. I got to her room and met Aijay outside. From the look on her face, I guess she was shocked to see me. I asked if Yewande was in. She hesitated at first, then said a reluctant yes.
I was stunned upon entering to find my brother there. They were both lying on her bed, and when they saw me, they disentangled from the embrace they were in. I stared at my brother, asking what the hell he was doing. Why didn’t he tell me he was around? He stated that he had tried to call me all day but my phone had not been reachable. I didn’t want to have an argument in front of Yewande or any of the other girls, so I told him to let’s go to my room. All the while I hadn’t said a word to Yewande. We both left and when we got to my room, I told him to stay away from Yewande. He had so many pretty girls falling for him already. Why add Yewande to the list when he knows how I felt about her? He started saying he hadn’t done anything wrong, but I reminded him of the compromising position I found them when I walked in. He eventually apologized after my roommate told him what he did was wrong, and said it wouldn’t happen again. I told him to head back to his school in the morning, which he reluctantly agreed to.
I saw Yewande in school the following afternoon, and rather than apologize, she demanded to know why I scolded my brother. Apparently, he had spoken to her before I did and had hinted her on what happened when we left her room the night before. She told me she owed me nothing, stating she was minding her own business before I decided to interfere with her life. That was my choice and not hers, she said. I couldn’t dictate who she could or could not see.
I stood there in total shock, not believing a word she was spewing. Remember when I said she had a sharp tongue? That was the day I found out. Here was a girl who knew how much I cared about her stabbing me right in the back. I finally asked her – even if she wanted to see someone else, why would it be my brother? She responded by saying it didn’t matter, and besides we were not even dating, so why was I that bothered? It was none of my business who she wanted or did not want to be with. Those words really cut me deep. She eventually hissed and walked away.
I did not see Yewande for the next several weeks. I kept wondering – what happened? Could it be because I was going to graduate soon? No, if not she would have gone for a guy on campus rather than my brother who did not even attend school in the same state we were. Looking back, I realized that the signs were right there under my nose. I had simply refused to acknowledge them. It was the typical play for my brother; he was the ladies’ man among the three of our parents’ sons. I should have been more cautious about him and Yewande. But why should I have been? Her words were nothing but the truth; we were not dating. I had no right to stop her from dating whoever she wanted to date. I hadn’t even kissed her since that last time. I won’t lie, it hurt badly, but what was I to do? I focused all my energy and attention to completing my project, defending it, and graduating with the 2:1(second-class upper(more like a cum laude)) I was trying to maintain.
After all the hard work and effort I put into my project, I was able to defend successfully. All that was left for me was one last paper to write, which to me was an easy A, and I was free!!! Finally, after weathering the tough courses, lecturers, sleepless nights, sometimes unending ASUU strikes and all that stress, I was almost a graduate.
The night before my final exam, as I was heading up the stairs into the study hall for the last time, I heard a voice coming down. I would recognize that voice anywhere, even in my sleep. She and two other girls were walking down towards me. There was no way I could avoid them. She looked up and saw me, and her voiced died midsentence. She looked like she had seen a ghost. I simply ignored her and walked pass. I could feel her gaze burning the back of my head, but I did not turn around.
Several hours later, I decided to pack my stuff and head to my room for the night. While placing my books into my bag, I had a strange feeling of being watched. I looked up and noticed her peering at me from where she sat at the far end of the hall. I slung my bag over my shoulders and walked out of the hall without a second glance.
After my paper the following evening, I headed home. Just as I was pulling my shirt off, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and was surprised to see Simi and Susan standing there. What did they want I wondered as I invited them in. The girls started begging me on their friend’s behalf. I just laughed. Was she the one who put them up to this? They said no. So why were they begging me for? They told me Yewande had not been the same ever since. She had finally realized how much I meant to her, but was too ashamed and scared to come around. She always cried each time she remembered how she could rely on me to figure things out when she needed help. They went on and on about how important I was to her, that I should forgive her, she was just a kid who was carried away, and all that blah.
Finally, I told them to just stop. She made the decision she made, not me. They told me to at least hear her out, let her explain why she did what she did. I told them I was not interested. After begging me for more than an hour, I yielded. I told them to let her know that she could come see me, and we could talk. They said they would give her the message and they left.
I turned to my roommate who shrugged. Hear what she wants to say, he said. I don’t think it was up to five minutes after they left that another knock sounded on the door. This time, it was Simi and Yewande. She still looked as beautiful as I remembered her to be. Her eyes were downcast and she couldn’t meet my gaze. My roommate suddenly remembered he had a prior engagement, so he quietly took his leave. Simi mentioned she had an appointment with someone to make her hair, and she left as well. Yewande and I were the only ones left in the room.
I kept my gaze on her, but she refused to meet mine. I waited for her to speak, but she didn’t. I asked her to sit down, but she shook her head. She began to sniffle, and I called her name. I told her to look at me, and she shook her head again. All of a sudden, she began to sob — and I mean sob. She just let the waterworks loose. I stood up from the chair I sat, and she ran to me and wrapped her arms around me. She bawled like a baby. She kept saying she was sorry over and over again. I’m pretty sure she said so more than a hundred times. Pretty soon my shirt was soaked with her tears. I wanted to push her away, but I found myself hugging her in my arms. This made her cry even harder, and she held on to me fiercely. I must admit, her tears got to me too and I felt myself choke up and a few tears rolled down my cheek. I quickly wiped them away before she noticed.
I had to carry her — as in lift her off her feet (I still remembered how light she felt whenever I lifted her playfully) — and stumbled towards the mattress. I lay on the bed and lay her on me just like how we did in the past. For the next hour or so, I had to pet her, try to calm her down as she wept. I reassured her that I was no longer angry, and that everything would be okay.
She finally expended her grief and tears. Her eyes were red and swollen. The whole front of my shirt was wet and soaked wither tears. She wanted to talk, but her emotions were still too raw. I told her not to worry, that we had all the time to talk later. All she needed to do right now was calm herself down. She eventually fell asleep in my arms. My roommate returned much later, and was kind enough to sleep on the carpet while I stayed on the mattress with Yewande.
That was how she wept herself back into my heart. I thought she had learned her lesson, but boy, was I wrong.
End of part one.