CHAPTER TWO

Our Uber ride arrived a few minutes later, it was a lady on the wheel. She saw me and immediately called me African Queen. My head nearly burst in feathers from the flattery she showered on us. You know if an African woman says you are beautiful, it means you are spectacularly stunning that day. Imagine if Hussein saw me. His jaw probably hit the floor. 

We headed to his house first to pick him up before we zoomed to Victoria Island where the show was happening in the next three hours. With the traffic included, we should be there with one hour left to settle and take pictures. 

Hussein lived in an estate similar to ours, the main gate opened to the road sandwiched with similar looking duplexes. He lived in one with his brother and his two nephews. 

The kind woman parked as I had instructed. I didn't wait for the car to roar to the end before I clicked the door open. 

Nikki decided to stay behind, watching me go with a teasing knowing look. I knew she was talking about me to the driver as they burst into laughter as I disappeared into the building. 

The foyer, the living room was turned upside down courtesy of the two devil incarnates in the body of his ten years old twin nephews. His brother, their father was hardly around so it was just Hussein running around trying to get them to order. Sometimes he just straight up gave up. Today was one of those days. But one thing could be certain, his room upstairs was always spotless just like mine. I couldn't get past untidiness. 

I wanted to barge in because what was I knocking for? He knew I was coming. My bet was that he was hitting on his controller completely engrossed in the call of duty world. 

And I was right. He was but he wasn't alone. 

On the other chair in front of his double monitor– that chair was always empty, never occupied in the hundred and something times that I had been in this room except it was today. By a girl. 

I tried not to lose my smile, even as I heard my heart picking up the allegro. 

"Hi, Hussein."

"Colette, you're here," he said, relocating his headphone to his neck. He followed my eyes to meet the girl who was staring at me as if waiting for something from me. "Nonye, you know Colette, right? Colette, this is Nonye, she will be writing WAEC with us so from Monday she will be attending class with us."

"Hi, Nonye." I mended my smile a little more as my face got stiff from the forced pose. "I hope he is losing, it can get into his pompous head if he wins, you know."

She nodded. Nonye was as dark as I was but she kept a TWA and wore no earrings. She had a smile on her face, a genuine one or maybe that was what she wanted me to think. 

"So nice to meet you. I have heard so much about you." 

Oh! They talk. 

I took one deep breath to drown the tiny whispering voice in my head jumping to conclusions. 

It doesn't mean anything, Colette. Relax. 

"Really? I haven't heard anything about you. Do you stay around?" I asked her but my eyes searched for the answers in that of Hussein. He had a half smile on his lips as he half-heartedly operated the controllers, alternated between looking at me and the computer.

"Yeah. Next door."

"Yeah. Next door." I repeated, mostly to myself. 

Next door girlfriend. No. It can't be. Hussein doesn't have a girlfriend. I know he doesn't, he is my friend for what years, I know that for certain.

The thing was that Hussein pursued one thing and that alone. His straight A's grade paper. He was in school ten hours Monday to Friday and Saturday he was back again for the Jet club meeting where we solved mathematics for three hours straight. Then he would go home to eat and play some games.  And on Sunday, he washed his clothes and you guessed it, played even more games. That was why he had the game setup of a professional streamer on twitch. I knew all this because I was there every second, maybe not every second but still. He pulled me everywhere during school hours and after school, we talked on the phone for hours, most of the time he was just explaining my homework to me but sometimes he just kept me company as I did the dishes. Aside from all that, he told me everything that happened to him, even the traumatic ones. So yes, I would know if he had a girlfriend. There is no way about it. It is impossible. 

"Nonye is my girlfriend."

I froze over. The air around me turned solid and poked my unmoving statue. 

"Kind of funny how it happened." He laughed.

She laughed. Loud. The cricket sounds of her laugh mocked my soul. 

"Wh-what?" I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. 

"It's ridiculous, I swear." Nonye chose to say as she fell on top of Hussein with her vibrating shoulders. "But cute though."

"I asked her out in a game. That doesn't make any sense, I don't know how I did it. I-I just did and threw caution to the wind yesterday night. I couldn't hide my feelings again." He spoke to me but his eyes were on her. He was smiling so brightly– he doesn't even smile like that to me. Oh Lord! 

My heart was starting to crack, its contents leaking out slowly but surely I was being emptied. 

"Cool. It-it's actually–" I looked away, my vision was turning blurry. I blinked away the hurt, refusing to cry. "Wow!"

"Yeah. So I, um, I can't go to the concert. Nonye doesn't have a ticket. I'm sorry."

"That's bullshit, Huss. I don't care about some pretty boy singing, you know that is not my kind of fun." 

Huss. Wow! This can't be happening. It is not true. It can't be. He loves me, right?

"I can't leave you. This is our first valentine." He chuckled with his lips pressed together. 

When he finally managed to meet my eyes, he turned sober. Maybe he saw life leaving me. I was standing but not really. A wisp of air could bring me to the floor. There was nothing in me anymore, save for a shattered heart. That place in my chest was heavy as lead, it was sinking and pulling me along. 

"I'm sorry, Colette. I can refund you but I know you will not like that. I wanted to call you this morning but I kinda forgot, not gonna lie. That's shabby of me. Please, you understand love so you will understand me, huh?"

"Love." I muttered. "Love. Okay. Yeah."

"You're mad at me, I know. I will make it up to you." 

"Why? Of course not." 

"Where is Nikki?"

"In the cab. I should go. Bye…Nonye." I waved and with the last energy I had in me, I went back the same way I had come with only one thing in my mind. 

Don't cry.