#JUST_BEST_FRIENDS

Author: Sam Freddy

CHAPTER 16: EMOTIONS.

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Wednesday.

At exactly twelve noon, Idara's philosophy class ended, but she didn't stand up to leave. Her eyes were solely fixated on Yomi, who sat three rows before her seat, having so much fun with his friends.

Apparently, Yomi was surrounded by some fine babes who were hopelessly drooling over him, and Idara didn't want to interrupt their conversation by walking up to Yomi to apologize for her wrongdoing, so she decided to wait instead until he was all alone, even though it might take forever.

At last — after twelve minutes to be exact — the ladies left, and Yomi took up his bag and got up to head out of the lecture hall. That was when Idara made her move.

“Yo, Yomee!”

“Oh, hey, Dara.” Yomi greeted back, smirking at her. “Wudup?”

Idara was a bit surprised at Yomi's nice reply. Why was he smirking like that? Wasn't he mad at her anymore?

“Well, um, I'm fine, I guess,” replied Idara. “How are you?”

“All good, ma'am.” Yomi wore his bag as they stepped out of the auditorium. “I bet you enjoyed the lecture as much as I did, right?”

“Yeah, it was pretty intense.” Idara started scratching her neck nervously. “Look, Yomee, about yesterday-”

“Hush!” Yomi interrupted her politely, holding up a finger for emphasis. “Save it. We're cool.”

“Like, seriously?” Idara's face lit up like a light bulb.

“Yep. I mean it.” Yomi smiled fully. “I've forgiven you and Isioma. Y'all should just ensure that what happened yesterday doesn't repeat itself, ever. Understood?”

“Hell, yeah.” Idara smirked shyly, feeling complete relief. “Thanks for understanding, Yomee. You're the best!”

“You can say that again.”

Idara chuckled sweetly. “Big head. Always hyping himself.”

“That's how stars do, baby.”

Draping his arm around Idara's shoulders, Yomi added, “You know, last night, I didn't ignore your calls and messages on purpose sha.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I was in a viewing center all the while you texted and called me. Funnily enough, I left my phone at home, for personal reasons,” Yomi answered. “But I didn't feel like calling or texting you back when I got back home, though, 'cause I was still vexing then. You're so lucky to meet me in a good mood today, mumu.”

Idara smiled lamely, carefully processing Yomi's explanation in her mind. For some reason, Yomi's story seemed to be incomplete. Something wasn't right.

“Wait, did Candice pass the night in your place?”

“Yeah. Why?”

Damn. Yomi's reply shredded Idara's soul to the max. If Candice truly spent the night at Yomi's house, that meant that they definitely had sex overnight.

What a bummer.

“No wonder,” Idara sighed, having understood the entire thing. “It all makes sense now. I should've known.”

Yomi grinned. “Known about what?”

“Never mind.”

How was Idara supposed to tell Yomi that she wasn't cool with that? And that his beloved girlfriend had threatened her twice within the space of three days?

It was better she never said anything about it all, to avoid any more drama. She'd had more than enough drama for the past week. Sincerely.

“Hmm. All right, then.” Yomi shrugged a shoulder. “But you and Isioma still have to make it up to my girl, you know?”

‘"My girl"?’ Idara almost puked at those words. ‘How dare you call her your girl in my presence? Dude, she doesn't even love you! I deserve to be your girl, for Christ's sake! Notice me for once!’

Of course, Idara didn't say that to him. If she had, it would've been foolish of her.

But she wished she could, though.

“Yeah, sure. We'll totally make it up to her.”

“Okay, then. No yawa,” Yomi said. “By the way, I'll be creating a WhatsApp group tonight for our gang only. There's something I wanna discuss with y'all, and, uh, I could make you an admin, if you want.”

“Oh, that's cool. Count me in.” Idara agreed with a nod. “But, um, what exactly do you want to tell us sef?”

“Calm down, mama.” Yomi playfully tickled Idara's delicate neck, offering her his nicest smile. “You'll surely find out when it's time.”

__________

Meanwhile, Anastasia exited a grocery store and was about to leave the compound when she bumped into someone at the gate.

“I'm sorry, lady,” the person apologized sharply. “My bad.”

Looking up instantly, Anastasia beheld the face of one of the heftiest guys she'd ever seen in the city of Lagos. “Oh, no, no. It's okay. I'm sorry, too.”

“Yeah, thank you. But, er, wait a minute,” the guy's eyes widened in surprise. “I've seen you before!”

“Um, really?” Anastasia was amused. “How? I mean, where?”

“At school,” he explained, gesticulating happily. “You're a Unilag student, right?”

“Wow. Yes! How'd you know?”

“I know 'cause I'm also schooling there,” he answered proudly. “Last week Wednesday, I was in a friend's class when I saw you terrorizing somebody without mercy.”

Anastasia laughed at that. “Me? Nah, it couldn't have been me. I'm pretty sure you've got the wrong chick.”

“No, I'm sure it was you,” the guy argued passionately. “You were the girl who defended her friend from an angry lecturer, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Anastasia burst into laughter. “Yeah, it's me. You're right.”

“See? I knew I wasn't mistaken.” The guy laughed as well, extending a hand to Anastasia. “The name's Danladi, by the way.”

“Anastasia.” She shook his hand with delight. “Nice to meet you, big guy.”

“Same here, gorgeous.” Danladi planted a chaste kiss on the back of Anastasia's hand before letting it go. “Sweet Lord! Your hand is very soft, and you've got nice fingernails, too.”

Anastasia blinked. “Thank you.”

“I love your hair, as well.” Danladi added sauvely. “It makes you look like Rose from the movie, Titanic.”

“Ha!” Anastasia's cheeks were on the verge of becoming bright red. “Bobo yi, ma pami na!”

Danladi laughed, fascinated by her fluent use of the Yoruba language. “Whoa. And she's funny. The total package.”

Anastasia's head almost exploded like a dynamite when she heard that. Whoever this guy was, sure did have a special way with words. His pick up lines were quite impressive, so was his looks.

For the first time in forever, Anastasia felt a connection with this man. Maybe he was the perfect one she'd been looking for all along. Maybe he was her Prince Charming. Just maybe.

As she wanted to reply him, a black Honda pulled up outside the gate and honked twice, as though the driver were requesting for somebody's attention.

“Oh no, that's my brother.” Anastasia's delight started to fade off on sighting Tayo's car. “I gotta go, big guy.”

“Wait,” Danladi quickly handed her his phone. “Punch in your digits, if you don't mind.”

“Sure.”

Anastasia returned the phone when she was done. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” said Danladi. “I'll give you a ring tonight. Cool?”

“Yeah. Cool.” Anastasia consented, blushing again. “I'll see you around.”

“Definitely.”

With that, Anastasia bade him farewell and joined Tayo in the car.

To Anastasia's surprise, she saw Isioma sitting in the back seat, wearing headphones. She hadn't seen her before because Tayo's car windows were tinted.

“Yo, wassup?” Isioma greeted as she removed her headphones from her ears and hung it around her neck. “You look good.”

“Hi. Thanks.” Anastasia grinned, keeping the items she bought from the store on top of Tayo's dashboard. “You look fantabulous yourself.”

Isioma smiled. “Thank you.”

“Wait, what're you doing around here?” Anastasia asked curiously. “I mean, you know, how'd you end up in this car?”

Tayo was smiling as he listened keenly to their conversation.

“Well,” Isioma breathed, “my friend lives around here. I crashed at her place last night. And, um, I was in a garage, waiting for a bus, when your big bro came to my rescue. Small world, right?”

“Yeah, right.” Anastasia winked at Isioma. “Lucky you.”

“Indeed,” said Isioma. “Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to return to my music.”

“Sure,” Anastasia approved with a nod. “Enjoy.”

The moment Isioma wore her headphones, Tayo said, “So, I left you for, like, five minutes, and came back to see you flirting with some guy? Wow.”

“Tayo, don't start, abeg.”

“Who was he?”

Anastasia groaned. “Bros, free me na. Ah!”

Tayo grinned. “You're blushing. Wow,” he started clapping in amusement. “That guy has obviously gotten your mumu button. Praise God! It's about time.”

“Hei, Chineke!” Anastasia rolled her eyes at him. “Olofofo, mind your business, biko.”

“I already am,” said Tayo. “Don't forget I'm your brother, Ana. Your business is also my business.”

“Says who?” Anastasia hissed, seriously trying to keep a straight face. “Please drive na. Haba!”

“Girls.” Tayo laughed, turning on the ignition. “I'll never understand you people. I give up. You win.”

That said, Tayo started driving straight to the expressway. He'd barely driven for two minutes when his sister's phone started ringing on his dash.

Thinking that it was Danladi calling, Anastasia quickly took her phone, only to see Idara's name as the caller ID.

Disappointed, she sighed, but answered the call regardless.

“Hello, bae. Yeah, I'm fine. Yes, I'm on my way. No, trust me, I'm okay. Tayo and Isioma are with me sef. Oh, Yomi is there with you? Haha. Say hi for me. All right, no problem. I'll send your regards for sure. Okay, babe. Take care. Bye.”

“Whew.” Anastasia hung up, looking over her shoulder. “Isioma!”

Isioma didn't see or hear anything, because her eyes were closed, and her headphones were still on.

“Isioma!” Anastasia called again, attempting to tap on Isioma's knee.

“Don't.” Tayo said softly, glancing behind. “She's fast asleep. Don't disturb her.”

“Okay.” Anastasia shrugged. “I just wanted to tell her Dara says hi to you both.”

“I know. You should've set the call on speaker.” Tayo said, shifting the gear stick. “I wanted to hear her voice.”

“Aww. Why didn't you say so?”

“Cowardice, I guess.” Tayo shrugged. “I mean, you know how timid I get when it comes to Elle. It's not easy for me.”

“I can imagine.” Anastasia crossed her arms, feeling pity for her brother. “Must be very hard being you, bro.”

“You have no idea.” Tayo forced a smile. “Believe me, you wouldn't want to know how it feels to be rejected by someone you really like, Ana. I'm pretty sure that if there was a section in the Grammy Awards for The Most Rejected Person on Earth, I'd be topping the list every year.”

Anastasia burst into laughter. “Geez! Stop exaggerating, Tayo. You're gonna make me cry.”

“Well, that wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?” Even Tayo himself could hear the hurt in his voice. “After all, my condition is worth crying for. I'd be glad if you did.”

“Tayo, seriously, stop.”

“I am so lonely, Ana. So lonely.”

“Tayo, chill. I'm sure that-”

“Every day, my loneliness comes in waves. Loneliness is my middle name,” Tayo droned on, his smile fading off. “I'm hopeless. Helpless.”

“Tayo.”

“Honestly, life's not fair. You like someone, but they don't like you back, no matter how honest you are with them. No matter how genuine your feelings are.” Tayo was practically thinking out loud. “I mean, is liking someone a crime, Ana? Why am I so unlucky? Why can't she see that I'm for real? Why's everything so upside down and-”

“Tayo, for God's sake!”

Tayo sighed, realizing he'd been wallowing in self-pity for a moment. “Ugh! What's wrong with me!”

“Relax. Take a deep breath.”

Tayo obeyed.

“All right, that's good. Now, pull up at the gas station ahead.”

Again, Tayo adhered. He drove into a gas station and parked his car on a free space so that he could relax a bit.

“I'm sorry, Ana. I don't know what came over me.”

“No, it's cool. I get it. Really.” Anastasia comforted Tayo, stroking his upper arm. “Take your time.”

“Honestly, it's just,” Tayo swallowed, “I don't even know. I'm really into Idara, Ana, and she's aware. Why she's so uptight with me is what I can't seem to understand. It's almost as if she doesn't trust me, or something about me repels her every time I make advances at her. I'm so confused, sis. I don't know what else to do.”

“Mmm.” Anastasia felt truly bad to see her brother this way. In all justification, Tayo had showed nothing but good intentions for Idara ever since he started making advances at her, but Idara was a hard nut to crack. She was so blinded by her complicated feelings for Yomi that she couldn't even see the efforts of this young man who was dying to call her "Mine" someday.

Tayo deserved a chance, at least. He was a good guy, after all.

“Or am I being too pushy?”

“Not at all,” said Anastasia. “I don't think Idara thinks so either.”

“Tell me the truth, Ana,” Tayo said, looking her dead in the eyes. “Is Dara into someone else?”

Tayo's question tore a hole through Anastasia's heart that burned like fire.

How the heck was she supposed to tell him that the woman he admired was falling for her best friend who was already in a relationship? Just how?!

Anastasia couldn't possibly do it. She had to give her brother hope, somehow. Even if it required lying to him.

“No, she's not.” She replied, looking out the car window. “I mean, as far as I know, she doesn't vibe with other guys the way she does with you and Yomi.”

“How sure are you?”

“Ninety-nine point nine percent sure. I can vouch for Idara any day, any time. Trust me.”

“Hmm.” Tayo placed his forehead on the steering wheel. “If you say so.”

“Hey.” Anastasia faced Tayo, stroking his shoulder. “Give her some more time, okay? I personally think she's just being careful not to fall into the wrong hands. You can't possibly blame her for wanting the best for herself, can you?”

Tayo shook his head slowly. “No. I guess not.”

“That's what's up.” Anastasia patted Tayo's arm twice. “Now, pull yourself together and smile for me, daddy.”

Reassured, Tayo raised his head and managed to smile. “Thank you, Ana. I wonder what I would do without you.”

“Don't flatter me jor. You're welcome.”

Sighing heavily, Tayo said, “Give me a minute or two. I want to use the station's restroom.”

“Sure. Go do your thing.”

Immediately Tayo left the car, Anastasia felt a soft touch on her shoulder from the back seat.

“Why did you lie to him?”

Frightened, Anastasia looked back to see Isioma wide awake without her headphones on. “Geez! You scared the crap out of me. I thought you were sleeping?”

“I wasn't. I was just pretending in order to listen to your conversation with Tayo.” Isioma confessed, giggling childishly. “Classic trick. Never gets old.”

Anastasia playfully hissed at that. “Nice one. You tried.”

“Of course, I did.” Isioma scoffed. “But, on a more serious note, why did you lie to Tayo?”

“Because I had to,” replied Anastasia. “I mean, I didn't want to discourage him from shooting shots at Dara 'cause I have a feeling that she likes him but doesn't realize it yet. All she needs is time, believe me.”

“Time my foot.” Isioma hissed. “You know it as much as I do that Idara isn't into your brother at all. Why egg him on?”

“What would you have done if you were in my shoes?”

“Simple: I would've told him the whole naked truth which he actually deserves to know. It's not that hard, Asia. Come on!”

“You know, it's easier said than done.” Anastasia said, rubbing her hands over her face. “See, let's just keep this between us. Okay?”

Hesitantly, Isioma said, “Okay.”

“Promise me you won't say a word to Tayo, Isioma.”

Isioma placed her hand on her chest. “I give you my word: I won't.”

“Pinky swear?”

“Pinky swear.” Isioma raised her pinky for emphasis. “But when everything starts crashing down, don't say I didn't warn you sha.”

“Leave that to me,” Anastasia said. “That'll be my cross to carry.”

“Mmm.” Isioma exhaled softly. “In the end, I pray you don't regret this decision you've made, Asia. I truly pray you don't.”

“Like I said, leave that to me, Isioma.” Anastasia said confidently. “If things go south, I'll face the music, come what may.”

“Well, like you said before, it's easier said than done, dear,” Isioma said. “Be careful. Be very, very careful.”

“I've heard you, sissy.” Anastasia yawned on purpose, glazing at Isioma's face. “Now, mind your own business, buddy. Show's over.”

“With all pleasure, Asia. With all pleasure.”

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