#JUST_BEST_FRIENDS

Author: Sam Freddy

CHAPTER 19: SUGAR AND SPICE.

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Four days later. Sunday. February 14.

Today being Valentine's Day, Idara and her gang met at a popular beach called The Palm Groves. As planned, Tayo and Yomi were the ones who brought the others with their cars, so basically they all arrived there together.

Presently, the time was 1:30 PM, and everyone had changed into their beach clothes. With everyone ready, Yomi suggested that they should all play a game of building sand castles individually. As expected, everyone else bought the idea, and then they all got to work almost immediately.

While crafting her sand castle, Idara received a light pat on her back from Tayo. She faced him and smiled with glee. “Don't laugh. I personally know it's trash. You don't have to remind me.”

Tayo smirked widely at her ignorance. “It's beautiful, Dara, just like you are.”

“Don't let him fool you o,” Anastasia said. “That thing is damn ugly. Take it from me.”

Idara rolled her eyes at that. “Bad energy stay far away, please.”

“Done!” Candice suddenly shouted from behind Idara, clapping her hands victoriously. “I'm too much, abeg!”

Everyone else looked in Candice's direction and, inwardly, they loved her work of art at first sight because it was very nice, and big.

“Wow.” Yomi gazed at Candice in awe. “Is your father by chance an architect?”

Candice laughed out loud, feeling like she'd just achieved the impossible without breaking a sweat at all. “Well, kinda. It's kinda complicated.”

“How?” Yomi asked, sitting on the hot sand. “Explain.”

“It's complicated because my daddy is a bricklayer. Duh!”

Everyone laughed at Candice's remark, including Idara herself. Idara knew for sure that Candice was a cunning lady, but that aside, she was really cool and fun to be with. Maybe that was why Yomi loved her so much, apart from her dashing looks and her classiness.

Such beauty and charisma were the features Idara would probably never have till the day she'd take her last breath on Earth, which always made her consider what the chances of she and Yomi being lovers were, since she wasn't even half as beautiful as Candice.

If there was anything like reincarnation or a second coming on Earth, Idara would definitely come back as Cinderella or Snow White, just to look pretty enough for her best friend who actually had no interest in her at all.

But, like they say, if wishes were horses, beggars would definitely ride. Which, in this case, implies that it is better Idara stops hoping for the impossible, at least to ease herself of the painful disappointments that occurs whenever she puts too much hope in something, or someone.

Today, having fun was Idara's top priority. Nothing more, nothing less.

“All right. So, Candice wins this game.” Yomi said, getting up on his feet. “Congratulations to her. Her castle is the finest. She did a good job.”

“Thank you,” Candice got up too, smiling at each and every one who applauded her for her craftsmanship. “I'm deeply humbled, folks. Thank you all so much.”

Patiently, Yomi waited until the noise died down before saying, “All right. So, who has any idea what we should play next?”

“Truth or Dare!” Jonathan replied Yomi instantly. “Like the nasty one we played last week!”

“No!” Betty declined strongly. “I'm not touching your toothpick today, Jonathan. Nice try.”

“Oops!” Jonathan laughed at Betty's facial expression. “I hate to break it to you, Betty, but it's not your decision to make. It's ours.”

“All right, then. Let's vote.” Betty said, looking at Jonathan with contempt. “If there's anybody among us who is interested in playing Truth or Dare, kindly raise your hand.”

Jonathan did so at once, but to his dismay, nobody else followed suit.

“Aha! Ten against one.” Betty burst into laughter, standing up from the ground. “Sorry, perv. Today is not your lucky day.”

“Oh, come on, guys!” Jonathan said defeatedly. “I guarantee it'll be fun. Trust me!”

“Not today, son.” Alice dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. “Any other suggestions, people?”

“How about a game of tug of war?” Isioma shrugged, raising an eyebrow. “Or volleyball?”

“Tug of war sounds better.” Idara said in a light, airy voice, adjusting the strap of her bra carefully. “I go for tug of war.”

“Me too. Same here. So do I. Count me in. Straight up. Sounds fun. I'm in! I'm down as well. Oya na!”

Everyone else but Jonathan agreed with Isioma's idea. When he realized that he was completely outnumbered, he groaned aloud and said, “Fine. I'll play, too.”

With that, Yomi split everyone into two groups, and then gave them all a little motivational speech to lift their spirits. Team A consisted of the guys, while Team B consisted of the ladies.

Yomi, being the leader of Team A, borrowed a long rope from a horseman, and then drew a straight line on the ground to set the boundaries.

Having done that, the game started with Yomi and Candice on the front lines as the leaders of their respective teams.

“Come on, pull harder, guys!” Yomi grunted as he drew the rope with all the strength he could muster. “Harder. Harder!”

“Do not relent, girls!” Candice yelled at the top of her voice, struggling to stay within her team's boundary. “Put in more effort. Come on, come on!”

“Argh!” Yomi exclaimed as his foot almost crossed the line. “Thank God o!”

The ladies saw what just happened and tripled their efforts instantly. To most of them, the game was an actual battle—a kill or be killed situation, which they weren't willing to mess up for no reason whatsoever.

“Guys, these girls are more than us na.” Jonathan complained gruffly, panting heavily. “We'll lose!”

“Shut up and pull harder, guy.” Jordan snapped at him in-between grunts. “We'll win. Be positive!”

In all honesty, the struggle was beyond real for both teams. Team A gave it their best shot, but Team B eventually took the win.

Even though they failed, the guys gladly congratulated the ladies for their team work and the enthusiasm they'd put into the game, and then everyone went to take a break under a canopy that covered them from the fiery sun.

“Boy, we could really use some snacks now.” Candice said dryly, getting up from her seat. “What do y'all say?”

Of course, everyone except Idara and Isioma agreed with her, and Candice noticed their quietness, but she ignored them like trash anyway.

“Yippee-hoo!” Candice exclaimed gleefully and turned to face Alice. “Babe, follow me, please. Let's get the refreshments from Yomi's car.”

“As thou commandest, mi lady.”

Everybody burst into laughter as Alice and Candice left their presence to bring the good stuff over.

“Once again, thank you, T.” Idara said amid laughter, referring to Tayo who was sitting right beside her. “Thank you very much.”

Tayo gave her a puzzled look. “What for?”

“You know, for paying on my behalf and talking me into coming on this trip.” Idara said softly, as her laughter died down. “Lord knows I never wanted to come at all, but somehow, you persuaded me back to back and even paid for me. Now I'm having so much fun, all thanks to you.”

Tayo offered Idara a cool grin as he said, “You're welcome, Elle. It's my pleasure.”

“Yo, does anyone here believe in mamiwota?”

Idara and Tayo instantly shifted their attention to Yomi. “No, I don't.” Tayo replied him casually. “They're just a myth. Not real.”

“Says who?” Anastasia chipped in defensively. “Stop saying what you don't know, baba. Mermaids are hundred percent real!”

“If so, can you prove it, Asia?” Isioma asked coolly, her eyes glued to Anastasia's face. “I mean, you're a law student, so you should know better than to make up false facts. So show us your proof, quickly.”

“See, if you want proof, Google is your friend, Isioma.” Anastasia said smugly. “Or better still, you could look up some live videos of 'em on YouTube. Only then will you understand the authenticity of the existence of mermaids and mermans.”

Isioma tried not to laugh, but her effort was futile. The laughter erupted from the depth of her heart like lava from a volcano. “Man, is it just me or does anybody else smell Photoshop in the air?”

Idara couldn't help but laugh too. “It's not just you, Isioma. I smell it, too.”

“Guys, mermaids are real!” Jonathan spoke loudly, pointing at the ocean ahead. “I've once had a personal experience with a mermaid back in my hometown.”

“Really?” Anastasia's eyes widened at that. “Tell us about it, please. How did it happen? Where? When? Like, how come?”

“Okay, cool down, Asia. I'll explain.”

As instructed, Anastasia relaxed with her gaze focused on Jonathan, and her lips completely zipped. She wasn't the only one looking at Jonathan, though. The others also had their eyes on him, all anxious to hear his live experience, and then maybe ask him some questions afterwards.

“Okay, so there's this chick I used to roll with that year na. Omo, her head game was fire!” Jonathan explained in-between chortles, winking at Betty. “And her name is Beatrice. Chai, that girl can suck a man to a coma, walahi. She used to burst my medulla that time, big time!”

“Um, what does that have to do with the story, Jon?” Betty grimaced, rolling her eyes at Jonathan. “Cut to the chase, abeg.”

“Just relax and listen na. I'm getting there, baby.”

“Who is your baby?” Betty hissed and clucked her tongue playfully. “Baba just continue abeg. E dey your body.”

“Haha.” Jonathan simply laughed it off. “Anyway, as I was saying, Beatrice and I were really tight back then sha. We did almost everything together, like cooking, reading, seeing movies, sexing, and so on. But the things she never did with me were bathing and swimming.”

“Why?” Isioma asked curiously.

“Well, I can't really answer that, because she always gave me silly excuses for her actions, and somehow they always worked just fine,” replied Jonathan. “But all I know is that anytime it rained, Beatrice never stepped outside until the rain stopped completely. With time, I realized she was actually avoiding water, as though she had a phobia for it or something. Until one day-” Jonathan paused abruptly.

“Yes?” Steve asked in sheer anticipation. “What happened?”

“Well, one fateful day,” Jonathan continued, his voice hoarse, “I "accidentally" poured half a bucket of water on Beatrice, and she transformed before my very eyes with the ugly scales and claws and this and that all over her body. God, I was so terrified that I legit pissed my pants and almost fainted!”

“Oh, my God!” Anastasia gasped in amazement. “What did she do to you? Did she hurt you or something? What did you do after she changed, Jon?”

“Well, I don't really remember, because I never got the chance to do anything heroic ever since I woke up from that particular dream.”

Expectedly, everyone except Betty and Anastasia started laughing at Jonathan's joke. Both ladies were obviously annoyed that the others actually found it funny, and they wanted to beat the crap out of Jonathan for deceiving them, but they couldn't, so they simply seized him up with a menacing look and shook their heads instead.

Knowing Jonathan's nature, Anastasia and Betty should've expected that lame twist at the end of his so-called "personal experience," so they really couldn't blame him completely for that. If anything, they were to blame for believing every single word he said.

Next time, they'd be wiser when dealing with Jonathan Alfred.

“Jon, you are a certified mad man!” Jordan said, laughing erratically. “I suspected you were lying from the onset, though. But, all the same, nice one, bruv. You really had us for a moment.”

“I swear!” Isioma could barely contain herself from laughing. “Can't believe I actually fell for that crap. I hate you, Jon.”

Jonathan winked at Isioma in a flirtatious manner. “I love you, too, sweety.”

Isioma simply flipped her middle finger at him in response.

All of a sudden, Candice and Alice returned with two stainless steel trays that contained some iced tea and bread for everyone, which they both called "Sugar and Spice."

After she'd served all of the guys, Candice stood before Idara and said, “And finally, Idara, I reserved this one specially for you,” she smiled sweetly, holding out the biggest cup to Idara. “Come on, take. Drink it.”