Life Of Jiji

All Rights Reserved

©2022 Tena Ifiemi

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First thing, next morning I called my mom about the cake. I had already dialed the number and heard it start to ring before I began to worry about being too imposing. Like, how am I supposed to call my mom out of the blues and ask her to bake a cake for my friend?

I couldn't answer my own question before she picked so I ended up stammering a lot while trying to place my request. She was calm, but she tried suggesting that she just order one for me and have it delivered to school but I didn't want that. The idea of it being her red-velvet recipe since he had tasted (and loved) it before just wouldn't leave me so I begged and begged and since I'm sweet little Jiji and no one else, she said OK.

So, cake, check!

I thought about Khadijah's suggestion to involve Reya but decided not to. She wouldn't want to be bothered and I wouldn't want to disturb her, with all Year 12s having their heads in their books and only their books these days.

Like you should, Jiji.

I sigh at the thought. It's true. Mitchel has his head in school work, exam or no exam anyway. Why couldn't I be like that?

Damian snapped his fingers in front of my face, jerking me out of my thoughts and snapped it again after I had come to for good measure.

He leaned in, "It's only us still  standing in the entire hall."

I looked round and sat down hastily in a solid 0.2 seconds, my embarrassment evidence on my cheeks.

Damian was laughing when I turned to face him, "Why were you also standing?"

"Think of how much worse it would have been if I left you standing there all on your own." He said still smiling.

"You could have just...argh!" I groan and look away from him, my arms folded against my chest.

I mean, after the anthem, he could have just tapped me while everyone was sitting down, but no!

"Ejiro." He whispered and my frown deepened. "Are you seriously vexed?"

Am I? Maybe not. But then he also didn't tell me about his birthday which is in a few days and I had to find out from my roommates. I didn't like that.

"Yes, and I just remembered another reason I have to be angry with you so don't talk to me."

I tried my best to refrain from looking at him and kept my head focused on the podium even as I felt his stare burning into the side of face. I could imagine him wondering what on earth the other reason is and if I was serious.

To give him the benefit of doubt, I refreshed and refreshed my memory to recall if we had ever had a birth date conversation and as weird as it may sound, I'm sure we haven't. The only reason he may know mine would be because he's a stalker.

Wait, was he one of those people who hated his birthday because something bad happened that same day? The thought unsettled me. I even shook my head in an attempt to shake it off. That couldn't be it.

•••

My class and Khadijah's class were having a joint P.E class and all the girls were changing in the locker room when an idea popped into my head. I finish changing quickly and grab a pen and jotter from my backpack, ready to bring my idea to life.

         I was just thinking,
         Sopirinye is such a nice name
         What do you think?

I was grinning like a fool as I tore the paper out of the jotter, feeling like the biggest master mind in all history. I went to meet Ms. Margaret,

"Ma, can I please go get something from the class before we start?" When she frowned, I pushed, "I'll be quick, I promise."

One halfhearted nod later and I'm in the senior block, making my way to Damian's class.

Only then do I remember that I told him not to talk to me. I sigh and stop in my tracks. Now, what?

After bullying my self in that spot for almost a minute, I decide to continue my journey. He should be glad I'm deciding to keep talking to him...after betraying me so.

Lord, I'm so dramatic!

I see him as I pass the window of his class and go to the door. Its Chemistry class and he appears to be concentrating hard. Smart boy! Not wanting to stare too long, I compelled my legs too move forward.

"Good afternoon sir." I greet the teacher. Damian definitely noticed me then and I could feel his eyes on me but I refuse to turn. "I was asked to give this book to Damian, may I please come in?"

"Make it quick." He said, and I walked in briskly. Damian was smiling at me as I approached and I tried my best to keep my own face neutral. That's when I noticed that Damian's form teacher was sitting at his desk. He gave me a knowing look and I looked away.

I dropped the book I had slipped the note in on Damian's table, "Page 29." I whispered and turned around.

"Thank you sir." I said to the teacher and hurried back to my own class. Let's see how long that smile of his will last. Next time he'll not keep important things from me.

When I got back, my classmates were already on the field and some people were doing their laps.

"Timi, Angel, Ejiro and Joy. You're up next." Ms Margaret called, her eyes on her clipboard.

I and the three other girls rounded up from different corners of the field.

"On your mark!"

We all went down. Ms Margaret was strict about staying in the correct positions for the two steps before 'Go'. She says that 'Patience is very important and Alertness goes hand in hand with it.'

I wonder if she made it up.

"Set. Go!" She said in succession and I stopped wondering and propelled myself forward.

I hadn't tied my hair properly, so as I ran, the rubber band slid out and my braids flew behind me. I laughed, the cold breeze on my scalp and cheeks exciting me. Ms Margaret would give me a very long lecture on why I should always have my hair tied back before doing sports after this but I would cross that bridge when I get there.

I heard some people cheering,

"Ejiro! Ejiro!"

I ran faster.

That was when I noticed Timi beside me and the two other girls behind us. Did I really have a chance at winning this thing? I picked up my pace but Timi was good, she remained on the same line.

I could now sight the finish line. I pushed forward and my lungs burned in protest. I actually thought I was going to win but Timi was not going to let me have it.

It was a tie.

As usual, Ms Margaret just looked at her timer and wrote down God-knows-what on her clipboard before calling for the next set.

We played a quick game of volleyball next, which was the lesson of the day after Ms Margaret had insulted us for forgetting everything we learnt in Junior school (since we had supposed to have learnt it then) because a lot of people —me included— were lost while she was explaining. It was a fun game but Ms Margaret wasn't smiling because 'we weren't playing according to the books'. We were soon allowed to leave and freshen up before the next class.

I walked with Amarachi and Mide to class and immediately I took my first step in, I saw Damian sitting in my seat; as comfortably as anyone could be.

Mide caught my eye and raised a brow, his smile giving way to a chuckle. I bit my lip as I walked to my seat, feigning confidence. Did he really come here because I know his middle name? Is he going to start a war or something? Well he better, cause I'm still angry.

But why was he here? And why do I feel like laughing?

Once I stood in front of him, at the front of my own table, he lifted his head and looked straight at me. His lips were turned up but not in a smile. Smirk would be the correct verb.

I smile at him, hiding my fidgeting fingers behind my back. But when he didn't smile back my confidence deflated, my eyes dropped to the floor and I resumed biting my lip.

He leaned in, "Stop doing that."

When I looked up at him, my teeth no longer holding my bottom lip captive, he let out a very deep breath.

"Page 18." Reluctantly, I pulled my eyes away from his and that was when I noticed the textbook under his hands. But before I could register anything, his hands lifted from the table, "See you." He whispered as he walked past me and out of the door.

I looked down at the textbook. Page 18, he had said. My birthday was on the 18th of August.

Stalker.

But that wasn't as unsettling as it should've been. At least not as unsettling as the words on page 18.

                 Jiji,
                 We need to talk.
                 B.Ball court. Night prep.

Thankfully, the next class was Civic Education so I could afford to spend the entire period stressing over what Damian might want to talk about since that still remains the scariest statement of all time.

The highlight of snack break was having Khadijah go missing with the egg roll she was supposed to give to Mercy. It was funny because it wasn't something Khadi would do. She might've argued or just feigned indifference and given it up but hide away? Who would've thought.

I expected to go back into my worry hole after the comic relief of break time but the next teacher was Mr Ayodele and you can never not laugh in that man's class so that's how I end up forgetting about that note until, well, night prep.

Not that I didn't have Damian on my mind though, since I spent my day campaigning to juniors and thinking of what to get him as a gift. I guess, I just forgot to bother about the intensity behind 'we need to talk'. It was an hour into prep when Mide came into class, passed me a note and walked away.

I opened it,

                 Jiji,
                 We need to talk.
                 B.Ball court. Night prep.

I jerked up and out of my seat, still clutching the paper in my hand. Mitchel raised a brow and knowing him and his older brother ways, he would like a reply.

"Um, I just remembered that I have something important to do."

He frowns but shrugs so I just stand and leave the class. When outside, I place a hand on my beating heart, why did Damian have to use the exact same words as before? That was quite scary! Like paranormal movie kind of scary. Maybe he was actually pissed.

Could it actually be the name thing?

No.

I expected Damian to at least be outside somewhere cause he knows I find walking there alone in the middle of the night a bit scary, but he wasn't. I shrug on my hoodie anyway and hope no staff sees me as I make my way to the court, making sure to keep to the walls.

The night is very cold, so despite the hoodie, I'm shivering when I get there and sit next to Damian's quiet form.

He soon turns,

"I'm sorry for making you come out. I didn't know it would be so cold."

I didn't register the words immediately, thinking instead how nice it would be to pull myself closer to his side and share in his body heat.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, deciding to ignore what he said.

"Shouldn't I be?"

"Well, why did you say 'we need to talk' then? Do you know how scared and worried it made me? Like, is he angry at something I did? Did I do something wrong?...besides finding out your middle name of course."

Throughout my rant. I watched Damian's face go from alarmed, to confused and a lot of other expressions but immediately I let out that last part, he laughed. A loud, short and very genuine burst of laughter which ended with a surprising snort he later seemed embarrassed about.

"Why did you laugh?"

"Why would I be angry with you? And about that?" He said with a chuckle.

I shrug.

"How did you find out though? Did you hear my mom yelling at me in one of our phone calls?"

I giggle, "What? No." Then I frown again, "Why didn't you wait for me? This school is scary in the night."

He turned to me looking guilty, "I'm sorry, I didn't think that you could have a problem with it."

"Okay." I whisper, looking away from him and at the floor.

Nobody spoke but the crickets for the next few seconds.

"What do we need to talk about though?" I ask, my worries bubbling back to the surface.

"Anything."

I pause, letting it sink in. "Wait, there was no world-stopping, life-ending news you wanted to give me?"

"Does there have to be? Can't I just want to talk to you?"

I fight a blush, "Yeah, but like...that's not how you say it. You just do it! Everyone knows that 'we have to talk' is the universal code for 'we have a problem'"

He snorted, "You're being extra."

"It's you being extra. You annoyi—" I started to say when I remembered my annoyance over the birthday that was being kept from me but cut myself off.

He gave me an amused look, "Looks like you're the one harboring a grudge here, though."

"Not."

"Are too."

"Are too? Are you a baby?" I say, laughing.

"I could be your baby." He said in a suggestive tone and I fell silent, feeling my face grow hot.

Damian burst out laughing.

A while later, we were talking about how he could actually play sports for a living but he thinks his mom might kill him if he suggested it. Then I tried to coax him into suggesting it because it didn't make sense to me that he would just give up something he really wanted because of an assumption.

"What are you going to study in uni, then?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, "I could be a pilot or an astronaut, maybe."

I wrinkle my nose, "I don't want to be friends with someone who has a potential of dying somewhere above ground level."

He goes silent, and his face actually seemed to fall.

I nudge him, "What?"

"Nothing."

"What is it?"

He sighed, "I don't like that word." And before I could ask, what word he added, "Friends."

He looked at me expectantly and when I just blinked back, he rushed out, "But it's whatever really. I'm just being my normal dramatic self."

I keep my eyes on him but he's looking straight ahead, even when I pull on his arm. I know what this was about and I didn't blame him. This was the reason I didn't want to tell him how I felt in the first place, because I knew that this was bound to happen. I pull his arm again,

"Damian." I say, in my whiniest voice possible.

He remains his normal dramatic self and refuses to talk.

"Damian, what's wrong with the word, 'friends'?"

No answer.

"I think that's unfair, especially since you're my best friend."

He turns around then and I feared he might break his neck from the speed he used, "I am?"

"Why are you acting so surprised? Do you have another best friend?"

"No!" Then after a pause which he seemed to use to gather himself, since his voice softened considerably, he added, "Of course not."

"What about Mide?"

"Who's Mide?"

I giggle, actually finding it funny.

"So, best friends that like each other?"

"You like me?" I widened my eyes, feigning shock and he looked at me like I'd actually gone mad. I said my next words in the middle of laughing, "I'm joking, I'm joking."

•••
After prep, I spoke to some more juniors, who had actually started to cling to me since I started famzing them for the sake of the elections. I'm not glad to admit that I'm one of those seniors who're only friends with you until you give them your vote but if we're going to be real about it... well...

"Senior Ejiro, there's this boy in my class that said he likes me. I told him I'll only give him a chance if him and all his friends vote for Senior Damian."

I wondered whether to tell Winnie that it was Year 7 second term and she probable shouldn't be giving any boy any chance at all.

Another minion sidled up, "Senior Ejiro do you know that they're some stupid girls that still don't want to vote Senior Damian?"

"Lily, don't call anyone stupid, please."

And on and on it went, until their porter told me to go back to my hostel and I did, quite satisfied.

My room was quite calm when I came in, just little conversations here and there. My bed, thankfully was still untouched. When I slumped onto my bed, Khadi turned to face me,

"If you haven't still found a gift for your boyfriend, I think I just found the perfect thing."

I sat up abruptly, "What is it?"

Two seconds later I'm with Khadi on her bed looking at an Instagram account.

"They do gift boxes." She said, "And there's a lot of amazing things in them. They're even in Lagos so we can get it tomorrow if we order now."

"Tap on that one, let me see it."

She did. "There's Basic Box, Super Box, Ultra Box and Gift Box Pro Max"

I giggled, "Gift Box Pro Max?"

"That one is 350k."   

"Oh." "What about Super Box?"

"Why not just ask about Basic Box?"

"Damian's not basic."

"Wahala o. Nobody is saying the love of your life is basic. Basic box is 20k."

"What about Super Box?" I ask again.

"Ahh, big Ejiro!" Mercy suddenly shouted and I was a little startled, not knowing she was listening.

I smile sheepishly, "Stop that."

"The super box is 50k." Khadi tells me and I give it a brief thought.

"Tell them you want to order." I tell her.

Mercy shouts again.      

Hi fam!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. 15 votes on this chapter and I'll unveil the surprise I have for you. Just 15.

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love, Tena