"Saul !!" somebody yelled my name from behind, I quickly turned around from where I sat to see who it is... then I made a bored expression when I knew who it was, I turned back to my book and faked that I was concentrating on it, maybe he would leave me alone, then I felt a slap on the back of my head, I quickly turned to glare at him

"OW!!" I exclaimed, he just quirked his brow

"you don't ignore your best friend when he comes bearing good news" he said crossing his arms on his chest, I groaned turning around again, I was sitting on one of the cemented benches on the campus garden trying to have a quiet time and read my book that was getting on the good part, but sadly Hakeem happened. He came and sat beside me, I did not look at him, eyes on the book, then in a flash he snatched my book from my hands

"hey!! do not test me!" I said trying to reach for my book which he raised it up in the air with his left arm, it did not help that he was taller and  bulky, making him have the upper hand, literally

"no, I will give it to you once you hear what I have, no moment sooner" he said while sitting on the book, I made a strangling gesture at him while glaring, he just laughed

"you know, you look like a cartoon when you try to be scary"

"what is it Hakeem" I asked glaring, he turned his whole body to my direction, eyes with excitement

"I just heard tha....." he was cut off by

"Mr Amin, Mr Omar, the Dean wants to see the both of you in his office" it was our Linguistic professor, he did not even wait for our response and just left, my mouth went dry, this was not good at all, everybody was scared of that office and for good reason, if you were called in there you will be either expelled or be forced to repeat a whole year on your expense. I turned to Hakeem who immediately stood up looking giddy and excited, he looked at me and pulled me by the arm forcing me to stand up. As soon as I gathered my things in my bag he groaned

"let's go!" he urged as he dragged me to the deans office, I looked at him strangely as I hurried my pace to match his, the other students were staring at us, he did not seem to care

"please tell me what is going on, and I can walk by myself" I said snatching my arm away from his grip, he momentarily paused to look at me then he left me there while he paced quickly to the office which was on the first floor, I quickly followed him up the stairs, but he was too quick

"hey, will you just tell me before I die from high blood pressure!" I yelled at him

"stop being a wuss and hurry up damn it, I do not want him to change his mind" he said while he made his way to the office. when I reached to the first floor, I ran to the office, only to find Hakeem outside the door staring at the handle intently, I walked to him, then he stared at me looking like he is about to cry while biting his lower lip

"knock!" he whispered pointing at the door, I looked at him in disbelief, I mustered the courage of running till here, now he is going to be a wuss about knocking? I rolled my eyes and knocked

"you are unbelievable" I told him

"come in" we heard from the inside, Hakeem quickly reached for the handle, twisted it and quickly pushed it while walking inside, I followed, closing the door behind. When we got in we found ten more students some smiling, others murmuring to each other, what is going on

"finally the two of you are here" professor Aloyce said sitting on his desk laying back on his comfy leather chair, I looked at the other students again, I noticed some of them, I looked at Hakeem who was whispering something to a girl near him, always a flirt, the dean cleared his throat, and we all looked at him

"I know as the gossip mongers some of you are, you already know why you are here" he said looking at Hakeem, then he continued

"every end of the year, we give our best students a free holiday tour, now due to your excellent performance in academics and discipline, you are the students selected by the board to go on this tour. We have chosen one student from each faculty and I am proud to say that you twelve are our top students" claps exploded and a cheering whistles from Hakeem, I clutched my necklace and started fiddling with it, I was so shocked that I just froze staring at the dean in disbelief, he looked at me worriedly

"are you okay Mr Amin" that snapped me out of my trance and I momentarily locked eyes with Hakeem, he gave me a reassuring smile, then I looked at the dean while nodding,

"am okay sir," he nodded in response

"sorry, Professor, but I have to ask where are we going on tour" Scott, a marketing student asked

"good question Mr Davis, this year you are going to South Africa" he said, my breath hitched, South Africa!! I have never been outside this city, since I was born, now he is telling me they are taking us to S.A, I know to some people it is not a big deal but for people who live in third world countries like us, going to South Africa IS a big deal. Sure, Tanzania is beautiful and all, but It is not that marvelous when you get used to it, besides the grass is always greener on the other side. Excited murmurs erupted from the students it was quite noisy considering the size of the office

"Okay settle down, remember its already the end of November and you'll be spending the whole month of December there, leaving you with two weeks before the tour, so you have to prepare the essentials, permits will be required, passports and visa will be upon your expenses, the rest of the instructions will be sent to your email accounts, now off you go" the dean said waving us off. I was the first out, I stood aside the door as the others got out because I was waiting for Hakeem, he came out talking to the same girl, well he was talking the girl just laughed and giggled poor dumb lamb she is... their conversation seemed to end as soon as Hakeem saw me, he said see you later to her and she left, then he turned to me with a smile. We started walking down stairs holding hands, even though we are just friends Hakeem never felt uncomfortable about holding hands especially in public, in fact he always held my hand when we were walking side by side, when you ask him about it he will say "if girls do it why can't we?"

"so you knew and did not tell me" I said

"well I wanted to tell you but you were ignoring me then when the professor came to call us I decided to make it a surprise" he looked at me with a smile

"I don't think I will go" i said in a low voice, he immediately stopped then turned to me " why " he asked

" 'cuz... I don't have a passport or visa, and those things cost a lot" i confessed and he pinched my hand, I hissed

"boy, I thought you were going to say you were allergic to South Africa" he said while slightly shoving me by his shoulder

" we will talk to mum, she will cover everything" he added, I shook my head

"Hakeem no, I already owe your family too much, I don't want to trouble them even more" I said looking down

"you know they said you don't owe them anything, that they consider you as their own son, and look what you did to me, you transformed a stupid rich kid into an intellectual and the best in his faculty, they are the ones who owe you," he said squeezing slightly my hand and then we continued walking "and besides, you know my mom adores you more than me" he added and I giggled

"and who is the girl you have been whispering to in the office" I asked looking at his slightly taller figure

"oh, you mean Lucy, that shawty is boring as hell" he said chuckling

"then why...."

"well, duh, we are going to South Africa, I am going to need something to release my sexual desires, and you don't like me so..." I punched his shoulder "OW!! I was just kidding" he said with a laugh

"asshole" I muttered underneath my breath, we were now back to the garden, Hakeem let go of my hand then slid them on his trouser pockets

"so... I have no more classes today, should I go or...."

"no, I have two more classes, I will come home myself, you should go" I said smiling

"you sure"

""yup, bye" I said while turning around and going to the opposite direction

My next class was Principles of Marketing which was on the seventh floor, I wasn't going to walk all those stairs so I had to take the elevator, when I reached it, it wasn't used so after pressing the button it opened, I got in and pressed the number seven button the doors started slowly closing when I heard "PLEASE HOLD!!" I immediately I streched my hand to the doors making them automatically part, when the person reached the elevator I looked up at him and I froze...it was Ibrahim.

"Oh thank you! I thought I wouldn't make it" He said smilling while getting in, I stepped a little bit to the right to give him space always keeping my eyes to the ground the only reply he got after thanking me was "K"

Ibrahim was.... Well he is a black deity of beauty, well not literally but damn!! he was a third year undergraduate taking Bachelor degree in Bussiness Analysis, he is one of the few people on Earth who God took his time in creating them. Don't believe me? Okay, just imagine, the guy is 24 years of age, average 6ft in height, gorgeous athletic body, nice brownish skin tone, bright brown eyes, I could go on forever, everything he has been blessed with is perfect, even down between his legs (yes I have caught glimpse of his member shaping itself perfectly on his boxers), not only the looks but also the guy has the highest grades since he started university, it will be a shock if he won't be the valedictorian of his faculty. But all great things have bad sides and the biggest one is that like Hakeem, he is a big flirt. And because of his looks, he doesn't do any work, the girls just come to him willingly every week he has somebody new, Sometimes because of him I just wish I was a girl just for one day. Me and him don't talk, we just greet eachother when we find ourselves in the same room, and to my dismay, that didn't happen quite often, I don't know if it isn't obvious already but I have a crush on him, like major crush, and it hurts because I know he doesn't even notice me, I don't think he knows my name, not that I blame him, with the people he hangs out with, I must be the odd one out if he happened to talk to me.

I was brought up from my thoughts by the sound of the elevator signaling that I have reached my destination,  when the elevator opened I quickly got out and started to speed walk but then my body freezed mid step while my heart skipped a bit when I heard

"nice to see you Saul!" as the elevator doors were closing I turned around seeing the handsome hunk smiling at me, when it closed I turned around and I mini squealed, he just said my NAME! Oh my God, how did he know my name?!

I started to slowly walk to my respective venue while that scene plays over and over in my head, I reached the class room, opened the door and entered, I was fifteen minutes early so just a few people were around, I went and found my sit.

The whole period ended like a blur, I really tried to concentrate on the lecturer but my mind went back to that moment when my name was uttered by Ibrahim in a sweet tone. When the session was over, I quickly got up, grabbed my stuff and headed to the door. As is it already obvious I headed straight to the elevator hoping that someway somehow the previous scene would repeat itself..... It didn't...

Instead i got crammed up with people in the damn lift, I was hardly able to breath... thus proving Lightning doesn't strike on the same place twice.

I finished my last period at 3:45. It was time to go home, this was the time that many classes ended for the day, so many people were returning to their houses, meaning getting a bus will be impossible, I didn't tell Hakeem about this situation because I didn't want him all over my face worrying about me. So what I do is just wait till 6:00 in the evening when most of the students have left and buses were easily accessable.

So now I have to find a place to read my book. I had my favourite spot, there was a pedestal near a big oak tree, it was very peaceful and it was a bit far from the campus building that was a major plus, so I headed to the place, I reached my spot took out my book and sat down to start reading...

**......i didn't notice his hands rubbing softly the sides of my arms while another pair of arms circle round my waist, when i noticed this my breath hitched,

"it's okay, we are not going to hurt you" Mathew said with a soothing voice on my ear, which made me relax just sulking in the warmth, they hugged me tightly while caressing me, i just couldn't tell them to stop, i never felt like this in like forever

"May?" Mattias called my name in a low voice

"mmhh....?." i answered laying my hands on his broad chest, our foreheads were touching

"can we kiss you?" Mattias asked

i just nodded, he slowly leaned to my lips and i felt soft warm lips touching mine, i parted mine to let his tongue inside, he slowly sucked my lower lip, i did the same with his lips, it felt really good but it ended, as our lips parted i looked at Mattias he had a wide grin then i heard " my turn ". Mathew turned me around, now I was facing a horny guy with lust in his eyes, Mathew slowly met my lips and i opened my mouth for him, i never thought i would like a French kiss this much, i just couldn't stop kissing him, Mattias was kissing and sucking the side of my neck. then our lips parted, Mathew went straight to my neck nuzzling it and inhaling the scent

"our mate" i heard a low whisper coming from Mattias, then it occurred to me... i just had my first kiss!.....**

I got lost in the story I didn't realize it was already 6:30 the only thing that made me come back to reality was the darkness of the night that was slowly seeping in creating and enlarging shadows, I quickly closed the book packed it in my backpack and stood up, I fished my phone out of my pocket And turned it on while walking, I immediately cursed when I saw 2 missed calls from Hakeem and one missed call from Esma, Hakeem's mom, I started to speed walk while frantically typing on the phone trying to tell her that am on my way, I suddenly bumped into somebody in front of me, the force made me trip and drop my phone which landed with a loud crack!..... Some people have a ringing in their ears, and it normally occur in silence or when adrenaline is rushing the blood through your body. Thats what I was feeling when I heard the sound of my phone breaking. Esma is going to murder me!

"I am so sorry! Oh god! Am really sorry" the man said while bending down to pick up my broken phone.

His voice brought my mind a quick flash of the elevator scene, of all the people to bump into, it just had to be him... he turned around to face me while stretching his hand to give me my phone with a sorry look on his face

" now I feel more horrible that its you Saul, I am so sorry, please don't cry" he said soothingly bending down a little trying to peek at my face because I was looking down. I quickly shot my face up, swiped away my tear with the back of my hand, snatching my phone from him I said

" Am not crying" while tucking my phone in my pocket

" and its not your fault, I should have looked where I was going, I have to go now" I said not waiting for an answer, I walked passed him but I didn't reach far since he caught my hand... my breath hitched, I turned my gaze to look at my hand being held, he immediately let go then cleared his throat, I turned my eyes to his face.

" listen, never the less I feel bad about it, so accept my apology by buying you a new phone..."

"No!" I fastly declined. He looked taken by surprise for a second, then regained his posture.

"Okay then, I respect your decision but at least let me give you a ride home..." I wanted to decline but he raised his index finger then said

" and you can't say no cuz its already late and it won't sit well with me knowing I didn't give you a lift when it is in my capable ride" he concluded smiling.

I bit my lower lip weighing my options, its already dark, and it will be fast, but uugh! Its going to be weird in there...

"So, come on then" he called out, already beside the car with the door ajar, I turned around, took a deep breath and followed him

I have never rode in Ibrahim's car. The car was a black corvette z06, a muscle car. It was fast, and it turns on a dime. It was one of my dream cars. I used to paint pictures of it on my notebook, and dream of have it. I was always being with him, sometimes, i'd meet him at his office or restaurant. But as Cinderella said,  "it was nothing more than a dream"

I got in and soon we were on the road, it was quiet with me looking out the window not saying a word, it was a 15 minutes drive but it felt like eternity, and I might have been imagining things but he was staring at me more than the road.... thankfully the torture came to an end when I saw my home coming into view, I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt ready to get out... when the car came to a stop I quickly said thank you and started opening the door, but it was automatically locked, I turned to him raising my brow, while he looked at me with an innocent smile

"Hey, don't look at me like that am not going to kill you, I just wanted to say am sorry again and I'd like to be your friend"

I swallowed a lump in my throat,

"I-I, um, okay" I stammered, really confused. He smiled widely showing his brilliant white teeth

"Thanks, sorry if I scared you, that was my last intention" he said unlocking the door, I opened it, got out and closed it, as I was walking towards the house across the streets I heard the windshield being rolled down, I turned to look at him in which in turn he smiled and said "good night Saul" , and as a dumbass I just nodded turned back then he drove off my home, well Hakeem's home is beside the road, its located at Masaki in Dar es salaam, as people here say, it a rich people neighborhood, and it is. I opened the gate

" Saul, where were you, Madam is thinking about calling the police" the guard whispered as I entered..

" sorry, traffic" i murmured while passing by his post. before I reached the front door, it was opened and Hakeem came out looking worried, I reached him and he pinched the side of my shoulder

"Ow!" I exclaimed glaring at him

" serves you right, where have you been! Esma is flipping!" He whisper yelled then pulled me inside

" oh Alhamdulillah you are safe , I thought something bad happened to you" Esma said with a tone of relief as she came and hugged me

"Am sorry, I lost track of time" I said while hugging her back, Hakeem snatched my bag pack which I was holding and started shuffling through my stuff

" and why was your phone unreachable" he said still searching

I let go of Esma " about that" I wasn't able to finish my sentence because I heard a growl from Hakeem as he took out my cracked phone

"Who is it?!" Well, he looked pissed, I literally stepped back

" it was an accident, I was walking and Ibrahim..."

"Wait! Ibrahim!?, am gonna...."

"Hakeem! Saul said it was an accident, and he is fine its just a phone" Esma intervened, taking my hand and turning to go to the dining room

" but mama..." he wanted to speak, but with one glare from her, he stayed quiet

"Don't worry dear, tomorrow I'll give you money you can go buy a new one, Hakeem can escort you" she said while sat down

"Thank you" I said...

that night was quiet, after dinner I didn't stick around in the living room and went to my bedroom. Going inside my room, I went to the bathroom, yes, every room has a bathroom but that's no big deal because its. only a four bedroom house. When I was done cleaning my self, I got out of the shower wrapped myself with a towel and got out of the bathroom, wore my briefs and climbed on bed but before I could sleep I heard a knocking but not from the door, no, Hakeem's too weird for that, it was. from the other side of the wall, it was my bad luck that the only thing separating our rooms was a thin wall and my bed was beside it, thus leading me to have little sleep when Hakeem wants to talk...

"please Hakeem, not now..." I pleaded

"fine"he grumbled "but you are not escaping me tomorrow"

I just sighed and closed my eyes, tomorrow is going to be exhausting...