Coming back home after a stressful day at school, Angela regretted why she decided to walk home instead of hailing a motorcycle.
Getting close to her lodge, she could see lots of guys sitting under the shed beside their gate. One of those guys was David. When she got closer, she smiled and waved at him.
The events of the night party were all blurry in her mind but she knew one thing for sure— she had a good time. The part David played was something she was still trying to remember clearly.
"How are you?" he asked while walking towards her.
"I'm good and you?"
"I'm fine. How's your day at school?" He asked while walking her down to her block.
"My day was stressful. We had back to back lectures." Angela said while rubbing her forehead as if pushing back a headache.
"Sorry to hear that. That's college life for you. Uhm, I was wondering if we could hangout maybe later. I'm quite bored."
While he said that, she laughed at his goofiness.
"Well, as you see I'm tired right so maybe when I've rested, I could come down or you come up."
"Alright, can I have your phone number? So I can call and check in."
She then remembered that they didn't get to exchange contact info. He kept scratching his head the whole time. Angela found it very amusing.
"Are you always this goofy? Or should I call it shyness?" She said while she collected his phone and typed her phone number.
He didn't answer, rather he laughed. She gave him back his phone and she bid him goodbye.
Immediately Angela entered her room her phone rang. It was an unknown number but she answered anyway.
"Hello, good evening. Who's this please?"
"Hi, it's David, your lodge mate."
"Oh hey, David. I just saw you now, didn't I?"
"Yes you did. I was just checking if you gave me the right number."
"Are you being serious right now David?" Angela asked, laughing at him.
"Well, that's what ladies do these days. So I decided to check if you're one of them. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. Uhm, I need to freshen up now and rest. We'll talk later, yeah?"
"Okay." David said and ended the call.
*****
Since it was her turn to cook, Angela decided to prepare jollof rice before having her bath. When she was almost done, Maliah came back.
"Welcome Liah." Angela said while undressing.
"Thanks sweetheart. What are you cooking? It smells good." Maliah answered tiredly.
"It's jollof rice. Could you keep an eye on it while I take my bath?"
"C'mon Angel, I just got back!"
"Please Liah, I'll be quick." Angela said while she ran into the bathroom.
Just like she said, she didn't spend so much time. Before she came out, Maliah was already eating.
"The rice is done already? You couldn't even wait for me Liah."
"I'm sorry. I'm just so hungry. I thought you were going to come out late as usual. You know you bathe slowly. I wonder what you do there all the time." Maliah tried to defend herself.
"By the way, this rice is so tasty." She added.
"Thank you." Angela answered while blushing. "I've been told I cook really good jollof rice." she added.
"Well, they are correct. Accolades to you Chef Angela." Maliah said and they both laughed.
After talking about how their day went, they settled down to sleep when Maliah remembered she had an assignment due the next day. She left the bed and went to the table to write it while Angela drifted into a deep sleep.
*****
At 5:30 AM Angela's alarm blared across the room waking both of them.
"C'mon Angel, switch off that demonic alarm pleeeeease." Maliah said as if she was on the brink of tears.
Angela, even though she just woke up couldn't help but laugh. She had set the alarm because she had a 7 o'clock lecture that morning and attendance was compulsory.
"Don't you have lectures this morning?" She asked Maliah.
"I do but it's by 10 AM."
Angela got ready for class and by 6:30 AM, she was done so she decided to eat some jollof rice from the night before.
"Make sure you don't finish that rice." Maliah said from her sleep.
"Yes ma'am. Come and lock the door, I'm going."
"Go, I'll lock it." Maliah said still sleepy.
Angela got to class by 6:50 AM. The lecturer hadn't arrived yet. She brought out her phone and launched WhatsApp. She had lots of messages but one stood out. Yes, you guessed right! The one from David stood out.
It said, "hey, cutie." With a smiling emoji beside it.
Angela smiled. She was about to reply when the lecturer walked into the hall. Dr. Kelechi didn't condone using cellphones in his lectures so she had to put her phone away to avoid being confiscated.
Angela couldn't wait for the class to end. Immediately Dr. Kelechi left the class, she took out her phone. It was already 10 AM. They had 3 hours of lectures. If not that Dr. Kelechi was a really good lecturer, Angela doubted if she would have stayed till the end of the lecture.
On her phone there was another message from David.
"What's up? Are you home? I was hoping we could meet up?"
He'd sent the message by 9:12 AM so Angela wondered if he was still online. She had turned off her last seen so she won't know if he's online unless he actually was. Luckily for her, he was online.
"No, I'm still in school but I'm about heading home." She replied.
He texted back almost immediately saying,. "Okay, let me know when you get home."
"Alright." She replied.
There was supposed to be another lecture by 11 AM but Angela figured she could miss it since it was only for an hour and there's a huge possibility that the lecturer wouldn't make it to class.
On getting home, Angela took her bath and rested for about 30 minutes before picking up her phone to inform David that she was back.
"So, should I come to your room or will you come to mine instead?" David asked.
"I think it'll be better if you come to my room." Angela replied.
Angela heard a knock on her door almost immediately. She was surprised how he got there so fast so she decided not to answer the door until he sent her a message saying he was the one at the door.
She got up and wore a short and sleeveless top—she was naked: you can call Angela a nudist.
"How did you get here so fast?" She asked.
"I was already on my way here when I asked you that question." He said.
"Come in. So what if I had said your place? You'll just turn back?"
"Of course. However, I figured you'd be more comfy at your place." He replied.
"Well, you're right there. C'mon, have a seat. What can I offer you? Soft drink, water, or alcohol?"
"Oh, you take alcohol?" He asked, teasing her.
"Not really." She replied, going with the flow.
They both laughed remembering their ordeal at the freshman party.
"I'll have water, thanks." He said.
She brought him bottled water from the fridge and then settled on the bed while he sat on the plastic chair before relocating to the couch on a second thought.
"So, how were lectures today?" He asked.
"I had a 3 hour lecture that started at 7 AM. We were supposed to have another one by 11 AM but I decided not to attend since it was just for an hour." She explained.
"What about you?" She asked
"Naah, no lectures for me today." He said.
"I want us to get to know each other better." He added straight to the point.
David told her he was a 200l student of the department of Medical Laboratory Science. He also told her he was the only son of his parents. He had 2 elder sisters and 2 younger sisters. His dad whose name was Clems was a medical doctor while his mum was a business tycoon who deals in fashion and designing.
Angela also told him some basics about her, then they decided to take a walk. Angela took her clothes and went to dress up in the bathroom. Just as they were about to step out, they heard a knock on the door. Angela opened the door and it turned out to be Maliah.
"Welcome Liah." Angela said.
"Thanks dear. Are you going somewhere?" Maliah asked.
"Yes, we want to take a walk. David, this is my roommate Maliah. Liah, this is David." Angela introduced them to each other.
"Nice to meet you." David said while stretching his hand for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you too." Maliah said while taking his hand in hers.
After the pleasantries, Angela grabbed her phone and headset and headed out. David followed behind her. Few steps away, Angela heard Maliah call out to her.
"I'll be right back." She told David.
On entering the room, Maliah screamed at her.
"He's so goddamn handsome! You didn't tell me he's this good looking. Has he asked you out yet? Oh! I wish I had him."
Angela laughed because that was typical of Maliah—to call her back only to gush about David.
"Shut up already Liah." Angela said, laughing at her roommate.
"I barely know him and you're talking about a relationship. Yes, he's handsome, but get over it babe because I'm not into him, okay?" Angela said.
"Well, if you say so." Maliah said while winking at Angela.
You'll be wondering why Maliah reacted that way. Well, David is a stunning young man— broad chest, tall, athletic body build, bluish-dreamy eyes, dark skin that looked like chocolate waiting to be devoured, with a pinch of sexiness in his voice— you could say he's every girl's prince charming.
"Wait Liah, is that why you called me back?"
"Uhm, yeah? Also to tell you to buy me a hamburger while coming back." Maliah said while stifling a laugh.
"You could have just sent me a message on WhatsApp, you mischievous girl." Angela said while leaving the room.
She sprinted back to where David was waiting for her and apologized for wasting his time.
"It's no biggie. So where do you want us to go?" He asked.