"Matilda. Matilda Olusegun," I smiled and held my hand out for a handshake.
He smiled as well and took my hand.
Suddenly, I was drowned in a sea of fast moving scenes. Each scene was from my dream, dialogues from each of them clashed and for some reason, haunted me.
All scenes passed away till I found myself in a void of emptiness and darkness.
I was too dazed to speak and all I could do was move in slow circles, wondering how I appeared where I was.
Just then, a bright screen appeared in front of me. Its light was blinding and in my defense, I used my arms to block it from my face...until, I heard an overly familiar voice.
It was my voice.
I took my arms away from my face to see another scene from my dream displayed on the screen. However, it was the last scene I remembered.
I sounded like a happy child that had finally been reunited with a mother she had been longing for.
Even as I watched the scene, I equally experienced such warmth. It was at that point that the cause of my confusion resurfaced.
"Farewell."
His expression read satisfaction. He felt fulfilled for some reason while I was left to attend to the deadly fate that awaited me in the form of a fast moving truck.
"Are you alright?" His voice jolted me out of my trance. "You're cold..."
My eyes moved about, not only in confusion but in fear. My eyes then moved back to my hand, still in his.
Instinctively, I took my hand away and took three steps backwards.
"Who are you?" Were the words that left my mouth.
*.*.*.
~ KIKI'S POV ~
Luckily for me, there was no one in the female restroom.
I made my way to one of the several aligned sinks and quickly turned on the tap. After cupping my hands underneath the flowing water, I used it to wash my face.
That, I did three times before gazing up, into the mirror situated a few inches above the sink.
Tears welled up in my eyes and as I struggled to hold back my emotions, the white of my eyes reddened, contrasting greatly with the dark pupils at the centre.
I couldn't stop crying because everytime I tried to console myself, it only worsened matters by reminding me that I was rejected by someone I really liked.
Was this how it felt to be rejected?
Was this how badly it hurt?
I moved to sit on the bare floor and rested my back against one of the bathroom doors. With a hand placed over my face, I continued crying.
My head ached. My stomach churned. My throat felt sore. My heart bled.
It was all a painful experience that even the veins on my neck strained while I increased the pitch of my cries.
After a crying for a long while, I was too tired to continue and the only thing I wanted, was to go far away from everyone. I wanted to go home.
Getting back on my feet and moving towards the sink once again, I washed my face and wiped my face with the hem of my dress.
Taking a deep breath, I came out of the restroom to see two girls, Flourish and Precious from SS3C, who happened to be going in.
"Babe afar," They greeted me but, the only thing I could do was nod.
However, they didn't mind and went on with their conversation as they walked past me into the restroom.
Once I returned to the party, I used my eyes to search for Tilda but I couldn't find her. She had left Tobi and I for the terrace. Perhaps, she was still there.
Before I could even begin my walk to the terrace, I caught sight of the gentleman that broke my heart. He stood with two girls who laughed while they conversed - seemed like he was having a good time with them.
Tears threatened to return again but, I wasn't ready to attract attention so I held them back while suffering a choking pain in my throat.
Just as I was about making my way up the stairs that led to the terrace, I saw Tilda coming down.
She rushed towards me as soon as she set eyes on me.
"Kiki, what happened?" Her face turned to one of worry when she noticed the makeup on my face was gone.
"It's nothing. I'm going home now," I told her while struggling not to cry after hearing those triggering words, "What happened?"
"Why do you want to go home now?" She asked, a little surprised. "It's not even 8:00pm yet. It's just 7:30pm."
"The party will be over by 8, right? I'd rather leave early. I'll see you tomorrow," I simply said and left immediately, leaving her speechless.
*.*.*.
~ TILDA'S POV ~
Something wasn't right with Kiki and I could sense it.
She didn't seem like her usual self and I was worried.
"What might have happened?" I asked myself as I tried to follow her while trying to be careful with how I moved on my high heels.
Kiki wore heels too yet she walked so fast like it was simply part of her legs.
At the end of the day, I was too late and all my efforts of calling out to her turned futile.
What could have happened? I remember leaving her with Tobi so...
Tobi...
The possibility of what changed Kiki's mood slowly came to dawn on me.
Did Tobi tell her?
Without a second thought, I went in search of Tobi but couldn't find him.
"Where is your friend?" I demanded an answer from Eric as soon as I saw him.
"Which friend?" He asked, a little angry at the fact that I had interrupted his dinner date with Lola but, what did I care?
"Who else? Tobi," I was beginning to lose my patience. Perhaps I was becoming overdramatic. I was just so confused and scared as to what Kiki might have heard that made her so down.
"Tilda, please take it easy. Did anything happen?" Lola chipped in.
"I just want to see Tobi," I sighed.
"I don't know where he is. I saw him talking to those guys some minutes ago but I don't see him there anymore," Eric shrugged, referring to two girls who giggled to themselves beside a juice fountain that stood on a ceramic structure.
"Thanks," I clasped my hands. "And sorry."
"Accepted," Eric nodded and I went off to meet the girls he referred me to.
"Um excuse me. Hello," I greeted. They weren't from any of the SS3 classes if I remembered correctly but, they were probably in one of the SS classes.
"Hi," They chorused, staring at me as though I was some kind of pest.
"Have you two seen Tobi? I was told he was here some time back? Do you know where he might have gone?" I asked, pretending not to notice their unwelcoming attitude.
"He left. He said he got a call from someone and it seemed urgent," The one in red dress said.
"Yes," The other in pink, added.
"I see, thanks anyways," with that I left them.
The only thing I could do now was return to Kiki's house. I didn't trust that girl whenever she got sad - it was an emotion I barely noticed her experience.