Afoma decided to go for a walk after her class at the University of Lagos. It was so unlike her, and she was sure her friends would not believe it if she told them she felt like going for a walk. She was so excited to walk after the crazy test Professor Linus gave them. She was humming under her breath and perusing the road to avoid any accidents when a motorbike nearly hit her. She narrowly missed the collision but fell hard on her butt due to the speed she used to move.
"Ahhhh," She screams. She notices how a crowd is already gathering, and it makes her feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. The rider hurriedly drops his helmet and comes to her aid. Due to her embarrassment and pain, she doesn't look at him, but he says, "Hey. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't know you were there. Are you injured?" He starts checking her sides to be sure there are no injuries. She has a few scratches, but that is just it. When he finally tilts her head upward to look at him, she momentarily forgets that he nearly killed her. 'He's so handsome. So, guys like this exist,' She thought. He looks worried, and she realizes he's still waiting for a reply. She says, "I'm okay."
He sighs in relief, and says, "I'm so sorry. I'm Chukwunonso by the way, but you can call me Nonso." He lifts her, and the crowd disperse when they see nothing dramatic happened to her. He tilts his head, "Your name?"
She looks up, and says, "I am Afomachuwku, but you can call me Afoma." They both smile, and he says, "So, Afoma, where are you going to?"
She quirks her eyebrows, and asks, "Why do you ask?" He says, "So that I can drop you at your destination."
She folds her arms. "So, you want to use the same thing that you nearly killed me with, to take me to where I'm going? Plus, who is to say you are not a kidnapper who tried to pretend to kill me so that I would be vulnerable, and enter the bike. That's how people will start posting about a missing person." He smiles sheepishly, and says, "You can't deny you've never entered a bike before, and I'm not a kidnapper." She quirks her eyebrows, "So you are an organ harvester?" He face palms himself, and says, "Are you always this difficult? I am sure you have entered a bike before so, come on. Let me drop you."
She sighs, and says, "True, but what if this accident was a sign that I shouldn't enter one?" He face-palms himself, and says, "Just tell me where you're going."
Initially, she was going home, but she felt like there was no way this guy was going to drop her home without at least paying a little for nearly killing her, "I'm going to Mina Supermarket," she says. He gives her his helmet to use, and she holds his waist while grinning. When Nonso dropped her at the supermarket, the gentleman in him, followed her, and she picked a lot of things. When she brought out her card to pay, he gave her the stink eye and paid instead. Thank God.
When he drops Afoma at her apartment, she wishes the day never ended. They exchange numbers, and she thinks to herself, "Why hasn't someone hit me with his/her bike before?"
"I'll text you.," Nonso says. He then adds, "To check on you."
She grins and says, "Of course. Thank you for buying all these for me, and dropping me." He smiles a bit, "I mean, it's a little price to pay for nearly killing you." She laughs and says, "You're exaggerating. I barely have a scratch, but it is a little price to pay for my pride. I nearly wished for the ground to swallow me while when I fell." They both laugh and she waves at him, and he drives off.
After that, Nonso and Afoma kept on communicating. They flirted through texts and were planning on going out for a date. They both ended up meeting the next week for their first date. They were both having the time of their lives. She couldn't remember the last time a guy ever made her feel this giddy. Maybe it had something to do with his moustache and light brown eyes. There was never a day that passed, that Nonso and Afoma didn't talk. They both became obsessed and eventually started dating officially. They mainly talked about themselves. Through their conversations, She found out that Nonso is 24 years old and he works in a company. She then tells him that she is a final-year student, and also a freelance writer. I talk about how I'm a ghostwriter, content writer and fictional writer. He replies, "Wow! Aren't you a hard worker?" she blushes, "Well, we have to do something. Just in case our degree ends up being useless." "What are you studying?" he asks. "Law. I would've loved to study writing, but my parents will have my head. It's also a very risky course. I might not be a well-established writer so, I picked law which was my second favourite option. My parents were very relieved it was written because they both knew it'd be very hard for me. That's exactly why I started freelance writing. The amount of money I make in a month, I wonder which kind of 9-5 will pay me that in my first year," she tells him.
"Are you planning on going to law school?" she replies, "I'm chasing corporate law. I would've preferred criminal law, but at times, the justice system isn't fair. Plus I don't want to go to hell because of my career path."
He laughs, "Are you for real?" When he sees she is serious, he shakes his head in laughter. They both talk more about themselves and get to know each other. Every day, she is grateful she went for a walk because it was so unlike her, yet it happened. Meeting Nonso was the best day of her life.
Or so she thought.