"It was finally time to be free!" Lisa thought, a smile spreading across her face as she lay on her bed that night. Not free to be wayward, she reminded herself with a frown, shaking her head. Just free. Free from this suffocating place, free from the constant beatings for every minor mistake, the scoldings, the judgments, and criticisms. The ill-treatment was bad enough, but what hurt the most was that she had worked tirelessly to please her foster parents, only to be met with no appreciation, no recognition, and no better treatment. It was a painful reminder that some people would never see the good in her, no matter how hard she tried.
As she lay there, lost in thought, Lisa's eyelids eventually grew heavy, and she dozed off. The next morning, she woke up early, feeling a mix of emotions. "Good morning, ma," she said, trying to sound cheerful as she packed her remaining luggage into the car. "Good morning, sir." Her foster parents barely acknowledged her greeting, and the drive to the park was quiet and tense.
As they arrived at the park, Lisa's excitement threatened to spill over, but she kept it in check. She didn't want to give her foster parents any reason to misinterpret her emotions. She was always walking on eggshells around them, never knowing what would trigger their anger. As they dropped her off and prepared to leave, Lisa put on a mask of sadness, pretending that she would miss them. But in her mind, she was already rejoicing. The angels were singing songs of praise, and she felt a sense of liberation wash over her.
Lisa was a beautiful and sweet girl who had just finished high school. She had been living with her foster parents since her parents' death, and every day had been a struggle to survive and hold on to hope. Despite the challenges she faced, Lisa was a brilliant student, always excelling in her exams, with only a few setbacks along the way. But she had persevered, determined to make a better life for herself and made a mark, she was known everywhere. Chosen to represent her school in competitions every time, they always emerged victorious. She thought highly of herself and saw herself as a good luck charm. Lisa was a lover girl, and this was a part of her she could never hide. She was the center of attraction for most of the boys, and she loved it. Towards the end of her high school career, she had a pretty hilariously messed-up dating life... a funny story, but one for another day.
Classes were beginning the next week, on Monday, and Lisa couldn't wait. Everything was going great so far. She had checked into her hostel on arrival, been assigned room two, and her roommates seemed very nice and friendly. "Now, where are the damn cute boys on campus?" she asked her friends, and they all laughed. They were all set to have the time of their lives, and they would.
"Hey girl, what's good?" a guy asked, and Lisa turned around to see who it was. There stood an average-height, light-skinned, fine-looking guy with the finest eyes and face she had ever seen, smiling at her. She immediately smiled back and responded, "Hey, I'm good, what's up?" He replied that he was good and asked if he could get her number and talk to her sometime. She hesitated for a while. Yes, she wanted to find real love and live in a fantasy, but she wasn't going to just throw herself at any guy and take chances. "I might as well try," she said to herself, laughing, and took his phone to put in her digits.
"Heyyy, Lisa," her roommate Ema said, walking up to her, both of them smiling sheepishly. "So, who was that?" Ema asked. "Who?" Lisa replied, laughing out loud. "Naaah, he was just a random guy asking for my number." "Hey ladies, what's up?" Ema's boyfriend, Kendrick, said, drawing closer to them. Ema had met him in class, where they got into an argument one day about the political construct of the state. They got so heated in the discussion that the class was over and everyone had left including Lisa who stood there for minutes but to no avail without them even noticing a bit. They turned stared back at each other surprised and couldn't help but laugh out so loudly.
That was how their love story started, and now it was all bliss with a little drama here and there, but she really admired them - they were so cute together. Lisa knew she would soon find her own "Prince Charming".
"None of your business, stalker! Mtchew, why don't you go back to where you're coming from?" Ema said angrily, grabbing Lisa's hand and dragging her behind. "Hey Ema, chill a little," Lisa said, laughing. They had run off and gone outside the building. Ema couldn't hold it in too, and she laughed. "I know you, bitch," Lisa said, spanking her ass while still laughing. "You just love the attention so much and will always mess with Kendrick any chance you get, right?"
"Of course!" Ema replied. "I mean, yeah, I like the attention, but I'm angry too. He's been upstairs chilling with his friends since and didn't even realize I've been calling his phone till now!" "He probably didn't hear it ring, you know the music's really loud in there," Lisa said. "Well, I know you two, and I don't want to be caught up in your drama. I mean, I know it's not serious, and you're dying to hold him right now. Spank his flat ass and kiss him right now, so go talk to your man, baby. I'm heading back to the dorm now, okay?"
Lisa said, laughing and walking away, leaving Ema there, smiling at her words. "I mean, yeah, I miss him. I can't do without him, and I also really want to hug him, kiss him, and jokingly bite his lips now, but I have to keep my dignity a little too, you know," Ema thought out loud, not realizing Kendrick was behind her all this while.
"Hey babe," Kendrick said, making Ema freeze. She was so shy and wanted the ground to just open up and swallow her that instant. She covered her face with her hands. She and Kendrick had been dating for a semester now, but she was still so shy of him. "Babe!" Ema turned, hitting his chest with her left hand, still covering her face. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to hear my sweet baby yammer about how annoying I am and how much she loves me and would love to take me to cloud nine right now," Kendrick said, smiling with a flirty smile, holding her by the waist and dragging her close to him. "You liar! You're joking! I see what you're doing, babe," Ema said, laughing.
"I'm not taking you to any cloud nine, zero it!" she said, laughing. "Baby, please, I'm so sorry, okay?" Kendrick said, leaning in to kiss her lips softly. She couldn't resist; she just couldn't. Kendrick was definitely the person her village people had sent to ruin her.
"The music was so loud in there, babe, I didn't hear my phone ring," Kendrick explained. "Uhmm, uhmm, Ken, stop it. That's not an excuse, you know right? What's more important to me is you thinking about me and calling to check in amidst all the fun you were having, but you didn't! You big head!" Ema said.
"Baby, I'm so sorry. The guys kept distracting me each time I wanted to call, and I knew you would snatch me away if I did call, so I kept postponing it till..." "Sshhh, keep quiet, Ken! I see you chose your friends over me. I'm going to my dorm, and don't you dare come looking for me!" she stormed off angrily.
Kendrick ran after her immediately and held her right arm, dragging her to him. "Baby, will you forgive me, please? I promise I will never let my guys manipulate me into staying again. Pinky swear, babe," he said, lifting up his right pinky finger and looking at her with those puppy eyes she couldn't resist.
"Pinky swear?" Ema said, looking at him with squinted eyes. "Be rest assured, if you let me down again, I'll beat the hell out of you." "How about you beat the hell out of me right now at my crib? You know that'll take me to cloud nine too," he said, smiling seductively.
"You naughty boy," she said, holding his hand, and they both walked home together. She was actually spending more time at her man's place, and why not? She loved him so much, and he did too. They never missed an opportunity to show each other how much they loved each other. They were totally vulnerable with each other. "Vulnerability" - now that's real love, baby!