Oyinda Loves Books

​The sound of her phone ringing woke her up. She picked it up and said a very sleepy hello. 

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” the voice on the other end asked. 

She turned to check her bedside clock. “It’s three in the morning. What do you think?” she asked. 

He laughed. Even when she was just waking up from sleep, she was still as sassy and sarcastic as ever. “Don’t be mad.” he apologized. “I just want you to email me that essay I asked you to help with. You know I have to submit it first thing tomorrow morning.” he explained. 

“And why couldn’t you call since?” she asked, as she got up from bed to get her laptop. 

“I was busy”, he said, smiling to the girl getting dressed in front of him. 

“Alright.” she said, “give me five minutes. Bye.” She ended the call and dropped her phone on the bedside table, and muttered to herself, “I wonder why I go to these lengths for this boy.”

    ***

She had met him last  June, at the school cafeteria. The place was filled to the brim, and the only available seat was at her table. “Can I join you here?” he asked, holding a tray. 

“Sure.” she said, and continued her meal. He sat and set down his tray. She examined it, and blurted out, “You have no intention of eating healthy, I see.” He laughed. She was surprised; she’d expected a negative reaction, or no reaction at all. She smiled. 

“You have a beautiful smile.” he told her. Before she could say thank you, he added, “I’m Chike.” He began to eat his meal. She also introduced herself, and they started a conversation. They exchanged phone numbers before she left. 

***

He went to open the door for her, and she walked in and looked room she had become so familiar with. He’d been watching a movie on his laptop. She sat on the bed, and dropped her bag on the floor. He sat down and picked up his laptop. 

“What’s up?” he asked.  

“I need your help.” she said, reaching into her bag. She pulled out a notebook and opened to a page. “Here”, she handed the notebook over to him, “sebi you’re an engineering student. Help me go over this. Check if it’s technically  correct, and if I got the terms right.” 

He almost laughed. “I’m busy abeg.” he said.

“With your movie?” she asked.

“I was just using this to pass time. I’m going somewhere.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere important. School stuff.”

“So when will you help me? In fact, help me now. It won’t take long. Just glance through.”

“Stress.”

“Haba!”

“Abeg, MarMar. I need to go. Thank God you’re even here. Biko, help me with dinner. I might be late. I’ll check it when I get back, I promise.”

“Chike!”

“I’ll help you when I get back.” He took his wallet, and left the room.

***

She waited for him to call, for over a week they first met, but he never did. When she got nothing, she gave him a call. They talked for a while, she enjoyed the conversation, and she called him again and again. They spoke for weeks, like that. 

One day, during one of their conversations, she asked, “Why don’t we hang out sometime?” She crossed her fingers waiting for a reply. 

“Sure, if that’s what you want”, he said.

 She almost jumped for joy. They hung out a couple of times, and went to each other’s hostels. One day, she was in his room when he was complaining about a difficult assignment. “I can help you out”, she offered. And so it began. She started helping him out with his assignments, cooking his meals, cleaning his room, and sometimes with his laundry.

***

She was already asleep when he came back, with a female friend. He explained to his companion that the girl sleeping on his bed was just a friend, and he went to wake her up. She yawned and stretched as she came to. 

“Chike, you’re back what time is it?” she asked, as she rubbed her eyes. 

“Nine thirty”, Chike’s friend replied saucily. Martha stared at the girl, and she in turn stared back. 

“Oya come and go”, Chike said, picking up Martha’s bag. 

“But it’s late!” Martha exclaimed in protest.

 Chike pulled out a two-hundred naira note from his pocket. A condom fell out, but they ignored it. “Here!” he handed the note to her, “Take a direct bike to your place.” Martha was shocked. She left in anger, without collecting his money.

***

“Who was that girl, Chike?” Martha asked. Two days had passed since the incident, and he had not called or gone to see her, so she decided to pay him a visit. He was alone, so she saw the opportunity to have a long overdue talk with him. He gave her a strange look. 

“Did you sleep with her?” she asked. Before he could answer, she added, “You asked me to excuse the both of you, and I saw a condom, Chike.”

 He almost laughed. “What do you think happened?” he asked rhetorically.

She wanted to cry. “But… Chike… aren’t we a thing?”, she began.

Chike’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Isn’t there something between us? Chike, why are you doing this to me?” she asked, almost crying.

At this point, he couldn’t withhold his laughter anymore. He laughed so hard tears began to come out of his eyes.

 She was surprised. “Why are you laughing?” she asked.

“You na. You’re so funny.” he said.

“But, Chike, if there’s nothing between us, why do you have me do all this? The cooking… the… the laundry…” she was starting to cry.

“You offered, remember? I was on my own, and you offered to do everything and you did not want to stop. So, why stop you?”

Her eyes widened in horror. “You just… you just used me? All this time?”

“Abeg o. You offered you help, and I accepted. Do I owe you a relationship because you help me out with things?”, he asked, starimng at her teary eyes.

She could not contain her tears anymore. She began to cry ceaselessly. He looked at her with so much amazement. 

“You used me Chike, you used me”, she was wailing in between sobs. She stood up and picked her bag up. “My God will fight for me”, she said as she left the room. 

She never went back.