Remember: xx means skip if you're not comfortable because we're once again alone in the boys room
🧍🏽‍♀️

Arthur Dike.

"All these bags and you're just going home." I muttered to Nonso.

I was 'helping' him pack his luggage, tomorrow we all were going back home.

Only for a week.

Stupid midterm break, why can't you just be two weeks at least?

"Guy shut up and pass me my senator suit. "Nonso snapped at me and I quirked a brow at him.

Lately, this fool was feeling too high for my liking. Acting like he controlled me.

Like.. Guy?

He still hadn't given me a reason for her attitude, though now I know she doesn't have a middle name.

To think of it, all he's told me since then was that flimsy fact!

"Nonso. How far have you progressed? " I asked passing him his expensive looking senator suit.

"Progressed to where? My academic is improving but still Physics is fucki-"

I slapped the back of his head.

"-Ogbeni (fool)talk. "

"Why don't you do the talking instead and not me? Why don't you tell everyone you still love Munachi and you've been deceiving every-" I didn't let him complete his sentence even though he was whispering.

But that didn't mean they wouldn't hear him.

God! What type of devil is this?

I tackled him down, Segun looked up from his contraband phone.

"Man! I'm so going to miss you! " I hugged Nonso and grinned cheekily at Segun.

His left brown shot up quickly.

"Yeah man! Me too! I promise to visit you daily, after all we do live in the same estate, moron! I just wonder how you go dey miss me(How'd you missing me?)" Nonso said hugging me back.

"Eew man. Get off me. " I pushed him off and jumped up as quickly as I could.

Segun looked away.

"Dude, be serious with me. You got your payment, you've been lavishly spending on Silvana, I've done my own part, do yours." I went back to helping him pack.

He stood awkwardly for two minutes then sat down beside me on the floor.

"I'm trying. She's not an open person, she thinks you don't like her and now anytime I bring you up she just gives a fake laugh and looks away. " I stared up at him, glad he was finally being honest with me.

"She's acting like she's glad you've moved on. I know she doesn't form hard to get. But I'm sure she's not over the fact that you've stopped chasing her, girls just naturally like being chased and she's acting like it doesn't affect her. You get? "Nonso said assisting me to help him pack his own luggage.

Normal people with normal sense had packed days ago.

"You go still help me pack sha(You'll still help me pack mine)" I muttered.

Well, yes I'm not among them.

"We're talking about Muna and you're talking about your sel-"

"-Why are we talking about Muna?" Kenelum instantly appeared.

"Guy, you're weird. " I scrunched my nose at him.

"I swear. You be girl(Are you a girl?)" Nonso asked angrily.

"Have you seen my cassava? " Kenelum rhetorically asked.

"That wan pass cassava(That's bigger than a cassava.)" Dominique said shoving Kenelum out of his way.

" Compared to your own? Guy, you be baba oh (Dude, you're a boss)" Kenelum said and then unfortunately a fucking chant began.

"Baba oh! Baba oh! " my six roommates yelled.

I walked out.

I lived with complete morons.

I hate them! Then I love them.

"Munachi's staying in Lagos. She'll tag along with Silvana to Fejiro's party and I swear I'll find out. " Nonso said behind me and I nodded.

"My packing won't take long, help me I'm just taking my school books. Why do you guys pack all your things anyways? We always padlock-"

Nonso interrupted me, "Don't change topic. You say you like her. But you don't want anyone to know.

I'm not so sure you really like her, one minute you act like you can't live without her or hearing her name. Then the next you're screwing one girl like that. " Nonso said rather loudly and I looked around, sighing when no one was in sight.

"Lower your voice. I do love her jus-"

"-Then why are you doing all these? "

"I don't know. I can't control these urges okay. The sex want. The urge and the need to just screw something!... This past month of her silence has taught me something though, I'm always going to remain the Arthur she met first. "

"Everyone knows she met Rooney first.. Right?" Nonso asked leaning on the wall opposite me.

Of course that's what he'll think.

"No, We'd met earlier before her dramatic public meeting with Rooney. In the auditorium... " Nonso nodded for me to continue.

"She was dancing. Stupidly at first. "I chuckled remembering the astonishing scene.

"Then an exercise tune or something came up. And... " I sighed.

"Wow. She blew my mind. She had talent seeping out of her and everything. But I'd refused to accept that she was special, I didn't want to know the reason behind her talent.. Didn't care to know her inspiration. " My heart pricked as I remembered the emotionless look she'd given.

"She was so broken. And I didn't care. I just labelled her crazy, I labeled her a lunatic. Like everyone had. I laughed at her.. And I.. Killed her bee. " I laughed.

"Her what? "

"Her bee. She showed a glint of emotion, hatred and anger... " I stopped.

"For killing a bee? " Nonso asked.

"Yes, after all. I'd just killed her only friend. " my voice cracking up was unmistakable.

I stared at him and his pupils were dilated in shock.

Throwing my eyes away I continued.

"So I'm always going to be this Arthur she first met. The guy she met who only considered what people would think of him. The guy who didn't throw caution to the wind when it came to her and got to know her instead of avoiding her. The guy who wasn't going to accept that a thin fragile broken girl.. Could break him. " I paused. Swallowing to choke back my tears.

"Dad had just been kidnapped and I needed to be strong for my mother. In a boarding school I know, but I still had to do it, I was the man of the house now. How could I be strong when a thirteen year old depressed girl was breaking me? Making me weak by just staring at her eyes.. Eyes that didn't even regard me. Eyes that didn't just care. Eyes that were blank yet could stare straight into my soul. I never liked the fact that she looked like she could read me... And I bored her.

By not accepting it. I thought I could just move on and act like she didn't matter and I told Rooney, I laughed at her stupid dance steps and threw shabby insults at her. I wanted him to judge her like everyone had.

He scowled at me while I talked, like I was some disease on his skin and I was. My shabby insults were dabbed at her personality and body. He didn't insult her like I wanted him to, just kept staring. Then he told me she was cute." I told Nonso, my lungs feeling heavy as I took in the clear night air.

"I didn't know all this. "

"No one does. It was just my secret, our secret. And like her eyes portrayed, doesn't matter to her, I'll never matter, I'll never be Rooney for her. And I don't blame her!

If I had become friends with her like Rooney had, if I'd offered to teach her to dance better, signed her up. Held her while the public judged, introduced her to people as... Mine. Brought her out of her shell-"

"-That shell was deep dude, he helped her over come depression. I don't know much about it but it kills. " I glared at Nonso like he'd slapped me with the hand of truth.

Because he had.

"That's the thing, I didn't do any of that, if I didn't care what people would think of me hanging out with... Numb. Maybe I would've been her redemption. Maybe I'd been the one she loves. "

Nonso stretched out his two hands, "Yeah it's your fault man. "

I glared at him again.

"That's the thing and I know it's my fault. Rooney stepped in and did my job for me. And I just had to become her friend since I now practically saw her regularly.

She was better now, the rumors about her died down about how she self harmed and what not, she turned out to be nice,then the stuff with my dad 9th grade second term, and I just shut everyone out and hated everyone. Then my addiction started-"

"-Guy, you're not addicted to sex." Nonso said clearly understanding what I hadn't said yet.

"Feels like it. Orgasms makes me... Calm. I don't even know how to fucking explain it, but fucking is bliss.

But then she and Rooney were my rock to fall back on. They were together and that angered and strengthened me, my mother was completely destroyed then and there was no way I was going to succumb to the power of love, but stupid Rooney just had to fuck things occasionally and then she fell on me for support and in that process.. I fell again, but i'd already been tossed in friend zone." Nonso made a sharp 'Ouu' sound before I continued.

"She still stared at me blankly sometimes, while we danced and the fact that I can't read her complicates things, fuels my reason not to want her. She still does it, stares blankly but now I don't think she knows that she's doing it." I was tired of talking. But now it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest.

Shrinks on TV were right?

Talking did help.

Nonso laughed.

I sent daggers with my eyes.

Did he find all I said amusing?

"Sorry! I just remembered something. Remember 9th grade second term, before exams, when we'd all gathered like good caring roomates to ask Rooney if he'd chop(eaten) anything Munachi gave him recently... Kenelum thought she was a possesed witch. " I laughed too as the memory came up.

I'd agree to partake in that mini ambush half heartily, cause I already knew she was no witch.

Even though her eyes always casted spells on me.

"Yeah, Kennelum's father told him how marine spirits possessed human girls to lure men to their beds and hell. "

"Kennelum dad's stupid I swear. " Nonso said and I couldn't agree more, a bright blue bulb flicked above him.

Casting a blue angelic look on his dreadlock fashion hair. He wasn't half as handsome as I was.

Ego calls

But he wasn't that bad.

Well, Silvana had good taste... In some weird ways.

"Kenelum is stupider for believing such. My dad never told me such and we're both from the same village." I said.

In one way the fool Kenelum could be seen as my brother.

Nigerian people and their culture and tradition.

Kenelum was the first student to find out about my dad's kidnap 9th grade first term.

And his murder in 9th grade, second term.

"The Igbo fool gotta believe what his daddy says. Well, we threw questions at him cause he was the most experienced one with older brothers and everything. He was meant to be the first one self who believed love didn't exist." Nonso said.

A strong gust of wind flew by us and I let my eyes go down to the court yard, so many clothes hanging on hangers.

So many people would get mad at the rain.

People like us.

Nonso slowly realized our clothes were down stairs hanging and we both ran down the stairs, while exclaiming loudly about the wet clothes we'd hung two hours ago and how the wind could blow away our clothes unto the sandy floor.

When we got downstairs Nonso continued his tale, "And he said, he's in love. "

"I told him 'love makes you weak' My mother was way past weak when she brought me to school 2nd term. Just three months before then, she was extremely happy and three months later she was destroyed, thanks to love. " I replied bitterly and Nonso patted my back with the hand he wasn't holding his clothes with.

"He said it was her eyes.. Her eyes held emotions and locked them away. I thought they've sold his senses away then. But now, you're saying the exact opposite: her eyes were blank...

I'm sorry about your dad again. "

"It's cool. Fuck I don't know why we're talking too much. Silvana has passed her trait to you through saliva or what? " I smirked at him and he unpegged his shirt and removed my duvet.

"Do you think Silvana is still a virgin? You know, with me as her boyfriend. " Nonso weirdly asked and I could see the discomfort in his face.

"Was she ever a virgin should be the ques-" I'd tried to tease but he punched me. A direct punch aimed straight to the gut.

"Bastard! " I muttered and tried to recover.

Nonso helped pick up my hanger and he turned to walk away, "Yes, she is. Silvana's not like that. Jasmine is the one I don't trust, she's too.... Reserved ish. She's like always on defense. Like, she's hiding something."

I didn't reply. I couldn't reply.

I mean, nigga just punched me for no apparent reason.

Minutes later I decided to finally respond. "Well no. I don't think she's still a virgin. You're baba blues (Porn master) na"

He tucked his free thumb into his fingers and licked his knuckles like some sorta warning way.

Oh!

" I just gave you an answer to the question you asked! " I yelled and scrambled away from him and up the stairs.

"You never still answer me. Forget long story(You haven't told me yet. Forget everything you just said), give me the deal short and fast. Do you still like Munachi. " Nonso grabbed my arm and I looked around.

And ducked into 9th graders bathroom.

"Yes I do. My random fucks are just what they are. Random. " I replied.

He didn't need to know my throbbing heart for her was beginning to pump slowly now.

"Would you had cheated if she'd dated you. Since they are just random. " I quirked my eyebrows at him, his question was way too weird and direct.

"Her questions not mine, you know? Normal mumblings she always says about you before changing topic. " he replied.

So she does care about me?

"Guy, me can't lie. I don't know. All the girls I've dated, even if it's for three days only. I've cheated and they usually just ended it with slaps. "

Nonso asked. "But Munachi is different right? "

I quirked two brows at him this time.

When did he become concerned and caring?

"I'm sorry! I'm just becoming more feminine and emotional! One week with Williams and Jasmine does shit to a man "

"You live with Williams-"

"-Same hostel, different dorms. It's different. They're just making me see things differently. Jasmine wants to turn me into a feminist oh"

I rolled my eyes.

"Guy, we never pack finish(We're still packing!)" I told him and he nodded.

"Guy, I know. " he walked out of the bathroom and I followed.

••

"... You know how many parties I don miss so?" I told Nonso as a reply to a question he'd asked seconds ago.

His other question was still repeating in my head.

"But Munachi is different right? "

Nonso laughed and pushed open the door.

"Guy, you're back! We helped you pack oh. " Kenneth said. He was standing beside my locker. Oddly.

"Yeah man. You're welcome! " Segun yelled to me as I walked closer to my locker,

Why were they all gathered round my locker, all of them can't possibly arrange just one box?

I wasn't even packing much,

Just books and my provision- My provisions!

I did a small run and stared straight at my provision box, one of my clothes box I'd converted to a provision saving box.

When I'd left it open to help Nonso, I had three huge cereal cartons and two unopened tins of powdered milk and powdered chocolate, four boxes of biscuits littered inside, sachet milk everywhere and a big plastic bowl of sugar with few bottled water.

Now, I was staring at 4 empty huge cereal bowls that looked like chocolate had parties in them. Remnants of soaked cereal laid in every plastic bowl, biscuit wrappers everywhere, my tins of milk was gone, chocolate powder gone, just four empty tins, white and brown powder decorated my luggage box, the sachet milks were all gone.

God, what kind of bastards are these?

"Yeah, we just helped you beautify some things. Hope you like the interior design baby! " Dominique said standing up from a bed to drop a wet kiss on my forehead.

Eew

"We also reduced your load, do you know how much they charge for extra heavy loads for a flight?" Kenneth said standing up too and giving me a wetter kiss on my forehead while I stood gaze transfixed on my luggage box.

How could 4 of them, finish all these in less than 20 minutes?!

How could they finish my things in less than 20 minutes?!

"Yes baby, we're helping you travel light. " Segun said and pecked me on my cheeks.

Shocked was an understatement of the year.

Nonso walked in front of me and picked up two empty tins.

He stared at it in shock.

He understands me

"Una wicked oh(You guys are wicked!)"

Ehen.. Go on.

"How una go share something forget say Nonso get mouth (How would y'all share things and forget about Nonso?) " Nonso looked sincerely hurt and I glared at him.

Guy, you're useless.

"Check under 'im bed. Sachet milk dey, we no finish the biscuit. Check 'im box. (Check under his bed. Sachet milk is available, we didn't finish the biscuit either, check his box.)" Segun said and Nonso dropped to the floor immediately, he rose with two sachet milk in his hands.

He made a move for the biscuits in there but my brain had finally reset.

I pulled my box closer to me with my leg, scooping down to take the few biscuits.

... Very few biscuits. I kept touching empty packaging.

Nonso joined me and I muttered.

"You dey craze(Are you crazy?)" Which he fired back with.

"You dey H(Are you hungry?)"

I stood up after grabbing two biscuits as my reply to him.

Nonso stood with five biscuits sandwiched between his arm and chest.

I picked up my box, walked over to Kenneth and threw it harshly on his body.

Disadvantages of down bunks.

"Tomorrow is midterm, one by one. I'll personally come to each of you guy's house just to chop.-"

Kenneth stood up with my box.

"-That wan concern you, I live in Kaduna. " he muttered.

" No P. Man, I'm traveling light. " I grinned and threw Nonso my middle finger.

I wasn't helping him anymore, he could pack his things him self now.

I liked Munachi, loved her but I couldn't keep up with this.

She clearly made it clear she doesn't want me around her, so now I was starting to believe things my female classmates had been telling me consistently.

Maybe I don't like her that much anymore? Maybe her act got to me and now my act was not an act anymore?

Girls!

I plopped on Kenneth's bed as he dusted my box.

And again Nonso's words repeated in my head.

"But Munachi is different right? "

She was, even though the thumping in my heart had reduced, it was still there.

But it didn't answer the obvious question, would I had cheated?

Maybe I wasn't cut out for this dating stuff, maybe Munachi had to decline so I could see that. I can't imagine hurting her by cheating... Making her cry... Would she even cry?

No! I've never seen her cry. But that'll be betraying and I can't imagine doing something bad to her, it would hurt me too.

And then again I can't imagine life without sex.

Maybe I was better off single, for both our sakes.

A/N

Do you agree with Arthur?