IN THE DEN

 Episode 3

(Faction, all characters are fiction)

Throughout the long period of strike, I had engaged with most of my potential course mates. The first, as you know, was Mark. Edwin was also another of them. In fact before school resumed fully, I had not less than twenty people I was hoping to call friends however, Edwin was different, we were very close that I had to pin his chat while we were still on strike.

‘Guy, there will be no dulling when we resume oo’ he had said one time. ‘Seriously, and I just hope I will be able to read too because omo, I am finding it difficult to read lately’ I had told him.

‘That one is your business na, all I know is that I will drag you to wherever I will read whether you like it or not. We die in this.’ He said and we laughed it.

In the other hand, I never spared Bona and Andline. I don’t know why but I just hated those two from the first day they entered that our group chat. I never failed to banter whatever they said. In fact, it was bantering against them that gave me relevance in the group chat before resumption.

Edwin was planning to stay in the hostel when school resumed but, due to the increase in school fees, everything was delayed including hostel allocation. I had to accommodate him within that period as he had nowhere to stay and knew no one as well.

Ann, the girl I went with Mark to meet. I liked her. I had told Edwin about her too. So on the day I went to meet her to get to know her, I had gone with my friend who was staying with me. Two days later, when I was happy that Ann was reciprocating the interest I had for her, she stopped responding to my chats. I was a bit confused because I was wondering whether I had offended her unknowingly. I confided in Edwin and he advised me to give the girl chance. I did. I kept still watching, hoping that Ann would answer me both in calls and through chats.

As days grew to weeks, Edwin began to withdraw from my company. At first I thought it was just normal, not until he did the last that broke the ice. He came and packed out his property without my knowledge just because he had my spare key. It was when I came back in the evening and didn’t meet him that I called him to find out what was happening. 

‘Guy where you dey?’ I asked him when I called him that evening. ‘I don pack out oo, I dey with a friend like this. I want to sort some things out before I secure hostel’ he said with one hurried expression. I was speechless. Even if he wanted to leave, why won’t he tell me? It was later that I found out he left because he had been able to woo Ann into liking him. For him, he had snatched someone from me and therefore, was no longer safe with me. It was the first experience that taught me a lesson.

Kenewrites