Author's note

Owwkkaayy! Audrey Timms is back. Well, I hope it's for good this time around. I've been around the world (in my living room though ). I've read a lot of books and done short grammar courses, and I have come to a conclusion -- I'm more of a storyteller than a writer . After reading numerous books by wonderful authors and seeing their styles of writing, and the way they capture scenes with words too beautiful to even explain, I had to come to that conclusion. I know and have accepted that I'm not in the class of LarrySun (my role model), PrettySpicey (the description queen), repogirl (even my darling husband attested to this fact after reading Forever and For Always), moskeda (darling Sally -- the Fish Brain queen) e.t.c. YET but I hope to be someday and hopefully surpass them. This is neither humility nor modesty, I'm just trying to be real.



Anyway, I'm glad to be back and happy to say that I was able to write six books last year, four in my head and two on my iPad. This one- Letting Go and Waiting For The Bouquet on okadabooks- http://okadabooks.com/book/about/10290 (make una go buy am) 



I have Dyoungstar to thank for this title. After coming up with a couple of very silly titles, he came to my rescue. Thanks bro. 



I am first and foremost a Nigerian before a writer...oops! Sorry, a storyteller. A reader once wrote to me to tell me to use more of American language and slangs. While I agree the world is changing, but abegee! I no dey form wetin I no be. Give me a good story with Nigerian slangs anyday, anytime to remind me of who I am and why I love naija. *singing, 'Audrey really love naija.'* However, no speaking of pidgin English for me this time around. Someone told me that for a writer...storyteller, I speak too much of it. And no shorthand as well. Lastly, please I want straightforward and down to earth criticisms. I think 'You're the best' has lost taste. Let's be creative, biko.



Okay. I'm done with my ramblings. Let's get the show on the road. We know the rules of the game- slow and steady before we get to the suspense and tears. No fighting, no quarreling or amma through you out of the thread. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion though.



Warning-- I'm not going to be as consistent as i was in posting Unfulfilled Promises. The first reason is because I want to frustrate those thieving b.astards who engage in plagiarism (last pidgin English- Na God go punish all of una. The thunder wey go fire una dey take phd lessons from Sango). *takes a deep breath* Okay! Where were we? Yes. Secondly, I'm like crazy busy these days with family, work, church, friends, dogs, enemies, environment, gossip, climate change, market, clicking on meaningless posts, just staring at my mirror trying to remember what to do next, and so much more. Una get the gist abi? So I might have to post only on Wednesdays and weekends but let's see how it goes. Please bear with me.



Pack filled with pain, love, betrayal, secrets, scheming, paranormal activities with a dash of my second favorite foriegn language -- Italian, Letting Go will blow you away. So hold on to your seat belts and please try not to smash your device against the wall. Please remember I'm human, imperfect and liable to mistakes.



This is a story of Giovanni Ekwe and his father, Senator Ekwe. I'm already working on the sequel (in my head sha), Moving Forward. 



Enjoy! 



Audrey Timms



P.S. - Please like my Facebook page, Audreytimmslibrary at http://web.facebook.com/audreytimmss/



I dedicate this story to divepen1 for being hardworking and also a good friend to me. Thanks a billion.



Thanking you.

ISBN 978-1518781070

LETTING GO

Copyright © 2016 by Audrey Timms.

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author, Audrey Timms, audreytimms83@gmail.com, www.audreytimms.com

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the author in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.



Disclaimer
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.




Holding on is believing that there’s a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future.
—Daphne Rose Kingma


CHAPTER ONE


2009


NKIRU Chiwendu flipped the pages of her book in exasperation. She removed her glasses and squinted her eyes. She used her flowery handkerchief to wipe her eyes before placing the glasses on her beautiful eyes. Her book was shoved aside in frustration before she placed her head on the table and sighed. She was tired of reading yet she had about five more pages of her System Analysis and Design notebook to read.


They were going to have a test on it the following day and Nkiru wasn't looking forward to it. Not that she was a dullard or anything, in fact, she was among the best brains in the class; one of the class swots, but at that moment, she didn't feel like reading. Sheer will stopped her from reaching for her Judith McNaught novel inside her worn handbag. It wouldn't do her any good to lose herself in a novel when her brain was screaming for her to read for her test. 


Nkiru pouted and sighed again. That lecturer must have been given birth to on the day test was invented. The young lecturer gave tests at the drop of a hat. Nkiru wondered for what must be the one-millionth time what the numerous tests were for. They only needed thirty percent of continuous assessment but she could count six tests they'd done already. Miss Obiora definitely needed a man in her life to keep her busy instead of marking test scripts. She sighed again. She couldn't fault the lecturer though. Miss Obiora always went the extra mile for them. Undaunted by the number of students in her class, she always made sure she carried everyone along. It was one of the reasons why she was loved by students in the Computer Science Department. Some lecturers had tried emulating her but came up wanting.


Nkiru pondered. Would she like to be a lecturer in future? It was her greatest desire to further her education to the highest level possible but would her parents be able to afford it? Would she be able to get another scholarship for her masters and phd like the one she was presently enjoying? All these were probabilities. It had been a stroke of luck or favour from God, whatever, that had made her aware of the scholarship examination. Registration had just being an hour or so to closing when she had listened to two customers who came to buy some biscuits in her mother's shop in her village, Amiri in Oru East LGA in Imo state. Acting out of character, she'd asked them what they were talking about and had been informed about the bi-annual scholarship exams sponsored by the richest man in their local government and founder of 'Prestige' private university. She'd rushed like a bat out of hell to Owerri after borrowing money from her younger sister for transportation and registration. There was no way she would miss out on it, having lost her admission to study medicine at the University of Lagos due to lack of funds.


After registering, she'd burnt the proverbial midnight oil studying while her family had taken to praying for God's favour. They had no fear about Nkiru's ability to come out in flying colours because the girl was very brilliant, in fact, the most brilliant in the entire family of eight, a trait she'd inherited from her father. They were however scared that since they were poor and had no 'big man' sponsoring them, the Nigerian factor of 'long leg' would come into play. Luckily, Chief Ernest Ihenacho had the final say on who would be admitted into his prestigious school which occupied a large expanse of land in the outskirts of Owerri. Nkiru had come out first in the whole local government and being very impressed by her results after conducting a private exam with her and an interview, the chancellor had granted her full scholarship. All she paid for now were her meals in the various school canteens and restaurants and transport fares in the school's shuttles. Her family had danced themselves to stupor that day. She didn't get her first choice which was medicine because scholarships weren't given to study medical sciences in the school. So she'd taken her second choice- Computer Science and had never had cause to regret it.


The young lady came back to the present with a smile and looked around her at the other students who were reading also at the arc-shaped reading pavilion. She became envious of them when she noticed they were all reading intently. She however smiled when she noticed a guy playing invisible football with his head. His head would go backward, then forward again like a footballer trying to head a ball. The guy who was seated beside him looked as if he was playing a game on his phone due to his facial expression.


"Good. I'm not the only one tired of reading," Nkiru muttered. She moved her neck first to the right and then to the left before stretching her stiff body.


Rows and rows of wooden seats occupied the pavilion. Students loved coming to read there after lectures due to the breezy atmosphere of the place. There were about three of such pavilions stationed very close to the lecture halls. There were other reading halls but they were situated at the hostel areas. Nkiru favoured the pavillion because it enabled her study what she'd been taught that particular day before going back to the hostel, which was a den of distraction. She only visited the reading halls close to the hostels during weekends or if her lectures finished very early.


Nkiru looked around again and shook her head. "People sabi read sha," she muttered before she heard a bang beside her. The invisible-football guy had finally headed the ball. But unfortunately for him, it was actually the table in front of him he'd headed in real life. As about forty pairs of eyes stared at him, he wiped his mouth from the drool that had poured forth in his deep slumber, took his text book and rose. The poor guy practically ran out of the pavilion amidst giggles from some naughty girls. Nkiru rolled her eyes at them before staring at the rapidly departing figure of the guy. He was heading striaght for the buses designated for taking students to their hostels, probably to go and continue his sleep. He would probably make a good footballer. She chuckled.


She noticed her close friend and roommate, Hassana Ismaila walking gracefully towards the pavilion along with other students walking to and fro. Nkiru wasn't vain but she couldn't help marveling at the beauty Hassana was. Her roommate was slim, quite tall and a bit curvy for an Hausa girl. Her fair and creamy skin drew stares from some guys who passed her on the way to the pavillion. The red and blue leafy-patterned dress and red shawl with gold sprinkles wrapped around her head, covering her very long hair couldn't hide her fantastic figure. Long legs carried her with poise and her heart-shaped face lit with a smile when she sighted her friend. She was not the brightest spark on the block but a very likeable girl. 


Hassana made her way to her friend from the rows of benches at the pavillion, hitting and apologizing to students in her haste to get to her friend. Her beautiful and carefully made-up face the cynosure for all the male eyes she passed.


"He's coming!" Hassana's cheeks were flushed with excitement when she finally got to her friend and sat down beside her before placing her hand bag on the table. Her exotic Chanel No. 5 fragrance filled the air.


Nkiru stared at her askance. "Who is coming?"


"Gio!" Hassana whispered and looked in the direction of where she'd just come from; the lecture halls arena.


Nkiru rolled her eyes in disgust. She was sick and tired of the obsession Hassana had for Gio. Hassana was from a rich family in the northern part of the country but the fact that she was engaged to a member of a royal family--also from the north--didn't stop her from drooling over and chasing Gio. Her friend felt Gio was the next best thing since sliced bread.


Nkiru hissed. "Wetin una see for that Gio sef?"


Hassana stared at her as if she had committed a sacrilege. "What do we see in Gio? Kill yourself! Gio is the most handsome guy on earth ne," she said squarely in hero worship.


Nkiru hissed again. "Abegee!" She waved her hand in disgust.


Hassana's eyes narrowed. She stared at her bespectacled friend who had her gaze focused on her book. Hassana didn't want to believe Nkiru was feeling inferior, after all, she was really a Plain Jane-- for want of a better description of her friend and roommate. Nkiru really had nothing going for her except her unusual color of eyes for a Nigerian which was a mixture of green and yellow. She had a nice shape with nice legs but she wouldn't turn a guy's head. The Vaseline she rubbed on her body as body cream every morning wasn't doing anything for her chocolate-colored skin. To make matters worse, Nkiru lacked dress sense. The dress she had on presently was hideous. Hassana wouldn't be caught dead in such a horrible gown. The brown colour had definitely gone back to the factory from which it was made, leaving an indescribable colour behind. She didn't know whether to call it a frock or what. It hung loosely on her friend like a babanriga (cloth worn by Hausa men) on a skeleton. In the three years she had known her friend, she had never made her hair because she had naturally long hair. It was always tied in a bun at her nape. Nkiru would probably die if she ever wore high-heeled shoes. It was like Amadioha (Igbo deity) would strike her with leprosy if she ever used makeup. Plain Jane was even a compliment in trying to describe her friend. She really could understand why Nkiru wouldn't be moved by Gio, knowing fully that he wouldn't spare her a glance. An old lady feels uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb.


Hassana grimaced. "If only you would dress a bit more..."


Nkiru couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Please don't start. I'm not here for that. What will Ahmed, your fiancee, say if he finds out you've been running after a guy since Year Two?"


Hassana hissed. She wiggled her hands and the numerous colourful bangles she had on her wrist jiggled, thereby attracting the attention of those who were reading. "That's his business. He can't say anything. We were betrothed from childhood, so he knows I'll marry him no matter what. A little fling doesn't hurt. Besides, do I know what he's doing over there in India?"


Nkiru laughed again. She knew that was just talk. Hassana and Ahmed were head over heels in love with each other. Ever since in their teens when their parents introduced them to each other, they'd become the best of friends. They spent hours talking on the phone. Ahmed was studying medicine in India and would be through the following year. They were going to tie the knot when Hassana was through with her own university education which was roughly a year and a half away. Hassan, her twin brother was studying information technology in Japan. Hassana had maintained she didn't want to study abroad so a chaperone in the persons of her cousins, a male and female were sponsored by her family to keep an eye on her since her twin who was a no-nonsense guy couldn't keep a watch over her. They all knew Hassana could be very naughty and mischievous. When she was younger, she had to be flogged or scolded before going for Islamiyya (arabic lessons).The founder of the school and her father were very good friends, hence their decision to bring their daughter to a school so far away from home. So far Hassana had been doing well, except for her crush on Gio.


"Here he comes," Hassana cut into her friend's thoughts. "Oh, please do me a favour. Please help me check if he looks at me."


Nkiru rolled her eyes again in disgust. "I'll do no such thing."


Her friend was appalled. "Oh, please na. I'll buy you snickers later." 


Nkiru smiled. "How many bars?" She'd been caught. She was ready to be burned at the stakes just for a bar of snickers chocolate. Hassana paused. Nkiru smiled again. "The ball is in your court. How many?"


"Four...okay, as many as you want." Her beautiful friend rolled her eyes.


"Deal," Nkiru agreed, smiling.


She turned to look at the guy slowly walking towards them while Hassana grabbed the book Nkiru had been reading and pretended to read from it.


The arc-shaped pavilion was placed a little distance from their lecture halls so students who were going to their respective hostels after lectures usually passed in front of the pavilion. Nkiru was in the front row of seats so she could clearly see those who were walking by.


Reluctantly, she forced herself to stare at him. As he came closer with his hands in his Levi's denim pockets and his Calvin Klein backpack on his back, Nkiru had to admit that Giovanni Ekwe was indeed drop dead gorgeous. He was indisputably the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen in human form. He had to be at least six feet three. His superbly tailored Giorgio Armani shirt and denim outlined broad, muscular shoulders and long, lean legs. The fabric and the cut alone screamed expense. He had the lethal, inborn grace of a wild animal and the intimidating and instinctive authority of a man born to command. He was dark and handsome. His darkness shone. Nkiru couldn't help staring at him. Had Nigerian gods like Amadioha and Sango not been made to look very scary in movies, she would have called him a Nigerian god. He could be likened to a dark greek god, what with his biceps and all. A dark angel. Her lustrous hazel eyes followed Gio's every move.


No wonder girls were crazy about him. They stalked him like crazy, like how they were doing at present. Three girls were walking directly behind him. He passed by without even a glance at those reading at the pavilion. His dark eyes were staring straight ahead and the ear plugs in his ears showed he couldn't even hear what was going on around him. He behaved as if he was impervious to chaos.


"Why?" Hassana stared after him in disappointment. "After I dropped my bag in front of him and picked it, smiling at him, he walked by without even looking. And I made sure he knew I was coming this way. I bet those three witches stalking him made him not to look this way." Hassana pouted.


Nkiru went off into gales of laughter. ‘Sorry!’ she gasped when Hassana hit her with a feeble hand, bending over and hugging her aching ribs as amusement bubbled out of her convulsed throat. She didn't want to point out to her friend that she was practically stalking him too.


"He didn't look this way because he doesn't look anywhere when he's walking. He doesn't talk to girls except his sister and cousins. He rarely talks to guys sef. He's cold hearted and arrogant. That's why I wonder what you girls see in him." Nkiru hissed and took her book from Hassana's hands.


"Didn't you just see him? That hunk of a guy?" Hassana was scandalized at her friend's words.


"Granted he's handsome, but I'd rather be with a nice, warm and loving ugly guy than with that handsome statue. Besides, I'm really beginning to believe the word on the grapevine that he's gay."


"He's not!" Hassana denied vehemently. "It was that vengeful b*tch, Louisa, who started the rumor just because he turned her down."


"Na una sabi," Nkiru said and stretched delicately like a cat. "Me I don tire to read. Lemme hit the sack so that I'd be fully alert to read at night. Wake me up when you get to the room and meet me still asleep."


"Book worm," Hassana teased but Nkiru shrugged and lifted her worn out handbag. She was used to the name.


"You know I can't afford to slack in my studies. Unlike you rich kids, I'm here on scholarship. I have to maintain a minimum of 2.1 GP or get kicked out."


Hassana shook her head sadly at that.


"Aren't you going for your last lecture?" Nkiru asked over her shoulder when Hassana didn't make any move to rise.


"No, I want to wait. Who knows? Gio might come this way again."


Nkiru laughed. "No sha keep vigil for here o! See you later."


Hassana watched her friend walk away. The awful second-hand dress she had on however didn't hide her nice legs. Hassana had pleaded with her a number of times to take her shopping or give her some of her clothes and accessories but Nkiru always refused stubbornly. She was poor but she had her pride; she didn't want to be a charity case to anyone.


Hassana shrugged and stretched on the seat to see if she could see Gio coming back from a distance. She was indifferent to the fact that she was the only student there without a notebook or a textbook.

**********

The girl on the bed tried her best to hide the envy in her eyes as she stared at the girl standing before the rose tinted mirror. Jessica's jealous gaze roved all over her friend's body. She wished for the umpteenth time that she had her friend's hour-glass figure. Fiorella was out and out stunning. From the crown of her glorious head to the soles of her delicate feet, she was a picture of exquisite beauty. Her ebony skin shone at all times and she carried herself with the grace of a queen. Jessica eyed her friend's pale yellow Valentino lace crepe couture dress with black leggings and longed for it. She wouldn't look better than Fiorella in the dress but at least she'd be able to own another designer dress courtesy of her generous friend. Even the black silk jacket, white flared short skirt she had on had been given to her by Fiorella. It was a good thing they were about the same height even though she always had to give the clothes to a tailor to help her adjust them since she had nothing going for her in the hips and buttocks department, but she could boast of ample bosoms; the only thing she surpassed Fiorella with.

Fiorella, unaware of the musings of the girl seated on her roommate's bed, applied a dash of her gold Loreal lipstick on her lips as she gazed at her reflection on the mirror in her hostel room. She was the epitome of stylish elegance in her designer 'ensemble.

"Ella, please hurry up...I don't want us to be late for Professor Charles's class," Jessica grumbled from the bed.

Fiorella moved her gaze from the mirror to her friend. "Jessica, I've told you a number of times that I don't like that name. If you must shorten my name, please call me Fi or else I'll start calling you by your native name, Uzodinma." She smiled. Her dimples appeared.

"God forbid!" Disgust was written all over Jessica's face. "That local name! I wonder what my parents were thinking when they gave me such a name. A beautiful chick like me bearing such a name." She clicked her tongue in disgust.

Jessica was indeed beautiful but she couldn't hold a torch to Fiorella.

Fiorella only laughed and turned to gaze at her reflection on the mirror again.

"You can afford to laugh, after all, your parents gave you and your siblings beautiful Italian names. Giovanni, Fiorella and Gaetano." Jessica couldn't hide the envy in her voice.

Fiorella shrugged before walking to her wardrobe to stare at the numerous clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories there.

"My dad loves Italy with a passion. He was born and brought up there," she informed her friend.

Her black eyes still laced with envy, Jessica replied, "Little wonder he was once the youngest Nigerian ambassador to Italy."

Fiorella shrugged again as she kept skimming through clothes in her wardrobe. "I really am not feeling this dress."

Jessica had to hold herself from cussing her friend out, after all, it isn't right for one to call the forest that shelters you a jungle. That dress must have cost an arm and a leg. Jealousy and envy poured out from every pore in Jessica's body. An immense bitterness gripped her. The emotion was so intense, it literally shook her. How dare Fiorella say she wasn't feeling the dress which lovingly hugged her body and made her look like a model? Did she have any idea how she'd love to have such a dress? Gosh! These spoilt rich kids! Born with platinum spoons in their fragile mouths, they didn't know what struggling meant.

She had befriended Fiorella when she heard how generous was. She had initially ignored her all through their first year in the school out of jealousy and envy because Fiorella was so beautiful and likable but when she heard the darling girl was a cheerful giver, Jessica put aside her jealousy and made sure she drew close to her with different antics. She made people tell lies against Fiorella's best friend and caused a rift as wide as an earthquake between the two friends, which inevitably led to the demise of their friendship. With the coast clear, she devised a means of drawing close to the nice girl, put wool over her eyes and now, Fiorella couldn't do anything without her.

No one should ever know she was fronting. They all thought she was from a wealthy home, but no one knew they were living at the mercy of her dad's elder brother, the Chief Justice of the Federation. Her dad had been a successful businessman once, but had made bad investments which had brought down his business. Now, his elder brother paid all his bills, pending when his business would spring up again. Since they shared the same surname, Jessica was able to claim the Chief Justice was actually her father without fear of being discovered. She was under partial scholarship due to her uncle's influence but she did her best not to be discovered. Scholarship students were treated like outcasts; well, except the handsome and beautiful ones.

"Do you want it? It's my first time trying it on, so no one knows it's mine." Fiorella turned to look at her friend who was watching her steadily.

Jessica pasted a phony smile on her face. What a shi**y world! Now she was living on hand-me-downs. "Sure. Even if you've worn it for all and sundry to see a couple of times, I'd still accept it. We're best friends, so it's only natural and understandble for us to share things. Besides, it's a very lovely dress."

Fiorella smiled brightly. "We are about the same size though you're a bit taller, so it should fit nicely on you. My dad's assistant who shops for our clothes got it for me. Next time, I'll tell her to pick something more to your size and taste."

Jessica laughed heartily. "You're the best, Fi."

Fiorella beamed with delight. As she made to unzip the dress, she heard a knock on the door and a tall, dark-skinned girl came into the room with a small gift bag.

"Hi, Fiorella." She walked slowly into the room. She stood with uncertainty and stared at Fiorella where she was still standing by her wardrobe. 

The spacious room was designed in such a way that the two people sharing the room had their own space. To the left and right side of the room contained a student's bed, reading table and chair, book shelf and wardrobe with a door in between leading to the bathroom they shared and a plasma television on the wall at the far opposite of the bathroom door.

The girl ignored Jessica who was now lying on Fiorella's roommate's bed. Nobody really liked Jessica because she was more or less a b*tch.

"Hi. How may I help you?" Fiorella politely asked.

The girl hesitated. She spared Jessica--who had sat up by now--an uneasy glance before talking. "My name is Omoye. I'm a year one student of banking and finance. I...I..." she stammered to a halt.

Jessica and Fiorella shared a glance. Jessica's facial expression revealed that she was about to whoop with laughter but Fiorella felt pity for the girl. She already knew where she was heading.

"Okay." The troubled girl finally lifted her head. "I'm not going to beat around the bush anymore. Could you please help me give this to your brother, Giovanni?" She stretched forth the gift bag.

Jessica released a scornful laugh. Omoye saw red. The raw anger in her hard gaze did nothing for the girl who had fallen with mirth on the neatly made bed. 

"You're not ashamed of yourself. Did you come to school to buy gifts for guys? Instead of you to concernrate on your studies, you're chasing after a guy who doesn't even give a dam.n about you. I.diot!" Jessica slung at her with biting derision after containing her humour.

Aghast by the charge, Omoye turned and shot her an embittered look, a seething appraisal. "Hold it right there, a** wipe! Please mind your effin business...I wasn't talking to you."

Jessica jerked in anger. "What did you just call me, you shameless hussy?"

"News flash, b*tch, your mother is the shameless hussy. By what right do you dare to pass an opinion on my character?" Omoye replied her.

Jessica made to slap her but Fiorella moved quickly to hold her hand.

"Jessica, please leave her alone," she pleaded with her friend who glared at her, flung her hand from hers and sat down on the bed, fuming.

Fiorella turned to Omoye. "Please, I can't do what you want. Gio has threatened never speak to me if I dare do such again. Please take your gift back and give it to him yourself," she softly but firlmy told the girl.

The girl became downcast. She had actually heard that Fiorella wouldn't oblige her but she had come to try her luck where others had failed. Her respect for Fiorella grew.

"Thank you so much for your softly spoken words. I understand," she quietly said and made for the door. At the door, she turned back to look at her. 

"Please quit your friendship with this rabies-infested dog you call a friend. Rabid dogs bite and I don't want you bitten."

Jessica lunged to her feet but Omoye had already gone. Nevertheless, she opened the door and shouted after the rapidly walking girl.

"You are the rabid dog. Useless daughter of a road side slut!"

She banged the door shut and looked at her friend whose eyes reflected disappointment.

"Please don't start your lecture on etiquette. You know I have class but I won't take any form of insult lying down. I don't like people having not a spark of decency." She sat on the bed again, still fuming.

Fiorella shook her head. "You could see she was both embarrassed and hurt, and was looking for who to lash out on."

"That's her business. Nonsense!" Jessica hissed. "The most annoying thing is the guy these useless girls are always running after. Someone who behaves as if he's from the north pole. That cold, arrogant b.astard," she raged before she realised she had just insulted Fiorella's brother. She quickly looked at her friend, belatedly noticing the tears in her eyes. Slow tears brimmed up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Fiorella could cry at the drop of a hat.

Jessica speedily moved to hold her hand. 

"Fi, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. I was angry. I'm sorry." She didn't want her to know she was among those who had a crush on her brother and had also been rebuffed by him, hence her anger.

More tears rolled down her friend's eyes.

Jessica felt bad. Was this the end of her acquiring that beautiful Valentino dress? She and her big mouth! She should learn to put a sock in it. "Oh, my God, Fi. I'm sorry, so sorry!"

Her friend shook her head. "You don't understand. That's not why I'm crying. A lot of people have called him worse."

Jessica made her sit on her own bed across the room before offering her a handkerchief from her handbag to clean the tears pouring down her lovely face, ruining her perfect makeup.

Fi, in the midst of her tears wondered if she should share her family's secret with Jessica. They'd only become fast friends this semester but Jessica had proven herself to be a true friend. She always had a listening ear and would defend her if anyone tried to pick a fight with her. She'd come into her life at a time when she lost her best friend right from her secondary school days in Loyola Jesuit College due to petty jealousy. Darasimi had gone about spreading lies about her and when she'd confronted her, the medical student had denied it vehemently even in the face of witnesses. Too pissed for words, Fiorella had severed their relationship shortly before she met Jessica.

Jessica's antennae became alert as she scrutinized her friend's lovely features. Her face suddenly wreathed with rampant curiosity. Fiorella looked as if she wanted to say something but was unsure. Jessica knew she had to make Fiorella tell her what always made her hesitate whenever they talked about Gio. She knew Fiorella was hiding something. Was Gio really gay as rumored? What a waste of that fine human specimen if it was true. She decided to play on the younger girl's emotions. She could use the info to her greatest advantage.

"Fi, I know we haven't been friends for long which is entirely my fault. Throughout our first year here, I thought you were a snob because of your dad being a Senator and all that, but when people started telling me how nice you were, I decided to be your friend, which was the reason why I approached you. I know you have no reason whatsoever to trust me, but please I'd like you to. I've noticed how sad you get sometimes, especially about Gio. You can confide in me. You've become so dear to me. I'm not even as close to my younger sister as I am to you," she lied through her teeth. She was an only child but since her uncle had four kids, she had to claim they were her siblings.

Fiorella sniffed. "Thank you so much for saying that. You've become dear to me too. You're the sister I never had."

Jessica smiled. Good girl, she said inwardly, for falling into her trap.

"Talk to me then," she told her calmly and held her hand.

Fiorella took a deep breadth and began her sad story.

Gio didn't use to be the cold fish he was now. He used to be a very jovial person. He made everyone laugh and feel happy. He started changing when their mother died five years ago. Before her death, Gio and their mother had been very close. The other kids-- her, Giordano, Gaetano used to be jealous of their closeness then, but they were the ones who brought life, joy and laughter into the family. The house was usually dull when they weren't around. Whenever their dad came home, they would all converge in the living room, talking, laughing, watching movies and playing games. Dinner used to be a lively affair. One longed to go home whenever one was in school. But all that changed at the death of their mother. Gio withdrew into his shell. Only his twin, Dano, could get through to him. He...

"Wait a minute," Jessica interjected. Her lower lip had briefly parted company with the upper. "Gio is a twin?"

"Yes. Giordano, but we fondly called him Dano."

"Where is he?"

Tears shadowed Fiorella's lovely eyes again. "He's dead."

"What?" Jessica was shocked.

Fiorella continued her story with tears in her eyes.

Dano died in a car crash a year after their mum. Almost a year after their mum's demise, their dad pulled Dano and Gio out of their university in Italy. They had been in their first year then. Their dad wanted them close to home so he could monitor Gio who seemed to be having psychological problems then. Dano crashed his car into an electric pole when he was driving home one rainy night. Gio got worse. Their dad, not knowing what to do, got him admitted into a pyschiatric hospital in America. For a whole year, Gio wasn't himself. Different psychologists came to see him but Gio wouldn't even say a word to them. He became a ghost. Eventually he got better but he never remained the same again.

"I'm so sorry." Jessica hugged her friend who was weeping like a baby.

"I miss my brother so much." Her eyes swimmed with tears at that painful recollection "My house is like a graveyard. Gaetano doesn't come home for hols anymore. He's always visiting friends and relatives and we rarely see my dad these days. Home is so depressing."

"Have you tried talking to Gio?" Jessica suggested.

"A million times but he just smiles and say he'd snap out of it someday. I've tried my best but it isn't working. I just pray he meets a girl who'd change him."

"I'm sorry but that's so unlikely since he hates girls with a passion. Why is that?"

Fiorella shrugged. "I really don't know. He wasn't like that until Dano died. Girls used to flood our house in the good old days." She sniffed heavily. "People see me and envy me but they don't know how depressed I am."

"I understand, dear. People are really fooled by appearances," Jessica said sadly, referring to herself but sobered up quickly. "Have you tried talking to your dad? Maybe he could have a man-to-man talk with Gio."

Fiorella sighed sadly. "They don't see eye to eye at all. Even though they look alike, they are like oil and water. Something happened between them when Dano died. So many things happened at Dano's death. I guess that just changed him so much. It's even going to get worse when Gio turns twenty-five."

"Why?"

Fiorella worried her bottom lip and wondered if she was doing the right thing. Gio would kill her if he found out she divulged their family secret. But she trusted Jessica. She was a good friend. She took a deep breath.

"Because he won't need to depend on my dad for anything again. He's going to come into the inheritance my maternal grandfather left for him and Dano. I'm talking about millions."

"Really?" Jessica couldn't help smiling. Wow! So in a few years Gio was going to be a millionaire. Now he was even more appealling to her.

Fiorella continued, unaware of her friend's thoughts. "Yes, and I might never see him again after that."

Her friend came back from her scheming just in time to hear that. "Don't be so pessimistic. Like you said, maybe the right girl might come along soon to change him. Every cloud has a silver lining." And if she played her cards right, she'd be that girl.

Fiorella sighed. "I sure hope so. Thanks so much for lending me your ears, Jess."

Jessica put an arm around her and hugged her. "You're welcome, darling. And thanks for confiding in me. Your secret is safe with me."

Fiorella smiled. 

Jessica fixed her gaze on the teddy bear-shaped clock on the wall. "Can we still make lectures?"

"Sure. Let me freshen up and change my attire." Fiorella rose fluidly. 

"Okay," Jessica said and laid on the bed smiling as her friend went into the bathroom.

She was tickled pink. Gio was quite a catch; drop dead gorgeous and would be filthy rich four years from now. Indeed, a chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches, like her mother was fond of saying. She'd always known there was something special about Gio. She had to set her plans in motion.

She frowned heavily all of a sudden. She'd made advances but had been rebuffed mercilessly. Would she be able to turn things around? Anyway, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. She'd open her whole bag of tricks then.

Gio by hook or crook, you'll be mine, she affirmed inwardly with a bright smile to rival a new bride's.

**********

The tall, dark and handsome muscular guy opened his door slowly. He held his breath as the wooden door made a slight creak, disturbing the silence around the house. He paused in his movements and waited. When he was sure he didn't hear a sound, he glanced in the direction of the living room. It was empty. God was definitely on his side. 

Felix Eromosele, a third year student of Mass Communication from Delta State University beckoned to the nervous girl behind him to follow him. The scantily clad girl practically plastered herself on the hunk's back as they made their way across the large and tastefully furnished living room to the main door. 

Felix paused all of a sudden and made a sharp turn around. He nearly upset his companion's balance at his sudden movement. He placed his forefinger on the girl's lips and his ears turned up like that of a dog. He could have sworn he heard a door open. After few tense minutes, he didn't hear anything, he turned and they continued their noiseless journey to the front door. The young man had just placed a hand on the brass handle of the door when he heard his name. He froze. The young girl froze also. 

Felix counted to ten before he slowly made an arc movement, praying to God that he hadn't really heard anything, but standing in the hallway with arms akimbo was his stout mother, gazing sternly at his entertainment for last night. He swallowed thickly. 

The young girl started shivering like a leaf in the wind and made a mad dash behind Felix. She groped for the door handle but to her consternation, the door was locked when her hand located it. She threw an uneasy glance at the irate woman and saw that she was holding up a key with a wicked smile on her face. The woman left them there and went back into her room.

Felix sighed and bowed his head. Battle Number One Thousand and Thirty Four between mother and son was about to take place. His companion started crying and muttering that she wanted to go home immediately but he kept her quiet as he pondered his next move. He was beginning to get sick and tired of these battles with his mum. He cursed ASUU and the Federal Government for the strike action that had caused him to stay at home for two months now. 

He couldn't sample the girls in the village without the knowledge of his mother and nosy neighbours. What did they want from him? Couldn't they see his hormones were raging, coupled with the fact that girls threw themselves at him at every turn? Sheesh!

School was a different ball game however. He had girls going and coming from his room as if it was designated for Project Fame auditions. It wasn't his fault that God had blessed him with exceptionally good looks. It also wasn't his fault that girls chased him wherever he went. He knew it was pretty low of him bringing a girl into his father's house to ravish overnight but his plan of sampling the girl in his friend's house had been foiled at the return of the guy's parents and his high libido wouldn't take no for an answer. He had snuck the girl in when his mother had gone to church for evening mass.

The twenty-two-year-old guy made the girl sit on one of the sofas after telling her to shut up and pull herself together and made his way to his parent's room with slow steps. He knocked on the heavy wooden door and pushed down the door handle, sighing with relief as the door opened. He quickly entered and scanned the spacious room. His mother laid on her side on the king-sized bed, flipping through a magazine. His gaze held one of the portraits of the family of five on the wall. An identical replica graced the living room also. His two elder sisters were happily married with kids while he was the baby of the family, much to his chagrin since it meant all eyes were constantly on him.

He shrugged and moved further into the room. He sat at the foot of the bed and stared at his mother. The silence still dragged on like a hangman's rope threatening to snap tight at any moment.

"Mumcy, how far na? Good morning, Ma," he quietly said but silence greeted him. "Maale, I hail o! How was your night?"

Silence.

He cleared his throat. "The gown in that mag is fine sha. Maybe I should tell your tailor to sew the style for you. E go fit you die!"

Silence.

Undeterred, he continued, "Dad is a very lucky man o! This kain fine woman wey e marry so."

His mother pushed aside the magazine and faced him, trying her best not to smile. "Ehigianewo! Ehigianewo! Ehigianewo! How many times did I call you?"

"Err...I lost count," he replied her, feigning innocence. He didn't particularly like it when his mother called him by his native name. Who really said one couldn't quarrel with God? Contrary to the meaning of his native name, he'd been quarelling with God all his life for making him come as the last child in his family.

"You lost count. What am I going to do with you? What is wrong with you?" His mother was clearly exasperated.

Felix frowned. "Boredom. I'm tired of staying at home. I'm tired of the strike."

"You have no one to blame but yourself. Your dad and I put you in two different private universities but you made sure you were expelled from them."

Her son scoffed. "Mumcy, abeg. All those glorified secondary schools. I didn't do anything. It wasn't my fault that I was caught in a rape situation and it was turned into something else. Cut me some slack. Don't tar me with the same brush as those spoilt rich kids."

"Rape!" Mrs. Eromosele fumed and sat up. "You keep saying that. How could three girls have tried to rape you in both schools? There's no virgin in a maternity ward."

Felix laughed. "Mumcy, forget that thing. There are desperado girls out there. Like I told you, I was walking to my hostel one night after studying when some guys kidnapped me and took me to one of our lecture halls where the girls were already waiting for me in various states of UnCloth that would shock even an experienced prostitute. They wanted us to have an orgy but I refused, being a good Christian boy. I was...."

His mother just continued to stare at him in awe with an elevated brow as he continued his outrageous story. She had known he'd grow up to be a very handsome guy but not this handsome. She'd tried her best to train him to grow up in the way of the Lord like she had done with his sisters but Felix allowed his good looks get into his head. He couldn't say no to advances from girls and felt God had blessed him with his beauty in order to patronize girls. She had learned to take his words with a pinch of salt but she had to give him the benefit of the doubt sometimes, seeing how girls made utter fool of themselves around him, not withstanding her presence.

"That was how two security men came and accused us of having an orgy. They failed to see me struggling as the three girls tried to strip me," Felix concluded his hilarious tale with the air of a man expecting a round of applause for his thoughtfulness.

"What are you trying to prove to me with these lies? Felix, this your life style will get you into trouble one day. A restless feet may walk into a snake pit. I'm sick and tired of fighting with you. I'm getting tired of advising you. Do you want to contact STDs and AIDS or be a father in your youthful age? Condoms and contraceptives are not full proof against such things. Beware my son, beware. There are agents of Satan out there who are out for guys like you to ruin them. Destiny killers! Please, Felix, listen to your mother. Stop your womanizing. Stop it before it's too late. Please. He who has ears let him hear. What an adult sees sitting down, a child cannot see even if he climbs a mountain. A word is enough for the wise. I've said my piece." She put her hand underneath the pillow beside her and brought out the key.

Felix smiled and stretched forth his hand. Before she placed the key on it, she looked deeply into his eyes. "I don't want a repeat performance of last night. Don't ever in your life bring a slutty girl into this house again. Except you want your father to hear about it when he comes back from Abuja. When it becomes too much, Edo people no longer buy."

Felix had a brief moment of shame for his father. There was no way he was ever going to tell his sweet and gentle mother that his dad was like him too-- a player. He suspected she knew but the words would never come out from his lips. He nodded and she placed the key gently on his outstretched arm. 

"Mumcy, you're the best mother on earth. God specially made your womb for me. Blessed are you amongst women and blessed..."

"Get out of my room!" She shouted with a short laugh. "It's now you want to quote Hail Mary for me. Silly boy!" She'd have to dig in her heels to stop him from wrapping her around his little finger like he'd always done as a child.

Felix grinned, got up and moved to the door. He blew her a kiss when he opened the door which made her laugh. He shut the door and placed his body against it. That was close. It hadn't even been the battle he had expected. He sighed. In the past, they would have continued having a go at each other for hours. He was surprised that she hadn't come to bang on his room door repeatedly in anger when she discovered he had a girl with him like she did in the past. She hadn't even beaten the bejesus out of the girl like she'd done to the last girl she'd caught in his room. He knew why he'd gotten an easy victory. His poor mum was lonely. His dad had been in Abuja for a month now, supposedly seeing to the affairs of his business there but Felix knew better. He'd overheard his dad on a phone call to one of his girlfriends telling her where he'd pick her the following morning for their trip to Abuja.

He'd lost respect for his dad the day he'd gone to check out a sixteen-year-old girl in her house and met his father there, waiting for the girl as well. He'd left the place in anger after supressing the urge to pound his father's stomach with blows. His father on returning home had gone to plead with him in his room not to tell his mother. They talked man to man and his father promised to stop his womanizing ways. He'd thought his father actually stopped until driving by with friends, he'd seen him coming out of the same girl's house one evening. That was when the little percentage of respect he had for him totally evolved. He had made sure the man sighted him and since then, they'd become cat and dog. Felix spoke to him anyhow he liked and his father always fumed at his disrespectful attitude towards him. His mother had wondered and asked countless times what happened between them because though they hadn't had the best father-son relationship in the world, they used to be close pals. His father had had the guts to tell his wife that he was tired of their son's philandering, hence their incessant squabbles. It was the thought of how hurt his mother would be that had stopped Felix from spilling the beans that day. But seeing how lonely she was, while his dad was having the time of his life with a girl old enough to be his daughter, he just might let the cat out of the bag soon.

Felix got to the living room where the silly girl was still looking frightened. She folded her arms protectively around herself, still white as a sheet, still in shock. He would be glad to see the back of her, exprencienced in bedmatics though she was. He opened the door and she rushed out telling him she would never try such with him again and he'd never see her again. He laughed scornfully. It was a lie. She'd been after him for weeks now and had told him just that morning in his room that she was always available whenever he wanted her.

He put his hands on the railings on the balcony and watched as she swayed her hips to the gate. The gateman opened it after casting a disdainful look at her. Felix smiled. Old Baba Johnson was used to seeing such things. For his mother's sake, Felix knew he had to tone down on his exploits till the return of his father. He didn't want to upset her. He just hoped his healthy libido would listen to his reasoning. But after a luscious romp in bed with that girl, he knew he just had to quit for awhile. He continued saying that to himself until Baba Johnson opened the gate after a small knock and the beautiful girl he'd been chasing for months entered the compound. He smiled. Maybe just one more before he'd stick to his resolution. 

*To be continued*

After unfulfilled promise here is another masterpiece. Let's ride to the destination of d story.

IS AAAAAAAA LIEEEEEEEE! AUDREY IS BACK!

Good to have you back dear, I am surely following this story back to back.


Besides, you know you have your own irresistible style of writing which I also envy.

Welcome back!

Welcome back AudreyTimms. You were sorely missed while away. I'm glad you finally brought this lovely piece to NL though I've been reading it on coolval for a while now and I honestly wanted to comment and participate but the account I opened isn't valid. It's nice having you back and I for one personally miss you Auddy.

Space booked

gud 2 av yuu back Audrey.

@aprilwise, it feels good to be back.


@repogirl, yes o. It's good to be back. I'm still up for what we discussed. Just waiting for something.


@SexySapphire, thanks dear. I missed you too. Hope to have you very active here like you were in Unfulfilled promises.


@kingphilip, you're welcome. It will be worth your while.


@BlizzydoDo, it's good to be back. Thanks dear

CHAPTER TWO

Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.
—Hermann Hesse

Episode 4 of Letting Go

GIOVANNI Ekwe mused as he walked to his room from the lecture hall. 

"Gosh! I miss my car. While walking is good for the body, driving my car would have stopped me from seeing these shameless girls hanging around me," he muttered underneath his breath. "Had it not been for those drunken b*stards trying to enact a live scenario of 'Fast and Furious' in the campus, cars wouldn't have been banned and I would be cruising to my room right now." He fumed.

"Gio, what's up?" Two girls greeted him but he ignored them and walked on. They hissed and walked past him. Gio continued ignoring the girls who greeted him but responded to the guys.

It was quite a distance from the lecture halls to the boys' hostels but Gio wasn't deterred. He made the journey everyday since the time cars were banned and he'd had to return his twenty-first year birthday gift from his dad back home-- a Toyota Camry Hybrid. A student had seriously gotten hurt when a group of boys decided to race down the smooth road to their hostels. Coupled with other near misses, the school authority had put their feet down in a meeting and an unanimous vote of stopping the students from driving cars in the school had been taken. Alternatively, shuttles had been provided to transport the students around the school. Gio had grudgingly started using the shuttles until he noticed that silly girls always found a way to sit beside him and try to chat him up. He'd made the decision of walking the long distance to his hostel when two sickos who called themselves ladies had quarreled bitterly over who would sit beside him in the shuttle. Guys had been amused and some had even sang his praises but he'd been clearly disgusted. He had been glad to notice that some of the girls had been irritated at the show of shame by their sex. There was still hope for the female race.

He finally got to the block of buildings which housed the male students and walked to his own room on the second floor. There were about four more of such four-storeyed buildings for the male students. His roommate, Tosin Oladimeji, the son of a billionaire shipping magnate, smiled as he entered the room. Tosin, with ample flesh on his body but couldn't be called fat was all of six feet with a dark skin and striking features. Girls actually drooled when he smiled, revealing a beautiful set of teeth with a gap tooth. He walked with a limp due to an accident he had as a child but he had perfected the act of walking with it, that only very observant and meticulous people would notice it. Most people thought he was just one of those guys who walked with abnormal gaits all in the name of feeling funky. He was as noisy as Gio was quiet. Gio tolerated his loquacious ways while Tosin tolerated the former's mood swings. They didn't have the best relationship in the world but they were pretty good friends.

Gio dropped his backpack containing his laptop and books on his reading table beside the book shelf and went into the bathroom to pee without saying a word to his roommate. He walked back into the room after taking a leak and zipped up his Gucci trousers. He sauntered to the mini-refrigerator which was in every room in the hostels to get himself a drink. He walked back to his bed to sit after taking a gulp from the canned coke and cast dark eyes filled with fury on his closest friend.

Tosin smiled, aware of the cause of his friend's ire. The wrapped parcel he was holding in his hands, which he had just received on his roommate's behalf.

"This just came in for you," Tosin informed his friend, smiling. He lifted the parcel to his ear and shook it. "I wonder what it is this time around." 

Gio strode to his friend, grabbed the parcel and made a nice shot with it at their waste bin. The weight of the parcel was however too much for the waste bin so it toppled over.

"What did you do that for? It could be a mobile phone," Tosin joked.

Gio finished his drink and tossed the can at the toppled waste bin also but the can bounced off towards his wardrobe. He grimaced and went to right the bin. He removed the parcel and dropped the empty can in it.

With a stern look on his face, he said, "Tosin, I've told you countless times to stop collecting parcels from dumb girls on my behalf. You know I don't like such things. Now, what am I going to do with this?"

Tosin laughed heartily. "It wasn't my fault this time around. Chuks in Room 20 brought it. A gift from his cousin."

Gio groaned.

"Do you know his cousin?" Tosin asked.

"Nope. Don't care to know. Why can't they all leave me alone?" He was at his thether's end.

His roommate chuckled. "Ah...lemme see." Tosin pretended to think and rubbed his hand across his clean-shaven jaw. "You're the son of a senator, you're rich...not to mention drop dead gorgeous...an Italian citizen...yes, hot cake and hard to get also. Put all that together and what girl wouldn't lose her head over you?"

Gio threw up his hands in exasperation. "You're incorrigible."

He walked to the door and opened it. He thrust the parcel into the unsuspecting hands of the first guy who came along and told him to keep it. It was already a known fact in the male hostels that Gio received numerous gifts from girls and gave them out also. 

He breathed a sigh of relief and went to lie on his bed with his hands folded behind his head. He stared at the ceiling.

Tosin studied his friend intently and wondered for the umpteenth time what made him tick. Gio was naturally cold to people, with an exception of his family and friends; the few ones he had. They had been friends since their first year in the university owing to the fact that they had been placed in the same room and were coursemates. They were in their third year yet he still didn't understand his friend. He didn't even understand the pull he had with girls because left for him, had he been a girl, he would have avoided Gio like a plague yet girls still chased him. It was amazing! He couldn't complain about that though because he had a number of girls who had drawn close to him in an effort to get him to talk to Gio on their behalf and they were willing to do anything, anything just to get him. 

It was unfortunate the school authorities didn't allow males to visit the girls in their hostels and vice versa, else he would have been a regular visitor there. Even leaving the school wasn't allowed without informing the school authorities. And permission to leave the school was only granted on emergencies. It however had not been like that at the inception of the school. Students usually did what made the school authorites ban things or cage them. At first, one was free to come and go as he or she pleased but students took advantage of that by going to Owerri to hold wild parties and get into trouble with the law. The school authorities had to be called a number of times to bail their students from police stations. As if that wasn't bad enough, students started getting missing. After a parent sued the school for millions of naira for his missing daughter, the school put its foot down and locked the students in. Now leaving the school was at the consent of both the school authorities and the parents. Even visiting of opposite-sex hostels had been banned because of rape incidents and orgies. The raging hormones of the youths were usually hard to contain. The school however provided every luxury or attraction that was outside the school for the students in the wide expanse of land. They had cinemas, restaurants, gyms, sports centres, picnic fields, to name a few, just to stop the students from longing for pleasures of the outside world. They were allowed birthday parties and the likes and at the end of every session, they held concerts where famous artists were invited to entertain them. But students being students; they still complained bitterly about their lack of freedom of movement. However, they found a way to let off steam when they wanted to. There were a lot of hidden places in the school. 

Tosin smiled as he remembered the rendezvous he had planned that night with a first year student. They were the most desperate and he capitalized on it.

His musings came to a stop when he heard Gio murmuring. He gazed at his friend intently. Gio was fond of talking to himself. When he had first noticed it, it had been pretty scary and had thought Gio had gone off his rocker but he eventually got used to it. Whenever he asked him why he always talked to himself, his roommate always denied it. He never had the nerve to press on because Gio could shut down on anyone in a matter of seconds or cut someone dead with a single word. Tosin felt he had to take the risk though and if Gio turned cold, he would go to their neighbour's room until the latter cooled down or better put, warmed up.

"Gio," he began after clearing his throat.

Only Gio's eyes moved to look at him.

"I've asked you this question a number of times but always receive unsatisfactory answers. This time around, I want the truth. Why...why do you talk to yourself?"

Gio looked at him as if he was going bananas, then he smiled.

"I don't talk to myself," came the noiseless reply.

"You do! I noticed it since our first year here." Tosin insisted.

Gio smiled charmingly. "Tosin, I don't talk to myself."

"Really? But you were doing exactly that a minute ago," Tosin pressed.

Gio sighed conceedingly and sat up on the bed to study his friend coolly.

Wasn't it high time he told his friend the truth? Gio asked himself. Would Tosin understand? Wouldn't he brand him insane? Was he mature enough to handle the truth? In for a penny, in for a pound.

"I don't talk to myself. I talk to Giordano."

Tosin froze.

"But...but...Dano is dead."

Gio nodded slowly. He knew Tosin wouldn't understand. He wouldn't understand the fact that he saw, spoke to and listened to his twin's ghost. How would he explain to his friend that Dano wasn't dead to him because he'd been communicating with him even before he was laid to rest? And while the doctors thought he had a case of Schizophrenia, he was really talking to his dead brother and had done so for the past four years.

His countenance changed. He was saddened by the fact that after three years of friendship with his roommate, he couldn't share his darkest secret with him. The last time he had shared his secret with anyone, he'd found himself locked up in a pychiatric hospital for a year.

Gio lifted a shoulder. "At the risk of sounding like a nut case, I talk to him as if he were alive. It's the only thing that keeps me sane in this crazy world."

Tosin breathed out in relief. He didn't want to be the one to call Gio's father to inform him his son had serious psychological issues.

Gio stared at his friend. He was glad he had chosen his words carefully. Tosin would really have freaked out had he told him the truth.

"You scared me for a minute there." Tosin laughed with unease. "I thought you meant you actually communicate with Dano. Thank God you only conjure him in your mind and talk to him...but is that healthy? Isn't that like living in an imaginary world? How do you differentiate between imagination and reality?"

Gio laid on the bed again. 

"I only talk to him when I'm alone. Sometimes I want to talk to him in public but the fear of being tagged crazy stops us...I mean me. Though I'm beginning to think it might be a good idea, to get those girls off my back. Loony boy equals runaway girls." He chuckled.

Tosin laughed. "Please don't do that. I wouldn't want to have to request to be moved to another room. We have been living amicably since we came to this school."

"Yep, and you've enjoyed a fair share of girls trying to get me," Gio said, tongue in cheek.

Tosin grinned and shrugged nonchalantly. "You can't blame me for that though."

Gio stared at the ceiling.

Tosin cleared his throat. "I've been thinking. Why don't you just accept one of those bimbos as your girlfriend? The rest will definitely back off."

His roommate dealt him an incredulous glance. "Are you for serious?" Tosin shrugged with a silly look on his face. Gio frowned. "I'm not interested in a relationship right now. Besides, they'd only look for ways to split us. I don't have the time nor patience for that kinda drama, cat fights and all that shi*t."

"Suit yourself but I think--" Tosin was cut off as they heard a commotion outside. 

Tosin sprang up, rushed to the door and went out while Gio took his IPhone 3GS to play a game. Tosin came back awhile later shaking his head and laughing like a guy who'd just been entertained by Basketmouth.

"These snooty rich kids are pretty hilarious." He sat down heavily on the bed and his six-foot frame shook with mirth. He knew not to waste his time waiting for Gio to ask him what the commotion was all about because the latter wasn't a tad interested in gossip. So he volunteered the info willingly.

"It was that same Chuks who brought that gift and his roommate fighting. You can't begin to fathom what caused the fight. They were discussing the latest Forbes list of richest men in the world when they started arguing. The argument later changed to their fathers; who is richer? That was what caused the fight. They have both been taken to the clinic 'cause blood flowed. Fortunately, no one called security. They would have been in deep sh*t by now."

Gio scoffed. "Fools! Arguing about their dad's wealth. Pitiful! That's the height of stupidity. If their dads were to go bankrupt now, what next? That's one of the reasons I hate this school. It's a total waste of time for some people here. They are just here to get a degree; then they'd go back home to sit on their a**es all day to wait for their fathers' death to inherit millions. They do not teach us to be self-made millionaires!"

Tosin was astounded at his friend's outburst. Gio usually took the silent way out, often shrugging annoyingly. He had expected such a usual reply not an outburst.

"Wow!" Tosin said. "I hope you haven't categorized me among those people."

Gio moved his eyes from the game and surveyed his friend steadily. You must judge a man by the work of his hands.

"Aren't you planning on joining your dad's shipping company after your youth service?"

Tosin became defensive. 

"Yes! What's wrong with that?" He intoned coldly.

Gio shrugged. "Nothing. As far as you don't change your mind and sit all day at home waiting for his death and will. But tell me something though," Gio sat up. "Why are you here studying mathematics?"

"Beacuse I love mathematics. It's my passion," Tosin slammed back at him with angry emphasis.

Gio's shoulders rose and fell in a nonchalant shrug. "OK. So what has mathematics got to do with your father's company?"

Tosin was disconcerted for a minute. "I plan on being his Company Accountant."

"You should have gone into applied mathematics like me or accountancy."

"You're just saying this because your dad is a senator not a buisnessman," Tosin countered impatiently.

Gio's gorgeous mouth quirked. "Had my dad been Bill Gates, I would still strive to make a name for myself; be greater than my father. I intend letting my freak flag fly instead of sailing through life."

Tosin nodded in understanding. "I can take my dad's company to heights it has never been with new innovations and stuff."

"Now, that's the spirit! Good for you! We really should stop waiting for what our parents or country can do for us and start using the brain God gave us," Gio commented with growling satisfaction.

"Yeah, rightly said from someone born rich," Tosin sarcastically replied.

"I mean business. My heart's cry is I wish I'd been born poor."

Tosin's eyebrows rose in disbelief.

"Yes," Gio stabbed a finger at his close-cropped hair, "then my brain usage wouldn't be limited and my focus wouldn't be on my father's wealth. I would be striving for ways to make money, be very creative--which I'm doing--and girls wouldn't be chasing me left, right, and centre."

"I'm really beginning to think you're crazy. Not to have the luxuries and pleasures of life? To have to think of where your next meal would come from and all that. I did a charity project with a group in church and the poverty I saw made me thank God he gave me a wealthy father." He cringed at the memory.

Tosin's comment aroused laughter in his roommate.

"And you like the fact that your life is no longer private? That every slight mistake you make is made known to the public by desperate reporters? And that you are ensconced in this private university instead of a federal or state university where you experience real life?"

Tosin moved a shoulder nonchalantly. "I know my life isn't perfect but I'm grateful I don't have to go without."

"It sucks being rich," Gio murmured quietly.

There was silence between them until a rapid set of knocks sounded on their door. The guy to whom Gio had given the parcel burst into the room.

His face was flushed with excitement. "This is HTC Hero!" 

Gio looked at him with disinterest. Tosin smiled.

"Are you sure you don't want it?" The guy asked.

Gio shook his head slowly.

He grinned. "Men! Thanks a lot. I've been planning on how to get the phone. My dad cut my allowance because I had some academic issues so it was almost next to impossible getting it. Do you know this phone's camera is five megapixels?" he excitedly told them.

"Yes," Tosin answered.

"You're the man.....emmm, incase more gifts come that you don't want, I'm in Room 44." He made to leave but came back. "I almost forgot. Here's the romantic card that came with it. Her phone number and pictures are inside it."

"Please keep them but please let her know you got the gift and appreciate it. Thanks."

"Will do. See you guys later."

Tosin and Gio burst into laughter when the door closed quietly behind the guy filled with euphoria.

*To be continued*

Episode 5

"So we'll stop here tonight. We'll continue next tomorrow," Nkiru told her course mates.

"Thank God! I was already tired." Brenda stood up and stretched like a cat while the others gathered their books and left. Brenda gave Nkiru her tutorial fee for the month and left.

Nkiru counted the money and smiled. She raised it up to heaven and thanked God. 

She had just had private lectures with her fellow course mates whom she taught three times a week after dinner. Since God had blessed her with a brain which assimilated things quickly and easily, she used it to her advantage. Some of these rich kids were pretty dumb and needed extra help with their courses despite their proficient lecturers. When Brenda had first approached her, it had been free of charge but Brenda had told her friends about how good she was at teaching and eventually encouraged her to collect fees. The money she made from her tutorials enabled her to manage without calling home for money.

She put away her glasses and books, and arranged her clothes and things for lectures the next day. The young lady loved getting her ducks in a row. She wondered where Hassana was when she was through. Hassana didn't value education one bit. She was in school just because her father wanted his daughters to be graduates before giving them out in marriage.

Nkechi wondered for the umpteenth time how she would feel in Hassana's shoes already knowing to whom she'd be married to at the young age of fifteen. She didn't have a boyfriend, though it wasn't from lack of proposals; it was just that she wanted to concentrate on her studies knowing she was on scholarship which could be withdrawn anytime if her grades dropped. She didn't want that sort of distraction despite the fact that she liked a guy in her department who had been trying to get her to date him. Nkiru had been surprised at his proposal at first, believing he was only trying to prank her because some rich kids could be pretty mean and mischeivous at times, but with time she realized he was serious. Nimyel wasn't adverse to her way of dressing. He liked brilliant girls. She'd firmly told him she wasn't interested so they'd remained friends.

She unplugged her mobile phone from it's charger and checked to see if she had enough airtime to call her mother. It was sufficient so she made the call.

"Hello Mummy, ndewo (good evening)," she greeted, smiling.

"Oga diri gi nwa mu. Onyekusi (student), kedu ka odi? (How are you?)"

"Odi mma (I'm fine), Mummy. How's everything?"

"Fine, my dear. We thank God."

"What of Daddy?"

"He's fine. He's sleeping."

"Sleeping? At this time of the day?" She was surprised because her dad wasn't an early bird.

"He's tired. He harvested yams from his farm today with his workers and they had to take them to the market."

"OK. I hope it was a bountiful harvest?"

"It was. We thank God. We have enough yams to last us for a whole month."

"What of your shop? I hope sales are good."

Her mother sighed. "Hmm...my dear, everything is in the hands of God. Some days are good while others poor."

"It is well, Mummy. How are the others?"

"They are all fine. Nkechi is doing well with her saloon. Nwadiuto and Nwaibiakpo are still at home because of the strike but they help your dad in the farm. Njideka has gone into tailoring pending when her results will come out. She's learning under Mama Emeka."

"OK. It's better than staying at home. What of Nnamdi? Have you heard from him lately?"

"Yes. He sent us some money last week. His shop in Aba is doing pretty well."

"We thank God. I'll try to call him tomorrow." She smiled happily because her elder brother had gone through hell before things stabilized for him.

"Please do that. How is everything there? Hope they're treating you well there and I hope you're coping with your studies."

"Everything is fine, Mummy."

"I don't have to remind you why you're there, my child. How I wish your twin brothers had your kind of brain, they would have been there with you on scholarship now, not at home with us but we thank God for everything. Focus on your studies and make us proud."

"I will, Mummy. Thanks Ma."

"Remember, he who thinks he is leading and has no one following him is only taking a walk. Your younger ones are looking up to you. I'll call you next week to check on you. Greet your friend, Hassana for me."

"I'll do that. Good night, Mummy."

"Ka chi fo, my dear. Sleep well. God bless you."

Nkiru ended the call and sat down. She missed home. She missed her family. As she began to reminisce, tears came to her eyes.

Her father had been rich at a point in time. Things had been going well for them. Her mother had owned a big supermarket and her dad had owned three shops in Alaba international market in Lagos where he sold electronics. She and her five siblings had never lacked anything. They had attended the best schools and had the best things in life until their world came crashing down. Her mum's supermarket stopped making much money due to a newly-opened, bigger and better supermarket two blocks away. Later on, half of her mum's goods got stolen. One of her dad's shop caught fire mysteriously, the second was vandalized and the goods carted away. They tried surviving on that one remaining shop but things became difficult for them. She and her elder brother, Nnamdi had to stop schooling then because her dad couldn't pay their expensive school fees anymore. Nnamdi opted to go and learn a trade under a kind relative while she was determined to finish secondary school education. She would collect notes from their neighbor's children to copy and read. Paying for her JAMB, WAEC and NECO registration had been a tug of war. She had resulted to hawking with her immediate younger sister, Nkechi while her twin brothers and youngest sister helped their mother in her supermarket since she had to let go her sales girls because she couldn't pay them their salaries anymore. 

After her exams, they had relocated to their village, Ugbeke in Amiri of Oru East LGA in Imo state after their landlord had thrown their belongings out of their house and her parents had sold off the remaining things in their shops. Her dad had gone into farming on the land his father had left him while her mum had opened a small provision shop in front of their house. 

She remembered the ridicule they had experienced in the hands of the villagers and shook her head. People they had helped whenever they visited the village had turn their backs on them and only a few had sympathized with them and helped them. Her getting the scholarship had been like a mountain lifted off her dad's shoulders because he'd been trying to decide whether to use the last of his savings to further her education since he shared her passion with education or adding it to the money Nnamdi's master wanted to give him to set up his own shop in Aba. Unfortunately, her twin brothers hadn't passed the scholarship exams but had both gained admission into Oko Polytechnic in Anambra State. Nkechi, her immediate younger sister had opted to help a neighbor with her saloon before opening her own. She wasn't formal education-minded like her elder brother.

"Nk, what's wrong? Mene?" Her roommate with a stunned expression on her face asked by the door.

Nkiru was jolted out of her reverie as Hassana came to sit beside her on the bed.

"Why are you crying?" Hassana was clearly worried.

Nkiru wiped her tears with her hands.

"Nothing jare. I was just reminiscing." She sniffed.

"Reminiscing what?" Her friend's interest was piqued.

Nkiru smiled a little. "The good old days."

"Haba! I've told you things will get better. Inshallah!" Hassana put her arm around her friend.

"I know." Nkiru sniffed again. "Where have you been?"

Hassana got up and smiled. She removed her black hijab to reveal her dark and silky cornrows and threw it on her bed. Her blue denim trousers and sky blue blouse screamed of exotic taste.

"I got to find out where Gio reads at night. I sat close to him and drew him." She smiled with pleasure, and walked to the door where she had dropped her hand bag and removed a sketch pad from inside it. She flipped the pages and showed her roommate her latest addition.

Nkiru smiled in admiration. Indeed, he who does not know one thing knows another. Hassana was a gifted artist. She felt Hassana was wasting her talent studying only Linguistics when she could have minored in Fine Art. 

Nkiru marveled at the sketch of the handsome guy who had his head hung, his eyes in deep concentration on whatever he was solving with a pen in his strong hand. "Wow! You've even made him more handsome." Her friend had drawn her crush with a fine-tooth comb.

"Aha! You've finally admitted that he's handsome!" Hassana said with glee. She was chuffed to bits.

Nkiru shrugged. "I've never denied his handsomeness, just that I've never seen it as a criteria to chase him. I'm all up for what a guy has upstairs than his physique."

"He's also very brilliant. FYI, he's heading his class in terms of grades," her roommate put in as a matter of fact.

"I'm happy for him," Nkiru sarcastically told her friend and yawned. "I don tire. Make I sleep. I have an 8am lecture tomorrow."

"You're such a bookworm!" Her roommate hissed and took the sketch pad from her. She put on the television. "Let me see what's up with Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

"I'm going to take my bath," Nkiru informed her friend who was already seated in front of the television viewing the E! channel on DSTV.

Nkiru never failed to marvel at the luxuries she enjoyed in school which were lacking in her home. She had a bed to herself, a wardrobe, a book shelf and a reading table and chair, not to talk of a spacious room and a standard bathroom she shared with only her roommate. They even had a plasma television in the room connected to DSTV, though it was controlled. It was put off from the central point from 8am to 2pm in order for students to attend lectures and not laze about in the comfort of their rooms watching TV all day. It was no wonder their fees were very expensive and the scholarship given biannually. She had had to save to get a cheap laptop unlike the others who had been given one upon paying their school fees. That and the fact that she bought the least expensive food in the school's restaurants--since they weren't allowed to cook--and her cheap clothes made it obvious she was a scholarship student not to talk of her tutorials. 

She didn't mind one bit that some of the rich girls mocked her. She was grateful to God for the ones who didn't and made her their friends especially her roommate, Hassana. Hassana was generous to a fault. She would always insist on paying for her food but after a while, Nkiru began dodging her whenever she wanted to go and eat. She didn't want to be a charity case forever. Hassana however bought her goodies from the school's departmental store.

She finished her bath and entered the room. She went to the wardrobe to bring out a night gown. She had no idea Hassana was staring at her with pity.

The Hausa girl longed to buy stuff for Nkiru but her roommate always refused. The towel tied around her chest was yellow with age. She'd rejected the bright pink one she'd gotten her on resumption that term. The night gown was something else. Hassana wondered how she'd get such a dear friend to accept gifts from her.

She rose after flicking off the television. "I feel like a nightcap. I'm going to get myself a cup of hot cocoa in the cafe. Want one?"

"No, thanks," Nkiru said as she brought out her prayer book to say her night prayers.

Hassana moved towards the door after picking her hijab from her bed. "Okey dokey,"

"Good night, Hassana."

"Sai de safe, Nk."

**********

The atmosphere was windy. Dry leaves ran after one another as if in a marathon, trees danced to soundless music, goats bleated for their kids and hens ran home as if they were being chased by the wind. But the couple underneath the fruitless mango tree which was shedding its dry leaves, were impervious to happenings around them. They were giggling like teenagers and feeding each other bits of roasted plantain from the plate on the stool before them. Intermittently, they also sipped from their fruit juice.

Felix, who'd had his gaze fixed on his parents for about a quarter of an hour from his window gave out a long hiss. Ever since his father came back home two days ago, his mother had been all over him like a rash. Granted, she had missed him terribly but he felt she should have asked why his dad had spent an extra week in Abuja. Sheer will stopped him from matching over there to punch his father's light out. He felt like putting his hands around the robust throat of his father and squeezing until the man confessed where he'd been and with whom. But he'd be hurting his mother. She could be a pain in the neck especially concerning his frivoulous ways but she was a good woman and he loved her to bits.

He pushed back the crimson red and blue silk curtain and turned from the window. His gaze roved restlessly around his neatly kept room and paused on a speck of dirt on his television set. Without thinking twice, he located his cleaning rag and wiped the offending piece off his electronic. He abhorred dirt and disordliness. His skin always felt itchy and as if worms were crawling over it whenever he entered a dirty and scattered room. If it wasn't his place to put the room in order, he left there in a hurry, otherwise he tried his best to put a semblance of order to the place. Little wonder he avoided some lecturer's offices and friends' rooms as if they were diseased.

Felix moved about restlessly in his well-equipped room. He was bone-tired of staying at home all day. The federal government and ASUU were still fighting World War III over unpaid dues and illegitimate sacking of lecturers. He couldn't care less. The fear of God drilled into him by his mother stopped him from going to slap his father. Why would his father, after spending so many years in the city decide to relocate to the driest village on earth- Ubiaja in Esan South East LGA of Edo state? He'd been trying to come to terms with it since they moved down here two years ago. The change was definitely cramping his style. He would have gotten a temporary job by now to while away his time had they still been in Lagos. It wasn't as if his dad was that old to retire to the village to do nothing but chase little girls all day. Something must have happened to chase him from Lagos. There had been no plan in the pipeline of ever coming to the village. His dad had just woken up one morning and decided they were going to the village, much to his chagrin. His mother had been all up for the idea, willing to take an early retirement from her job in the ministry of agriculture. He'd tried to garner the support of his sisters both based in Port Harcourt with their families to stop the retrogressive act but had failed. His sisters felt it was a good decision. They felt their parents ought to go to the village and rest after their years of service, seeing that their dad had retired from the ministry of finance two years before.

At first, he had felt like a fish out of water when he came home for hols after his first session in the university but with time, he realized there were quite a number of people who attended the same university as well in the village. He became friends with some of the guys and discovered the village wasn't really the backwater he'd thought it was, though there were still lacking a number of things. They had good spots where one could hang out to drink, play snooker and have fun. His favorite past time turned out to be relaxing on the back pews of the Saint Benedict Catholic church in the village to watch girls with different shapes, colors and sizes troop back to their seats during offertory. With his eyes, he looked for his next lay and frowned in disgust at the girls he'd slept with, particularly the ones who were poor in bed. His mother became surprised that he'd become such a church-loving person until she sat behind him without his knowledge during 9am mass which he favored and heard him and his friends discussing the female students of a particular boarding house. She'd almost nagged him to death when they got home. In the heat of the moment, he'd angrily told her to go and work for Jack Bauer of the 24 series since she'd turned herself into a spy to monitor his life. That had earned him a slap. From then onwards, she sat wherever he sat during mass no matter how many times he changed his seat but when he wasn't around, she attended her heart's choice which was the 6am mass with his father. Invariably, whenever he came home for hols, he looked for excuses in order not to go to church. When she decided to stop going to church because of him, he started attending the 6am mass where he discovered to his delight that beautiful girls also attended the early morning mass. He even joined the church wardens in order to pass notes to girls on their next meeting point if the girl in question didn't have a phone or it was faulty. His mother became happy with him and encouraged him the more not knowing there was a method to his madness.

He heard raised voices all of a sudden and rushed to the window to fling back the curtain. What he saw made him double over in laughter. His mother had in her hands half of the pale yellow mini dress of a fat girl, exposing her big stomach, keloids and g-string for all and sundry to see. His father was trying his best to stop his eyes from wandering to the voluptuous sight while Baba Johnson was having a field day staring intently at the girl's buttocks. The girl shouldn't have worn such a short dress which actually made her look like a baby elephant. After a foolish deed comes remorse.

His mother continued reigning abuses on her, accusing her of being among the sluts leading her son astray. The poor girl kept trying to remove her dress from the furious woman's hands while begging her to leave her alone. It took the intervention of his father to get his wife to leave the girl's dress. Even at that, she removed her slippers and drew them after the girl who ran towards the gate the second she was released.

Felix tried to dredge up pity for the girl but couldn't. She'd probably thought his mother had gone to her Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary Society meeting in church. She didn't know his mum had decided not to go to church because she was still basking in the euphoria of her hisband's return as if he were the biblical prodigal son. He'd told her countless times to leave him alone and to stop visiting. He just wasn't into fat girls. He loved his girls slim and sexy. It is Mr. Old-Man-Monkey who marries Mrs. Old-Woman-Monkey for Christ's sakes! He however didn't reject her gifts. Heck, there was no need cutting his nose to spite his face.

When he heard his mum yelling his name and walking angrily towards the house from the gate, he rapidly pushed back the curtain and jumped on his bed. He covered himself wth his colourful wrapper and pretended to be fast asleep. He was even ready to hold his breath for minutes and form death had come for him just to escape a row with the woman who wanted to vent her fury on poor, innocent him.

If you are in hiding, don’t light a fire.

*To be continued on Wednesday*

Thanking You.

She's back!

Audrey is back

timpaker:
She's back!

Yippee

ADUKKY:
Audrey is back

Yes o

AudreyTimms is finally back!!! Yagaa.

Yippee!!! My Bae is back...Oya na, let's go there! following u bumper to bumper...

I no go carry last dis time around.weldone audrey.

Waoo....nice,thanks op
the story is jst startn but am beginning to hate Jessica,she is a leech bitcha

I'm sooo happy 2day z Wednesday & its all becos of yuu.

Everybody come and see ooooooooooo,mummy and daddy come and see ooooooooo,uncles and aunty come and see oooooooooooo,brothers and sisters come and see oooooooooooonoo,girlfriends and sidechick come and see ooooooooooooooo that lady that always got me busy with my phone every now and day on nairaland. She is back again with another mind blowing,breath taking story called "LETTING GO". Who am I talking about,is no other person than the one and only AUDREY TIMMS. Barman give me one 1759 and some popcorn mixed with kulikuli and one alomo.

jaybiz007:
AudreyTimms is finally back!!! Yagaa.

Yes o.

phebean008:
Yippee!!! My Bae is back...Oya na, let's go there! following u bumper to bumper...

Yes o. Let's go

Bamilizy:
I no go carry last dis time around.weldone audrey.

Thanks dear

chii8:
Waoo....nice,thanks op
the story is jst startn but am beginning to hate Jessica,she is a leech bitcha

Lol. Yes, she is.

BlizzydoDo:
I'm sooo happy 2day z Wednesday & its all becos of yuu.

Really? That's nice.

Emmykul4love:
Everybody come and see ooooooooooo,mummy and daddy come and see ooooooooo,uncles and aunty come and see oooooooooooo,brothers and sisters come and see oooooooooooonoo,girlfriends and sidechick come and see ooooooooooooooo that lady that always got me busy with my phone every now and day on nairaland. She is back again with another mind blowing,breath taking story called "LETTING GO". Who am I talking about,is no other person than the one and only AUDREY TIMMS. Barman give me one 1759 and some popcorn mixed with kulikuli and one alomo.

Lol. It's origin I want. Thanks dear

Episode 6


Never love something so much that you can’t let go of it.
—Ginni Rometty


Gio was beginning to feel rage as the lecturer talked on. He couldn't understand a da*n word the French mathematician was saying. Oh, how he hated these borrowed courses! He would have been done with the course the previous year but the school authorities had still been in search of a suitable lecturer then. Now he had to do it with Third Year Computer Science and Engineering students.


He viewed the large engineering classroom and discovered a lot of people weren't even listening. Tosin who was seated beside him was drawing 'The X-Men' at the back of his notebook. Gio groaned inwardly as frustration began to set in. It was a three-credit-load course and he couldn't jot a da*n thing because he couldn't understand anything. At the introduction of the course, he'd barely even heard the Frenchman's name but hoped by the second class, he would have adapted to his thick accent but this was their third lesson yet his ears and brain ached from trying so hard to hear and piece the words together. It was laughable. He who could understand even the most native of the Italian language couldn't understand a French lecturer.


Gio didn't usually care what his lecturers put on especially the females but he was so irritated, he didn't know when he started sizing up Professor Laroche. His angry gaze fell on the middle-aged man who'd tinted his curly hair ash blond and was dressed as if he fell out of a sixties magazine. He had on a red and brown checkered suit with the trousers flared. His shoes were so pointed, cops could present it as exhibit in a murder case as the weapon used for the killing. He was indeed a mathematician, probably eccentric too.


Imagine! The man was actually asking if anyone had a question. Like seriously? After talking to himself for about an hour?


"Yeah! Would it be too much to ask for you to have surgery done on your vocal cords to have your thick accent removed?" Gio felt like asking.


He was however shocked beyond words when he heard a sweet voice saying, 


"Excuse me, sir."


He craned his neck backwards in the direction of the voice. She asked an intelligent question no doubt because Professor Laroche smiled and made to answer it on the white marker board.


Gio couldn't help staring at the bespectacled chocolate-skinned girl. She wasn't beautiful in the classic sense of the world and obviously had a poor taste in clothes if the multi-coloured blouse she had on was anything to go by but he wasn't interested in her physical features. He marveled at what she had inside her brain. Funny, she didn't even realize he was staring at her; she was listening intently to the lecturer but the girls around her were staring and smiling at him. He could bet his life that some of them were there just because of him.


Gio forced himself to tear his eyes off her and turned to listen to the man but he found himself turning back to stare at her again when she asked another question.


He turned to look at the professor. He couldn't help the smile that lit up his handsome face. She was definitely brilliant!


**********


Nkiru was surprised when girls flooded her seat after their Algorithm lecture. She removed her glasses and put it back in its cheap case. They were only for reading and writing. 


She huffed in exasperation. Would these silly girls please leave her alone? She had a lot to catch up on before her next tutorial. This was a difficult course for her and she hated having to leave the comfort of their Computer Lab where they had their lectures to come to the engineering department to have this particular lecture with mathematics and engineering students because the class was the largest in the science and technology faculty.


She didn't have the time to know if and why Gio had stared at her not once but twice and ended up smiling. It was his business. She didn't give a rat's a**about it. Had he even been in the class? She hastily told them she had another lecture and left them murmuring.

**********

Tosin stared at his friend in amazement. Gio was obviously absentminded. He had just asked him to loan him a pen as their third lecture of the day was going on but Gio was staring into space. It was definitely unlike him to drift off in class when a lecture was going on and he had stared into space during their previous lecture also. Something was wrong.

"Gio," he whispered and gently nudged his friend.

Gio came back from outer space and stared at Tosin.

"Na wa o! Welcome back. A penny for your thoughts. Give me your pen before you reply. Mine just decided to quit dispensing ink." Tosin stretched forth his hand as Gio handed him the pen.

Gio felt irritated. He had lost track of what the lecturer was saying; thinking of that brilliant girl. It had also happened in his last class. What was the matter with him? Why couldn't he get her off his mind? Her lack of beauty didn't mean anything to him because he had seen a lot of beautiful girls back in Italy and even here in Nigeria with balloons for brains. Then what was it about her? He felt it was because he hadn't seen an intelligent girl in a long time. The ones who usually surrounded him were air heads. In the whole of the mathematics department, they had only five girls, one of them was in his class and a nerd was a kind way of describing her.

"Earth to Gio. Come in, Gio," Tosin teased.

Gio was jolted out of his reverie a second time. He was surprised to see that the lecture was over and some students were already leaving the classroom. They had an hour break before the next lecture. He decided to utilize the break in finding out who the girl was. 

"That girl who asked Professor Laroche questions, do you know her?"

Tosin's jaw dropped, his eyes bulged.

Gio smiled. "You'll catch flies that way."

Tosin clamped his mouth shut. 

"Well?" Gio asked when Tosin continued to stare at him.

Tosin slowly shook his head.

"No, I don't know her. Why do you ask?"

Gio shrugged. "I need her notebook. She was the only one who understood what Professor Laroche said today."

A crestfallen look crossed his course mate's face. "I should have known it had nothing to do with her being a girl but her brains. Please at least tell me you noticed she's a member of the opposite sex."

Gio shrugged nonchalantly. No way was he telling his friend that he was disturbed by the girl. He was sick and tired of Tosin's matchmaking habits.

"Don't worry, I'll ask Fiorella."

Tosin looked away at the mention of Gio's sister. He had a huge crush the size of Mount Everest on the beauty and knew Gio would kill him if he found out.

Fiorella.

Her name alone stirred his blood. The sexy beauty had no idea what the sight of her did to his loins. It was probably just lust he felt for her but he liked to think it was more than that sometimes. At their first meeting about a year ago, he'd lost his voice. Dressed in a Stella McCartney asymmetric chain trim jacket teamed with Maje smarto trousers, she'd been the very picture of stylish elegance. Her beautiful hair had been tied in a French twist and her carefully madeup heart-shaped face had brought out the perfection of her beauty. He could still remember the shy smile she'd given him as she placed her soft, oh, so soft small hand in his large one. Fool that he was, he hadn't been able to hold an intelligent conversation with her. He'd bumbled like an i.diot. When he did that a couple of times upon meeting her, he began avoiding her. He didn't want her tagging him, 'My Brother's slowpoke Friend'. Girls had the propensity to be mean. Oh, what evil species they were!

"Coming?" Gio asked when his friend continued to stare into space.

Tosin shook his head slowly. He was tired of making an a** of himself whenever he was ten feet from her. He always broke out in a sweat and was forever tongue tied, not to mention the fact that Fi had caught him staring at her like a hundred times whenever she was having a conversation with her brother. Sometimes he saw pity in her eyes but he couldn't be sure. Maybe it was his imagination playing tricks on him. Maybe he ought to go with Gio to see if she'd look at him with pity again, at least to get enough evidence and conviction for him to slit his throat. For a hot chick like Fiorella to pity him was like giving him the go ahead to end his miserable life.

Nah, the girl that would make him commit suicide hadn't been born, God hadn't even thought of creating her parents. Nonsense!

When Tosin shook his head again, Gio hid a smile and walked away with his Calvin Klein backpack on his back. Tosin had a thing for Fi but thought he didn't know. He always made a fool of himself whenever Fi was around. Gio appreciated the fact that Tosin had done nothing about it and it had better remain that way. Not that he had anything against his friend. Tosin was handsome, brilliant and actually hardworking. He didn't joke with his studies but he was a very easygoing guy, too easygoing sometimes for his liking. Tosin wasn't a womanizer but Gio knew he arranged rendezvous with slutty girls once in awhile to get his groove on. He didn't begrudge him that but he didn't want such a guy for his sweet sister.

He brought out his phone to call the said sister to know her whereabouts. She was in Alvan Ikoku hall close to her faculty. It was at the other side of the campus. He contemplated taking the shuttle or walking down there. When he remembered the event which had taken place the last time he had taken the shuttle, he decided to walk down there though it was quite a distance. Walking would help him think and clear his head. With hands in his Versace trouser pockets and feet in white and red Christian Louboutin sneakers, he walked to where his sister was.

Fiorella, looking beautiful as usual in a Dolce and Gabbana black pencil skirt and baby pink blouse with ruffles and Jimmy Choo heels, came out of the hall and smiled when she saw her brother. Gio rarely called to see her these days. Their exams were fast approaching.

"Gio, what's up?" she asked and hugged him even though he quickly pulled away. She didn't see it as anything because she was used to it now. Gone were the days when she would cry in his arms for hours over silly things like a broken nail or a missing favorite hair clip. Gio hadn't seen them as silly. He would always comfort her and promise to get her a new one.

Oh, where had that brother gone? Who was this stranger standing before her? God, why did her mother and her eldest brother have to die? Their deaths changed everything. She missed them so much but she missed Gio more because he was alive at the same time dead to her. Oh, God, she longed for a genuine smile to hit this gorgeous face of his. She longed to hear the sound of his rich laugh again. She'd tried her best to bring out that laugh, often making a fool of herself but Gio barely talked these days let alone smile. Gosh, she was so lonely, so lonely. Even the antics of the numerous guys who wanted to date her didn't put a spark in her life. She wanted her family back more than she wanted a relationship. She'd give the whole of her dad's wealth and some just to get her family back together again. She'd trade all the riches in the world just to get her brother to smile again, she loved him that much. The poor girl didn't mind living in squalor as far as she could have her mother, Dano and Gio back again. What was riches without joy?

Her tear ducts pushed forth tears into her eyes.

Gio fixed his dark gaze intently on his sister.

"Fi, are you alright?"

His sister breathed in and out slowly while gazing at the students moving around them before she found her voice.

"Yes."

"Why the tears?" A worried frown hardened his features.

"Nothing. I was just remembering good times."

Gio was silent.

Her smile rivalled the brightness of the sun. "So what brings you here?"

Her brother went straight to the point. "I came to find out if you know a girl in Computer Science department. She's a third year student, of average height, chocolate brown in complexion and...she wears glasses."

Music to my ears, Fiorella exclaimed inwardly after she got over her shock. Finally! A girl had gotten Gio's attention. Oh, happy day! Best news ever! She'd suggested to her dad one evening to tell him to go to a monastery since it seemed as if girls were off his life for good. Her father had smiled and patted her hand gently before telling her to give Gio more time and continue being patient with him. Hmm...the man really knew his son. Oh, goody!

When Gio noticed Fi was reacting the same way Tosin had reacted, he quickly added, "I need her algorithm notebook. She was the only one I believe in the entire class who heard what the French professor taught."

Fi's face fell in disappointment also. Gio had to smile at that. Was he such a hopeless case that at the mention of a girl by him, everyone got thinking he wanted to start dating?

WTF! So this was all about a notebook? Algo what? She felt like kicking her brother in the chin since he'd kicked her in the teeth with his statement. Da*n! Her joy had been for nothing.

She gathered herself togther. "I don't think I know her but let me ask around," Fi replied coldly and went back into the hall leaving her brother to wonder why she'd responded to him in that cold manner.

A few minutes later she came back with their twin cousins, Ifeoma and Uchechi, the school's know-it-all.

Gio groaned when he saw them coming. He was sick and tired of the fact that Ifeoma always forgot that their fathers were brothers and flirted with him shamelessly.

"Gio, it's been awhile," Ifeoma purred seductively, her bleached skin glowing.

Gio entered north-pole mode. "Hey Ify. How you doing?"

In a singsong manner, she replied, "I'm good. And you?"

"Cool. What's up, Chichi?"

Uchechi, the more conservative of the twins remarked, "Nothing much. How's everything?"

"Fantastic."

"Fi said you're asking about a girl. I know her. Her room is two rooms from mine," Uchechi informed him, clearly curious.

"Do you know her name?"

"Yes. Nkiru Chiwendu."

"Do you know how I can get in touch with her?"

His cousins' eyebrows almost hit their hairlines.

Uchechi scratched her braids. "Emm...I don't have her phone number but I know she reads in Nnamdi Azikiwe hall after lunch and sometimes, pavilion B."

"Thanks a million. I'll see you later, Fi. Chichi, Ify, have a good one."

Ifeoma devoured him with her eyes as he walked away. She was reeking of jealousy.

"What does he want with her?" she asked with spite.

Fi laughed. "Her notebook."

Ifeoma cast a look of disbelief on her cousin. "Are you sure?"

Fi rolled her beautiful eyes. "What's it to you? Have you ever seen Gio with any female apart from the three of us?"

Ifeoma smiled and relaxed then. "I'm just watching out for him. You know there are gold diggers out there. The girl in question is a scholarship student and by the looks of her, she reeks of abject poverty. Her clothes alone must definitely be the lowest grade whatsoever of those used clothes people foolishly buy. Jeez! I can't imagine myself wearing what a stranger has worn. Thank God we wear newly made clothes sent from abroad," Ifeoma jeered.

Fi shook her head and walked away from them. Ifeoma could be such a b*tch sometimes. She'd forgotten that she'd pushed her brother who resided in Scotland to bid for the vintage dress of a late scotish princess during the auctioning of her wardrobe. What a slowpoke!