Feelings,
so deep in my feelings
No this ain't really
Like me.
Can't control my anxiety.
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Chimdi woke up to the perfect Sunday morning.
And no, there was no roaster crowing loudly and neither did the church Bell ding to create a perfect picture of a Sunday morning. The day was simply school-student perfect.
There was no angry matron, who was one step away from obesity, screaming her head off and neither were students into a screaming contest, trying to figure out whose turn it was to use the disappointing hostel tap.
Everywhere was serene perfect. The streaming sunlight was all she needed to let her know it was dawn already and the teeth clattering harmattan wind, which was enough to wipe the perfectness off her Sunday.
She hadn't noticed that the fluffy flowered comforter wasn't doing it's job properly. It was tangled with her skinny limbs, courtesy of her night time rolling skills.
She cursed, and though lazy from sleeping, reached out for it, and perfectly wrapped it around her tiny frame.
She sighed, content and comfortable. She was out of her sleep induced state but wasn't ready to get out of the bed anytime.
That was what she loved about Sundays. They were a student's day of pleasure, no chores, no rushing to the bathroom, just the perfect lazy Sunday morning.
She peeked at her roommates, this time, Nene the ever early bird was still fast asleep and Lara was as knocked out, as a log could be. She couldn't blame them though, their Saturday had been a very wild one and she had one person to thank for saving her from having a hard time with a deadly hangover.
TJ.
With a smile tugging at her lips, the night's event came rushing back. They'd chatted for hours and had shared a bowl of Isiewu, a locally seasoned goat meat- at the club's bush bar, before the rest had joined them. There, she paired with him and they played a game of beer pong, with him downing all her punishments.
He'd forced her to take gulps of water and Advil before letting her get back to the hostel.
And with a disappointed frown marring her face, she'd begrudgingly gone back to her hostel, missing their shared moments and had dreamt of cute moments, one she wasn't ready to acknowledge who starred in it.
He was slowly claiming a space in her heart, one she was oblivious to. She thought about him, he was everywhere in her mind and she couldn't do anything about it.
What are we?
She couldn't put a name tag to what they shared. For all she cared, he was always caring, always looking out for her, his actions always made her smile and his genuineness. The little things he did weren't so little to her, they sent a message that pulled at her heartstring.
She exhaled, snuggling deeper into the comforter, thought, a myriad of cute moments before the shrill voice of, what seemed to be a raging musician's voice burst open the tiny bubbles of her snooze land, earning sleepy protests from her roommates.
She recognized the song as one of TJ's crazy songs. He'd completely raided her playlist with the music of the likes of Joyner Lucas, Lil Pump, Lil Baby and a bunch of Lil's she was yet to discover.
A peek at the caller ID revealed Jiki's name and an adorably cute picture of him, all curls and pout, sleeping peacefully.
"Jiki boo!" She answered once she clicked on the receive button, snuggling deeper into her comforter.
"He's currently knocked out." Came a deep morning voice that sent pleasurable shivers down her spine.
Her eyes widened in shock. "TJ?"
"Hey sunshine." He called out cheerfully, causing her confused frown to morph into a scowl at the endearment which she'd earned last night. "Good morning?"
She sat upright, relaxing against the cold screeded walls of her room. "Yep, you too... You're up early."
"Yeah, I just wanted to check if you're okay. I promised to call didn't I? My battery ran out last night, so I couldn't."
His words reduced her to a pile of mushy goo, her cheeks almost hurting from smiling so hard. She fought the urge to coo at his cute gesture, instead she cleared her throat, and with an eye roll to bring life to her sass asked. "You woke me up just for a promise you broke, seriously?"
She heard him chuckle at the other end of the line and she too, suppressed a chuckle of her own.
"Oh really?"
"You cut short my beauty sleep TJ, ain't nothing as infuriating as that."
"Really, so you're angry?"
"Definitely," she replied, stifling a giggle.
"You're lying."
She gasped. "What the hell! I'm not. By the way, how would you know?"
"Oh, I know a lot of things about you sunshine." Came his smug response. "The same way I know you're smiling right now."
Her smile grew wide, morphing into fit of giggles.
"So tell me sunshine," he began again, after getting no response from her. "Am I right? Yes?"
"Aah, come on! Not with the nickname again!!" She cried, tired of the annoying nickname. He wasn't meant to give her nicknames, cute ones at that, she thought, they could get her hopes up.
Hopes up for what?
"C'mon not with the nickname again!" He replied, imitating a girly voice.
She gasped in mock horror. "I do not sound like that!"
"Yes you do sunshine. Now tell me,do you prefer Nene's nickname? What was it again?"
"Don't you dare Kodiri!"
"Which is it then sunshine. The easy and cute route or otherwise?"
Chimdi's mouth twitched, brain searching for a retort but couldn't find one. She knew he was capable of doing what he promised.
"Are you threatening me?" She asked, rolling her eyes in advance to his smug response.
"Not really. If you want it to be a threat sunshine."
She huffed, and the same time, fighting the smile trying to break free from her lips. He was so annoying.
"Fine! You're so insufferable!!"
"Awwwn," he cooed, "You can't have me any other way, and you know it."
The silly smile was back on her face again.
"So tell me sunshine, did you dream about me?"
She smiled, pulling her feet up when they began to peek out of her blanket. "Oh pulease. Why the hell should I dream of you? You're human not an angel."
"This is where you got it all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm an angel sweetheart. A special one at that."
She snorted, already used to his crazy way of reasoning and twisted sense of humor.
"In your dreams."
He made a clicking sound with his tongue. "Oh I appear in dreams quite alright, not just in mine."
"You're crazy TJ."
"I Know right, crazy about you."
Silence ensured, followed by a gasp from TJ.
"Now that's an unhealthy amount of cheesiness Kodiri!"
"But it got you to shut up for a while." TJ retorted, laughing.
"Shut up," Chimdi groaned, laughing along, "That was me offering a minute silence for your hopelessness."
"Still same as being tongue tied." He argued. "Let's face it, it wasn't half bad."
She sunk her head into the pillow, muffling her giggles. "Trust me, it was bad with a dash of cuteness."
"So you think I'm cute?"
"I never said anything about you being cute."
"What are you doing right now?" He asked, stirring the discussion to another direction.
"Just lying on my bed, what's up?"
"Wait, did I really wake you up?" He was worried.
She laughed. "Oh no, I was only kidding. I actually woke up at about, thirty minutes ago. I'm just too lazy to get up."
He respired, one of utter relief. "I totally forgot why I called, hope you're okay? No headache? Dizziness? Tell me."
She smiled, his words completely turning her into molten chocolate. "Calm down Mum, I'm okay, all thanks to you. You should be the one getting bombarded with questions. How're you?"
"I'm okay, just a little dizzy." She gasped, and that earned her a chuckle. "Chill, I'm okay, don't worry."
She nodded, realizing he wasn't there, answered with words.
"Hey." He called out after seconds of comfortable silence.
"Yeah?"
"I'll call back later in the day. We can't leave Jiki dry and out of airtime."
"Sure, get quality rest." She giggled at her concerned tone. She sounded like a caring Mother, tucking her son in after a bedtime story.
"Don't miss me so much sunshine."
She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Way to ruin the moment TJ.
"You wish."
"Nah, I don't wish, I know."
Her lips stretched into a smile, one too wide. The line went dead, not before she heard his heart warming chuckle, one too good to be classed as a mere sound.
"Mogbe! They've gotten this one's Mumu button too?" Chimdi almost screamed at Lara's voice, suddenly popping from nowhere.
"Girl what the hell!" She exclaimed, trying to recover from the early morning cardiac section.
Lara and Nene bursted out in fit of laughter, with an annoyed Chimdi glaring daggers at them.
"Okay, there's nothing funny about what you guys did! I almost had a cardiac!!"
"Key word being almost. Babes chill." Nene said, waving off her complaint. "Now tell me, who was that?"
She glared at the darker girl. "That's none of your business."
"Who are you making face for madam? It's definitely our business. You made it our business when you started smiling like a Mumu."Â Lara piped in, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Seriously, you two should get off my case. I'm going back to bed, call me whenever the laundry room gets opened." She made to tuck herself in, but Lara beat her to it.
"Madam, what do you think you're doing?" Lara asked, yanking the comforter off her body.
Chimdi scowled at them, sitting upright. "Can someone have peace in this room. It's too early for this nonsense na, Lara."
"Was it TJ?" Nene asked, as the duo joined her on her bed, getting ready to be served with quality gossip.
Chimdi rolled her eyes, relaxing on the still cold walls of her room. "Since you knew, why were you asking?"
The duo exchanged conspiratory glances. "Is he flirting with you?" Nene asked, ignoring her previous question.
"Jesus no!" She stared at them disbelievingly. "Were you two eavesdropping?"
"That doesn't matter." Lara answered, that silly smile appearing back on her face. "You two have been doing Buddy-buddy for now, baa? Abi you're running package?"
Chimdi's face was on fire, the mere thought of him was enough to set her on fire. She cleared her throat, and with a nonchalant shrug, she stared at them.
"Nothing is going on, we're just friends. Can't friends call each other again?"
They kept giving her suspicious looks.
"By the way," She pointed an accusing finger at Nene. "She's the one meant to be on the hot seat."
"Me?" Nene asked, a horrified expression on her face.
"Yes you. Were you not the one exchanging spittle with Elo last night? Tongue deep down his throat and vice versa."
Lara shrieked, causing them to cover their ears at the ripping sound.
Nene glared at Chimdi, in which she returned with a satisfied smirk.
"Come on, girlfriend spill the bean. Larabear, you were prolly too inebriated to notice last night." Chimdi goaded the darker girl, who was glaring fire and brimstone her way.
Nene shuddered in mock disgust. "Really of all descriptions? Tongue deep down his throat? Ewww girl, that's the grossest way to describe a kiss!" The melanin chided.
"You guys really had your first kiss and you didn't tell me?" Lara shouted, violently shaking the darker girl
And with a triumphant smile gracing her face, she sneaked out of the room, leaving Nene at the mercy of a very disappointed Lara.
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TJ walked into the room, donned in a boxer short, a white towel drying his wet hair.
His roommates were sprawled on the floor, attention solely on their game pads.
He shook his head at the frustrated look on Jiki's face.
"Let me guess," he began, trying hard to stifle the laughter bubbling deep. "He won you for the sixth time already?"
Elo and Jiki had engaged themselves in a friendly game, which morphed into a big time challenge, with Jiki beating Elo's score for the first time.
Elo had opted for a rematch which Jiki obliged to. And that left him stuck with beating the darker boy's score.
As frustrating as it seemed, the fairer boy had refused to give up, silently having a pity party over the two to six score, and secretly praying for divine intervention on his too low score.
"Nah, I think this should be eight to two." Elo gloated, a smug smile, Jiki wished to slap off, on his face.
"I'm done!" Jiki said, standing up. He reached for his towel, pulling off his blue jersey.
"Bro come on, we're not done here." Elo called out, snickering alongside TJ.
Jiki glared at the darker boy. "Dude don't push it." He growled, trying to keep a straight face.
Elo raised his hands in surrender, unplugging the used devices. "Here, your phone is charged up." He passed a black cellphone to TJ, who was busy applying body lotion.
"The charger too, please."
The boys stared at him like he grew a second head.
"What? Should I leave the charger there or what?" Asked a confused TJ.
"After doing whatever you're going to do with the phone, won't you charge it again?" Elo asked, a more confused look gracing his face.
TJ gave him a confused look. "Not yet, at least till it's below 30 percent. What happened?"
Jiki shook his head in understanding. "Oh we forgot you follow all the instructions on the cell phone manual."
TJ rolled his eyes. He knew they were going to tease him about being too foreign and not following their Naija code of conduct.
By the way, he thought. Who charged a cell phone higher than a hundred percent?
"I'm just going to make a call and by the way, I don't think charging it will be necessary, I'm heading out." He replied, going through his trolley for a decent and comfortable cloth.
The boys nodded in understanding. If given a chance, they were ready to go into details about one charging one's cell phone till power got interrupted.
It was only In Nigeria that cell phone's are charged till power got interrupted. It was either a hundred percent plus or nothing.
"Let me guess, you're going to continue your love call with Dee?" Elo asked, a grin plastered on his face.
"Dude mind your business."
"You actually woke me up with that call, so it's totally my business." Elo insisted, he turned to pay full attention on TJ.
TJ ignored the shorter boy, still searching for a decent cloth.
But of course, the boy wasn't the type to ever give up. "Wear the sweats bro, denim looks kinda formal. Abi you're taking her out. Wait first, are you taking her out today?"
"Chill dude, they aren't even dating yet." Jiki chided, a shaving cream neatly applied on his jaw.
"Really?" Elo stood up from the floor, plopping himself on his bed. "When are you going to ask her out?"
Jiki paused mid shaving, an amused expression on his face. "Dude really?" He shook his head. "It took you like, three years to muster up the courage to speak to Nens and TJ has only known Dee for like, few weeks. Don't go all Doctor Phil on him, trust me, it doesn't suit you."
Elo raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you've made your message clear," he laughed, opening his bedside cupboard, reaching for a chocolate bar. "I'm a concerned bro, trying to veer him off the path I took."
"So tell me," TJ began, finally settling for a comfortable attire. "Are you guys dating or did you guys share that jaw dropping kiss because you were inebriated?"
Jiki shook his head, a mischievous grin widening his lips as he bumped the darker boy's shoulder. "Dude damn, that kiss! Who could imagine you had it in you-" Elo grunted, smacking the fairer boy's head. "What?"
Elo shrugged, taking another bite off his chocolate bar. "I don't know, I mean, we haven't talked about last night."
Jiki fake gasped, "Oh really, Doctor Phil hasn't sorted out his personal issues, I'm shook!"
"Guy fuck you!" Elo groaned, showing him the finger. "To be honest, I'm dreading having the conversation with her. I don't even know how to start."
"Start by cleaning the smudge on your lips first." TJ mocked, Elo wiped off the chocolate smudge before showing him his middle finger. "Then," TJ continued. "You man up and speak to her. It took you three years to tell her how you feel. Don't let it take forever before you two actually get involved."
TJ's speech was followed by an applause from Jiki. "Now that's the real Doctor Phil. Man, you need to learn work."
"Okay, lecture is over. I have a call to make." TJ made himself comfortable on his bed before dialing Chimdi's line, with heart making it's way to his stomach.
At the third ring, Chimdi received the call.
"Hey sunshine," he greeted, causing Jiki to make a gagging sound. He showed the fairer boy his middle finger.
"Hey," Came her breathless response.
TJ couldn't help the smile stretching his lips, hearing her voice always took him beyond the physical realm.
"How are you? I mean, how's your day going?" He stuttered, to which Elo snickered to.
TJ rolled his eyes at his roommate's silliness, focusing on Chimdi's voice.
"I'm okay, bored and hungry."
"Only you. Didn't you have breakfast?" He asked, leaning back.
"I had cornflakes, missed breakfast. Can't wait for lunch. Sundays can be slow and hella boring."
TJ chuckled, of course she would class cornflakes as food.
A smile spread on his face as an idea struck him.
"What are you wearing?" He asked, before realizing the double meaning behind his words when Elo and Jiki gasped, making kissy faces at him.
He cleared his throat. "I meant, are you properly dressed?" He heard Chimdi crack up from the other end, his face flushed, out of embarrassment. The same time, he thought of a thousand ways to strangle his roommates.
"Yeah, any problem?"
"Nope. Can you meet me at the pavilion in like, thirty minutes?"
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