Uninviting
But not half as impossible as everyone assumes
You are crying lightning.
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Worrywarts and optimists were never a good mix.
Just as Lara looked as pale as the grey walls surrounding them, while pacing from pillar to post. Every action caused a nerve wrecked Chimdi to lose bits of her sanity.
"Do you think he's going to create a scene?" She gulped anxiously. "Will he hit him again this time?"
"Shut up Lara, Jeez!" Chimdi snapped, "Can't you focus on getting your shit together for once!"
If anything, Chimdi's outburst fueled Lara's anxiety the more.
They'd been unfortunate eyewitnesses to what their friend's father was capable of, the sight still evergreen in their memories.
"Chill Dee, don't vent your frustrations on her," Elo said, almost too calm to be considered his words. "Lara can't help but get antsy and you know it. "
Chimdi nodded, palm rubbing her face in utter frustration.
"I'm sorry Larabear," she respired, trying to get herself together.
She was having a hard time wrapping her head around what had happened the last few hours. First, Abike's outburst that had her feeling like she murdered the slender girl's damn cat in cold blood, then this.
A whirlwind of jumbled thoughts were happening in her mind, Lara's fret fest was the last strike to push her to the edge. She felt hands placed comfortably on her shoulder and the action alone was enough to calm her. She didn't need to be told whose hands it belonged to as she basked in it's assuring comfort.
The Clique were outside the guardian and counselor's office, nerve wrecked and total fusspots.
It felt like eons had passed since they stood outside the soundproof sepian door, hindering them from bursting their friend out of the devil's room itself. They were antsy to the core, only God knew what was happening behind the cursed door.
Nene and Elo stood apart, avoiding each other's gaze. Obviously, the previous event was still lurking it's ugly head around, while Abike looked compassionate for once.
"What are you students doing here?" A female teacher, clad in a poorly sewn Ankara fabric asked, cutting them off their worried state.
"Ma..." TJ began, when the rest didn't have anything reasonable formed up their thick skulls at the moment. "We're waiting for our friend."
The woman took them in, like she could see through them. With nose stuck in the air, acting like the wicked witch of the west.
"There's an important meeting going on in there at the moment. Come back later." She deadpanned, making her way smugly to the door.
"Get to class." She repeated when she found them still rooted at a place, not even moving an inch.
"Ma, we will wait till the meeting is over." Said Nene defiantly, not moving an inch.
The teacher narrowed her eyes at them, getting ready to pour out her heart felt annoyance when the door opened.
And out came Jiki's father, looking like a gazillion dollar in an all black two piece suit. Gold cufflinks and time piece on his wrist, looking like they cost quite a fortune, face as stoic as the devil's, scent as calming as an angel's.
As if on cue, the woman scurried away at his pensive gaze on her, while the clique stood still, breaths held, as they took in the devil's incarnate himself.
"Good afternoon sir!" The broke out simultaneously.
His face broke into a perfect formal smile, showcasing dentals that could be passed off as snowflakes, so white it sent out real metaphoric rays.
His smile showed off his mundane of features, hooded lids securing dark brown orbs, that looked so deadly when clouded with the bad kind of emotions, strong squared jaw that had met it's own share of painful collisions, completed with a well kept, greying goaty.
Unlike his son, El-rufai Sheikh had glowing skin, rich in melanin pigments.
He was good looking in a serene way that oozed authority.
He gave them an acknowledging nod and same time, Jiki walked out with the guardian and counsellor trailing behind, she had her usual smile in place.
A grateful smile easily made it's way to his face, relieving his face of it's stoic expression when he spotted his friends. But a surprised look immediately graced his face when he spotted Abike standing with his friends and looking like an outsider, which she totally was.
She flashed him a nervous smile, feeling uncomfortable in his father's presence together with his friends. He returned the smile.
Chimdi just like the rest, held her breath as she watched Jiki's father make his way out of the block with his dominating strides.
"What happened?" She and Lara asked in an unsynchronized unison. And before the fairer boy could make up a response, his father's voice had him pausing.
"Irfan?" He called his son's native name, gesturing towards his car. "Won't you see me off?"
With jaw clenched together it might hurt, Jiki followed his father out, giving the clique one more thing to fret on.
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"Not in the mood." Jiki's eerily calm voice said, once he felt TJ's presence.
TJ rolled his eyes, biting back a smile as he made himself comfortable on the dwarf fence securing the rooftop. "You've got real ego issues man. No one is here for you."
The fairer boy ignored him, black airpods snuggled between the intertragal notch of his ears, as he tried to drown out his daunting thoughts with music.
He'd left after supposedly seeing his father to his car without words, albeit as pissed as a newt. And TJ just knew the right place to find him. Seemed like he wasn't the only one who had taken a liking to the secluded vast space.
TJ spared him a glance before, taking an airpod from his right ear, ignoring the glare aimed at him. Placing it in his ear, Burnaboy's voice crooned out of it's tiny speakers.
Nothing wey person never see
Omo nothing wey person never see--Forget, I say fashi...
TJ shook his head at the resonating cymbals with an exquisite blend of funk and highlife, laced with a scintilla of reggae. The rise and fall of satirical words flowing from the artist's mouth got him marveled.
"Who's this?"
"Burna boy." Came Jiki's response, eyes not straying from the view before him.
TJ brought up his knee, placing his jaw on them. "I've not really come across him."
The fairer boy rolled his eyes. "That's because you've been busy fawning over those noise manufacturers you call rappers."
"You don't hate on legends bro," TJ reprimanded in fake sternness. "That's a basic dick move."
This time, Jiki turned to look his friend full in the face, a look of mock disappointment on his face. "Man, what the fuck are you doing here again?"
"What do you think? Isn't the fresh air here medicinal ?"
Jiki let out a peeved breath. "Just shut up."
Now na me dem dey answer yes sir
Respect is reciprocal
Even though unuh know say I special.
"He sounds like a prick. Talented nonetheless."
Jiki shook his head in defense. "He's not an insecure fool, if that's what you're on about. He's just misunderstood, just like the rest of us." His voice pained.
"You want me to sing your praises, while trying to convince you of how open a book you've been? Think I'll pass."
Jiki shrugged. "I'm an open book alright."
TJ huffed. "Tell that to your deflated ego."
The fairer boy chuckled, loosening up a bit. "Could you be less of an asshole Kodiri?"
TJ gave himself an internal pat at the back as he stared at his roommate turned best friend. It felt like years ago since they first met, when it had only been two months. He'd been all scowls and colourful curses that at that moment, he never thought being friends with him would be a possibility.
But there they were, clenched jaws and throbbing veins gone, revealing lips stretched into a playful smile and his eyes, they'd held so much pain not much than seconds ago, now it shun with pure amusement.
TJ let out a relieved smile. "Learnt from the best," he told the fairer boy. "Didn't I Ephraim?"
"It's Irfan you doofus!"
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The song ended and in matter of seconds, another soul trapping song from the same artist crooned out of the tiny speakers.
A comfortable silence filled the air like a warm blanket. With both boys lost in thought.
Conversations with Jiki weren't dragged. They came naturally and neither did they tend to be awkward. Not much of a talker, not a bore either.
That was what had sealed the deal with Chimdi. He offered brotherly comfort without prying and she took it wholeheartedly.
They could sit in silence, each, with their own bothering thoughts, finding solace in each other's presence.
"How is it going with Dee?" Jiki asked after what seemed like eons.
TJ shrugged, watching students make their way back to their respective hostels. "Okay I guess..."
Jiki raised a dainty brow. "Okay as in, we are getting somewhere or okay as in, we are static at the moment.
TJ thought about it for a while. Being with Chimdi felt like visiting his favorite amusement park. Everything was exciting and he never got tired of her smiles, her temperamental sessions, even her scowls were fun to watch. He liked the way she snorted at his silly ideas, admired her strength, appreciated the layers she did peel off for him to take a peek at. And her eyes, they reminded him of tinted glass barricades.
The only question was what was stopping him from coming clean with his feelings. She'd let him see her at her worst, almost vulnerable moments. He'd gotten a glimpse of her happy go easy side.
To him, he was scared of so many possible scenarios that kept flashing their ugly heads. He was scared he might push her away if he came on too strong, like last time. So far, she'd been as unpredictable as a manual time bomb, would explode without precaution if not handled carefully.
He settled for the most convincing of lies. "Don't think she likes me that much though."
To that, Jiki cracked up in howls of laughter. While TJ let him. He deserved such reaction anyway.
"Dee is all cute smiles and friendly waves. But she doesn't just warm up to people, especially ones she just met."
"Care to elaborate?"
"If she doesn't like you dude, she won't be spending so much time with you, even after your stupid tongue got you into so much trouble."
TJ raised an amused brow. "Jealous are we?"
The fairer boy snorted, firm nose stuck to the air as dark orbs with silver flakes took TJ in like he just said the least witty words known to man. "Are you seriously asking that?"
TJ shrugged amusedly in response.
"I say good riddance to that. That tiny toad is quite a handful." The fairer boy chuckled, legs swinging back and forth. "I'm still shocked she hasn't started terrorizing you yet."
TJ let out a slow laugh, he'd gladly take whatever she gave. Be it a bag full of trouble.
"You two are the closest in the group." He stated, while the fairer boy nodded in affirmation.
"We've come quite a long way. She used to be so quiet. Spoke when spoken to. She'd reminded me of my little cousins on a stormy night," Jiki smiled, shaking his head at the memory. "So scared it was disturbing. First saw her at the pavilion on the first day of school, had given her my water game which she refused to return," he chuckled as he got sucked down memory lane.
He remembered her, fitted school uniform, skinny pale skin, large scared doe eyes that had stared at him like he was the devil himself. He'd contemplated shouting at her after she'd followed him around days later, but couldn't get himself to do so and besides, she was sure a cute creature. As cute as a button could be. Their friendship had started out as mere tagalongs and had blossomed into new found bond.
"I've seen her grow up man, literally and figuratively. It took so much for her to associate with strangers and here you are, merely two months and you're her favorite person."
He'd been there when the fame was non-existent, was there when her pictures had surfaced at their second year together. He'd watched her let down her walls, watched her accept the world of glitz for all it was worth. He'd seen her at her worst, watched her battle her demons, watched her try to be strong.
And yes, she'd told him they were all minor problems, made up of mummy issues. But he knew better.
He'd thought they were same at some point, battling the same demons and trying to stay strong. But as things had progressed, he had things figured. The difference between them was that he'd failed at being strong unlike her.
He felt like a pushover, a pawn in a game for his father's amusement.
"He gave me two weeks to make up my mind," Jiki's voice was so calm, quite the opposite of his raging heart.
"He gave me two fucking weeks when he knows I'm choice less!" Followed by a pained laughter, one that sounded nothing close to ecstatic.
Painful emotions so overwhelming, knotted his whole being. Threatening to combust in growing minutes. It hurt so bad he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
"He's so hell bent on keeping his useless reputation," he continued not caring that TJ hadn't uttered a single word. "First Mum, Imran, now I'm the next pawn in his sick game! Ruining two lives isn't enough for him! Aaliyah quit fashion school for him and yet! He's still an ungrateful asshole!!"
Pure sizzling hate bubbled within him as his hands dug into the concrete walls, the pain not measuring up to what his heart felt at the moment.
He was thorn, thinking of all his father was capable of doing set the fear factor. His father had lost his first son to the innovative hands of technology, he'd cut him off forcing everyone to do same. The decision had taken quite a toll on his bedridden Mother.
If it were up to him, he'd gladly pray to be cut off, as long as he'd stay far away from his devil of a father. But his mother- he couldn't bring himself to make her death's next bride.
TJ watched his friend struggle with his threatening demons. He knew the pain like he knew the back of his hands, could read it's capability like a magazine. Somehow, he'd seen Milo in Jiki and Chimdi, shouldering the pain for what it was worth. It was only a matter of time before it out weighed them. Of course, humans were nothing but shades of light and darkness, and it all was up to them to get sucked up by either of the two.
Apparently, a lot of questions mushed TJ's energy and as usual, he decided to not pry in personal matters.
Jiki exhaled, straightening up his spine and with palms scrubbing his face like they were trying to get rid of the deeply etched pain, gnawing it's teeth at him, he brightened up in seconds. The eerily calm demeanor returned.
"Kodiri?" He called,
TJ gave him an enquiring gaze.
"If you're to cause, even the tiniest of cracks to her heart. Be sure to be a spineless, limbless being." The fairer boy smirked. "I'll make sure of that."
TJ smiled, glad he had his friend temporary back, glad that Chimdi had so much love she didn't know she had, shielding her.
"It's that a threat?" He knew it was more than.
"No lover boy," dark eyes marauded with sparkly silver shun with mischief and a silent promise was aimed at TJ. "It's a promise I'm keeping."
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