THE GIRL I NEVER HAD, PART 26

 

I didn’t believe her. Who comes to school at 7 a.m. just to look for me? I put my bag down and went out to supervise the juniors. Sure enough, she appeared again, standing where I’d been.

“Why didn’t you come last night?” she demanded.

“It wasn’t on purpose—my mum locked the door and hid the keys,” I said.

“Oh, I never knew you were mummy’s boy,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “I won’t give you another excuse. You have until closing time. This time I’m serious. If you don’t kiss me, I’ll walk straight to the headmaster and tell him everything.” She stalked off.

My heart dropped. I’d taken her for a joke, but she was deadly serious. Frank came up just then and I told him everything—the girl’s threats, the envelope, the morning. He told me to calm down and suggested we meet during the first break to plan. “After all, it’s just a kiss—you won’t lose anything,” he teased, then walked off.

Class started, but I couldn’t concentrate. The girl wouldn’t stop trying to get my attention; she scribbled notes and kept passing them to me. One read: “Remember—you have until closing time. Make sure you give me a deep kiss too. I can’t wait. With such pink lips, I know it’ll taste good.” I folded the paper back up and refused to reply.

Anger bubbled up. I wanted to smack her, to report her, to do anything to stop the harassment—but I didn’t know how a teacher would handle it, and retaliation could backfire. So I stewed.

The break finally came. I called MEGA BRAINS for a quick huddle and told them about the girl’s blackmail. They laughed and teased—MA and EK joked they’d join the competition for Lucy now that I’d “found myself a girl”—but then we got practical and plotted how to deal with our CID partner.

Back in class, the senior boys’ prefect called me out. “The headmaster wants to see you,” he said.

Not again, I thought. Did the girl already go to him? She’d promised she wouldn’t—but you never know.

In the headmaster’s office, the prefect handed me an envelope. “Lucy’s mum was here this morning. She left this for you. I don’t know what’s inside, but it’s probably not a bomb,” he joked.

I thanked him and left. I wanted to open the envelope right then, but a school office is the worst place for surprises. I put it in my pocket and planned to wait until later.

THE GIRL I NEVER HAD, PART 27

I slipped the envelope into my pocket and walked back to class, still wondering what could be inside. Money? A letter? A cheque? Well, I’d soon find out.

The empty seat where Lucy used to sit caught my eye. Her absence weighed on me. Where could she be? Still under house arrest? When would she return? Then my gaze drifted to JK’s desk. Memories of the risks I’d taken with my friends flooded my mind. Our so-called victory was nothing but pyrrhic. Lucy, the ultimate prize, was gone. The girl I loved most, and the boy I hated most, both were absent.

I sat down, careful to avoid eye contact with my “CID” mate until the closing bell.

When school finally ended, I headed straight to our meeting point behind the toilet. She wasn’t there. Perfect. I quickly pulled out the envelope and tore it open. It wasn’t money. It wasn’t a cheque. It was a letter.

The name at the bottom made my heart stumble: Lucy.

I checked to make sure no one was around before I started reading.

---

The Letter

Hi KD, I’m so sorry for what happened to you last Friday. I wish I had the chance to apologise in person, but I couldn’t. Please forgive me for what I’m about to tell you.

I will no longer be attending this school. My dad is taking me abroad to continue my education. I know this is hard, but trust me, I’m hurting too. I thought now that we had agreed to date, you would finally show me your love, but it never came to pass.

I wish you the best in your studies, and I hope you’ll find another girl who will cherish you. My mum told me you’d come to our house on Sunday evening, but you didn’t. I had planned to tell you then. Since you didn’t come, I had no choice but to write this letter. I’ll be leaving for Accra this afternoon. I don’t know if I can see you before I go. Goodbye.

---

My heartbeat went wild. My hands shook. Lucy was leaving. Abroad. For good.

Fear pinned me to the ground. My brain froze. But then hope flickered—she said she’d leave this afternoon. Maybe I could catch her before she left.

I shoved the letter back into my pocket, ready to run, but just then my “CID” mate appeared. She looked smug, as if victory were in her hands.

Finally, the kiss.

“I’m leaving,” I told her flatly.

“Hey, you can’t go. You know what happens if you refuse?” she snapped.

I turned on her. “Look, girl, I don’t care what you know or who you’ll tell. Do it fast. I don’t care anymore.”

She reached for my arm. I pushed her off. She landed on the ground and hissed that she’d report me. I didn’t even care.

I ran. I ran without my bag, without thinking, without breath—just running toward Lucy’s house.

A voice inside kept saying it was pointless, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

And then I saw it. That same posh car her mum had driven last Sunday. It slowed, stopped.

Lucy’s voice called me. I ran to the window. She was crying, her face wet with tears, words trapped in her throat.

Her mum leaned out and told me goodbye—they were running late.

The car drove off.

I collapsed in the middle of the street and cried like a baby. I didn’t care about the cars, the stares, the threats from the CID girl, JK, or even MEGA BRAINS. None of it mattered.

All that mattered was the love I had lost. The girl I never truly had.

THE END

Be My Baby, Not My Maybe Part 7

As I watched the woman get closer to where we were, I saw that she was being pursued by a well-built man. The man was sweating and panting. She was crying out for help.  Was this a test for me to prove my bravery? Maybe yes, maybe no. Our elders say, "a sudden frightening occurrence knows no brave person." I've also learned that "the bravery of a lion doesn't protect it from the spear of a hunter." I needed to protect myself first before I would be able to protect others. I decided to tell my girl to open her eyes so that we could run away together. By the I turned to inform her, she was long gone. The love of my life has run away and left me there all alone to face the situation. She couldn't even wait for me to offer her protection. Has she lost that much faith in me?

“If while climbing a tree you insist on going beyond the top, the earth will be waiting for you.” The girl was long gone but, I still wanted to show my bravery to whoever was ready to witness. I stood in the middle of the road and raised my right signaling the man to stop. He kept on coming and shouted at me to move away from the road. I didn't listen. When he got to where I was standing, he gave me a powerful blow. The blow landed on my left eye, and it sent me straight to the ground. I sat on the ground and covered my left eye with my palms. It was so painful I thought my eye was going to fall out.

While I was sitting on the ground thinking of the pink eye that the man had given me, I heard someone approaching. It was her. Yes. The runaway lover. Has she come back to check whether I was still alive? Has she come back so that we could continue from where we left off? I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I wasn't in the mood to propose. She saw my swollen left eye. She got so worried. She apologized for leaving me behind to face it all by myself. I assured her everything was okay, and that, it wasn't even painful. But deep within me, I was hurting. The pain was extremely excruciating. 

But, she touched me. She touched my hand, and I felt something within me. It was a sweet touch. She held me by my right hand, and said, "KD, I know you wanted to tell me something. Can you please be quick about it? It's running late." "Sweetheart, I know you know I love you. I've loved you since the day I saw your note. Although I didn't know you were behind those notes, I fell in love with the person. Seeing you today has increased tremendously, the love that I have for you. Your love is like a burning flame in my heart. I can't quench it with water. It is only your love that can give me inner peace. Please, will you be my girlfriend?", I proposed to her. 

There was a long dramatic pause. She stood there motionless. I was on one knee, waiting patiently for her answer. My left eye was teary because of the pain I was going through. She was still not talking. I started growing impatient. I wish I had the power to make her talk, and answer in the affirmative. Finally, she looked me in the eyes and said, " KD, can we take it slow? I'll need time to think about it." 

That wasn't the answer I was waiting for. I sighed. Got up. With my head down. I was sad. I thought the world had just come to an end. I was powerless. I didn't know what to say. I thought the vibe was there. I thought she was in love with me so there was no way she was going to say give any answer aside from a big fat YES! I managed to say, "Okay." I told her I was going home. I took a step. I added another. I was hoping and praying she would call me back and tell me she had accepted my proposal. I took another step. The fourth. The fifth. The call never came. In the sixth step too, nothing came. I gave up. I lost hope. I took another step but this time, she called. "KD, when you get home, check your back pocket. Please, check it only when you are alone in your room. She let out these words and ran off. 

I was so curious that I dipped my hand into my back pocket right away. There was a note in there. I brought it out. It was nicely folded in the form of a heart. I unfolded it quickly and there it was. The answer I was waiting for. It was boldly written, " I WANT YOU TO BE MY BABY AND NOT MY MAYBE." After reading the note, I smiled.

Be My Baby, Not My Maybe Part 6

I turned and looked. There she stood, with startling bright eyes. Her adorable curved lips parted to expose her nice teeth as she spoke. Just looking at her, I concluded that she would be as sweet as the flowers of springtime. Using beautiful to describe her would be an understatement. There are other body parts that I would have loved to describe but after reading the description, it would give you a different perception about me, so I won't dare. I will only conclude by saying, she was as pure as the dew from the rose.

"So this is the damsel who has fallen in love with me? And all the time I was thinking it was that ugly bully," I asked myself. I quickly flew her away, and we went to stand at "one corner". It was then that I knew I had sweet words hidden safely somewhere in my heart. Now that I had finally met her, she was trying to prove stubborn. I got a bit confused. Wasn't she the one who was threatening to take her life if I was not ready to succumb to her love? So what has changed?

" KD, you're gentle and a nice guy, but I need you to win my love. I don't want people to think I'm cheap. As beautiful as I am, I need a guy who will be able to protect me and love me," she said. I stood there in shock, as I watched her tell me all that. Which people would think she was cheap if she readily accepted me as her boyfriend? As for loving her, it wasn't going to be a problem. Which man in his right sense would find it difficult loving such a beautiful girl?

There was one little problem. How was I going to convince her that I could protect her? Looking at how that ugly bully disgraced me in front of the other students, I was going to need divine intervention for that matter. 

When she was done talking, I wanted to show her that I had also fallen for her. I decided to do something crazy, to prove a point. I hurriedly looked around and saw that there was no one around. I got back to where she was standing. I looked into her eyes, she also did the same. We all stood there for a moment without talking. We stared deeply into each other's eyes. I decided to move to the next level. I stretched out my left hand and pulled her closer to me. I planted a kiss on her forehead. She had then closed her eyes. She was gasping for breath. If kissing on the forehead could make such a gorgeous girl pant for breath, I wonder what she would do when the actual action begins. Don't ask me about the "actual action" because I don't know. Her lips, I guess, were ready for a kiss, but mine was not.  I decided, instead, to go down on one knee and propose to her. 

Just when I was on one knee, crafting beautiful words to tell my newfound love, I saw a woman walking aggressively in our direction. I could see she was so angry. I didn't know whether to continue with the proposal or abort it, or whether to tell the girl to open her eyes so that we could run away from the woman.

Be My Baby, Not My Maybe Part 5

"How can I go on living, while you've robbed me of my life? How can I breathe, while you've taken my breath away? Your love has pinned me down, conquered me, and made me motionless. Love me back or set me free." This was the note I saw under my desk the next day I went to school. Now, my secret lover was becoming suicidal. When did not getting someone to love you become a crime?

I didn't want to believe the numerous notes I was getting were coming from that fat bully who nearly raped me in front of the whole school. The more I thought of it, the more I was convinced that it was her. I didn't want her to take her life because of me. I couldn't imagine the guilt I would carry throughout my life if that should happen.

I approached her and spoke to her gently that I wanted us to talk after closing. She hurriedly agreed to the arrangement. I had planned to tell her that if she continued writing those threatening love messages to me, I would be left with no option but to report her conduct to the school authorities. 

After school, I went to sit on the"lovers bench" waiting patiently for her to come so I gave her a piece of my mind. I waited and waited until I could hear no one talking in the school. I knew she was not coming so I got up, hung my backpack on my back, and left campus. On my way home, I saw this fat bully exchanging words with other girls. I got closer to them, to go and satisfy my curiosity. As I stood there watching them, someone tapped me on my back and said, "oh so you don't want your pen anymore? I've been waiting for you to come for it, but it seems you don't want it." I turned to look at this girl, and oh my world, what I saw made me speechless.

Be My Baby, Not My Maybe Part. 4

The next day, I went to school with a positive attitude. I was in high spirits because I knew someone somewhere somehow has fallen in love with me. Oh, how beautiful it is to love, but more beautiful and comforting it is to know that someone loves you. But, there was one difficult decision to be made. Should I still pursue my crush, who was always sandwiched between her friends, or channel my energy into finding this mystery girl who was in love with me?

Our elders say, "If you run after two hares you will catch neither." A decision had to be made. I decided to stop chasing, stalking, and staring at the girl I stood a little chance of winning her heart, and start looking for this secret lover who had professed her endless love for me. Now, the Herculean task was how I was going to find this girl. Should I wait until she comes slithering into my arms or I should go out and search for her? 

"A fish and a bird may fall in love, but they can never build a home together." The search began. I didn't want it to be too obvious. I didn't want her to know that I was so desperate for her love. I also didn't want to tell anyone because I've learned that confiding a secret to an unworthy person is like carrying grain in a bag with a hole. So I decided to search alone. 

I started treating every girl in my class, even the not-so-attractive ones as potential lovers. I was even nicer, kinder, and lovelier now than I was before. During the first break, while I was rushing out to go and buy food, I accidentally bumped into a girl. She, unfortunately, fell to the ground. As I stretched my arm to help her get up, she pulled me, and I landed on top of her on the floor. As if it was planned, we were immediately surrounded by a good number of students. 

I wish I could tell you the embarrassment that greeted me that morning. As I lay on top of her, she wrapped her arms around me and prevented me from getting up. I took a critical look at her, and what I saw left much to be desired. She had a disproportionate figure. She had a manly voice, somber, rough, and very sonorous. The brows were very thick like the forest, with eyes looking like poachers lurking behind forest bushes.

But for the intervention of two strong boys, that girl could have ended up kissing me in front of the other students. I thanked the boys, rushed back to class, and put my head on the table. I nearly cried, because most of the students who were at the scene were laughing and some were even teasing me.

I vowed to deal with this fat bully bitterly. How dare she treat me this way before the other students? The most painful and depressing situation could even be that my secret lover might be around, watching keenly what was going on. I was not sure she might still be interested in me anymore. So, I decided to forget about the search, at least, for some days.

Be My Baby, Not My Maybe Part 3

Just when I was closing my backpack, I saw another note. This time, it was longer than the first one. I knew the handwriting wasn't mine. I compared the handwriting to the one I found earlier, and I concluded that it was from the same person. This one read, "From the very moment I asked for a pen from you, and you happily gave it to me, I began to develop some feelings for you. Please, can we be friends? Can we be even more than friends? I wanna know how loving you will be. I want us to be so close. Our hearts intertwined. Our steps close. Our minds are in synch. Please, don't say no. Please accept my proposal because you're always on my mind, and any time or day I don't see you, I can't do anything".

After reading this long love note, I became a bit uneasy. All this while I thought I was stalking someone, not knowing I was also being stalked. Now, I had one mission; to look for this girl who was madly in love with me. I hoped she would be as pretty as my crush. Wait a minute, the girl said in the note I had given her a pen. Who could this girl be?  When did I give someone a pen? A deluge of questions started gushing into my already confused mind. I prayed for answers, but none came. 

" Well, maybe this could be a clear case of mistaken identity because I don't remember lending a pen to any girl. Besides, which girl would find me so attractive to go to the extent of pouring out her heart onto a piece of paper to announce her undying love for me?" I soliloquized. 

I stepped out of the class, with my backpack hanging loosely at my back. As soon as I got to the entrance of the school, I heard a soft sweet mellifluous voice calling my name. I turned to look, but surprisingly, there was no one there. I stood there for some seconds, combing through all directions with my eyes in anticipation that I could find the one who called me. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the person. Sadly, I went home that day with my head full of unanswered questions.

Be My Baby, Not My Maybe Part 2

As the four fine girls stood there waiting for the answer, I was wishing a savior could appear from the skies, and whisk me away from their pleasant painful sight. It felt awkward, to be before these fine girls and not be able to pour out my heart to the girl I was crushing on. I had to think of something. An alibi. Something convincing. But then, my mind had also deserted me. I stood there with a widely opened mouth with no words coming out of it.

The girls, I guess, got tired of waiting for an answer. They pitied me and left. One of them, the tallest, gave me a soft warning, and "begged" me to not stalk or stare at them. With a well-rehearsed step, they turned and walked away from me. 

It was after they had gone that I realized I had held my breath all the time. I started panting for breath. "Oops, ain't no small boy business looking for love," I silently whispered to myself. 

Now, it was time to get over this girl. I almost killed myself because of a crush I had on a girl. The last time I checked, I was in school to get good grades, and not to stalk gorgeous girls who were beyond my reach. I had to let go of the feeling I was having for the girl, and let my books be my partners. After all, our teachers have been telling us to get married to our books, so that we could give birth to success. 

When school was over for the day, I was packing my books into my backpack when I saw a piece of paper with a note written on it, under my pile of books. It was boldly written, FAINT HEART NEVER WON A FAIR LADY. Who wrote that? Why did the person write that? When did the person write that? Could it be that someone was also stalking me? 

Be My Baby, Not My Maybe Part 1

Back in JHS, I fell head over heels for a girl. I was the shy type. Very shy. So shy. Extremely shy. The love I had for her kept burning in my heart, but I didn't dare to tell her. I thought: damn, she's too pretty for me. She belongs to any other boy, but me. How could a boy like me get a girl like her?

Any day, any time, any minute I'll see her, my heart will tell me to go and talk to her. Then my mind will quiz, "What are you gonna tell her? Boy, don't go and disgrace yourself before her." After entertaining these thoughts in my head, I would gently coil back into my shell, and continue admiring her from afar.

I even remember sometimes I could just stand afar and watch her chat with her girlfriends. I would strain my ears to try and eavesdrop. Anytime I see a boy talking to her, that boy automatically becomes my enemy. "Why would you talk to my girl? Why would you come near my queen? The next time I see you near her, you're dead already", I would mutter these words to myself.

This went on for days, weeks, and a month. One day, I wasn't so lucky. As she sat down amid her friends chatting heartily, I decided to go and sit at my favorite spot and watch her from afar. As I was watching her, I saw one of her friends pointing at me. The girls got up from their seats and started walking toward me. Immediately, I started sweating profusely. If I couldn't talk to one girl, how would I be able to handle four more girls?

I prayed for divine intervention. I wished for a miracle. I hoped against hope that a savior would appear from the heavens to snatch me away from this embarrassment that was about to choke me to death. " Why have you been stalking us? You follow us everywhere we go. Who gave you this work to watch over us?" One of the girls asked me. I sat there shaking. I watched their pretty faces begging for answers from me.