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.  

THE GIRL I NEVER HAD, PART 12

"When a man loses his prestige, he does not regain it by going to where he is not known. " I decided to right my wrongs. I would have to regain my reputation. I knew she would be going for choir practice that evening. I thought that would be a great opportunity to meet her again and beg for her forgiveness. I was so tensed that I couldn't control myself. I found a pile of blocks beside a house and went to take a rest there. By that time, ECG had taken their light.

As I sat there thinking about all the techniques and tricks that I can use to win her back, I saw that boy. That ugly boy. JK. I knew he attended the same church with Lucy but I didn't know he was also a chorister. If JK could sing with that irritating voice, then may God forgive me because I have been wasting my talent. He was heading towards the direction of Lucy's house. I felt uncomfortable. I felt uneasy calm swimming through my veins. I wanted to confront him, but I felt powerless.

He got to the main gate, entered, and a few minutes later returned with her. They were walking in a compromising posture. They talked. They laughed. They hugged and almost kissed. What prevented them from kissing was my cough. I intentionally did that. I didn't want them to go that far. Hugging was normal, but kissing? I couldn't stand that. I approached them. I wanted to teach JK a bitter lesson. I can't stand there and watch while JK put me through hell. Just when I was about to pounce on JK, I saw something that made me stop.

I saw that the girl wasn't Lucy. It was someone else. I couldn't believe I was wasting my energy on a strange girl. I couldn't believe JK had been cheating on Lucy. I had caught them red-handed. Right in front of Lucy's house. Lucy must hear this. JK saw me but said nothing. The girl saw me but wanted to ask me something. JK dragged her away. I'm very sure she saw me either entering or going out of the house. I didn't waste any more time. I started walking towards the gate of Lucy's house to reveal to him the real personality of JK. I got to the gate, tried to open it, but someone opened it before I did. Who could this be?

It was her. Lucy. She was decently dressed. Ready to go for choir practice. "You again? So what you saw wasn't enough eh? You want to come and enjoy yourself more. Shame on you!" she said. When I heard those words flowing out of her mouth like a river that has lost its direction, I felt bad. I felt stupid. I felt humiliated. "How could she be this mean to me. Upon all I have been through, just listen to the insults she's adding to my injuries?" I said it quietly to myself. Enough is enough. I turned to go home to "nurse my wounds" but she held my shirt. She pushed me towards her. She hugged me.

The hug was so tight. It was tighter than the one she gave me at the hospital. I was shocked. Was I in love with some kind of a psycho? How could she push me away this minute and the next minute, she's pampering me in her arms. I didn't want to fall for her tricks. I told her to stop what she was doing. I wanted to tell her what I saw between JK and the girl. I didn't know how she was going to take it. Would she be angry? Would she be disappointed? Would she be shocked? Should I tell her or just keep mute?

THE GIRL I NEVER HAD, PART11

"You will never know whether your friend is a snake or a snake is your friend until one of them bites you." I didn't know whose room I was hiding until the owner entered the room. I didn't want to stand there for the person to see me. As soon as I heard the gate opening, I went and hid behind a giant old refrigerator in the room. I did that spontaneously without thinking. The person entered. A female. A girl. Lucy. She wrapped herself with a towel. I'm very sure she was coming from the bathhouse.

I was a bit safe now. I was still behind the refrigerator watching Lucy. She started dancing to the song being played. I watched her as she danced. She danced so well. How long will I hide? What if she finds out? What if her mum joins her in the room? I started sweating. The room was hot. I didn't know what happened, but I unexpectedly sneezed. Pandemonium broke out. She was so terrified that she screamed. I also screamed. I came out from my hiding place. When she saw me, she screamed the more. Her towel dropped to the floor and she stood there naked.

She stopped screaming when someone started banging at the door. Who could this be? It was a male. He tried to open the gate and come in but luckily for me, Lucy had locked the gate. He asked what the matter was. Lucy still stood there naked and speechless. She was shocked to the core. She stood there shaking. I stole a glance at her dangling breast. I couldn't enjoy the view because I was so tensed and frightened. The person kept banging the gate and asking her what the matter was. I begged her not to mention anything about me.

She finally spoke. She told him it was nothing. But this man wouldn't move an inch until she told him what made her scream so loud. She lied that she saw a big mouse on her bed, and that made her scream. That got the man so furious that he went away insulting Lucy. By that time, Lucy had wrapped herself again with her towel, but I could see that she was still in a state of shock. "What are you doing here? Why are you here? How did you get in here?" she asked me these questions and demanded answers from me. I told her to calm down, which she gladly did. I explained what happened to her.

I thought she would pity me. I thought she would comfort me. I thought she would kiss me. I thought she would hug me. I got none of these. She asked me to get out of her room. She pushed me out of her room. She was so annoyed. She didn't care about their dog who was lying in wait to devour me. She didn't care about the man who had come to bang at her gate. All she cared about that moment was herself. She got so pissed that I had seen her nakedness. She drove me out.

I entered her room with courage but came out with shame. My mind had been captured with shame so much so that I didn't even have a space to entertain fear. I didn't give a hoot about the wild dog. I didn't care about the man seeing me. I walked out slowly to the gate, opened it, and went out. I knew by then that my chances of winning Lucy's heart were very slim now.
#to_be_continued

THE GIRL I NEVER HAD, PART 10

"You can't run and scratch your buttocks at the same time", that's what our wise folks say. I was faced with two difficult tasks. One was getting JK punished and the other one was winning the heart of Lucy. They both seemed easy tasks but actually, they were very difficult. I needed to plan with my guys. It was too big a burden for just one person to carry. I called for a meeting on Friday after school. We met. We planned. We decided to start with the revenge on JK, and after that, the three of us excluding Frank, will "fight" for the heart of Lucy. Whoever succeeds, takes her.

That Friday evening I decided to go and visit Lucy at her house. I had not seen her after we separated at the hospital. I wanted to make an impression. I wanted to win her heart, mind, and maybe the whole body. I took my bath. I brushed my teeth. I dressed very well. I didn't forget to steal my mum's perfume. I stepped out and set off. We lived in the same area so I didn't need any transport fare.

I got to her house. I opened the main gate and entered. I have never entered her house. She only gave me the direction to her house. I couldn't see anyone around. I heard music playing in one of the rooms. I decided to go there and knock. I went there and started knocking. I heard a dog barking. I turned to look at it, but unfortunately, it was running towards me.  My heart started beating faster. The dog was wild. I knew that it wouldn't spare my life. I had two options; face the wild dog and fight it, or run for my dear life. But run to where?

I kept on knocking. Very faster now. Still no answer. Just when the dog was about to pounce on me, I opened the gate and entered the room. I didn't care whose room it was. I didn't care who or what I was going to meet in the room. All I wanted was to escape that wild dog. I had done that courageously. The dog was still outside barking. I was safely inside someone's room. There was no one in the room. The dog waited for some time and went back. Just when I made up my mind to open the gate and go out, the gate opened. Who opened the gate?
#to_be_continued