Not This Time, Love Pt 28

Immediately I heard the knock, fear gripped me. My whole body froze. Sweat rolled down my face as a thousand thoughts rushed through my mind. Who could be behind the gate? I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just waited, hoping the person would knock again and leave.

Then came footsteps. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. Each step grew louder, heavier, closer. I wished the earth could open and swallow me up, but it remained just a wish. The shame of being caught in the girls’ urinal would finish me more than any punishment. I shut my eyes and prayed silently that my worst fear wouldn’t come true.

The gate creaked open. My eyes flew wide—only to find no one inside but me.

“Ah! How’s this possible? Where did the person go?” I muttered. That’s when I realised: the knock and the footsteps weren’t from the girls’ urinal but the boys’. Fear had played games with my mind. Oh, what fear can do!

Relieved, I took out a piece of chalk and scrawled boldly on the wall: “I love you, Priscy.” I almost added my name but thought better of it. That would have been a recipe for disaster.

Now came the tricky part—getting out without being seen. I unlocked the gate slowly, carefully, and stepped out.

I almost fainted.

There he was—the headmaster—standing not far away, hands folded behind his back, a cane dangling from his right hand. Two unlucky students knelt nearby, already victims of his wrath.

My blood ran cold. If he saw me stepping out of the girls’ urinal? I didn’t even want to imagine. Thankfully, his back was turned. I tiptoed back inside and waited. Moments later, screams pierced the air. I peeped through a small hole and saw him lashing the two students mercilessly. My knees trembled, but my lips whispered a shaky prayer of thanks. I had escaped—for now.

“All because of love? Look at me suffering. Is it just me, or does everyone pay such a heavy price for love?” I kept asking myself, but there were no answers.

When the coast was finally clear, I slipped out and hurried to class. By then, the lesson was almost over. The teacher at the door refused me entry, telling me to wait outside until the period ended. I didn’t mind; I knew soon I’d hand my letter to Priscy.

As I leaned against the wall, trying to look invisible, my peace was short-lived. The headmaster again.

“Oh, not again! Why won’t this man just sit in his office and let me have some peace?” I muttered under my breath.

He spotted me and called me over. “Why are you outside when your mates are in class?”

I told him everything, trying to sound as innocent as possible. He was about to escort me back when the closing bell rang. Saved by the bell! He turned and walked off, leaving me free.

I didn’t bother going back to class. My moment had come. I marched straight to Priscy’s classroom, excitement bubbling in my chest. But disappointment hit me squarely in the face—again. A teacher stood in front of the class. Extra lessons. My hopes deflated like a burst balloon.

Frustrated, I turned to go find Jake. But then—sweet salvation.

“KD!”

Her voice rang like music. I didn’t need to guess. Priscy.

She walked up, smiling.

“Aren’t you part of the extra classes?” I asked.

“I was, but not anymore. I want to find something to eat—and also check on you,” she replied.

My heart warmed. I assured her I was fine.

Then she said the words that cracked my soul.

“Hey KD, you know what? I’ve written a lovely letter. Can you please give it to the senior for me?”

And just like that, she handed the letter over to me.

Not This Time, Love Pt 27

 

“A frog does not jump backwards,” our wise folks say. I had come too far to give up now. My aim was simple: win the heart of Priscy.

Jake’s so-called revelations? Oh, they could wait. I believed in prayer and in God, but the way Jake and his prayer group kept chasing me with scary prophecies was becoming unbecoming. “Two guests cannot be entertained satisfactorily at the same time.” I was faced with two options at closing: meet Priscy or meet Jake. But “he who wants what is under the bed must bend over to get it.” I wasn’t about to sacrifice Priscy’s meeting. I wanted her to read my letter. I was sure it would work its magic.

“No matter how dark the room is, a man will always find his way to the woman’s breast.” No matter the obstacles staring me in the face, I was optimistic I’d overcome them and win Priscy’s love.

On my way back from the canteen, belly full of fruit, I ran into Slim Bee—the same guy who, with his friends, had beaten up Jake. I’d seen him around before but never spoken to him. One good look at his face, and I thought he could land a role in any Hollywood horror movie. His two brown eyes were so far apart they looked like they belonged to two different people. His monstrous nose nearly swallowed his upper lip. No wonder Priscy couldn’t stand him. I couldn’t imagine how such a scary face had the confidence to chase after a beautiful girl like her.

I didn’t bother greeting him; I was afraid his looks might infect me. I just stared, then walked away. Every ten steps, I slipped my hand into my pocket to make sure the letter was still there.

Then nature called. At the urinal, something caught my eye: the wall. Covered with scribbles. Some students advertised their street names, others wrote unprintable insults at seniors known for bullying juniors. And then, an idea struck me. Why not sneak into the girls’ urinal and write my undying love for Priscy on the wall? Risky? Yes. Daring? Absolutely. But I was desperate.

I rushed back to class, grabbed some broken chalk from the floor, and kept the pieces in my pocket. From the moment I first saw Priscy, I had stopped thinking with my head. Now my heart was doing all the reasoning. I didn’t care about getting caught. Winning her attention was worth any price.

I decided to wait. During and just after break, the urinals were always crowded. After about thirty minutes, I asked permission from the teacher to step out. The Social Studies lesson was interesting, but the urge to win Priscy’s heart was stronger.

At the girls’ urinal, I waited a good five minutes to be sure no one was inside. No one went in, no one came out. Finally, I slipped in and locked the gate. Empty. Perfect.

I pulled out the chalk, found a bare space on the wall, and raised my hand to write.

Just then, a knock came at the gate.

Not This Time, Love Pt 26

I could be punched by Mayweather, Pacquiao, Bukom Banku, or even Ayitey Powers a million times and still be walking, but to be in love with someone who doesn’t love me back? I’d be dead in a day.

I was shattered when Priscy told me she was falling for one of the seniors—and then had the guts to ask me to help her get him. It felt as if my whole life had come to a halt. I just sat there watching her talk. I didn’t even hear what she was saying anymore; all I saw was the movement of her lips.

I grew weaker and weaker. Dizzy. The room started spinning. Then I dropped from my chair to the floor. For a moment, I thought I was dead. I thought it was the end. I thought I saw Death himself, telling me to go back because my time wasn’t up.

Then I came back to life. My strength returned, my eyes opened—and there was Priscy kneeling beside me, her hands shaking. She was screaming my name but stopped the moment she saw me wake up. Fear was written all over her face.

The librarian rushed over and asked what had happened. Priscy explained that we’d been talking and I had suddenly fallen to the floor, unconscious. Since the break was already over, he told us to go back to class. Priscy promised to check on me during the second break, but I told her I’d be going to the dining hall then.

In truth, I was thinking of a plan. I needed to act fast before I lost Priscy to that senior. She had taken the best part of me—my heart—and I’d come too far to let her slip away. To sit back and watch her run into someone else’s arms would be like handing my bitterest enemy a loaded gun and asking him to shoot me. As the saying goes, “You never realize how much you love someone until you watch them love someone else.”

I didn’t get time to write the letter during class, so at second break I sacrificed my lunch again. I waited until my classmates had gone out, pulled out a sheet of paper, and started writing:

---

Dear Priscy,

I wish I had known you were ready to love and be loved. I wish I had known that behind the “prayer director” title burned an unquenchable desire to be loved. Priscy, I have tried hard to hide my feelings for you for far too long. Now I’m ready to unleash all these months of bottled-up love.

I love you in a way that consumes me. I want you to be mine. I want to wrap you in my arms, skin against skin, hands intertwined, so you can fall asleep to the sound of my heartbeat. Don’t give your heart to any other guy. Promise me you will never be anybody’s darling but mine.

I will care for your heart. I will care for your body. I will feed you with love. I will be honest, faithful, and kind to you. Priscy, give your love to me and let me give you mine. Let us join our hearts together and love each other like nobody’s business.

I hope to get a positive reply from you.

Your secret lover,

KD

---

When I finished writing the letter, I was starving. I decided to go and buy some fruit to eat. On my way, I met Jake. He still looked weak. I knew he was still fasting. I almost pitied him, because the same girl he was fasting and praying for was busy chasing after a senior’s heart.

“Hey KD, you couldn’t come for the afternoon prayers. Priscy was there, and I thought you’d also come but you didn’t,” he said.

“Yes, I couldn’t come, but I’ll try and make it in the evening,” I replied.

“Ermm, KD,” he continued, “there’s been another revelation about you. I hope we can meet after closing so we can talk about it. Please try and meet me after closing.”

He said that and walked away.

Closing time? The same time I’d planned to meet Priscy? Like seriously?

Not This Time, Love Pt 25

“Can we go now?” Jake asked Priscy, acting as though he hadn’t even seen me standing there talking to her. His behaviour felt disrespectful and rude. I couldn’t understand why he always loved to act like a boss. No wonder he had received those dirty punches from the guys.

I stayed calm and waited for Priscy’s response.

“Ermm, KD wants to discuss something with me at the library, and I don’t want what happened yesterday to repeat itself,” she said.

As soon as Priscy spoke, Jake turned and walked out of the class without a word. I knew he was angry. One thing Jake couldn’t stand was being challenged. He always wanted his words to be followed religiously, without question. So when Priscy spoke like that, I knew trouble was looming.

I had wanted to follow Jake—to convince him not to go—but I didn’t. After sacrificing my breakfast just to meet Priscy, I wasn’t ready to miss this opportunity for anyone.

We went to the library. The place was so quiet, almost eerie. The only person there was the librarian, whose face was buried in a book. He was so absorbed that he didn’t even respond to our greetings.

We went to the far end of the library and opened books in front of us, pretending to be reading. Now it was time to start talking, but I was nervous. She was waiting to hear something from me, yet I kept flipping pages as if my prepared speech was hidden somewhere in the book.

“So, KD,” she said at last, “why are we here? You said you wanted to discuss something with me. I hope it’s not about Jake?”

I didn’t know what to say. I badly needed to know what had happened the previous day, but looking at her posture, I could tell she wasn’t ready to go into the nitty-gritty with me. “Whether it was the tenant who seduced the landlord’s wife, or the landlord who seduced the tenant’s wife, it’s the tenant who would leave the house,” I told myself.

I didn’t really care to know what had transpired. My target was to win her heart, and the first step was to know if it was my letter she had received.

I asked her about the letter she’d gotten the previous day.

As soon as I asked, she beamed with a smile. I knew it was only my letter that could do that kind of magic—not any other guy’s.

“KD, honestly I don’t think Slim Bee wrote that letter. I tried to convince Jake that it wasn’t that guy but another person, but Jake wouldn’t listen,” she replied. She continued, “I even have the letter in my pocket. I asked Slim Bee about it, and he vehemently denied ever writing it. He even showed me his notebook and asked me to compare the handwriting. They weren’t the same. Now my headache is to find this secret lover.”

When she said that, I wanted to scream at the top of my voice and confess that the secret lover was sitting right before her—but I didn’t. I didn’t know how she would take it. I was terrified that if I confessed, I’d lose her.

“Can I also read the letter?” I asked.

She smiled and handed it to me. I read it and—hurraaaaaaaay—it was my letter.

“KD, I don’t know what to do now,” she said. “I guess this person must be in love with me. I couldn’t sleep last night. I read the letter over and over again. No wonder I still have it in my pocket. I wish I could reply to this guy, but I don’t know how, because he didn’t even write his name in the letter. I’m very sure it’s one of the seniors. The words in the letter just won’t leave my head. I never knew I could arrest the attention of a guy in such a manner.”

She stopped talking for a moment, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “KD, will you help me get this senior? Please do me this favour. And I beg you, don’t tell Jake. Let this remain between the two of us.”

I was shocked to the core, hearing her pour those words into my ears. A prayer director? Falling for a senior—and needing my help to get him? Could this be some weird dream I was having?

Not This Time, Love Pt 24

“The cane that was used to beat the first wife is the same cane that would be used to beat the second wife.” Jake’s story frightened me. I knew, without a doubt, that if I wasn’t careful, I would also end up in excruciating pain like him. Jake broke into tears after his story. I tried to console him and told him I would take up the matter and deal with those rascals.

I had never seen those boys before. I didn’t know how big or strong they were. I didn’t even know if I could beat them or not. But as our wise folks say, “If the cockroach wants to rule over the chicken, then it must hire the fox as a bodyguard.” I needed a plan—a very good plan—to put those rascals in their place. We went back to the dormitory to sleep.

That night on my bed, I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about Priscy and those rascals. Was it even worth it to fight them? From Jake’s account, Priscy had run away as soon as the boys pounced on him. Could that be a sign that one day, if I finally held her heart, she’d run away and leave me too? Or was that even the full truth of what Jake told me? “Until the rotten tooth is pulled out, the mouth must chew with caution.” I decided to delay my judgment until I heard the other side of the story. I said a short prayer and finally slept.

I woke up the next day rejuvenated, poised to face whatever would come. I said a short prayer. I read my Bible. I went to do my morning duty. I took my bath, dressed up neatly, and grabbed my bag. Just when I was about to leave the dormitory, Jake called me.

He told me about a bad dream he’d had. In the dream, he was being lynched by a group of people. Luckily, I came to his rescue. We prayed about the dream and I went out, leaving him to finish getting ready. I knew it was the heavy punches from those guys that made him dream like that. I wasn’t scared of the dream, because even if it came true, I would be his rescuer—not the one being lynched.

I decided to sacrifice breakfast that day. I didn’t want to go to the dining hall. I used the time instead to meet Priscy. I needed her side of the story. How had she managed to run away and leave Jake to his fate? And the letter—the letter that had sparked the fight. Could it be the one I’d written to her? Or was it another letter entirely? If it was mine, I had to clean the mess. How? Well, I’d do it my own way.

I’m sure you’re wondering if I would run to Priscy and confess that I was the one writing the letters, not the other guy. Far from that. That would be the dumbest thing I could ever do. I wouldn’t stop writing her anonymous love letters. She would keep receiving them until I finally got hold of her heart and made it mine.

“If a snake does not act like a snake, little children will use it to tie firewood.” I gathered all the courage within me and went to Priscy’s class. She looked especially pretty that day. As soon as she saw me, she smiled.

I have seen over a million smiles from pretty ladies, but hers was my favorite. I fell in love with the way she touched me without even using her hands. My love for her consumed my thoughts and captured my heart. Right there and then, I wished I could go down on my knees and propose to her—just like they do it in the movies—but I controlled myself.

“Are you going out for break?” I asked her.

“No, I don’t feel like eating this morning.”

“Okay, can we go to the library then? I want us to talk about something.”

I made the request, and before she could even answer, Jake appeared from nowhere.

Not This Time, Love Pt 23

Immediately after prep, I went straight to Jake’s bed. He was lying down, facing the wall. When I called him, he turned to me. He still looked weak, though a little better than before.

“Hey KD, are you back from prep so soon?” he asked, trying to sit up.

“Yes, I’m back. Jake, do you always get this weak anytime you fast?” I asked.

“Hmmm, KD, it’s not just the fast oo. When I went out to meet Priscy, something happened. But don’t worry, I’m okay now. And hey, thanks for the mashed kenkey. I never knew you could prepare it so well.”

As soon as he finished talking, he tried to lie back down, but I stopped him.

“Hey, it isn’t okay. Whatever happened out there, tell me. You can confide in me. I’m your friend—harmless as such. And when it comes to secrets, you can count on me. Even if you don’t want us to talk here in the dorm, we can go out. Yes, let’s go somewhere more private. I’m willing to hear everything from you,” I said, trying to convince him.

He hesitated at first, but I kept assuring him he could trust me and that I wanted to help. Finally, he agreed to talk but not in the dormitory. He wanted somewhere just for the two of us. He got up, wore a white shirt, but quickly took it off. From his bag, he pulled another shirt and wore it.

I saw the bloodstains on the white shirt he’d removed. My heart raced. Something was definitely wrong. But I acted as though I hadn’t seen anything.

He walked with me slowly to a secluded area in the boarding house. There were no students around—just the two of us. He sat on a concrete block while I stood, anxious to feed my hungry ears with whatever story he was about to tell. He motioned for me to sit beside him, but I declined. “I’m okay here,” I said.

“So now, Jake,” I began quietly, “tell me what happened. Tell me everything. I’m ready to listen. Even if your case demands prayers, I’ll pray with you.”

He started speaking, and I listened without a single interruption.

“KD, thank you so much for being a friend. At first, I thought you were just acting, but I now know you’re real. I’m sorry—I can’t tell you everything that happened. I’ll only tell you what you need to know.

“Priscy, our prayer director, came to me with a report. She told me that a certain guy had been proposing to her from the very first day she set foot in the school. She warned him countless times to stay away, but he kept putting pressure on her until it even affected her studies. She showed me the guy one day, and I went to warn him. From that day, the guy stopped approaching her, and she finally had peace to study.

“She told me another problem we were fasting over, but I can’t tell you what that is.”

He paused, then continued.

“Hmmm KD, after I had gone to pray with her at the praying ground after the fast, she showed me a letter. As soon as I read it, I knew that same guy had started his nonsense again. I told Priscy we should go to him one last time and warn him. She agreed.

“When we got to the science block, the guy was still there studying with his friends. The mistake I made was going to face a strong guy like that on an empty stomach. As soon as I finished warning him to stay away from Priscy, one of his friends pushed me. I tried to prove I was ‘man’ enough to stand them all.

“KD, all I realised was that I was on the floor and they were landing heavy punches all over my body. Priscy? Oh, she was long gone. I was left alone in the hands of those tyrants.”

Not This Time, Love Pt 22

I felt like punching Jake in the face for giving me that assignment while he went off to meet the girl of my dreams. I was helpless, frustrated, and deeply unsettled. I had no idea what he was discussing with Priscy. I considered following him secretly, but I changed my mind. Instead I opened my Bible and began reading the quotations he had given me.

I read one verse after another, then prayed—for courage to lead the Bible study and for Jake not to snatch Priscy away from me. They say, “the grasshopper that sleeps forgetfully wakes up in the mouth of the lizard.” That thought stuck with me.

“The little opportunity given to a monkey to wear clothes does not guarantee it a seat at the dining table,” I muttered to myself. Just because I’d shown Jake respect didn’t give him the right to go near Priscy, let alone steal her. Priscy was mine—nobody else’s. I waited for Jake to return, but he didn’t come before dining. I kept wondering where he was. Was he still with Priscy? What were they doing? Was he a true Christian, or just hiding behind religion to lure her into sin? Maybe I was being paranoid.

After dining it was time for the prayer meeting, so I grabbed my Bible and headed to the praying ground. Just as I was about to leave, Jake walked in. He looked weak—like a boxer coming out of the ring.

“I won’t be able to come to the prayer meeting tonight,” he said. “I fasted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. I need to eat and rest.” Then he went straight to his bed without waiting for me to reply.

Was he telling the truth? Or was this a cover for what he had done with Priscy? Again, maybe I was being too suspicious.

I led the Bible study and the prayers. Afterwards, I returned to the dormitory and found Jake still on his bed. He didn’t answer when I called him—then, after a few shouts and a shake, a faint voice answered. He was weak from hunger. I alerted the roommates and we mashed kenkey for him. By the time prep started he was regaining strength.

The dorm prefect let him rest in the dorm while we went for prep. I didn’t tell the others that hunger had nearly felled Jake; I told them he’d forgotten his medication and hadn’t eaten. That night I checked his chop box and found it empty—no gari, nothing. The term was young; where had his food gone?

I still hadn’t discovered what he and Priscy did after “breaking the fast.” Maybe nothing bad happened. Maybe everything I feared was in my head. But I couldn’t live with the doubt. So I decided: right after prep I would walk straight to Jake’s bed and demand to know everything—exactly what he did with Priscy when he went out to meet her.