Must Read: A Teenage Love Affair

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: A Teenage Love Affair

“I could drive you home”,he said. “I don’t wanna impose. . . “,she began. “You’re not imposing. I offered,remember?”. “Okay then,i guess you’re driving me home”,she replied. “And who do we have here?”,asked a boisterous male voice from the middle of nowhere. She turned to see a guy who was a bit taller than her. He had Elvis-like sideburns and wore some pretty cool shades. He took them off and asked with a broad grin;”Don’t you remember me?”. “Uhh. . . No,i’m sorry,i don’t”. “It’s Mike. We used to drum together,remember?”,he asked. “Yeah. . Oh Sh*t! Look at you! You look great!” “Thank-you.



Thank-you very much”,he said with an exaggerated drawl that made her laugh. Mike had grown into an incredibly handsome young man.



She looked at him closely,and in his face saw traces of the young boy he was when she’d left. . it was probably the way his cheeks dimpled when he smiled and his cheeky gap-toothed grin.



The Elvis-like sideburns and his impersonation of ‘the king’ intrigued her;they suggested an eccentricity that she found fascinating. “You’ve changed a lot”,she said after he hugged her. “Yeah. But you,you haven’t changed at all,your face i mean.



The rest of you is all grown up”,he said with a rakish grin. “Look who’s talking. I used to be taller than you”,she said. He chuckled and said hi to Orisha,after which he asked;”Why did you just disappear? Did you move to another state? Leave the country?”. “No. I’ve been in Lagos.



It’s just. . . .i’m not very outgoing”. “Then how come you’re here?”,he asked. “It was Orisha that told me about this party thing”,she replied. “Good thing he did. Hey,there are some people i’d like you to meet-from primary school”,he said. “Cool. Hey Orisha . . ” “No problem. It’s cool. Go catch up”,he said with a smile. She smiled back at him gratefully and left with Mike.


An hour later,the party had moved back into the living room,courtesy Paul’s yelling at everyone to move their butts out of his parents’ pool-they’d given him permission to host a party,not a pool orgy. Orisha stood in a corner,greeting people as they passed him by,exchanging numbers,that sort of thing. The party was in full swing;music blaring,alcohol flowing,and the occasional couple making out in some dark corner. But generally,things weren’t too wild.



Orisha went to the punch bowl and poured himself a drink. It was his 3rd of the night. He wasn’t particularly into punch;he preferred Smirnoff ice,but he wasn’t gonna drink and drive. The punch was non-alcoholic,so it was an acceptable substitute. He scooped the drink into his cup and went back to where he was standing before. His eyes set on Miriam almost immediately. She moved around effortlessly,hugging people and being hugged,smiling radiantly. ‘For someone who hadn’t been to a real party before,she certainly knows her way around one’,he thought abstractly. His gaze wandered a bit after resting on Miriam,and sure enough,Mike was there. He’d been hanging around Miriam all night,bringing her drinks,showing her around and introducing her to people while his hand rested conveniently on the small of her back. At the moment,Mike walked up to her and in a rather intimate gesture,whispered something into her ear-to which she laughed. ”What could possibly be so funny?”,he muttered to himself,infuriated and not quite knowing why. He sq££zed the cup in his hand unconsciously until the drink in it spilled over,cup crushed. “Bloody hell”,he swore under his breath. “Hey man. Take it easy”,Paul said as he walked to him. “Couldn’t they make these damn things more solid?”,he asked crossly. “They’re paper cups”,replied Paul with a wry grin,and continued;”What’s up with you man? You’ve been grouchy all night”.in.”Nothing’s up with me”,he replied a few minutes later after he returned from washing his sticky hands. “Except them”,he continued,gesturing at Miriam and Mike. They were seated then,for all intents and purposes lost in conversation. “Did you see the way she was laughing a few minutes ago?”,he asked. “Yeah. . ?”,replied Paul. “Nothing could be that funny. Nothing,i tell ya”,he said. “I dunno,man. She just looked like she was having a good time to me”,Paul said with a shrug. “Maybe she’s having too good a time.



He’s been all over her all night”,said Orisha. “I didn’t notice anything”. “Of course you didn’t notice anything”,Orisha said and continued;”You were too busy hitting on random babes. I,on the other hand,noticed a lot,because all night, i couldn’t take my eyes off her,and consequently,off him”. Paul looked at him sharply,realization dawning. “Why Orisha,i didn’t know you had a thing for Miriam”,he said with a grin. “What? I don’t have a ‘thing’ for Miriam!”. “Like hell you don’t! ‘I couldn’t take my eyes off her’?”,Paul said,repeating Orisha’s earlier words.



“I didn’t mean it like that,ok? It was completely innocent. Miriam and i are just friends”,Orisha said. “Sure. That’s how it always starts”,Paul replied with a chuckle,unknowingly echoing what Miriam’s dad had said earlier. “I’ve gotta go. Jennifer’s calling me”,said Paul,blowing a kiss at a girl on the other side of the room. “Or is it Rita?”,he asked himself as he walked to her. Ten minutes later,Orisha decided he’d finally had enough.


He walked purposefully to where Miriam was seated. “Excuse me everybody. I need to borrow her for a few minutes”,he said and took her away from the little group she was in. “Borrow me?”,she asked with a grin. “Yeah. We’ve gotta go”. “What? It’s just a few minutes after 8″,she said as she glanced at her wristwatch and then continued;”The drive home isn’t more than 30 minutes”. “There could be traffic”,he replied. “Orisha . . ” “Look,you’re the one who has a 9 o’clock curfew.



Are you ready to go or not?”,he cut in