The following week.
In Hunter and Bradley's dorm room.
Hunter watched as his brother was getting dressed to go out. Bradley took so much time to dress and Hunter couldn't wait to have him out of the way. Bradley wore a white body-hug T-shirt, a black leather jacket, black pants and a white cap.
"Bradley should come out of that closet already!" Hunter muttered under his breath.
Becoming too impatient, Hunter wanted to lay his hands on something that could distract him. If he didn't, he was afraid he might just say out what he might regret later. He looked around for a distraction, but only his phone came to his rescue. He let out a mirthless laugh as he sat on a couch opposite Bradley's closet. He couldn't concentrate on what he was doing on his phone. His eyes were mostly on Bradley's closet door.
Bradley stepped out of his closet after a while, and went straight to his reading table. He grabbed his phone, credit card and car keys before turning to look at his twin brother.
"I'm going out to eat," Bradley said.
"And you forgot to add that you'd be staying there for a long time." Hunter shot his brother a sardonic smile.
Bradley scooped up one of his course materials from his reading table and stoned it at his brother. "You're such a douchebag."
His brother was telling the truth but he didn't want to admit it. He knew he had been spending so much time at his favorite restaurant.
Hunter dodged the book, chuckling. "You know, sometimes I can't help but feel you are crushing on one of the waiters."
Bradley's face flushed with embarrassment.
"You have been going there since our freshman year. Even when Ryan and I invite you for a change, you wouldn't budge.
"That was because I wasn't interested, twin bro."
Bradley's expression was enigmatic but Hunter was trying really hard to search his brother.
"Maybe I'll come with you some other time. I would like to meet her too, you know." Hunter smirked.
"Hmm!" Bradley shrugged. "I'm outta here."
Hunter watched as his brother walked to the door, yanked it open, and slammed it behind him. He exhaled deeply as he scooped up his phone from the couch he sat on.
His addiction was eating him deeply and he was grateful that Bradley was out of the way now. Each time he wanted to go out when his brother was around, Bradley would always want to know where he was going. It was always difficult for him anytime he lied about his whereabouts.
Hunter shook his head smiling sadly as he remembered their mother. Wasn't that what she told them to always do? Look out for each other. As far as he knew, Bradley was the only one perfectly keeping to that instruction.
He unlocked his phone and went straight to his contact list, scrolling until he found the number he was looking for, then punched the call button. The person picked after the third ring.
"Why, Hunter my boy. It's good to see your call. Hope I'm expecting you today?" the caller from the other end of the phone said in excitement.
Since their freshman year, Hunter had been one of his best patrons. Students who were into such addictions weren't hard to find in colleges. Mr. Master, as he asked his patrons to call him, knew how to keep his tracks clean, and that was why the college had been unable to discover him since the past decade.
"Yes, I'm about to leave my dorm room."
"Oh! That's good then, I'll be expecting you."
"See you in twenty minutes' time," Hunter said and disconnected the call.
He fingered through his blonde hair. Standing from the chair, he went to his closet. Hunter chose a shirt similar to Bradley's but it was lemon colored.
CHAPTER TEN
Baby Blues BBQ.
Bradley was shocked as he saw a familiar figure darting through the restaurant's tinted door. He brushed his hands over his face, his eyes in particular, to be sure of who he was seeing.
Dang it! Bradley cursed under his breath. It was Ifes.
Since his freshman year, Bradley had been coming to Baby Blues Barbecue where none of his friends or anyone close to his friends came.
Bradley noticed the perplexed expression on Ifesinachi's face when her gaze fell on him. Composing herself, she grinned as she walked towards him.
He lowered his head, cursing. "Why is she walking towards me?" He groaned inwardly.
He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. He brought out his phone, unlocked it, and pretended to be busy doing something on it.
Ifes walked towards him and gently tapped him on his right shoulder. He glanced up and saw Ifes smiling down at him. She stared at Bradley smiling, while he gazed at her bleakly.
"Hi!" Ifes broke the silence that encompassed around them.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
"This is where I work."
Bradley gave her an incredulous stare. "I don't believe you. This has been my favorite restaurant since our freshman year and I have never seen you here even once."
"I just started working. I've only worked for four months here."
A muscle in his face twitched. "This means we'll be seeing more of each other?"
"Yes," Ifes said.
Bradley cringed inwardly. "Hmm! For how long will you be working here?"
That was a weird question to ask someone who just started working and would probably work for the rest of her college years, but Ifes answered him though.
"I'll work here till I am either done with college or the management would have no need for my service."
Bradley swore under his breath, wincing at the thought of having to see her everyday, as if it wasn't enough that he attended the same lectures with her, Hunter, Ryan and Mandy.
She glanced down at his food, it was halfway eaten. One of her colleagues had told her that he had been there for an hour. The thought of Bradley not finishing his food in one hour filled her with concern.
Bradley abruptly stood from his seat, making her jerk from her thoughts. "I have to be on my way now," Bradley said, staring at her.
She grimaced. "Is there anything wrong with the food?"
"No, not the food, but you. Everything is wrong with you," Bradley wanted to say.
"No, the food is fine. I'm not hungry."
"Then, why are you lea–?"
"Take care of yourself," Bradley said as he stood making a scraping noise with the chair. He negotiated his movement around her and made for the exit door.
Ifes tilted her head, mouth half agape as she watched him amble out of the restaurant.
"Hay, missy," one of the customers who sat on another table a couple inches away from the table Bradley occupied called out. She turned in the direction of the voice and squinted her eyes to see the customer and his friend smirking at her.
One was a brunette and looked like a player. He was the one who called her. The other was a fidgety, freckle-faced man that looked as if he was the other man's shadow.
They had been served their orders, and they weren't done eating, so she wondered why they called her attention.
"Why, your boyfriend is really handsome, you know?"
Her face flushed in embarrassment as they cackled sardonically.
"I think she just confronted her boyfriend," the man who had called out to her said.
Laughing, his friend replied. "I don't think so. Can't you read between the lines?"
The customer thoughtfully raised an eyebrow to his friend.
Reading his expression, his friend replied. "Yes! Exactly what I am talking about," the freckled man said emphatically, snapping his fingers in synchrony. "Didn't you notice that she looks like a hungry lioness?"
"Oh Haha! You're actually correct. I guess I was too foolish to notice." The man tilted his head to look at her again from his side.
She gazed at the men, perplexed at their hideous thoughts.
"Unbelievable!" He shook his head grimly and sardonically.
His friend also tilted his head to stare at the standing waitress. "Why, I can't agree more."
"Missy, when last did you and your boyfriend ha–?"
Not wanting to hear the remaining part of his sentence, she shot him a glare giving him the look that read, "I don't have your time," then whirled around to walk away.
Laughing, the brunette called out, "Hey! Before you go, missy, remember to pick up your boyfriend's diary from that table."
She stopped in her tracks. Her mind was conflicted whether to believe him or not. Finally taking a decision, she summoned courage, turned around and walked straight to Bradley's table without giving them the benefit of a side glance.
"She couldn't even look at us, or say a simple thank you." They said it loud enough that she could hear them.
"Thank you," she said, approaching the table.
Ifesinachi's eyes popped out as she glanced down at the opened diary.
"Jesus! What is this?" She pointed to the open diary as though it was an abomination. She never intended to look at his diary, she just wanted to pick it up and give it back to him the next day. Terrible anguish struck her heart, she felt a dreadful ache tearing inside her at what she was seeing.
"What's the matter?" The customer asked as his friend gazed speechlessly.
Like seriously, were they expecting her to tell them? Tell them what exactly? That Bradley was writing of how he wanted his funeral to be? That he had used up his college reserve for chemotherapy and could no longer continue? That he had kept it a secret from his friends and family so as to not hurt their feelings?
"Nothing!" She yanked the book from the table and walked away, feeling sick on the inside.
She hadn't gone far when she heard the duo yelling. "It's not like we were expecting anything better!" They called her a foul name.
She kept walking till she could no longer hear their yelling voices. Coming out a while later to attend to new customers, she realized they had left the restaurant, and their table was now occupied by a young couple.
Ayo came at the end of her shift to see her off as usual and noticed the grim look on her face. As they walked back, Ayo talked but noticed she wasn't concentrating on what he was saying when she didn't reply to his question.
He held her hand pulling her to a halt, then tilted his head to look at her.
"What is the matter? Are you okay Ifes?"
Bradley's secret was meant for only his diary and she didn't have the right to tell even Mandy. But why should she not tell Ayo who was now asking her? And Mandy, or any of her squad of friends? Isn't this supposed to be a matter of necessity that needed not to be kept a secret? She folded her hands across her chest as the cold night breeze brushed her bare skin.
Ayo faced her, placing two of his hands on her shoulders studying her.
"You don't look okay, what is wrong?"
She shook her head. " No-nothing."
"Are you sick?"
"No."
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes ."
"Do you want us to go sit down somewhere and talk?"
She gave it a thought then shook her head. "No."
"Did work go well today?"
"Yes."
"Did anything or anyone make you angry?"
Probably. "No."
"Is all well with your family back in Nigeria?"
"Yes."
Ayo exhaled deeply, letting go of her shoulders. Dropping his hands to his side, he asked. "Then what is the matter?"
Seeing the worried look on his face, she released her hands and held one of his.
"I am sorry. I don't mean to hurt you. The issue is not about me, you know I would have told you if it was."
"Alright then. I reckon you want to keep it private."
"Yes, but please pray. Pray for Bradley and keep an eye on him. This is all I can say for now."
He brushed his knuckles on her cheek to cheer her up. "Don't worry, I understand. I'll definitely pray for him."
She looked at him and prayed that he didn't misunderstand like the way those jesters back in the restaurants did.
Ifes entered her dorm room and didn't say a word to her roommate as she walked straight to bed. The burden of the secret she was now carrying was weighing her down.
Her roommate watched as she laid on her bed, her face to the wall. "Ifes. Ifes!" Her roommate tapped her on her back.
"Yes, Mandy," she answered, not looking away from the wall.
Mandy was taken aback by her abrupt attitude. "You perplexed me with your sudden behavior. Are you alright?"
Looking up from the wall to her friend, she replied. "Yes, I am. Thanks for asking."
"I made grilled cheese sandwiches. May I get some for you?"
Ifes knew that declining her friend's request would arouse unwanted questions, so she did what she thought was best for her and Mandy. "Yes, you may. Thanks."
Mandy smiled. "You haven't even tasted it and you're thanking me already."
She laughed bleakly. "Why shouldn't I? We both know how great your sandwiches taste."
Ifes had no appetite, but knew she had to force herself to be normal and eat up the sandwich if she wanted to have some sleep that night.
The next day, Ifes went to work early and eagerly waited for Bradley's arrival.
"Oh! Holy Spirit, precious Holy Spirit! Thank you because I know you always hear me. As Bradley comes today, please come and take control of our conversation. Put the right words into my mouth. At the end of the day, let Jesus be glorified. In Jesus' name, Amen."
She prayed over and over again as her eyes were fastened on the door. No one noticed how distracted she was as she served the customers cheerfully. They finally did when she bumped into a couple whose backs were to her. She stained their dresses. At that time, she had seen Bradley come in and totally lost concentration.
"I'm so sorry!" she stammered.
Bradley saw what happened and knew it was definitely related to his diary. His heart stopped beating for a while. He shook himself hard to check if he was still alive. Then his heartbeat started again, drumming louder and faster in his ears.
His speculations were right, after all. She had seen the diary. Now, he could only hope his speculations weren't absolutely right. He hoped she had not said anything to Mandy.
He glared at her then mumbled under his breath, "You are a fool and a busybody going about poking your nose into other people's matters! Who does she think she is to read my diary? What gave her the right to? I'm going to walk straight to her and give her a piece of my mind. Nonsense!"
He walked close to the couple who were now yelling at Ifes for staining their dresses, and called for their attention.
"Please, forgive her, I promise you that it wasn't intentional."
The couple tilted their heads to look at the intruder.
"Hey, mister, who do you think you are to bring yourself into this ****ing issue?" the wife said, glaring at him.
"Judging from your looks, I can tell that you two ain't related in any way, so how is this any of your business?" the husband yelled at him.
"Yeah, we ain't related in the way you are thinking. She is my girlfriend," Bradley lied.
Ifes gazed at him dumbfounded. She opened her mouth to speak but he shot her the look that read, "You better keep quiet for your own good!" She gulped back her saliva.
The wife asked Bradley a question. "So you go about dating girls who don't have manners, right?"
"Ha ha ha! She is very sweet and respectful." He went close to her and firmly stood by her side taking her left hand into his right hand. "You know, I love her a lot. She means the world to me."
The couple blushed, remembering their own college days.
"She is the woman I plan to get married to after graduation. She is pregnant with my child and it makes her get tired a lot. That was why that mild accident happened."