An hour and a half later, I stood in front of the Engineering Science building, completely clean and sweat-free. I hadn't been here since the club patron wrongfully threw me out of the club. I struggled not to let the memories resurface.
Shola had asked me to meet her here before the swimming competition to talk about something very important. She didn't give any details, but I had this nagging feeling that she wasn't absolutely certain about the confession she had made yesterday.
Akunna told me not to overthink it, that she probably wanted to find out if we were in a solid relationship. But if that was the case, she could have outright asked 'hey, are we in a solid relationship?' Or 'hey, is it ok if I call you my boyfriend?' And I, wholeheartedly, would've said 'YES!'
But she didn't say anything like that. She specifically said 'we need to talk' and when someone says something like that, it usually means that there is a serious issue at hand.
I sucked in a breath. You've got this Akwasi. No matter what Shola says, you're gonna take it like a champion cuz that's what you are.
Squeezing the handle of my sports bag with determination, I quickly jogged up the stairs and into the building. The hallway held a strong smell of paint and turpentine, which I guessed was from the new display cases filled with plaques, trophies and pictures. The sight of it brought the Science Fair to mind and a sensation of sorrow seeped into my heart. If only the club had won...
Shaking my head, I continued my trek to the engineering laboratory and slipped past the doors, surprised to find all the club members present.
My legs froze in place. This wasn't a scheduled meeting time, none of them were supposed to be here.
Chad, the club treasurer, was the first to spot me and his eyes widened. "Akwasi."
Everyone turned in my direction, including their shit-face vice-president.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Mawuli bellowed out and I was just about to give a snarky response when a feminine voice cut me off.
"I asked him to come."
Shola entered the lab, dressed in a simple knee-length dress that made her a sight to behold.
"For what?" Mawuli's question pulled me out of my admiration stupor. "He's been banned for the club."
"I know," Shola swiftly replied. "But what we need to discuss involves him."
"And you didn't think to tell me about this?" His frown deepened.
"If you want to be involved in the club's state of affairs, then maybe you should start taking your responsibilities as the vice-president seriously, instead of acting like a self-centered prima donna!"
Giggles and snickers filled the air, clouding Mawuli's face with embarrassment and rage. He opened his mouth to shoot out a comeback, but Dr. Kankam's sudden appearance rendered him speechless.
"S-s-sir!" Mawuli dashed up to his side. "Umm...what-what brings you here? I don't remember calling you for this meeting."
"You didn't, Shola did," the club patron, who looked quite sporty in a pair of sweatpants, sneakers and a t-shirt, adjusted the baseball cap on his head. "She called me this morning and said it was very important that I attend this meeting."
Mawuli turned back to Shola with a suspicious glare amidst an avalanche of whispers and chatter. It was obvious that Shola had something huge planned for this meeting, but no one in the lab knew exactly what it was.
"Hey, hey Shola." I walked up to her, hoping to get an idea. "What's going on? I thought we were going to be here alone to talk about-"
"Sssh," she grabbed my arms. "Relax ok, this is all for your good, trust me."
"What?" My eyebrows dipped low. "What are you-"
Just then, the lab doors swung open and in stepped Nadia, Felix and Deladem, carrying a laptop with one hand.
"We have the footage," Nadia announced and Shola clasped her hands in satisfaction.
"Great!" She joined Felix and the others in the centre of the room.
"Wait, wait, hold on!" Mawuli stepped forward. "What footage are you talking about? What is going on?"
Blatantly ignoring him, Shola turned back to us with a warm smile on her face. "Noble ladies and gentlemen of the engineering club, I summoned you all here this faithful Thursday morning because there has been a new development in the sabotage case that happened a couple of weeks ago before the 57th National Science Fair."
A gaggle of murmurs filled the room, and whilst I tried focusing on what Shola was saying, I couldn't help but catch the split look of fear on Mawuli's face.
"Thanks to the diligent efforts of our club members; Nadia, Felix and Deladem, they were able to retrieve security footage that captured all the activities that happened that night."
"What are you talking about? We've already seen the footage." Chad blurted out.
"That footage we saw was altered," Nadia said in full confidence. "It came from the security camera located inside the lab, and since the culprit knew about it, he found a way to get the footage and erased his crime. But what he didn't notice was the security camera outside the lab, hidden directly above the window."
With a few rapid clicks on the laptop, Felix turned the laptop and we all drew closer.
Since the camera was meant to record incidents that happened outside the premises, it had a good view of the side walk, the lawn, and also captured a small section of the lab through the window. That very section was where we'd kept the robot, under a thick blanket.
It was around 8:42pm, according to the time stamp at the bottom of the video, when we sensed movement around our project. The perp was clearly aware of the camera inside the lab because he purposely kept the lights off. But thanks to the slim rays from the streetlight outside, we able to see his hand pull the blanket off the robot.
I drew closer to the laptop.
The figure shot a brief look behind him to check if the coast was clear, before pushing a hand into his hoodie pockets to pull out a small tool bag. A tool bag I immediately recognised.
So it didn't come as a surprise when he pulled the hood off his head, allowing the camera to get a good view of his face.
"Mawuli!" The club members chorused.
"I knew it!" I shot up. "I knew he had something to do with this!"
"Mawuli sabotaged the robot to get back at us because we all decided to work on a project he wasn't in favour of," Deladem said. "He did this on purpose and framed Akwasi for it."
"Why were you even there in the first?" Chad tossed the question in my direction.
"Like I said the other day, I came to get my phone." I pointed at it in the video. "I forgot it on charge and came back for it. That was when I met Mawuli."
"That damn bastard!" Dr. Kankam flared up. "Where is he? Where's Mawuli?"
All eyes left the laptop in search of him, but Mawuli had disappeared.
"He can try to run, but he won't be able to escape," Dr. Kankam said with a vivid frown. "He's still a student of this university and I'm going to make sure he pays dearly for costing us this win. In the meantime, I believe apologies are in order." The older man turned to me with a distinct look of remorse. "I am so sorry for everything, Akwasi. I admit, I should've looked harder into this issue instead of believing Mawuli right off the bat. My trust in him pushed me to make terrible decisions and now," he heaved out a breath, "I regret them."
I shook my head. "It's fine, Doc."
"No it's not," he insisted. "It was a mistake to kick you out of the club. You really put your all in this project, and that's why I want you back into the engineering club as an executive."
"Wait, what?" My mouth dropped open.
He grinned, "You heard me. You've done a lot for the club and I think you deserve Mawuli's position in the executive board that's... if the president and the club members are ok with it."
"Well, I wouldn't mind having my boyfriend as my VP." Shola wrapped an arm round my waist and my mind transcended into another state of shock.
Did she just call me her boyfriend?
"I wouldn't mind too," Felix said out loud. "I think Akwasi is the best man for the job."
"Yeah." Deladem nodded. "Totally agree."
And as everyone else joined in with their thoughts, vindication and acceptance warmed my heart. "Thank you all for this," I smiled. "I really appreciate the love and everything but... I'm gonna have to reject the VP offer."
"Why?" Shola drew back.
"Cuz I'm fine being a regular member." I shrugged. "I haven't even spent an entire semester in this club, it would be really unfair if I just waltzed up to the VP position, when there are members who are more qualified for the job. Nadia is a typical example."
Nadia, surprised by the sudden reference, nervously adjusted her glasses.
"She deserves it more than I do. She knows the ropes and she's been a member of the club longer than I have, plus she's Shola's friend... I think she's a perfect fit."
"In that case," Deladem began, "All in favour of Nadia Agyekumhene as the new VP, raise your hand."
A collection of hands flew up and Deladem clasped his hands. "Well that sums it up! Ladies and gents, let's give a huge round of applause for our new vice-president." He pulled her to the centre of the room.
Amidst vibrant cheers and applause, Nadia cupped her cheeks. If she wasn't brown skinned, her face would've been as red as a tomato. "Thank you all so much for this opportunity," she beamed. "I promise, I won't let you down."
"Congratulations, Nadia." Dr. Kankam joined her in the middle of the lab. "This is the first ever female duo to take over the club presidency, and I must say, I'm eager to see what you bring on board." He extended a hand for a handshake, but Nadia pushed it aside to trap him in a surprise hug.
"Ok, ok!" Dr. Kankam chuckled, pulling himself out of Nadia's embrace. "Well then, if that's everything, I declare this meeting adjourned, go on and enjoy the rest of the day."
Members of the club began to disperse, filling the room with conversations.
"For someone who just got vindicated, you're awfully quiet," Shola turned to me and I had to take a minute to gather my thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm just... I'm just overwhelmed by how things turned out cuz, when you asked me to come here," I nervously rubbed the back of my neck, "I actually thought you were going to say that you regretted everything that happened last night."
"What?" Shola's expression morphed into a mixture of surprise and amazement. "Why would you even think that? We cleared everything up yesterday."
"I know, I'm just..." Letting out a deep exhale, I rubbed both hands over my face. "Guess, I'm a bit insecure about this whole relationship thing."
"You don't need to be." I felt her warm, delicate hands wrap around my wrists. "I like you very much, Akwasi. And I don't know what lies ahead of us in this relationship but..." she laced our fingers together. "I'm pretty sure my feelings for you aren't going to die out anytime soon."
At this point, my heart was threatening to jump out of its cage. Coming here, the last thing I expected was another confession, but here it was. The words were uttered right in front of me by this gorgeous goddess who, I swore, held my heart in her hands.
"Can I kiss you right now?"
"Do you even need to ask?" she laughed and I wasted no time sealing my lips on hers, drowning in all the sweetness she had to offer.