As Monday drew closer, the buzz surrounding the Twilight dance grew louder. Everyone was talking about it and my friends were hardly an exception.
"When I asked Winnie yesterday, I had this nagging feeling that she was going to say no," Akunna narrated as we occupied a table at the cafeteria for lunch. "So I actually wasn't surprised when she told me she had plans that night. But at least she promised that we could hang out some other time."
"That's good, bro. That means she's interested," Deon chuckled. "You've been pining over this girl since the beginning of the semester."
"Woah, that is not true," Akunna retorted. "I never pined over Winnie."
"Really?" Deon arched an eyebrow. "Wasn't she the whole reason you joined the chemistry club in the first place."
"Only because she kept stealing glances at me," Akunna shot back. "She was the one who initiated the whole love connection thing. I was just a hopeless prey that fell into the trap and had to see where things would, you know, go. But I was never pining over her."
"Yeah right," Deon laughed, pulling his cutlery out its plastic wrapping.
I also did same, ready to dig into my plate of *Jollof rice and chicken when Deon's next utterance made me freeze.
"So how about you, Akwasi?"
"Hm?"
"Who are you taking to the dance?" He asked, casually shovelling a spoon full of rice into his mouth.
"Yeah Akwasi," Akunna beamed whilst biting into a single fry. "Who is the lucky lady?"
"Uhh," I swallowed.
"Bet her name starts with an S," my roommate snickered. "Right?"
I felt my heart threatening to jump out at any moment from now. The stress it had undergone these past days was so unhealthy, that it was a miracle I hadn't suffered any heart attacks.
"Akwasi?" Akunna called out.
"Dude, are you ok?" Deon quizzed in a tone laced with worry. "You look you are about to die of worry."
Just tell them, my subconscious pushed. It's not like you and Princess are going to turn invisible tomorrow.
"Fine," I mumbled then licked my lips. "I'm not taking Shola to the dance."
Akunna's only reaction was to sit upright, whilst Deon probed further, "Ok... who are you taking then?"
I licked my lips again, clenching and unclenching my fists. "Princess."
"Princess?!" They both repeated in unison, drawing a few heads to our table.
"Sshh!" I tried silencing them, and though their voices dropped low, it didn't stop them from bombarding me with questions.
"Why-what the fuck happened to asking Shola to the dance?" Akunna snapped. "You promised me you would."
"Yeah, I also thought you liked her," Deon chipped in.
"I did. I still do, I like Shola a lot, but..." a deep sigh left my mouth. "You guys should've seen her after the break up. Princess was literally living like a hobo with trash and drugs and everything and I... I couldn't look her in the eye and say no when she asked me to the dance."
"So lemme," Deon cleared his throat. "Lemme get this straight. You're taking Princess to the dance not because you like her, but because you feel bad about the way Ethan's break up affected her?"
"Well, since you put it that way...yeah," I shrugged.
Akunna and Deon gaped at me like I'd miraculously transformed into some strange alien right before their eyes.
"C'mon guys, don't just stare at me like that," I voiced out. "Say something."
Akunna suddenly moved, picked up his phone, tap on the screen and put the device on his ear. "Yeah hello? Am I speaking to Jesus Christ, please?"
My eyebrows descended into a curious frown. "What are you doing?"
He deliberately ignored me. "Yeah, this is Akunna Williams calling from Earth. I think you should do a head count of the number of angels currently in heaven, cuz I think one of them escaped and is disguised as a human called Akwasi Appiah!"
"Stop that." I snatched the phone from him. "It's not funny."
"You're right, it's not funny." Akunna gazed at me with a stern look. "It's beyond ridiculous, bro! I can't believe you're willing to sideline your feelings for Shola just to make Princess happy. I mean that's like a saint's level of kindness."
"But on a more serious note, Akwasi," Deon started. "Have you really given enough thought to the consequences of your actions? You're taking Princess Asamoah, Ethan's ex," he deliberately stressed on the word, "to a dance that he's definitely going to be at."
"Yeah, aren't you two still friends?" Akunna quipped.
"We are," I groaned out the answer. "You guys don't get it. Princess and I have already talked about this and we've agreed that we're attending the dance as friends not a couple."
"Well until the two of you paint that on a board and fix it above your heads, no one is going to believe that shit," Akunna said before taking a hearty bite out of his burger.
"I unfortunately have to agree with Akunna." Deon shrugged. "This is Penfield bro, people like to talk about stuff they've seen even if they don't know the full story behind it. Plus, there are so many ways this thing with Princess could go. What if something happens at the dance and things between you two take a different turn. What if she starts developing genuine feelings for you because you're always so nice to her, what are you gonna do then?"
I felt my face pale all of a sudden, realising that I hadn't really given enough thought to the situation I'd put myself in.
Akunna must've picked up on it because he smirked, "You didn't think about that, did you?"
"I didn't think because it's never going to happen," I shot out as a defense. "Princess...Princess is obsessed with Ethan. She thinks he's her rock and that she can't survive in this school without him. There's absolutely no way she's gonna drop a guy like him to fall for me."
"If you say so," Akunna mumbled as he dipped a couple of fries in ketchup. "But do keep in mind though, that a woman's heart is ever changing."
With that final statement, silence found its way onto our table. We busied our mouth with our meals and though I collected a spoonful of rice into my mouth, deep down, I didn't have the appetite for it.
This short discussion I had with them had sown seeds of doubts in my brain. But it was too late to back out now.
Tomorrow, the dance would be happening, live and coloured at the administration forecourt. I just had to pray that nothing out of the ordinary happens between me and Princess.
*****
*Jollof rice ~ a West African rice dish mainly prepared from a mixture of rice, tomatoes(lots of it), onions, pepper, ginger, garlic and other spices.