This post was written by Ravanjie and I. Check her out at Olaitan Joy Damilola (Ravanjie).
I dropped the banana and said…
“Hey, My name is Jide.” I noticed that she had brown eyes now that I look at them closely. She had a deep dimple and flawless brown skin. People who say the gods have no favorites have definitely not met…
“What's your name?”
“Sharon”
“A name just as beautiful as its owner”
She smiled wider this time, and our conversation started to grow into other things like anime and how OAU is a boring place, a hackneyed topic. She checked all of my boxes. She was pretty, and she loved Lord of Flies. Plus, we both shared a distate for Wizkid—she passed the vibe check. Our connection was so sureal that Amala and Ewedu would be envious.
I wanted to ask for her number, but I had just met her. I had a three-meet rule; yes, boys do that sort of thing. Plus, I just left a relationship, and I wasn't hasty to get into another one. However, who knows when next we would see. Heck, if we would ever see again. OAU is a big school after all.
YouTube shorts and the “alpha male” grindset got the better of me. Be assertive, I could almost hear Jordan Peterson say. I asked where she was headed. She said Asherifa, and I asked if I could walk with her. Although a little hesitant to my request, she gave in. I wouldn’t blame her; she said her favorite show was YOU, and with the black face cap and shades I was wearing I was definitely giving a Joe Goldberg’s vibe.
I had come to get a snack, and yes, I did leave with one. But it wasn't the banana.
Sharon's POV
“Hello, my name is Jide.”
I looked properly at him. He was cute, actually. His face was lined with the bare minimum of hair, as if to make a statement, “See I can grow hair here.” He smiled at me with pearly whites, and asked,
“What’s your name?”
“Sharon.” I said.
“A name just as beautiful as its owner.”
I smiled at his oh so original line. At least he didn’t say something silly like “will you be my rose of Sharon?”
“Can I walk with you?”
I looked at him. I was enjoying the conversation, all well and good. But I had only just met him this evening.
Oh, well, Ife is relatively safe most of the time if we set aside the annual sacrifices and the occasional Modakeke-Ife fighting, of course. Wait, that’s not very encouraging.
“Yeah, sure. They are your legs.” I mentally facepalmed at that, but he smiled as if I had just said the wittiest thing ever.
Jide's POV
It had been a day since the kiss, and God knows, it was all I could think and talk about. My close friends had a earful for sure. As always, I started my usual rant about how I met this girl and all. My guys kicked off with how I always found a way to fall in and out of love so quickly.
“Las las them go still break your heart”
They said it with concern. But this time, I mentioned we kissed and the aura changed. Now I was being examined, and the top question was “Is she fine?”
As men’s culture would have it, I showed them a picture and watched them wallow in awe. Although I didn’t need their validation, the fact that they gave it made me feel better about my choice. Sharon was different; I knew it. But what were we exactly? What does it mean when a girl kisses you and calls you big head. I mean, my head is actually big. Could she mean it literally?
Sigh, Yoruba girls and mixed signals.
I picked up my phone to send her a text, but as I was about to click send my phone rang.
Sharon's POV
My mind could not process what had just happened.
What was I thinking?
I was definitely not thinking because that was the only explaination for what happened.
“Hey,” I began to text Jide, but thought better of it, flinging my phone gently onto the bed. I looked at the phone again through narrowed eyes and picked it up again.
I thought of texting Sayo instead. She lived in a completely different timezone and would probably be busy. Just yesterday, she had accused me of being very boring.
But somehow I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell any one yet. It felt like my own private treasure for now. I would tell her later, but today I just wanted to revel in the gloriousness of it.
And it wasn’t like I actually planned to kiss Jide. He was talking about something, and his lips were right there. And I decided to be audacious for once and kiss him. Unpremeditated romance…
For all the stupidity involved, the kiss had been nice. It could definitely use a little more practice. Maybe I will get it from him. But at the end of the day, when it came down to it. I had kissed a boy. A boy I liked, and he kissed me back.
I placed a finger to my lips as if I could still feel the ghost of a kiss. My lips curved into a very wide and stupid smile.
Jide's POV
Ẹwà had called. She was crying when I picked the call. Wait, profusely sobbing is a way more apt description. The girl that was literally the class’s favorite was crying on a call with me. I got perturbed. She could barely make out words, so I headed to Maintenance hostel to meet her. I called her out. It was past 8, and no one was allowed to enter the hostel.
When she got in the car, she hugged me. Tight. And I became her shoulder to cry on. After a couple minutes, I told a joke.
“What do you call a bean that cries a lot in Yoruba?”
“What?” She wiped her tears.
“Ewa olomi”
I started laughing, and she couldn't help it. She joined me.
“That's a dry joke, Jide.”
“I know. But it made you laugh.”
She kept her head on my shoulder then told me what had happened.
Sharon’s POV
I planned to pull yet another all-nighter. But my spirit, soul, and body were against it. Sighs.
“At this point, HOD should go and read the rest.”
I packed my laptop and books and headed to my hostel off-campus.
It was 8 pm, the bus stop was swarming with people, so I decided to take a bike. Within a walkable distance from the gate, I saw Jide’s car. I couldn’t miss its silver colour even if I were blind. I walked briskly over; my spirit was lifted. At least I will get to laugh today. “Did he do this to surprise me?” “How thoughtful!” “Maybe that’s why he hadn’t called since the kiss. Gosh, I was definitely over thin—”
At arm’s length from where he parked, the person I saw with him cut through my train of thoughts.
“Jide?” I said. His hands were over her shoulders and her head on his chest. By the time he looked at who had called his name, I had darted from view. He wasn’t here for me. He was never here for me. Tears found their way to my cheeks. And though, barely, I could hear his deep voice call me by my middle name.
“Joyce!!”
See you next week
Love, Jide
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