FRIENDS

         It was the second week of August, school had reopened and the whole campus seemed busy and crowded with people trooping in and out getting their registrations and fill-in procedures done. New faces and some refurbished old ones just kept hitting the eyes of any observer. 

Everybody was so excited to begin the new semester with their friends whilst some held hopes of possibly make acquaintances with some new ones.

 The weather was hot that day and the dry dust could be seen everywhere, it hung around like the ghost in a haunted house; even the sweat from the damp bodies couldn’t lessen its severity. 

     In the midst of the crowd stood Mimi who was claustrophobic; the busting and cheering of everyone made her sick in her stomach. She couldn’t help it anymore, she strode towards the main entrance to make an exit, after about an hour long of the futile search for her best friend, Sandy.

Her heartbeat rate increased, started perspiring profusely and her weak legs had also began to give up on her. Hurriedly, she made her way out of the crowd. Of about ten meters to the exit, she saw blurry an image of a girl who had the exact figure of her friend, the image began moving towards her in a brisk pace with opened arms, it was her. 

They hugged, kissed and exchanged their many forms of pleasantries on seeing one another after almost three months. Mimi who stood a few inches shorter than Sandy was always being smothered.

       They lodged in to their hostel room, unpacked their luggage, made their beds and sat in them conversing. The girls took turns narrating their holiday experience and how much fun they had had in their three-month break. 

Mimi travelled to the south of the country to spend time with her extended family after the nuptials of her cousin, it really wasn’t any fun holidays for her whilst Sandy travelled overseas with her boyfriend George who works with the government. 

She spoke at length on how much she was spoilt and splurged by her man during their trip and how much fun they both had dinning, partying, going on dates and sight seeing the most fascinating tourist sites of Indonesia. 

They had both brought gifts to share: Mimi gave her a doll with her name on it and a perfume and Sandy also brought out pictures from their trip, dresses, and a chanel side bag for her friend.

They were both delighted on the presents they’d received from each other.

 Night fell with the two ladies in Mimi’s bed talking under a low tone with intermittent wild and loud laughter when they’d tickle each other anytime Sandy started with her love stories and their Asian tour. 

It was cold and sporadic strong winds blew across their room which brought with it sleep, in no time their eyes couldn’t hold back the need to get some rest. 

        Morning came quicker than they’d expected it to, it was Monday and classes were starting that very morning. Wishing they could still stay in bed just for the day, the ladies reluctantly got out of bed. They got ready in a rush after they’d spent about two hours lazying about and in an hour they were good to go, except Sandy who was always particular with her outward appearance. She had to beg for more time from Mimi who sat looking at her make herself up. Mimi wouldn’t stop pestering her to be snappy about it but still lasted extra fifteen minutes, she was finally ready and they dashed out their room and with speed as they could reached their Economics class just ten minutes late. Nobody appeared ready for classes to resume so early as they sat inattentively and mostly talking among themselves. All they prayed for was to be left alone.

    During their lunch break, they moved to get some snack from the cafeteria and just when they were about leaving, Sandy tripped and bumped into the arms of Joe a senior year law student whom she despises very much. In Joe’s attempt to rescue her from falling, he dropped his smartphone which suffered multiple cracks on the screen. But Sandy would not be least bothered as she fought herself loose from his grip and walked out on him, Mimi followed right on. Mimi did not understand why she acted so hostile but decided to to make mention of it, at least not when she looked very crossed.

        After the day’s activities, in their room just after they had their meal, Mimi decided to ask why she was so rude to the guy on campus earlier even when he was clearly just offering his support.  

Sandy sat with her face down for a few moments and began…

  

Joe’s dad Matt and Sandy’s, Tony were best of friends for a very longtime, growing up together in the same neighborhood, they had all their youthful experiences together and shared all secrets with eachother, they had eachother’s back regardless on the grounds or circumstances given. Loyalty was a very enviable quality in which they both took pride until the “loyalty” of Matt was questioned and tested when Tony went broke and destitute. He was lost in debts which he had no way of clearing after he had lost his first job. Tony couldn’t raise money to feed even cater for himself nor his pregnant wife and his creditors had also gotten down to badgering him up for the payments of his debts. It got so bad poor Tony would hide just to get away from the public disgrace of some who would not take a promise of paying back on another date for an answer or the request of a little more time.

Jobless Tony therefore decided to plan an accident on his jeep which had also been giving him some mechanical problems for a few years because he knew selling that old thing wouldn’t give him any value to set him straight.

He almost succeeded on his ploy to getting the insurance claim on his vehicle of which he planned on paying his debts and starting his personal business project. 

Setting his car on fire and starting it on a free gear, the vehicle went up at a tall speed till it went through a pillar by the express road damaging the vehicle completely and the fire consuming every other combustible part of it. However, when he started with the processing of the claim documents, it came to light that the “accident” was actually not fortuitous therefore an investigation into the matter was opened and Matt who happened to be a mechanic engineer was subcontracted to handle the investigations.  

    Matt became very much perplexed on what to do, knowing very well the condition in which his friend was but also not wanting the credibility of his firm to be questioned later, which could also put him in a big deal of trouble. After days of pondering over the topic he decided to stand up for what is right therefore ruling out the credibility of the supposed “accident” as arson and allowing the vehicle to run into the object on purpose. He did what he thought was the right thing to do.

Further investigations only brought to light the inauthenticity of Tony’s “accident” even with medical prove of damaging some bones with a few fractures and skin bruises which left scars on him after he jumped from the moving jeep.

 Tony was arrested and tried for destroying government property and intent to cause harm, fraud among other charges which he loss and was jailed for five years.

Now Tony had lost everything: his jeep, the money he planned on getting as compensation, and he was being sentenced at a time when his wife was almost due. He felt betrayed and bitter, swearing to pay Matt back in every little way that he could when he got out.

*This turned their good friendship into an absolute antipathy and enmity especially on the side of Tony who felt his good friend had betrayed him. 

Matt however tried to make him understand why he did that and to offer his apology but Tony wouldn’t have it because he believes a real friend must stick up for you when you need them the most and not give up on you like he did. He saw that as cowardice*

   Mimi was completely unsettled and stunned by what a bitter story she had heard her friend narrate and what her dad went through, she now understood the anger Tony and his family have for Matt and his. She didn’t know it was this big a deal, her reaction earlier made sense to her now.

She gave her friend a consoling hug from how sentimental she seemed after opening up the old wound. 

“it’s okay Sandy…. it’s okay, please forgive me for reminding you of such a painful experience”

 

The two ladies had Tuesday as their free day and so they decided to go to the art and science fair happening at the school’s main theatre and auditorium. 

They both decided to look as casual as they could: Mimi came out in very tight short jeans and a tank top showing a little bit of her midriff and had her hair in a bun whilst the fashion-loving Sandy came a little bit more obtrusive in her leg-hugging overly ripped jeans and a loose white blouse matching her white vans while keeping her hair free flowing over her shoulders. 

Both girls grabbed their purses and  sunglasses and headed out in the very sunny weather. 

         There were many science and  art enthusiasts at the fair, geeks, nerds and those who were around just to hang out. Sandy and Mimi formed the part who were just there to hang out and look at things passively, others were steadily admiring the magnificent works put out on display. Everybody seemed to be having the time of their lives posing for pictures with the sculptures and paintings in the gallery whilst they also took notes from the curator. The girls walked along with the other observers seemingly getting involved in the appreciation of art. In about just an hour, they have toured the whole auditorium and inspected every piece of art on display. 

The sun was unforgivingly hot and that wore out the ladies even quicker than the tour they were having. Exhausted, they decided to go out and have a refill of some cool juice at the snack bar down the hall. 

Before they could reach the snack hut, a junior year student came running after Mimi asking her to come with him immediately as she’s been sought after by the principal. 

She did not waste any other minute as she left her friend and followed after the boy.

The boy did not use the route that leads to the principal’s office but one that lead to the students president’s cubicle which made her wonder why they’d go that way, she followed anyhow. 

Just on entering the room the boy left and Mimi was caught face to face with Joe who gave a lower lip twitch and a stern smile found its way to his broad face. He was happy to see her but did not want to blow it all off by laughing because of the excuse he gave to have her brought to him.

There were a million thoughts and emotions going through Mimi but she maintained her composure and asked politely in a shaky low tone “why did you have me brought here to you using the Principal?”

Joe took a few steps toward Mimi and answered in a solid voice “i… i knew you wouldn’t turn if i summoned, ….i’m sorry i had to do it this way…”

before he could continue Mimi whose prejudice could not allow her listen to him another minute cut him abruptly 

“look i don’t have time for cowards who hide behind their positions thinking they can get whatever they want, if you wanted to talk to me, come get me yourself and don’t you ever try this thing next time less i report you to the authorities”. 

She turned making her way to the exit and Joe cried out 

“Mimi wait please, there’s something i will like to tell you which is very important..!”

She stood still for a minute with her face still looking at the door just about turning the knob

Joe continued, “Mimi, for about two years now i have had feelings for you…”

Mimi’s face burned with heat flashes, and her armpits itched instantaneously; she was mortified

“i’ve tried my best hiding it but evidently has all been futile, and i know the worst thing one could ever do is leave with the regrets of chances they never took due to cowardice…” 

She left the knob of the door as her hands felt feeble at once, she had never been told anything nice like that before and for someone like Joe, who is so handsome and from a noble family, having doubled as the students president, was just too great a guy for her that is if she loses the thought of who he was in the eyes of her bestfriend. 

Joe came further and held her, and made her turn to face him, looking into her eyes he added “i want you to know you make me feel what nobody else has and i’m admitting that i have fallen in love with you and would like for you to be my girlfriend, it will please my heart to have a beautiful girl like you to myself” 

Mimi got so flattered and could only blush, trying her best not to look Joe in the eyes, she got nervous and shy but also loved how it felt hearing those words from him. What a great feeling it was for her, her heart melted as the words fell right from his lips, the butterflies in her tummy were flying gracefully and her spirit was pleased.

Then, all of a sudden, felt disgusted by how she was betraying her friend regarding prior information received of what a monster Joe’s father was. She felt indignant, then defensively broke free from his grip, opened the door and ran out the room which sent Joe running after her and begging her to stop. 

Joe became hurt from the rejection he had just received from someone he had secretly admired for years. He believed he was now suffering from fate of rejection that had been waiting for him. Poor Joe was devastated.

 

 After searching for her friend for about twenty minutes, she found her talking to some other friends in their sociology class. She asked what the matter was for her to be sent for, Mimi lied saying it was for some grade rectifying. The topic was then dropped.

*she dared not say to her it was Joe who had sent for her, or what they even spoke about*

     That night as they laid in their beds, Mimi’s mind would not rest as she kept thinking of what had happened earlier and of how happy she really was for someone to say she had made them feel that way but actually saddened it had to be her friend’s enemy and slightly angry she might lose her first love because of a friend.

The night was the longest for her, she woke up many times than usual and rolled in her bed all the time till morning. She wished the night to be over already, an adventure awaits her during the day. 

  Even before her friend who is usually the first one to wake up every day was up, Mimi had taken her bath and was ready to begin the day. She had plans for the day she wasn’t ready to share with her friend but her exuberance gave her away.

They got ready and left for class, Mimi was all chatty and playful the whole time, which made Sandy wonder what might be the reason why she was in such a great mood that morning. They got to school and it was time for one of her favorite courses, History. She answered almost every question asked and contributed to suggestions during the lesson. This made her Professor Larry’s favorite. 

All the great mood in which she was made Sandy’s curiosity intensified, but Mimi would just blow her inquiries away like it they were nothing. But suspicious Sandy could do nothing; her hands are tied, she gave up finding out.

Time moved slower for Mimi than she had expected it to go as she could not wait any more minute for the next class to end and for her to go to the cafeteria with expectations of seeing Joe. 

And just then, the alarm rang for break she hurriedly packed her books into her bag and left before anyone could leave the room, she had ulterior motives for the break session so she told Sandy she had the sudden urge to use the washroom just so she’d be left alone the whole time. 

     She went to the cafeteria where Joe and his friends usually sit and chit chat during breaks but could not find him there, neither was any of his friends, then she went up to where he has his classes and then finally to his cubicle but still could not find him. Where could he be? If he was on campus these were the sure places to find him. She thought to herself.

Sad and disappointed, she made her way back to her last class session. Having spent the entire time searching for Joe who was no where to be found, she forgot to even eat her lunch. A sad mind like hers couldn’t afford the pleasure of savoring any meal, all she needed was to see Joe.

Their day ended pretty fast with an unsatisfactory mood for her. After eating their supper, Sandy laid in her bed talking to George on video all night and they kept talking about how much they had missed each other and as their conversations got raunchy, Mimi coiled herself up in the corner of her bed and felt miserably lonely and sad. She didn’t think her happy day could turn to one of so much despondency.

She is now realizing how nice it actually will feel to have someone for herself, who she’d talk to about everything, play around with and have them really love and care for her. All her life she’d never like the idea of having a relationship with the opposite sex especially any sexual one for that matter but now she could use a man’s son.

Now the two lovers’ convo could barely make her sleep, she was being tormented emotionally by their dirty talks and physically by the noise Sandy was making in her ears. Wishing to walk over to her slap her in the face and dump that phone into the trash can. She was furious.

        The next morning, when they were making breakfast, Mimi decided she was ready to know a little more about what dating was like and since Sandy was already more like a pro having dated four guys, she’d definitely be the go to guy.

She briskly jumped on to the topic with so much enthusiasm and started watering the mouth of Mimi by all the goodies that there is in dating, citing herself and her relationships as an example. She made mention of a few let downs one could encounter in having a partner but her mouth won’t quit on why not the risk was worth taking. 

You want to light Sandy up into any lively conversation, bring up a topic of love, romance, sex and relationship, she was born ready.

Sandy asked if she had found a guy she liked and she answered in the negative. They finished their food and got off to class.

          There was an upcoming musical show slated for the weekend and everyone was just getting ready for it, buying new clothes, getting haircuts and hairdos and making sure everything was right for the fun filled weekend ahead. Sandy and Mimi were also not left out of the hysteria as they also got involved in getting their stuff together so they can have all the fun they have every year when the event comes off. 

Sandy’s boyfriend was however coming over that night to spend time with his girlfriend and Mimi had began thinking how bored and lonely she was going to be the whole time, at least Joe could have made that a different story for her but after searching for him the whole week and not finding any sign of him, the fate of loneliness was bound to catch up on her once again.

 The night of the music show came and the show was to start by a message from the president, Mimi stood with her eyes fixed on the podium as Joe who was nicely dressed in a black tuxedo and matching bow tie gave his speech eloquently and moved the party to a fun start. 

*Sandy’s lover boy had come and so had deserted her poor friend to go enjoy some smooching.*

Mimi struggled through the crowd and fought to reach her estranged lover who was in the company of his subordinates assigning roles to the team. She stood at a distance watching closely so she doesn’t lose him this time. Now she had to fight her fears and draw rather close to him because of what she did the last time they spoke.

Just when he was left alone, Mimi rushed to him 

“hi”

he was so surprised to see who that came from and replied sharply “hello Mimi”

“that was a good speech”

“*giggles* thank you… hey why’re you all by yourself? where’s your friend?”

“o she’s with her boyfriend”

“i see… uhm and here you are!”

“look Joe i’m sorry for running off the other day i just wasn’t sure what to feel or say”

“c’mon it’s okay”

It really wasn’t okay, he was disturbed by the rejection that he decided to go home and break free from it all. 

“wanna take a walk?”

“sure!!”

They held hands and started walking slowly and viewing the performances from a distance, Mimi felt so uneasy but did not lose her composure. 

The night was beautiful with colored led lights flashing everywhere and people dancing and cheering on top of their voices, the euphoria was electrifying one could just not stand unmoved.

She began feeling comfortable and leaned on his shoulder for support as the crowd started getting wild and frenzied by the performance of the hip hop group “Dazzle Gang”.

And before their first song came to an end, she saw her friend and her boyfriend approaching them from a distance, she felt an adrenaline rush pumped through her blood, that sent her withdrawing herself from Joe once again and even more harsher, she let him go and made away as quickly as she could.

Joe was left distraught and confused, he looked around to see if she had seen someone or something that might have caused her to act that impulsively but he could see nothing. 

Thinking Mimi might have seen another male she likes or a boyfriend made him even sorry and hurt. 

  At about 3am she decided to return to their hostel room and on getting there realized Sandy was already inside, she tried to sneak in just so she doesn’t wake her from her sleep. 

She reached the door and took a peep inside and saw Sandy sitting on her bed and her boyfriend kneeling right infront of her. Her curiosity intensified and decided to hang on outside and watch a little bit of what was going on. 

Sandy was naked and had her legs wide apart whilst George’s face was buried in between her thighs, looking for God knows what, Sandy seemed to be lost in the act she was just throwing her hands above her head and clenching on to the drapes. 

Mimi enjoyed the view until she saw George get up in a ready position to penetrate her friend, then the disgust for the whole act hit her and for the fact that it was happening on her bed, she couldn’t help it but bust into the room to destroy their moment. 

The two were so much getting warmed up for some good action that her budging in was too much an abrupt end to it all.

George quickly got up, dressed and Sandy started a conversation to break from the awkward silence. 

He however had to spend the night with his lover because of how far he’d come and how late it was for him to return. 

Sleeping that night was a nightmare for Mimi but was able to finally catch some rest after the couple had.

         The next day Mimi was hoping to meet Joe and finally explain to him her sudden misdemeanor; she dressed up and went to the school’s cathedral hoping to meet him returning from the morning service. That way leaving the couple alone for a few moments for Sandy to properly bid George a proper “goodbye”.

                     She could not see him anywhere near the chapel, disappointed, she decided to get back to the hostel and then she met Jack, the junior who came for her the other time and inquired about his whereabouts, he accepted to take her to him on a condition that she does not sell him out to which she willingly obliged. 

There he sat all by himself in the parlor sipping on a drink and working on his laptop, he looked busy but that wouldn’t hold her back, she walked right to him and saluted, they exchanged civilities  and he offered her a seat. 

Joe did not look excited to see her, or rather appeared caught up in whatever he was doing. 

He gave her a drink and just before Mimi would jump into the business of the day he got a telephone call which made him excuse her, 

after several minutes he wasn’t returning, she got bored from all the wait and just then a notification of a mail popped on the computer screen. 

The subject looked interesting, “The Cheating Partner” and she wanted to feed her curiosity and made sure it wasn’t his girlfriend who had sent him that; that is if he wasn’t single afterall but she did not want to appear snooping and checking into his personal space. The confusion lasted a minute and then she finally gave in to her insatiable curiosity, she opened the email. 

 

Mimi’s eyeballs sunk into their sockets. She had seen what she really was not expecting to find; what serendipity?! It was pictures and a video recording and text conversation proving that George was seeing her ex, Nadine. She fidgeted and fretted over what she had seen, disappointed and discouraged she closed the window and tried not to react.

Joe got back from his lengthy telephone call and sat behind his computer, Mimi looked tensed and uneasy, she just couldn’t pretend she was okay. Her looks will just give her away.

 she started

“i’ve seen your mail, i know i shouldn’t have but i was bored and the notifications kept coming so i decided to see what it was”

“my mail? which exactly?…”

“the most recent one…”

“ohh yea? i’ve just been talking to my friend about that and i was about to check it out”

“so tell me why you have something like that and do you plan on giving my friend the pleasure of knowledge of it? but most importantly why do you even care?”

“Mimi, my friend Konrad is a brother to Nadine, who after returning from England had been looking everywhere for George for the purpose of rekindling their romantic affair” but Konrad made it clear to her that George had moved on and was seeing your friend Sandy, but apparently they two have been hanging out since last week and appeared to be dating again. Konrad just sent me what you saw to affirm what was actually happening when i said i did not believe him… i really don’t know what to do right now… but i guess now that you know we have to let her know what was actually going on”

“you were ready to let her know?”

“yes, why not?”

“um… erm are you guys good?”

“well… she’s always been cold towards me and i don’t know why but i guess she just detests me, i don’t think i have done anything wrong to her”

“oh yea?! you don’t?”

Joe seemed to be unaware of why Sandy had always treated him the way she does. She decided to tell him since today they were both opening up on real issues.

“you see, Sandy told me of a story that had to do with your fathers been very good friends back in the day but things happened and the love turned to hate”

“really?!”

he was shocked and did not even know his father knew the family of Sandy.

Mimi narrated the whole story to him, he hadn’t felt so ignorant his entire life. It all made sense now why Sandy treated him poorly. He came to the realization that he mustn’t be the best person to report what was going on with her boyfriend and Nadine to her, but if Mimi did, she’d also ask questions of how come she knew.

The two sat quietly thinking of what to do next, first, to correct the hate feeling she had for him and second to make her aware of her cheating partner.

But eventually, they agreed to hold on and see if maybe she’d find out herself any time soon.

What had happened had swayed both of them from the main reason why she’d come over to him. 

He was saddened by what he had heard whilst she also sat disturbed knowing George actually wasn’t who he pretends to be.

 Later that day when Mimi got home, she made sure she acted cool so Sandy wouldn’t notice, which she actually played nicely, atleast for once she covered it all well. 

During their conversation Mimi asked more about George and if she really knew who he was and what he does, Sandy answered very affirmative and assured Mimi she had nothing to worry about.

The day after, though she’d assured her friend of how certain she knew her man, she decided to go give George a surprise visit at home. There hasn’t been a day she went over to visit without letting him know, first because of the distance and second she wasn’t sure how he’d take the surprise. She left without informing Mimi where she was going.

Sandy got to his place and she saw the surprise and the “i really wasn’t expecting you” look in his eyes but he did really was happy she came, he invited her in. 

Sandy got comfortable in the couch and George offered to take her bag and jacket into the bedroom. He returned with a bottle of vintage red wine which he served her with and also took a glass, they both sat in the couch listening to some R&B music. 

Putting down the glass, she laid her head on his chest and he caressed her hair, she knew the reason for visit was rather unnecessary and had nothing to worry about but now that she’s here she had to look for clues that would indicate whether or not he was seeing somebody.

The pair spent quality time together and finally retired to bed. She laid in the arms of George who snuggled her tight, the night was quiet and blissful until the whistling sound of the wind started ringing so loud in the ears of Sandy who for the life of her could not sleep. Thinking about how disappointed she’d be if George was not faithful as she thought him to be. The gentleman had no worry, he was far gone.

     Sandy woke up earlier and got to the bathroom to clean up, just before she walked out, her eyes met a makeup brush and items on the basin behind the bathroom door, she knew for certain that those items weren’t hers but  ignored and left the bathroom like she’d not been there. It would be nice if he told her about how another female’s used kit got its way into his room without her asking and appearing dramatic.

She asked him no questions.

George later came in to see the brush and hurriedly hid it in the closet. 

Sandy came later and it’d disappeared, now she really knew what was going on, George was hiding something and it isn’t anything proud to talk about.

But someone like Sandy is so good at pretending that she kept it all under control and gave absolutely no hints to George.

That night just before they got to bed, George’s phone wouldn’t stop buzzing with messages. Anytime she’d ask him to attend to it he’d just blow it off.

She knew he wasn’t attending to his phone because she was around him so she gave him space deciding to make use of to the bathroom and just then she saw him take his phone from the reflection in the mirror.

The reflection could not make her read the text well but surely saw one thing  “i miss last night”, that was the only line she was able to read.

         She now understands the kit she’d seen was just from last night and was even probable the mistress would have been around if she hadn’t come around yesterday night.

She was heartbroken.

The next day she decided to head back to campus with the excuse of her having to catch up with some work. 

She came back crying and Mimi was the only one who could save her, she was all she actually had. 

Mimi already knew why but didn’t hesitate to ask, Sandy told her everything she’d seen and what a liar George had been. 

Mimi spent almost the whole night consoling her heartbroken friend, although she often appeared tough and nonchalant, she was really a weak emotional one. She cried her eyes out and coiled up under her duvet.

The next day, they came out with a plan to catch George in the act, since he had no foreknowledge that   his girlfriend had seen the items in the bathroom and was suspecting him of infidelity. 

       Now, the objective was to catch him cheating and since the place he stays is very far from their school, they decided they’d have to lodge at a hotel closer to George’s. 

They left campus the following weekend and got to the town at night, the town was busy because of a street carnival they were having that weekend, all the hotels around were all booked to their full capacity except for one which was outrageously expensive and over the top classy. 

Because of how imperative it was for their coming, they just had to take the place knowing not how long they might even stay.

They lodged in and got to their luxurious suite, the chandeliers, the bathroom, floor, decor, everything was sophisticated and was clearly imported from the highest standard specification there was. They took hours admiring the edifice and everything in it after then, they both changed into gym clothes and got head wraps to keep their hair warm because of how humid it was outside. 

Now the duo look completely unidentifiable, they made a run towards where George stays and hang around even before he got home from work but he didn’t come home with anybody.

Left in the cold, dark night, they stayed up longer to see if anybody would come visit but nobody did so they returned to their hotel room. 

Every other day for all three days, their routine of spying and hanging around continued and nobody showed up at George’s. 

Now they had run out of money to pay for their luxurious hotel’s accommodation so they decided to return to campus and plan on something else later.

But before they’d go, Sandy got one teenager who stays two houses away George’s and gave him her number and some money and asked him to call her if he sees George with any lady or if any woman came up to his place.

The young boy accepted the offer with keen interest of spying on him

Sandy and Mimi returned to school disappointed realizing they’d lost so much money chasing nothing and what an unfaithful partner George had been to have put them in such a position in the first place. 

Two weeks passed and nothing extraordinary happened with them, and also she hadn’t heard anything from her “reporter” boy yet. She didn’t know if to confront George on what she had seen or for her to still lay low and find out for herself.

As she sat at the hall’s corridor biting on her pen’s cap and losing focus on her assignment thinking about what to do, her phone rang, it was an unknown number. She answered with a flat and calm voice and to her surprise, it was her “reporter boy”, he had seen George with a lady.

Excited but nervous she called Mimi out and told her the news, they decided she’d have to go alone because of how much they’d already spent on the last trip. 

Sandy agreed and got ready for her four hour journey by bus to her boyfriend’s. 

She couldn’t wait to finally catch the promiscuous man right in the act, she knew she wasn’t ready to break up with him though she also couldn’t put up with a cheating man. But there certainly would be an immediate reaction, it needed to really teach him a lesson. She had unilaterally broken the relationship in her mind already.

During the whole time of the trip, she sat all by herself planning her reaction and what she would do next ultimately. 

                    Word by word she planned, then the anger and the disappointment was got to her; this was the man her parents knew and approved of. 

He was financially sound, respectful, religious and very ambitious. All she ever needed. 

They had planned to get married just when she graduated the coming year and then their planned adventures could happen without seeking permission from her parents any more.

Now, all gone, she sobbed.

After about twenty minutes delay, the journey was completed and Sandy walked to get a room to lodge and this time round got a cheaper one. When she had settled and unpacked her bag, she rested her head for a few moments.

Then after, went to check at George’s, and yes, there was a lady. 

She looked a little older than her, taller and more beautiful. 

Even from the distance, Sandy could see how voluptuous she looked in her red dress, it held her bosom and flew around from her hip below. The flair would raise anytime the wind blew,standing next to her was George, they both were laughing and stood close to each other for a long time but could not hear what they spoke about.

George’s apartment was the last on his floor and had the largest balcony and so saw no reason why she couldn’t stay away from him in such a spacious environment if she wasn’t his girl.

From what she’d seen, there wasn’t any strength left inside of her to confront him, she ran back to her hotel room feeling dejected, used and let down. 

Comparing her looks to the girl she’d seen, George would definitely pick her if he was asked to choose. Her thoughts broke her even more.

She gave Mimi a phone call about what she had seen and described the girl and how happy they both seemed. Though Mimi had first hand knowledge of George’s infidelity, she encouraged Mimi to face her fears and confront him in the other girl’s presence and see if he would really choose the other girl or not. 

Convincing Sandy to give it a try wasn’t a simple task but after about half an hour she decided to go there the next day and have it all sorted. 

 Sandy woke up energized and refreshed for her duty for the day. She took a bath, ate and got dressed, her reason for going was to find out the truth and also to come out looking as good as the other lady. That would atleast make her feel good even if she came out rejected by him. 

  In no time she came to his residence and gave the bell on the door two pushes, George answered in a haste, he was taken by surprise once again and this time even more than the first time. His tongue went numb and his jaws dropped, for a second or two he couldn’t find any word to utter until the lady asked who it was, “oh come on in” he welcomed her in. 

He offered her a seat, then the lady had came out to meet the visitor after hearing a lady’s voice and just before she opened her mouth to start cussing him out he said 

“Hey Camille come meet my girlfriend, the one i’ve been talking about Sandy” 

Camille gave her a hug and they both kissed each other

“Sandy this is Camille my sister, she’s been staying in the US since she was little, i’m so happy to have seen her, mhm i’ve been trying to reach your line and make you aware but i couldn’t, we planned coming there just this afternoon”

Sandy was embarrassed and her cheeks were seen to droop and her face reddened

“aww nice to make your acquaintance miss Camille”

“thank you Sandy, i’ve been hearing so many nice things about you and meeting you i must admit my brother has got good eyes *winks*” 

The party drank some wine and  had a lengthy conversation before Sandy decided to get to the kitchen and give her a real welcome home dinner. The two ladies went grocery shopping and cooked meals the whole afternoon.

They had dinner and spent great quality time all together and then Sandy decided to retreat, her assumptions weren’t valid, atleast not that time around even if they were true. She wanted to share her findings with her friend who had been calling and texting her impatiently. Since she couldn’t get the privacy for such conversation there, she decided she had to return to her hotel, get her things and leave for school.

    She explained to George and Camille she just had to pass by and must be in school before the next morning. George offered to allow him go drop her off at school more than once and insisted but she wouldn’t have it, with the excuse of him having a guest to entertain.

He finally let her go and just when she got to the hotel room gave Mimi a call explaining everything that had happen to her. 

She left the hotel that night for school psychologically and emotionally relaxed. 

     Mimi couldn’t believe her ears, she did not know what to think or believe. She did not believe what her friend had said looking at what she’d seen earlier on Joe’s computer. Even if that wasn’t the girl in the pictures she saw, she knew for sure she existed.

She knew George had played Sandy and someway, somehow got the lady to also participate in his falsehood or Mimi didn’t actually meet the girl he cheats on her with; the ex girlfriend Nadine. 

She waited impatiently for her friend who arrived half past midnight.

The night was mostly spent talking about what a fool she’d been if she had reacted to what she saw.

“you see, that’s why it’s best you take things slow sometimes like i always tell you”

She spoke of how nice Camille had been and even brought her a gift but couldn’t receive it because she didn’t take it when coming to George’s.

Mimi acted excited and showed how thrilled she was for finally knowing the “truth” but inwardly, she was asking a million and one questions on what was really going on. She needed answers and she needed them that very moment. She doesn’t want her friend to go to sleep on the topic and become complacent before her heart gets broken.

She couldn’t wait for daybreak so she go meet Joe and make sure who she saw in the mail was really George.

6 o’clock the next day the girls were ready for their first class, they came in earlier than anyone else. Well it is great to know that they were both excited for the day. Although one’s enthusiasm came from a burden lifted off her shoulder and the other to find answers to her troubled mind state.

 During the break period, Mimi made her way to Joe’s hideout, alone, he was there as usual working on his computer. 

She told him what had happened and disregarded the authenticity of the material she’d seen on his computer prior. 

Joe did not believe what Mimi talked about, he argued what they have is George and no one else. He continued by asserting; the fact that Sandy met whoever she met does not mean George could not be cheating on her. She has to still watch out before something bad actually happened. 

He knows how smart guys are and how even smarter an unfaithful guy will be, he was certain George was cheating.

Mimi left even more confused than she came. Now she’d love to believe that George wasn’t lying to her friend and what Sandy had seen had just been what it was and nothing more.

 Joe on the other hand also weighed Mimi’s argument and started questioning himself.

What if his friend was wrong?

Or what if the images were photoshopped?

Could there be another person who looked just like George? 

These questions and more flooded his thoughts and that made him quite restless the whole time, now that Mimi knows about this, if it is false that would mean he was breaking the relationship. He wasn’t prepared to come between anybody’s happiness especially someone who hated him like Sandy did.

He decided to meet his friend, Konrad and get a better clarification on the whole story and who the guy was.

 

Joe met Konrad at a local pub where they occasionally visited, they ordered their favorite beer and got to it.

Joe broke out why he’d wanted to meet him and threw questions at him asking him about how sure he was that the man in the pictures were George. 

Konrad answered certainly until Joe brought out his arguments and questions he has been pondering over and with a little convincing he also began questioning whose images they actually have. 

With time and for the sake of not making mistakes they decided to keep an open mind on their options and decided to investigate deeper on who really it was they had seen in the pictures with Nadine.

That night when Konrad got home, he reached Nadine and talked to her at length about who her boyfriend George is and how well she knows him. 

Nadine couldn’t remember anything really substantial but did recollect that during their childhood days. George’s mom moved in the neighboring house with little George. 

She remembered how the mother single handedly raised George from that young age. 

She added that she remembers her mom talking to her friend about how George’s mom took him from his dad and his other brother when she found out he was cheating on her. That was one story she wouldn’t forget because she was later beaten for eavesdropping the conversation between her mother and her friends when she asked her dad about it. However, neither George’s was aware of the other's existence.

 These things might be answers that they might be looking for, Konrad thought to himself. He was pleased with the information he had received from his cousin. 

 Later the following day, he shared the vital piece of information he had received from Nadine with Joe and they decided to meet at their usual spot later that night and know what next to do.

The boys met and were enthused to delve into the real matter because of how interesting the story was getting. The boys were now open to believe that there isn’t one George.

Konrad was tasked to continue interrogating Nadine on who her George is and to report back to him. 

In order not to make Nadine feel overly interrogated and ignorant of what was going on, so she could give more information willingly, Konrad gave her details of what the real issue was and that even made her keen on the subject and got interested in finding answers too.

She gave out more details, and revealed the last time she saw George was the day before and it didn’t look like he was seeing anyone or had had any visitor in the last couple of days. 

From the information received, it was evident that Nadine’s George was not the same George Sandy had for a boyfriend.

But the questions now is how come they bear the same name, look just the same and aged about the same?

Nadine was therefore tasked to find out from George if he knew about his other brother his mother had abandoned.

It appeared George’s mother never told him he had a brother before passing. George felt stupid not knowing who he really was and who his dad was, and for Nadine to even know his mother confessed to separating him from his brother made him even worse. How inconsiderate of his mother. 

He always asked her about his father and would always say he died in a war. 

 Konrad disclosed his discoveries to Joe and gave every detail of who Nadine’s George was. Now it is clear the two men are different individuals and are dating different women altogether.

Joe reached Mimi and asked her to let Sandy know the matter at hand so she’d go find out more about her George and his family and if he has a brother. 

Mimi was able to get Sandy to participate in the development without bringing Joe’s name up; she knew that would be a deal breaker and she wasn’t ready to take the risk of losing out on all the progress they had made on finding out the truth.

Sandy made a move to visit George over the coming weekend, this time announcing her coming.

She stayed the night without visiting the subject for her visitation.

Then the day after, they decided to go fetch Camille so they could all go to visit the only Uncle they remember having growing up in their neighborhood and their father before Camille leaves again.

Sandy thought this was the perfect time to bring the topic alive. She asked immediately after he brought up his plan about his childhood, growing up and about his family.

These questions sent George mute for a minute. It was like he heard a horror story, he could not speak at once, then he sighed deeply and sat still in his sofa.

He hated to talk about his family, he knew he hasn’t had any wonderful time growing up.

After the separation of their parents, George stayed with his father for a few years before he decided to remarry. His father did have other children with the new wife. 

Growing up, George thought his stepmother was his biological mother until he got to high school that his father made it clear to him she wasn’t. It was then that the reality of not having the pleasure of meeting his mother and enjoying the love she could have offered began to dawn on him and that took away his joy as a child anytime he realizes his mother abandoned him.

He told him of his brother and said he was a twin and looked just like his other brother.

His father begged him for forgiveness and took blame for making their mother go away by his drunkenness and infidelous  lifestyle just after he married their her. He said he wanted to do all the things he did not get the chance to do before he got married because of fear but that caused him even more than it would have if he did before wedlock.

The old man however tasked George to find his younger brother and his mother but that could not happen. His mother made sure she stayed far from them in every way possible. Traveling constantly with little George and visiting her family members so George would never be lonely. 

She actually planned on taking both boys with her and fleeing from their father but since she was only able to get one, she took lot of money from their joint account and fled with little George. She did not want to see her sons grow up in a home with a drunk who occasionally beat their mother.

The handsome boys were also very identical even the mother at that age couldn’t differentiate between the two, that was how come they bore the same names. Nobody had the time to take the daily trouble of ascertaining who one was from the other before calling them.

    When Sandy heard the story, she was then properly convinced Mimi had found his twin. 

George was elated to know Sandy had found someone who could be his lost brother. 

He changed his plan of going to pay his uncle a visit and called out for Camille to join them to go look for their brother. He could not wait another moment to go check the other George out.

They headed back to the School and completed the four hour journey in three, they both couldn’t wait to find out who the other George was and if he really was his lost brother.

When they got to campus, Mimi joined the team and they all went looking for junior George. 

She spoke to Joe and agreed to stay away from the discovery at that hour so he gave Mimi Konrad’s address and asked them to reach him.

They finally got to Konrad’s family house after taking two wrong turns that sent them going in circles for almost thirty minutes and later got Nadine to join them, now they were all ready to meet the junior twin George and hopefully bring their discovery to a close.

Nadine gave him a telephone call and initially could not get through, with persistence and motivation from the others, she got George on the phone and asked him to come over. 

The man said he was tied up at work that he couldn’t join them immediately but promised to reach her just when he got off. Still not knowing why she’d call him to meet her at that time of the day when she knew he was working, he continued his duties.

The party decided to hang out and get to know each other better while they waited for him to show up, they spoke about everything and every one of them had something to say.

Assorted foods were ordered from their local restaurant and drinks were brought too. The house was full and with some slow jazz music playing in the background, the party was set to a start.

Everybody ate and drank to their full.

The day was well spent.

It was sun down and George’s car was seen pulling up the gate, the beams flashed right into their faces through the wood fence because of where they sat in the room directly facing the glass sliding door.

This gave his presence away and made them all get ready to give him a surprise welcome.

Hurriedly, he got inside to know why Nadine had been calling and asking him to come over since the mid morning.

      The surprise suddenly hit his face when he saw the number of people who had been waiting for him all day. Then he noticed his brother, the resemblance was still intact that there was nothing different from their physical looks except for their voices which altered slightly. The senior George had a deeper voice than that of Nadine’s. 

Everybody was excited and pleased for what a great reunion they were able to put together.

The bonding moment for the brothers was a spectacle. They teared with so much joy, hugging and kissing each other like women.

The senior brother asked of their mother and was grief struck to learn that she passed just months ago, his younger brother also inquired about their father but was happy to learn he was doing very well back at home.

Everybody celebrated the moment of what a great reunion they had been able to bring together just by interacting among themselves. 

In the midst of all the jubilation and merry-making, Mimi decided to bring out the brain behind the whole search.

She stood up and started

“i know we all are very happy today for this great day. i will like to thank God, Sandy, Nadine, the true  brothers, Konrad and most especially the brain behind the reunion we are celebrating today, Joe”

The shock was on everybody’s face especially more evident on that of Sandy who stood confused on what she was supposed to feel. 

Joe made an entrance just after Mimi’s statement. 

He walked gracefully and shook the hands of the brothers and hugged everybody.

Sandy excused them by asking to use the bathroom.

She did not know how her worst enemy would do something like that and why her friend would keep it all from her.

The toilet was the surest place for her to escape the shame and embarrassment for a few minutes. 

The fun night ended with the brothers deciding to go visit their father in the city and then for junior George to know where his senior brother lives.

They all packed their bags and got into their vehicles and started their journey back to the city.

Mimi knew it wasn’t over yet.

She wanted to settle whatever differences Joe and Sandy were having and she knew Sandy would kill her if she got the chance for keeping her in the dark of all that went on.

So she avoided any private moment with her at all cost.

Just when for a moment the two girls got alone to discuss what had happened, Joe walked in on them.

Now it was time to talk.

It wasn’t easy getting Sandy to talk because she was still holding on to the anger she had of Joe’s father which he had also inherited by being his father’s son.

Joe told her of how ignorant he was of their parents being friends or whatever had happened in the past and apologized on his knees.

He wanted them to work things out and possibly bring their fathers together as the friends they were before things went took a nasty turn.

And looking at what had happened from his efforts, she agreed to bury the hatchet.

When the George brothers had also reunited with their father, they expressed gratitude to everyone who had helped in bringing them together. 

Mimi, Sandy and Joe were also able to work out the relationship between their fathers. 

The friendships and relationships  were restored. Mimi was pleased.

 

(The kit however, was for George’s colleague and found its way into his briefcase the day before when he was packing his stuff off his desk when their electricity at work went out, he decided to return it but forgot all about it that day before going to work. Also, the text she saw were a part of a forwarded message from a group chat gossip)

Author's Note

ignore grammar errors and the like, constructive criticisms and ideas are however welcomed

Reviews

[Ted Kniffen]

Well, Bra. I'm confused. I understand the plotline but there is too much detail in this to keep me interested. I had to stop and restart several times. There is a good story buried somewhere in here, but I think a good edit is required. It needs clarification.
I came away not knowing if Sandy and Mimi were actually friends. Read this out loud and see how it sounds. Sorry if this seems harsh, but do a bit of editing and put out a read request and I'll have another look.

[Bra.Kofi]

thank you Ted