WHITE!!!!!;The color of your heart ????????????
(A wall flower’s guide to finding God)
Chapter 13
(Keep your head in the game….not your heart.)
I trudged grudgingly into the basketball court, already feeling the heat of the sun scorching my exposed limbs. I had tried to be sporty at least, wearing a large t-shirt that had a famous basketball player’s name printed on it, but upon stepping on to the court and seeing everyone else’s normal attire, I knew that I had gone overkill.
I wanted to run back to my hostel and change, but that would just be a waste of my money. So, I sucked it up and found a good spot on the ground to rest my buttocks.
“Ahn ahn, Ileri. Are you joining them to play ni?” Iretiola asked scornfully, as she walked by me with a group of her friends.
I smiled nervously, my cheeks growing hot in embarrassment.
“Maybe she will join them to be the referee.” Another girl added snootily, and they all burst into high pitched laughter.
I cringed, wondering what exactly was so funny about me wearing a jersey, or in the comments they had just made.
Iretiola broke away from her friends and began to sashay up to me, and I sighed in frustration.
What did she want again? Hadn’t she teased me enough? Didn’t she have anything better to do?
“But come oh Ileri. It would have even been fine if the Jersey wasn’t so big. Ahhn. Is it that you don’t have any fitted clothes? Everytime I see you, you’re always looking like someone they brought from village. Don’t you know it’s not attractive? Don’t you want to get married someday? And even your bre@sts. You know they are big. Don’t you know how to pack them well?” She scolded, and her friends suppressed snorts of laughter, while one of them tapped her on the shoulders.
“Ire, calm down nah……when you are not her mother…..is it fight?” One of them said, her words hardly audible through her laughter.
I felt sweat build up on my face. This Iretiola girl was a monitoring spirit sha.
What was her problem with me?
I cast my eyes down at my bre@sts, trying to see if they were really drooping, which was a big mistake. The girls before me burst into raucous laughter.
I bit my lip.
“A-are they really f-falling? I r-really tried to pack them well today.” I muttered weakly.
“Are you asking me? Shabi they are your bre@sts!” Iretiola goaded, and they all began to laugh again.
“And what’s wrong if she wears baggy clothes or if her bre@sts are touching the ground?”
A soft, familiar voice said from beside me. I looked up and saw Sean standing beside me, dusting the dirt off his sneakers.
Iretiola folded her arms.
“What?”
Sean faced them, his eyes narrowed.
“You heard me. Or can your brain capacity only handle insulting other people?” He asked with a blank expression on his face, dusting the dirt on his sneakers furiously in their direction.
I watched him, my mouth agape.
Iretiola and her friends stepped back in alarm, slight gasps escaping their mouths as they tried to avoid the spray of dirt being childishly aimed in their direction.
“Ahn ahn! Are you okay?!” Iretiola began in irritation,but her friends held her back.
Sean continued to stare at them with a blank expression.
Iretiola eyed him, then gave the two of us a long hiss, before walking off with her friends.
I sat silently, wondering whether to thank Sean for his intervention, or slap him for talking about my breasts.
He sat beside me and began to put on his sneakers, tying the laces carefully into a bunny knot like a five year old child that had just been taught to tie his shoes.
He finished tying it and patted his sneakers in content. I scoffed.
He placed his arms behind his back and stared at the sky.
“You know, I wanted to leave you all alone to deal with those girls.” He said quietly.
I rested my chin on my knees.
“Why did you get involved then?”
He sighed.
“Because I guess the need to shut them up superceded the want for you to stand up for yourself.”
I chuckled lightly.
“Well, good for both of us, I guess.”
He sighed heavily again, then lifted a grey duffel bag and dumped it in my laps.
“There. You’re in charge of my refreshment. That bag contains bottles of water and a towel.”
“Why do I have to do this?” I protested.
He flashed me a toothy grin that made my heart race.
“If you don’t do it no one else will. After all, you know I have no other friends.”
I blew out a puff of air and buried my face in his bag to hide the blush that had crept up my cheeks.
“Not having any friends isn’t something to smile about.” I muttered under my breath, noting that the bag smelled a lot like hus cologne.
I waited until his footsteps had receded before looking up, and my eyes caught Tobi standing on the other side of the court, staring in my direction.
He was too far away, so I couldn’t make out the look on his face. He rose up his hand and gave me a little wave, which I returned shyly.
The game soon began, with Tobi and Sean playing on opposing teams. They both played very well, and looked so dashing running around and dribbling the ball all over the court.
I didn’t know much about basketball, and I didn’t have anyone to talk to, so I lost interest pretty quickly, but judging from people’s cheers and Iretiola’s screams, it seemed like Tobi’s team was winning.
Well, no surprise there.
There was a five minute break after the first game, and Sean ran up to me, sweaty and panting.
“Fine boy, you’re losing oh.” I teased, handing him a bottle of water. He twisted it open and downed it, smirking at me.
“See your mouth.”
I brought out the towel and handed it to him, but he rose his eyebrow at me.
“I’m drinking water nah. Wipe the sweat yourself.”
“Are you cr@zy? Just put the water down and do it.”
“Why? Are you embarrassed? Does doing that make you feel nervous?” He asked, staring me in the eyes so intensely that my stomach did a flip.
I turned away from him quickly, my insides churning.
I heard him scoff.
“Stop acting all flustered around me Ileri. I’m not Tobi.”
I turned around, expecting to see a smug smile on his face at his very over used joke,but was instead met with a sad smile on his face.
My brows creased in a mix of confusion and worry.
I turned away from him again, and muttered,
“Then don’t do things that will make me flustered.”
He chuckled at that, then someone blew a whistle.
He stood and stretched.
“Well, that’s time. I’ve got a game to win. Don’t miss me too much.”
I hissed at him as he ran back on to the court, the previous air between us now lifted.
Or had we both just chose to ignore it?
My heart thumped rapidly in my chest, and wouldn’t stop no matter how hard I tried.
I knew this feeling all too well.
The game progressed, with Tobi’s team staying on the winning side.
Iretiola cheered so loudly for him, you would think she was his wife.
I tried my hardest to pay attention to the game, but I got bored again, reminding myself that I wasn’t a sports person.
Eventually the game ended and Tobi’s team won.
I tried not to laugh snarkily at Sean when he came over to get his duffel bag.
“Your Course Rep boyfriend is a beast.” He mumbled gruffly, and I burst into laughter.
“And you’re just a sore loser Sean.”
Tobi ran up to us.
“Ileri, I’m so glad you could make it. Sorry I couldn’t entertain you properly.”
“N-no problem…..Co-congrats on your win. Y-you were so good out there.” I stuttered nervously.
He smiled widely at me, seemingly excited at my praise.
“Did you enjoy the game?”
Before I could answer, Sean spoke up.
“Nope. She was bored all through.”
I glared at him.
How had he figured that out? No wonder he lost, when he was busy watching me instead of focusing on the…..game.
My face grew hot at the thought of it.
Was that why he had lost?
No….no way.
That couldn’t be possible.
Stop acting korean film Ileri.
Tobi sighed.
“Wow…. I’m so sorry Ileri. You don’t like basketball?”
“O-of course not! Don’t mind Sean, he’s just being an idiot.” I replied through gritted teeth.
Tobi stared wordlessly at me for a few seconds, before closing his eyes and sighing. “Alright. Actually I…..”
“Are you going home already?” I called out, cutting Tobi off, noticing Sean walking away.
He stopped and turned back to me, raising an eyebrow.
“Shouldn’t your attention be on your boyfriend?” He asked casually, not waiting for an answer and walking away.
I frowned slightly, then turned back to Tobi, realizing that I had interrupted him.
“T-Tobi! I’m so so-sorry! Wh-what were you going to say?” I squeaked out, hoping that he wouldn’t be angry that I had interrupted him.
He narrowed his eyes at me, an unreadable expression on his face.
“Don’t worry Ileri. It’s nothing.”
“O-okay..if you say so.”
Iretiola cornered him at that moment, pulling him away from me and giving me a dirty look.
I sighed, and walked off myself to flag down a Keke and go home, the once brightly shining sun now hidden behind dark clouds.
?????
The days passed by slowly,and the campus soon emptied out.
Most people had gone home, including Feyikemi and Tobi, and I lay on my bed viewing their WhatsApp statuses on how much they were enjoying their Christmas break while I lay in bed alone in school, bored out of my mind.
I checked Sean’s WhatsApp. He hardly ever updated his status, and he didn’t have a profile pic or an about. What a guy.
Wait, why was I stalking his WhatsApp right now?
Only Dupe and I remained in the room, and though I was a bit lonely without Feyikemi, I would rsther be bored to death than go home.
I closed my eyes to sleep, but was jerked awake by noise and screams coming from outside.
Dupe ran in frantically.
“Ileri! Come quick! It’s your mom! She’s making a scene with mummy Grace!”
All the blood drained from my body.
Oh no.
Oh God no.
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