Chapter Nine — Not All Of Those Who Get High Are Criminals.

Boateng was still in a state of shock as he walked to his room. He had not expected their conversation to go there. He felt suddenly exhausted.

Out of curiosity, who do you think he chose?

Confrontation season was still not over because Kwame decided to pay Nana Yaa a visit. He hadn’t been able to manage tears but he promised her that he was sorry and that it wouldn’t happen again and that she should take him back.

Their little conversation was going well and Nana Yaa had started contemplating mending things when he hinted at the fact that his cheating was sort of her fault because she wasn’t doing her job as a girlfriend.

Kwame walked out of the room that night with some heat on his left cheek and fingerprints imprinted close to his ear. Even though Nana Yaa had stood up for herself, she was still thinking about it.

Sadly, feelings aren’t something you can easily turn off just because the person you love hurt you. I believe Khloe Kardashian is the one who said something along those lines after Tristan Thompson did yet another shitty thing.

He said he was sorry and he clearly liked her. If not, he would have gone to see Lara instead of her. In any case the Bible says to forgive and forget. She was a Christian, maybe she should forgive and forget.

Reader, it’s most annoying when someone uses the Bible to support silly decisions. It’s one thing to forgive and it’s another thing entirely to put yourself in a position to be hurt again. Nothing had changed. Kwame still wanted sex. Nana Yaa still didn’t want to give it. If it wasn’t Lara, it would be some other girl. The cycle wasn’t broken.

I suppose these are some of the reasons that I’m still single. I cannot fathom myself acting the fool for a man. My time was coming, of course. Till then, I couldn’t envisage myself acting the fool.

My test failure had made me sit up. Exams were around the corner and if I didn’t pull myself together, I would not be doing as well as I’d hoped. I decided to approach Sly for some extra classes because according to the rumors, he was a first-class student.

While I was trying to get my academics in order, my friends were in the process of a spiral.

Boateng was stressed, not just because of Farida’s drama but for other reasons he couldn’t really determine and it was beginning to take a toll on him. Men like to tough it out till they can’t anymore and then share their concerns with the wrong friend. Micah was the wrong friend.

Micah said the boys were linking up that night to get some drinks and play some FIFA so it was best if Boateng tagged along instead of laying there feeling sorry for himself. He agreed because he could use a break. It wasn’t hard for him to get comfortable. Reader, I mean this in the least offensive way possible, but men are like dogs. It doesn’t take them long to get along like they’ve been friends their whole life. Women on the other hand, we need to feel you out. We need to determine your vibe. I think our way is better because we are able to determine quicker who is friend or foe.

These boys weren’t Boateng’s friend. They couldn’t be.

The football game started and it was all fun and games. One boy suggested that they should add a little drinking to the game. The loser had to take a shot and the winner got another game till he lost. The goal was to get all of them as wasted as possible.

Soon the boys got tired of the FIFA and some of them were already on their way to dream nation. Boateng didn’t lose that many games so he was relatively still sober. One guy, I think his name was Opare, suggested that since they were bored of the games perhaps they should try some brownies.

Boateng may look like he’s a bad boy but he’s really not. He didn’t want to seem out of place by opting out. In any case he wanted to let loose and lighten up.

Opare got the brownies and the boys took it.

I was almost fast asleep when there was a knock on the door. Boateng was standing there with blood shot eyes. He looked dazed and confused.

“Hi. Can I come in?” he asked. I opened the door wider and he walked in and threw himself on the bed. I walked over to him. He was breaking out in a sweat and he looked awful.

“Boateng, what the hell is wrong with you?” I asked alarmed. He didn’t see anything and looked like he was staring at the wall. Then he laughed and said some things to himself. Lara laughed. “He’s high” she said.

“High? Boateng are you high?” I asked in shock. I was still a freshman so it was my first encounter with something like that.

It was a rollercoaster of a night for the both of us.

At first, he was overly active and excited. He chatted and laughed about the silliest things. It was so funny. He ranted about his football team, his ex-girlfriends and the difficult course we were studying.

Then he turned quiet and then he started to cry. It was so awkward.

One thing about getting high is that it takes off the filter we put in place. It unmasks you in the most embarrassing way. When we are ourselves, we don’t say certain things and don’t even allow ourselves to understand our feelings but when you’re high, that all vanishes.

I held him as he sobbed. He would never do this sober. I couldn’t tell if this was something I could joke about later or be concerned about. “I don’t think I want my parents to get a divorce. I don’t like it.”

“I thought you didn’t care? Where is this coming from?”

“Farida and I broke up. She asked me who I wanted and I said you.”