Chapter Seventy-Eight – Rainy Days and Unwanted Car Rides

After Lara’s parents had gushed about how proud they were of her they were – gushed may be too strong a word. Actually, they didn’t say they were proud of her. But Lara was an affection starved child and any crumbs she got from her parents were easily converted into a loaf. Jesus’ apprentice if you will.

Anyway, after whatever that was, Lara was extra vigilant about the business. She needed it to thrive to be able to show her parents what she’d been able to achieve and what she was truly capable of.

She went through the inventory and checked the accounts to make sure everything was in order. Then she froze. Something wasn’t adding up. There was more inventory gone than there were profits from the sale. It couldn’t be that it’d been stolen because no one who’d entered the room was a stranger and they didn’t even touch the inventory boxes.

Mara would have to explain what exactly was going on.

*

With lectures having commenced in earnest. Kwame was also excited to resume his Bible study. He’d spent his Detty December being clean. He was at church camp and then he went off by himself to study the word and pray.

He was on fire and any demon that tried to touch him would be viciously burned. It was precisely for this reason that the devil dispensed forth one demon. This demon was Kwame’s very weakness.

You see, the devil has been around for much longer than we have. Which means he’s had the opportunity to study man’s patterns long enough to know where to get them.

Back to the story though. Kwame arranged the chairs in excitement. He couldn’t wait to begin class. He’d even bought drinks to refresh us afterwards. He was on the up and up.

One by one, his faithful disciples started to troop in. Lara and I were one of the last to arrive and were surprised to find that the numbers had doubled. We found a seat towards the back and took it.

As we sat, Mara came walking in. Lara was in too much of a hurry to wait till after the meeting to bring up the missing inventory. As she opened her mouth to speak, Kwame spoke up, welcoming everyone to the meeting. Lara had to bite her tongue and save the conversation for later.

As I sat, I noticed one of the new entrants was a beautiful girl. She had the same ethereal nature like Aseda but when the meeting commenced, I noticed she was as fiery as Lara. I thought to myself that she would fit right in were she to have joined our friendship group.

When the meeting was over, Lara decided to stay for the refreshment while I opted to go to the library. I wanted to hit the ground running this semester.

Lara made her way over to help Kwame pour the drinks into plastic cups for the guests and they chatted.

“I am so proud of you. the numbers have really increased. You are really killing this Pastor Kwame thing” Lara observed.

Kwame laughed. “Thank you” he said.

“I was thinking that next week, in addition to…” Lara started to say before she was interrupted by the Lara-Aseda hybrid.

“Hello, Brother Kwame. I just wanted to say I really enjoyed today’s Bible Study. I learned so much. God bless you” she said.

“Thank you, Stephanie but please I’ve told you before that you don’t have to call me brother” Kwame said with a smile.

Lara looked over at the girl and studied her closely.

I believe that when there are two thieves in a room, they identify themselves quickly. They know the familiar scent of a thief. In the same way, when there are two women that know what they are about – they are well versed in the game of life – they can identify each other.

Lara sensed immediately that this girl had a goal in mind. What that goal was though, she couldn’t quite place her finger on it.

Lara was so engrossed in her study of this familiar entity that she didn’t notice when the young lady smoothly collected the drink from her hand and assumed the role that hitherto, Lara had been playing. A subtle foreshadowing.

Lara stood there incredulous as the two chatted away. She chuckled and turned to leave.

Stephanie. Stephanie. She’d seen the kind before.

*

I didn’t spend a long time in the library because all I was doing was preparing my plan for the semester. I walked out of the faculty feeling accomplished. I was one of the only students who’d made it there that evening and something about it made me feel like I was utilizing my father’s money well.

The cold evening air smacked my face and took me by surprise. Immediately, goosebumps came all over my body. I hugged my body tight and started to walk briskly down the road. There was thunder and then lightning.

It would be another ten minutes before I’d be able to make it to the safety of the hostel. I tried picking up the pace but I was badly out of shape and the uphill climb was slowing me down. The first drop of rain fell and I was starting to reconcile myself to the fact that it was most likely the rain would beat me.

As I resigned myself to my fate, my eyes were almost blinded by headlights. The car came closer, I saw the number plate and rolled my eyes. I kept up the brisk walk. Boateng rolled down the glass and beckoned me to get in.

“No, thank you” I said without slowing down. I’d much rather the rain beat me than to sit in that car even if it was just for a few minutes.

Boateng sighed. He knew I’d put up a fight. He quickly did a U-turn so we were now headed in the same direction. “Come on, Araba. I know you’re still mad at me but it’s about to rain. Just get in the car, we don’t have to talk.”

Like he’d jinxed it, the rain drops picked up pace and only showed signs of getting worse. I wanted to say another no but the chilly air slapped me in the face again and knocked all the pride out of me. I stood in contemplation.

“Just get in. Please” he said in frustration. The way he said it annoyed me but I reluctantly walked over to the passenger side and was sure to slam the door when I got in.

“Ouch” he joked. I didn’t laugh.

We sat in silence. I had never seen him concentrate on the road as he was now. I intended to let the silence continue but curiosity got the better of me. How did he know where I was? That’s assuming he came looking for me. If not that, then what was he doing out there? That seemed too much of a coincidence.

“What are you doing here at this time?” I asked. I spared only a second to glance at him before quickly looking out the window like I didn’t care what the answer was when in truth, I was dying to know. Aren’t human beings interesting?

“Lara told me you’d left for the library and I thought the rain might catch you so I came to pick you up” he said, “I know how much you hate the cold and getting beaten by rain”.

This boy is a psychopath. Here goes Lara again, intercepting where it isn’t needed.

Me having been the first to speak, Boateng saw this as his opportunity to create conversation. The rain was beating down heavily now and I couldn’t escape from the car even if I wanted to.

“I have missed you” he began.

“Yeah well, there wouldn’t be a reason to miss me if you hadn’t betrayed my trust” I said, cutting straight to the point.

He accepted the jab in good faith.

“Could you drive faster” I asked.

“Nah. It’s raining and the road is wet. I’m trying to get us back to the hostel in one piece.”

Silence.

“Look, Araba, I know I messed up and I take full accountability for it. I hurt you in a way that I shouldn’t have. You have no idea just how sorry I am.”

I needed to hear this apology. More importantly, I wanted so badly to accept it.

“I never set out to hurt you. I can promise you that. I was hurt and angry. I wasn’t thinking. You know how easy it is to get selfish when your heart is broken.”

The car pulled up to the front of the hostel.

“Please just say something to me at least. I want to make things right” he begged.

I stared at my skirt for a good minute.

“I hear everything that you’re saying and you have no idea how desperately I want to hear it. It doesn’t change the fact though that you did it. Not only did you do it but you kept it from me. Right after you broke your promise to wait for me, you came back with renewed vigor and lied to my face. I don’t know. Every time I want to forget it, it just hits me like a train.”

“Araba…”

“I didn’t handle anything about my breakup with Sly well enough. I was a total mess from beginning to finish and I hurt everyone around me – even you. I guess I am saying all that to say, I don’t want to get my heart broken again. I want to find myself and keep her. Right now, I don’t trust you. I want to but I don’t.”

I opened the door and got out in the pouring rain. I didn’t even turn around to see if he was still parked there.