PT 5: Fade and Lele

 

Click to listen Till that Day❤️

At the end of Dollz rendition, Fade had tears in her eyes, her vision blurred by the emotional impact of the performance. The story had touched her deeply, evoking a surge of feelings she couldn’t quite contain. 

Unbeknownst to her, Leye had been watching her intently throughout Dollz’s act, his gaze fixated on her face, noting every flicker of emotion. 

As soon as he saw her recover from the wave of emotion stirred by Dollz’s storytelling—her shoulders relaxing, her breathing steady—he quickly shifted his gaze away, pretending to look elsewhere, averting suspicion and avoiding being caught staring. 

Mayowa had the stage once more. He praised the performance and used it as a teaching curve for creative writing and it’s delivery and after a bit of small talk here and there, the small group session came to an end, promising another session tomorrow. But for now, the prospect of lunch was an exciting one!

Packing all their stuff into their bags, Leye and Fade got on their feet to move to the great hall for dining. On their way, to beat the awkward silence, Fade threw her inhibition, asked Leye what he thought about the small group session particularly the performance. 

Leye’s eyes showed he was grateful for the save- from the heaviness of his thoughts that threatened to drown him in broad daylight. 

“I think it was very good, I liked the parallels the performer was able to draw between mirrors and people” Leye replied. 

He had more to say but he was still stunned by his own thoughts and he wasn’t sure she would be able to take it. So he said as little as he could.  

Fade not suspecting a thing, agreed to the little he had said giving her own reasons in much more syllables than he had offered.

On entering hall, they found the others seated in their usual manner, bantering with such infectious energy while taking bites out of their food. This time, Olive wasn’t on her phone, she was actually participating in the conversation with Esosa’s hands visibly interlocked with hers. 

“Seems like the two did some talking since yesterday because, Esosa’s one-way stare was being reciprocated with some attention of Olive’s attention and even with some PDA for some reason.” Fade thought. The reflection of Fade’s thought played out as amusement on her face. 

Esohe, ever watchful and perceptive, quickly caught the look on Fade’s face and shot her a quick message about the latest with the two. 

"Yes, it’s written all over your face😂," she teased in her text. 

She continued texting "Olive came by shortly after we left camp yesterday, crying her eyes out about Mr. H—whose real name is Emmanuel, a classmate, longer story…. He told her they shouldn’t speak anymore because he's got a new girlfriend, and she’s being super clingy and needy." 

Esohe couldn’t help but add, "If you saw the way I laughed, ehn...😂" and then she shrugged with a grin, still texting "She got exactly what she deserved."

There’s a backstory to Esohe’s conclusion, she wasn’t mean or unable to empathize. She was simply tired of seeing her twin brother treated less than trash just because he fell in love. 

Esohe had let it slip in all of their gisting the night before that Esosa had always loved Olive—since high school’s very beginning. Everyone knew it, saw it in his eyes, except Olive, who went around flaunting him as her best friend.

Fade’s only reply was a simple "Wow," stunned by how much Esohe’s message sounded like a plot straight out of "High School Musical." or the more relatable, Nigerian show“ Nnenna and Friends” 

The question that hung now in the air was “are they really a couple or was Olive just using Esosa since she wasn’t getting the attention she wanted from the mystery Mr H on her Instagram”. 

“Only God knows for them” Fade concluded in her mind. With that, she set her phone aside, trying to act as casual as possible to fit into the table conversation- they had started talking about how their sessions and about their plans for the last few days of summer. 

“Micheal and I are planning a beach hangout for next week Saturday, told you about it, remember ? have you decided if you’ll be able to make it?” Esohe asked. 

She continued “Everyone will be there and just maybe we can pair you and Leye with someone then we would be octuplets bond by love and friendship.”

It was at this point, Leye finally looked up shooting Esohe a gaze that could shoot deadly beams

“Cool down lover boy, that’s my girl you looking at like that” Micheal said laughing, playing the role of supportive boyfriend. 

“I’ll ask my aunt tonight hopefully she agrees”. Fade replied 

Olive taking a break from all the whispering she had been doing in Esosa’s ears said her plans. “Esosa and I have decided to go on a date to make this official”

Esohe rolled her eyes at the announcement of Olive’s plan. She definitely wasn’t hiding her disapproval of the two of them together as a couple. 

With everyone done with their lunch now, calls were made for transportation arrangements. After saying their byes, the twins hopped into their dad’s car with his driver, same with Leye while Olive got into her Uber ride. 

Fade stayed back a while- she didn’t want to return home just yet. She wanted to explore the market close by in case she finds anything she fancies- like a dress for the beach party in the weekend. Even though she tried to hide her excitement as regards the party, she was genuinely looking forward to it. 

After about an hour under the blazing, Lagos sun, haggling with different vendors in the market, she decided to call it a day. She left boarding a yellow Lagos bus with a beautiful, maxi, floral, strapless dress perfect for the beach. She was so satisfied with her pick, she couldn’t help but smile and imagine herself in the dress with all her accessories. The middle aged woman she sat beside looking at her with a concerned look shook her head. She probably thought she had lost it in love or something worse😂

Traffic had the bus moving like snails, snails trying to bash snails and plants- pedestrians alike. The occasional gallop into potholes had her hitting her body and head sometimes to the side and roof of the bus. Each time it happened, she found her self trying to make herself unmovable from her seat but failed. 

What was meant to be a 20 minute commute turned into an hour and by the time she got off the bus, she was tired and famished. All she wanted in that moment was to teleport to her room, run a warm bath and eat and sleep. But she still had to board an Okada from the roadside to her estate’s gate. 

At the estate’s gate, she greeted “Good evening o” expecting the gate security to take that as cue to open the gate. 

One of the security men resounded “Good evening madam” the gate still locked. “Who you dey find ma?”

Fade was almost running mad, she had stayed in the estate for almost a month and she’s still running into entry issues. “ I live here” she replied. She scanned around to see if she would find someone who recognized her. Alas, there was no one at the moment. 

“What’s your house’s code” the security asked. Fade didn’t know the code, she wasn’t privy to it, only her aunt. 

“Hold on a minute” Fade said while texting her aunt about her gate entry issue. Luckily for her, her aunt was online at the moment. She called the gate house and asked Fade be granted entry, warning there shouldn’t be a repeat of such for her cousin. 

“What a day!” Fade exclaimed as she sank into the couch. Her aunt wasn’t back, so no need for socializing right now and giving a rundown of her day. She ate, went to her room, took a shower, did a bit of scrolling on her Instagram and slept off in the middle of it. This was around 10pm. 

…………….

After the camp session today, Leye had quite a chill day- playing video games, doing some paper work and spending some time bonding with his family before retiring into his room. 

In his room, he created tasks from no tasks like cleaning a table that was already clean or refolding clothes in his wardrobe. He was trying to sort out the contents of his mind and heart while gathering courage.

Having done everything apart from the one thing he really wanted to do, Leye picked up his phone, opened Instagram, and typed the exact username Fade had given to Michael the previous day “__fadeity” guess whose beautiful face appeared- Fade’s. He spent an awful amount of time on her profile which had just 12 posts. 

Her beauty shines through effortlessly but the pictures do no justice to her beauty or the essence of her person. To bottle such essence will be like a genie in a bottle! Leye thought deeply.

After taking in as much as he could, he clicked the follow button then the message button, and began to type. Here’s the most pressing thing on my heart. 

You’re the ripple to my river 

The lightning to my thunder 

The pressing thing on my heart 

You’re leaving undeniable impressions on the steel door to my heart…

As he clicked the arrow “send”, different thoughts ran through his mind like “what if she doesn’t feel the same way, would i be losing my cool this way, what if she doesn’t reply?” So many questions and no answers. 

He waited a while gliding between apps to see if at any point she would come online. But she didn’t come online at the different points he checked. As a final resort, he tried to get some sleep but tossed and turned for hours. When he eventually did, she was still in his dreams. 

Sunlight poured into his room signaling the morning and the first thing he grabs is his phone hoping for just one text. Unfortunately, no text came not even hers. He cross checked for his Wi-Fi service, it was on and had fast service. “Nope, not a network problem”  that being his first words that morning. 

He didn’t know what made him more upset, the fact that he didn’t get a message or the fact that he didn’t get a reply from HER. 

“If after today’s finale at camp, she doesn’t say anything or reply, I’d move on with my feelings. I’m first obligated to take responsibility for how I feel before anyone else.” Leye concluded 

…………

Even though Fade was still sleepy, the first thing she did in her half awake, half asleep state was to pick up her phone. She saw she had a few notifications from Instagram. Unlocking her phone, she saw “_leye_ wants to send you a message” immediately sitting upright and clicking on the notification. 

Leye texted me, Leye texted me!! It has to be him. Fade squealed in exciting before calming down, realizing the implication of his text 

“He texted with a poem mani, Ah hmm.. Her inner Yoruba girl, shining through at that moment. 

“Yes, there’s been like a pull to him but I didn’t know he felt it too”

“Is this a good thing, I don’t know if to be excited or to start counting my troubles again because they’ve increased in number” 

Her thought retorted “At least he made a move unlike you know who, who didn’t think to call or text or search for you like you’ve been doing for days!”

“Everything just reminds me of this guy. I almost wish we hadn’t met but I know that it will be a lie. Like how do I explain the ache in my heart for a guy I barely spent a day with” Tears welled in her eyes as she thought about it

“I’ve always been such a crybaby but I’m not going to let a precious tear of mine drop on this matter, imma put on my big girl pants and enjoy my day.” Fade said out loud trying to give herself a pep talk. With that, she got up from her bed to prepare for the day