The evening breeze swept through the bar. It had a chilling effect on every skin it came in contact with. It was an idle Friday evening. Customers trickled in one after the other. Glass chattering, puffs of smoke diffusing into air, background music blasting and people talking at the top of their voices.
At the far end of the bar sat Oluwasheun Banmeke. She sat alone sipping her malt. Her evening was just beginning. It had been a dull day at the office. She sat alone with her thoughts which were soon interrupted by a shrill of laughter let out by one of the two ladies who’d settled at the table behind her few minutes ago.
She stole a look at them. They looked easy. She wasn’t supposed to be here. Ladies of her caliber weren’t seen in places like this. Her can of malt was almost empty. She should take the last gulp and be on her way. Something held her back. She rested her back on the chair, trying to eaves drop. The two girls were talking freely about their men problems not caring who heard them.
The light complexioned one went on about her three admirers. She was torn between whom to choose. They all had qualities she liked. If only she could combine their features into one guy. She was really confused and was having a hard time choosing who to be with.
Her friend laughed at her, terming her naïve. She advised her to date the three of them. Who says she couldn’t have them all? She had two boyfriends at the moment and was even thinking of dumping them for a new guy though she was having issues with the new guy. He beats her at the slightest provocation but he was generous and funny when he wasn’t angry. Her other two boyfriends had become too stingy yet they expected so much from her.
Sheun’s heart bled. These girls thought they had problems. She wished for a pinch of their ‘problems.’ She knew she wasn’t hard on the eyes but still, all through her twenty five years no guy has ever looked her way twice. She keeps hearing of girls being sexually harassed or female colleagues complaining of guys pestering them. If only they knew…
If only one guy would just pester her. Here was a girl torn between not two, but three guys. Only her! She’d obeyed all of life’s rules. She wasn’t a slut; she’d been focused all through her school years. She was modest in her dressing and carried herself with dignity, still where were the guys? Even losers didn’t fancy her! Was she cursed?
… x x x …
Jesse McEddy sat at his desk. He knew what his classmates called him. He was the weirdo of the class; a freak, socially inept and always keeping to himself. He didn’t fit in. He didn’t care what they thought of him. That was the least of his problems.
He listened as the four kids beside him told tales of how strict and annoying their parents were. Always all up in their business, never giving them space to breathe. They even went as far as sending them friend’s request on facebook. They wished their parents would let them be.
But there he was wishing his parents bothered him even for just a minute. They were always working. They never had time for him. Whenever they were home, they were either sleeping or on the phone. Meal time was not talking time. Hell! They never ate as a family. His mother always complained he was in her way each time he tried to get her attention. They were career people. He got that, but they were his parents and he needed them.
It was one home sitter to the other throughout his childhood. His teenage years were worse. He thought as he grew older they would have time for him. He was no more pissing his mum off with his shrieking tiny voice when he cried. He had outgrown soiling himself; he no more broke glasses or dropped things. He didn’t draw on the walls anymore, but still she barely looked his way.
His dad was hardly ever in the country; from one oversea business trip to the other. He barely knew his own father. He spent most of his time at home alone. He was of age now, no more baby sitters. It was just him and the mansion.
These people were complaining about their nosey parents. They didn’t get it. They were loved but they just couldn’t realize it.
At times he thought he was a mistake. Maybe his parents never planned on having kids. He wished they’d ground him, tell him to stop watching the television and go do his homework. These kids had it all but they didn’t know.
Tonight he was going to slit his wrist. If his mum cared enough, she’ll notice. If he died, well, he’d finally find his peace…
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