TÓDÙN

22

New cover by Adaezekingz,this chapter is for her. I hope you all love it as I do?
ENJOY

               ~KUNLE~

Don't judge a book by its cover, I should have thought about that before dropping the book I saw at the library some few days ago. The text book was recommended by a lecturer to support us in a course that he was teaching us, I had seen it before at the school library but I dropped it because it seemed old-fashioned, only to find out now that it was just what we were told to use.  With the realization that Akorede was not ready to follow me because of the game he was playing and Funsho was busy preparing for whatever he referred to as a picnic with his newest catch, I practically dragged myself into the bathroom and had a cold shower. I returned into the room to find Akorede on his belly now watching an American film and Funsho stuffing his mouth with bread and butter.

I walked towards my box and pulled out a red tee-shirt my Mum gave to me when she came for the matriculation, I wore an army colour baggie short and slipped on my leather slippers. Feeling the urge to make sure I went with someone, I took my phone on the table scrolled through it, then, I  saw Todun's number and I remembered that I had not heard from her ever since the day I took her and her friend home. I called her number and asked her if she wanted to go with me and she obliged. Feeling frustrated by the muffled laughter of Funsho who insisted she was the reason I wanted to go out and Akorede talking incessantly about what a couple we will be, I grabbed my car key that was on the table and left the room

***

Her smiling face was the first thing I saw when she opened the door, her gap teeth making me stay rooted to the ground by its beauty as she called me on to enter the room. I and Funto exchanged pleasantries while the guy whom I perceived to be Funto's boyfriend introduced himself to be Ahmed. Todun was dressed in a flowery gown that stopped at her kneel, she wore a slippers that was strapped tightly to her feet and held a green coloured file. When she was done saying goodbye to her friends, we all walked to the car with me leading the way. They didn't leave us until I ignited the car and tried turning the car to the direction we were going.

Todun strapped her seat belt carefully and she drew long deep breaths, and licked her lower lip, blew imaginable air to her self with her palms and adjusted her gown that became shorter as she sat. I could tell that she was feeling nervous by her actions while I on the other hand, was racking my brain on how to bring up a discussion that will not sound too lame. I had my eyes on the road and on everything she did at the same time.

"When is Remilekun coming back?" I blurted even though she had informed me herself of when she was coming but I needed to give a topic that both of us could talk about.

"Next week Monday I think, that was what they said." She answered and clasped her palms together.

"They? You mean they all left without you?" I asked again even though I was fully aware of it.

"Yes." She answered nattily and I focused on the road. Feeling uncomfortable by the silence and by the way she sighed, I taped on the car tape and tuned to a radio station that literally blabbed nonsense about an impending strike and she listened with rapt attention. Nigeria and strikes, I muttered and she chuckled. I rode the car into the school, stopped when we got to the library and took my library ID card from my pocket as we both walked into the place. The woody smell of books was the first thing my nose perceived,  before noticing the brownish looking books that were neatly arranged and labelled on the book shelf.

A middle-aged woman sat behind the desk that was placed at the right side of the library opposite an array of books. As we moved closer to her, I discovered her eyes and mind were stuck on the movie she was watching on her mobile phone which was carefully held in her hand. She didn't even reply our greetings let alone glancing at us as when the door we opened made a croaky sound. If there is one thing I have noticed about people who hold significant positions in the school system, it is that they will make sure you realise their worth by ignoring you and not attending to your needs on time. Significant example of this is when you need them to append their signatures on something, they will make sure they waste your time so that you will understand the importance of putting ink on paper.

"Good afternoon ma, we are here to borrow some books ma." Todun repeated the second time and bent slightly in reverence just then the door opened and a woman whom I suppose be her senior colleague strode inside making her scrambled to her feet and almost flinging phone to the floor.

"Good afternoon ma." She greeted her while the woman in her ankara prints, walked towards the table with a smile on her face. They both exchanged pleasantries for a while, discussed about their respective families, gossipped about a co-worker who wouldn't come to work in weekends because of parties, before the woman casually strode off to her office, muttering words into her phone and waving her hand in the air "So we were saying?" She mumbled and glared at us. What were we saying? You didn't even seem to acknowledge our presence a while ago, I thought, as she and Todun conversed before she let us  into a bigger room. I went straight to the place I saw the book before and took it while Todun spent about thirty minutes before she saw the book she was looking for. We walked back to her desk to show her the book, she took the necessary data she needed and we left the place. As I sat down in the car, I inhaled a sigh of relief and stared at Todun as she flipped through the book and clutched the book to her chest.

"I guess you found what you were looking for?" I asked her and took the key out of my pocket.

"Yes I did." She replied and chuckled while I started the engine. We had a stop over at the cyber cafe and I drove off to a restaurant I  saw on our way to school. I drove into the parking lot attached to the restaurant and she looked at me as if to ask me the reason I did that.

"Let's have a stop over here, I am famished." I confessed. I had not eaten anything satisfying since morning. I only took bread and butter with tea because I was felt too stressed out to cook anything, Funsho was busy with his outing and Akorede was glued to his laptops. Not eating or eating late are some of the disadvantages of having male roommates. I got down from the car and pulled her with me towards an empty chair as she insisted she had eaten before I picked her up from home. While waiting for what we ordere, we discussed about school and that was when I remembered Remilekun saying her mum owns a boutique.

"So what is the name of your mum's boutique?"

"My Mum's boutique?" She asked absent mindedly and shifted on the chair.  "Yes boutique...it is one of this random boutiques without a name...you know small scale sale..." She placed her hands on the table.

"Sure...okay." I answered and shifted to the back a little as I watch the waiter placed our food on the table. "What about your father which country does he stay?" I asked her again with the feeling that something was not  right. She dodged the question, started eating her food as soon as the waiter placed it down. I remembered the day Remilekun's mother had come visiting and asked us what our parents were doing for a living, something she was so particular of and I was sure she would throw anyone who was not up to her expectation out of the room. Todun was kind of stuttering before Remilekun came to her rescue and said her mother owns a boutique and her father lives abroad.

Without further questions, I took my spoon and dug it into the plate of fried rice that was placed on the table and savoured the taste. I intermittently looked at Todun and smiled at the manner in which she went on eating as if she had all the time in the world.

After eating our meals, we went back to the car and I drove around the town for some sight seeing, then I realised we both live in Lagos even though she refused to tell me the part of Lagos she stayed. We discussed about the various schools we went to and she told me some of the things that I should expect once I get back home because  according to her I will not remain the Journey Just Come again. After the long day drive, I drove her home and returned to the hostel. As I stood by the door, I noticed a familiar feminine voice coming from the room as the person spoke aloud. Thinking it was one of Funsho's friends, I opened to discover that it was Remilekun seated on the chair facing Akorede who had a smirk on his face.

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