Gone Bad (Nigerian Novel) -Editing

Chapter 24: What's it to You?

The next time I see him the hall is in chaos.

Papers were flying everywhere and students had begun ripping apart their uniforms in celebration of our final paper.

Demilade rises from his seat and I take it as my cue to approach him.

To my surprise a girl sidesteps him before he is halfway down my path right by the exit.

I recognize the squeaky voice anywhere and stop to watch Patricia talk to Demilade.

It had been so long since he started hanging with us that I had forgotten the gang he had ditched to join ours.

The confidence booster that he had chosen us takes a hit when I see him laugh at Patricia, almost as if he enjoyed her company.

For some reason it stung more than I would like to admit and I glance at the door.

A week had gone by since we last spoke, yet he didn't seem to have missed my company so much.

Maybe I should just go.

"Promise you'll come?" a girl says and I jump away from the doorway as I come face to face with the two.

He doesn't seem to have noticed me but I call him anyway.

The smile drops from his face and he holds a hand up to acknowledge me.

I return to my table where I take a seat while waiting for him.

"I already gave you my word didn't I?"  he says and I see her grin once more before she makes her way down the stairs.

The fact that she doesn't so much as cast a side glance my way sets me off in the way an employee anticipating a sack letter would.

"You wanted to talk to me?" he says.

By now his crossed arm is casually resting against the same wall I had used to steady my ack.

"About what happened..." I say, not knowing where to begin.

"Yes, what did happen back there?" Demilade continues, looking done with the conversation before it even started.

"I made a dumb decision." I start and pause as I watch him bite back a snarky remark. "and nothing can justify that. You wanted to make sure I had a great day and I bailed on you for a stranger."

"Is he though."

I sigh and rephrase my sentence. "A stranger to you. I'm sorry for not telling you the truth."

"And what about him? Why didn't you tell me about that grown man who came to pick you up? Matter of fact who is that guy." he says finally showing an ounce of emotion.

"Can you calm down it's not that serious," I say beginning to let his irritation seep through me.

"Not that serious? You ditch your friends on a birthday for a man who is no good. How long have you been hanging out with the guy? Ehn?" he says in a harder tone than I had expected.

"Since did you become my Daddy? And who are you to judge someone you don't even know."

"Well I know guys like that only want one thing," he says and I drop my accusing fingers.

"And I'm some naive bimbo too desperate to see that's all he's after right?" I answer for him.

He steps back and shakes his head slowly. "No that isn't what I mean..."

"I think you've made yourself very clear. What about you, how can I be sure this isn't some best friend ruse to get in my pants as well?" I said laughing to myself.