Same Difference [A Queer Nigerian Experience]

5 | THINK STRAIGHT

The power came back on as we stepped out of the library, we wanted to go back inside, since we hadn't left the building but there wasn't any need. We were both still taken aback by what we had seen. I wanted to believe it was a huge misunderstanding, thinking who we saw was probably just some married pregnant woman completely unrelated to Mr Utomi, and happened to be with a boy who had a striking resemblance to Mr Utomi's chiseled face.

I didn't understand what this would mean for us. Maxwell was now more determined than ever to find out who owned the deleted account, while I wanted to back out. Because no matter what we would do, it won't turn out well for anyone. I definitely didn't want to be the cause of someone's marriage falling apart. From the information I had gathered from the chats, it seemed like Mr. Utomi had ended things with the student before he got together with his wife. In fact, that was probably why they broke up in the first place. So, at least Mr. Utomi wasn't being unfaithful to his wife, I thought.

We were on the first-floor corridor, leaning against the stair railings that led down to the ground floor, talking about the likely future.

"What's your plan once you discover who it is? Are you going to call his wife and tell her? How would we even  find out who it is? For all we know the guy has obviously graduated." I whispered.

"I don't know, but guy we can't just forget about this na" Maxwell said.

Well, we could indeed forget about it because I had already distanced myself from the situation. I pulled out my phone and visibly demonstrated to Maxwell that I was logging out and deleting Mr. Utomi's account from my phone.

"It's not me and you, I'm sorry" I excluded myself, "We're only going to cause trouble, I'm telling you. You don't want to do this." I wasn't sure if he had a moral compass. We'd only known each other for five days, but I believed I could convince him that it was best to leave matters like this alone.

"We're saving their marriage" Maxwell had now spun the tale to make himself appear as the savior. I didn't understand how he intended to execute his plan, but I was certain he wasn't a hero in this scenario.

"Who said their marriage needs saving?" I blurted out louder than I had intended. I turned back to check if anyone was coming up the stairs, but there was no one. To prevent anyone from discovering what we were up to, I suggested to Maxwell that we move elsewhere to discuss it. We descended the stairs, all the while attempting to convince Maxwell that meddling in people's private affairs was not his concern.

It was futile to use Mr. Utomi's bisexuality as an argument to make him abandon the idea. To Maxwell, he saw Mr. Utomi as a gay man in denial, stuck in an unsatisfying relationship and neglecting his wife in terms of intimacy. He didn't consider the possibility that Mr. Utomi might be a bisexual man who, even if he preferred men, chose to marry a woman due to gay marriage being illegal in Nigeria.

We got downstairs and headed outside, we unexpectedly ran into Sewa and Eseosa. My heart skipped a beat; why did I have to bump into Sewa of all times, especially when I was with Maxwell? I had to act casual, and the four of us exchanged greetings. Maxwell then made his exit, saying, "See you later," obviously to avoid any more confrontation about dropping Mr. Utomi's case.

I was left alone with the girls, not wanting Sewa to mention Maxwell, I noticed Eseosa wasn't carrying her baby, so I inquired about who was looking after Favour, already suspecting it was her babysitter, a confirmation I received from Eseosa. I quickly searched for another question to ask, doing my best to steer clear of the topic of Maxwell, so I asked, "What brought you guys to the library?"

Sewa mentioned escorting Eseosa to get her school fees breakdown stamped, indicating with her finger behind me where a line had formed at the reception. I hadn't noticed it before, but as I turned around, Eseosa asked, "So that's the Maxwell guy?"