The Ru Effect

Chapter three

I wake up to the sound of voices drifting from the living room. Groggily, I reach for my phone and check the time – almost evening. I had slept for hours. My mind still foggy, I noticed missed calls from Mary, I smiled, feeling a pang of homesickness. I'd call her later.

I stretch as I get out of my bed contemplating on whether to go outside or bathe first.

I choose the latter.

After a refreshing shower, I slip into comfortable black yoga shorts and a loose polo shirt that has I'm always better written on it and skipping the bra for simplicity. My hair was still damp, but I didn't bother drying it. I wasn't expecting company.

And besides I'm hungry so I really need to grab something. As I step in to the hallway the voices grow louder. I hesitate, wondering who Tejiri has invited over. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I walk into the living room.

Four strangers turned to face me, their conversations momentarily halted. Tejiri beams with excitement. "Kobiruo, come meet my friends!"

There are two guys and two girls, all around our age. Tejiri introduced them as Rachel, Alex, Jamie, and River. Rachel's gaze was icy, her smile forced but in all she is actually a really beautiful white girl with blonde hair.

Alex, on the other hand, flashed a charming grin. He is a white guy with wavy black hair that looks like he has ran his hands through it alot.
He looks attractive though.

"Hello kobiruo, did I pronounce that right?" His face did seem concerned like he thought I would be offended if he pronounced it wrong.

"It's ko-bi-ru-o" I corrected shyly.
I honestly don't mind cause most people pronounce it as ko-bi-ro, even back home in Nigeria.
He smiles at me again "You are really pretty though, Tj tell me where the hell did you come from?" Tejiri smacks his chest and he just laughs.

Jamie seems really happy to see me as she waves at me from the seat she's lounging on carefreely.
Her face seems more striking due to the contrasting colour of her hair that she obviously dyed to a purple colour.

It really makes her looks beautiful with her violet coloured eyes.

"Hello" her British accents makes her sound very sophisticated.
I wave at her not trusting my voice not to shake.

But my attention is drawn to River.
The boy with a strange name.
Our eyes meet, and for a fleeting moment, time stood still. His piercing gaze stares intently into mine,
It feels like I can see his soul from his grey stormy eyes.

His skin is tanned and for a moment I can't tell if it's from the constant sun or he's just naturally tan. But from the way his skin glows under the soft glow of the sun from our window he's definitely naturally tanned.
Which surprises me cause most dark skinned people that I've  met usually has brown eyes.

He has sharp and chiseled features, his strong jawline leaves me breathless. His aura commands the room, and I'm drawn to him by an inexplicable pull.

I can tell from his silhouette under his hoodie and sweatpants which is too casual that his figure is lean and muscular, his broad shoulders giving him away.

From his sitted position I can even make out his height because of the way his long legs spread out.

Everything about him just feels so raw and edgy.

Rachel's  snide comment sadly snaps me back to reality and breaks me and River's non subtle eye contact. "So are you gonna stand there and stare at someone like that? That's creepy"

" Rachel need I remind you that that's my sister? " Tejiri gives her a warning look which makes her clamp her mouth shut.

Jamie and Alex don't even bother to stop talking about some party that they are going tonight like there isn't some odd tension in the air.

Obviously oozing from Rachel cause it's definitely not me.

Tejiri joins in on their conversation and I immediately take that as my queue to leave.

Feeling self-conscious, I murmured a greeting and retreated to the kitchen. As I prepared a sandwich, I couldn't help sneaking glances at this River guy.

He seemed disinterested in the conversation, his eyes drifting toward the window. He barely talks and has his jaw clenched majority of  the time.

Rachel, however, effortlessly captures his attention, her laughter ringing out.

I don't know what I did to the girl but her eyes really did seem to narrow at me every once in a while if she catches me staring at the attractive male sitting right next to her.

Possessive much?

After I finished making my sandwich I quickly walk out of the kitchen and in to the hallway.

I sneak a glance at River but feel my breath knocked out of me because he's staring back at me.
He looks away and I hawl out of there to my room, closing the door behind me, I take a deep breath and video called Mary.

"Hey, girl!" Mary's warm voice filled the line. "How's Canada treating you?"
She's laying on her bed, she obviously hasn't gone to her school yet.

We chatted for hours, catching up on everything from Nigerian gossip to my Canadian adventures that I will soon venture on. Her laughter and words of encouragement also did a good job to lift my spirits.

As we wrapped up our conversation, I glanced at the clock. Evening had melted into night.

The view from my floor to ceiling window leaves me breathless as I stare at the bright lights and busy streets from my bedroom.
The sky is slowly getting really dark.

The voices from the living room had faded, and I wondered if Tejiri's friends had left.

My mind, however, lingered on River. His regal presence, those captivating eyes... I couldn't shake the feeling that our eye contact wasn't just one sided.

With a contented sigh, I settled into bed, my thoughts drifting to the mysterious stranger who had awakened something within me.