Rebellion

15. Black Mirror

“Repulsion or attraction in a relationship isn't necessarily ascertained by a formulaic theory. No, its determined by the nature of the two individuals in the relationship. While couple A might be intrigued about the fact that they're polar opposites, couple B might not. So is the art of the social life.” – T.J. Martins.

•••

“If you would please have your seat, she’d be down in a couple of minutes.”

The Ebony-skinned female in the living room gestured towards a couch on the sofa, ushering him to have a seat while he waited for Tiolu. The day of their date had eventually come and as promised, he had not only shown up at her apartment but had also planned the entire evening out. The whole thing ignited anxiety within him, and from his skin – sprouted Goosebumps. Yes, he was that nervous because he was the one in charge of making the day a great day.

Now, he understood how it felt to be in the driver’s seat of the vehicle of a romantic relationship. It was different from their first date by a big margin because they had both planned it together, this time – it was all him and him only.

“I mean she’d be ‘done’ in a few minutes.” The beauty before him corrected herself, a tad bit of anxiety also evident in her voice as she sunk into the couch facing his. As his gaze skimmed hers, he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was. The last time he was here, his mind was so fixated on the pending destructive night with Tiolu that he had failed to take cognizance of the gem before him.

But she was beautiful.

Not in the – ‘may I please have your attention’ way in which Tiolu was, but in a subtle, inconspicuous way that couldn’t be exactly noticed upon first glance. Closer inspection was essential. The nervousness it would seem was in the atmosphere, and he wasn’t the only one in possession of it. Anjola, yes he remembered her name now – seemed to be in no mood to engage him in chit-chat and he surmised that her personality was definitely not the same as his girl-friend.

Tiolu couldn’t sit down a few inches from a familiar face and not attempt some sort of conversation. And while that action might help in easing the tension, it also had the potential for destruction if the initiator wasn’t an expert in the social arts. Someone like him wouldn’t try such thing, so he figured Anjola was probably like him also. So, since she wasn’t inclined to engage him in small talk then he figured it’d be best if they both waited in silence.

He tore his gaze from hers, and let it linger around the room. It was tidy and neat enough. The living room had a simple setting. On both sides of the room – there were two couches each, with two throw-pillows and on the South-wards bearing was the biggest couch with three pillows. Facing the big couch was the humongous LCD TV and behind the couch – he couldn’t exactly state definitely due to his vision proximity, but he was able to discern that the structure in place was something hearkening to a coffee machine.

Oh, Coffee.

He could infer the habitants of the apartment were frequent consumers like he was, in fact he had been meaning to get a coffee machine but the thing had kept on skipping his mind. The walls were covered with florist wallpapers, which complemented the purple and white colors of the chairs and the curtains. In the center of the room was a glass table, serving as a home to a large bowl of fruit. Looking through the translucent pitcher, he could state that Bananas, Apples and Oranges were the dominant items in the bowl.

Where is she?

He exhaled sharply once more as his gaze fell to his wrist to glance at his wrist-watch. He had been on seat for only three minutes and yet for some reason it felt like eternity. His – overzealousness and unstable nature were traits attributed to situations and activities In which he wanted to get over with quickly.