The Path of Friends

What's WRONG?

Beulah is now tensed up he looks like he is going to cry if this unserene silence continues.

'Hephzibah,I am sorry" he breathes in deeply "I know what's on your mind but I can explain......"

"Oh! You can explain?!" She interrupted, bursting out like a air held in a tight container.
Beulah signed,at least she's speaking up now,her silence is so suffocating,he thought.

"You can explain why you avoided and ignored me?!  Why you treated me like a stranger?! So you wanted to die before I know something is wrong?! For crying out loud I thought we had passed this stage" she threw her hands up in the air, shaking and sobbing.

"Please Hephzy, let me explain, I didn't avoided or ignored you, I didn't take you for granted,you are my dearest friend. I just needed to stay away for a while to clear my head and......"

"Oh! I get it"she interrupted. I don't even know why I came here,you obviously didn't want me here, that's why you were dying and you didn't bother to tell me anything, like I didn't know about your health crisis.
All right, I will give you enough time,all the time in the world." she turned and walked out of the room.

"Hephzy! Hephzibah!! Hephzy!!" He called out loud, but she didn't even stop,talk less  of turning back. He signed deeply and closed his eyes, he was depressed and confused, he was elated when she rushed into his hospital room and embraced him just about an hour ago, but he felt the opposite now that she walked out angrily.

"Oops! Lord have mercy " he mumbled.

Hephzibah met Sandra and Joshua outside the hospital as she was leaving, they stopped her.

"Hephzy what's wrong,you are crying? What's wrong with Beulah? Did something happen?" Sandra held her hands and asked obviously worried.

"Please talk to us" Joshua pleaded with her.

"No, he is fine and I am leaving." she pulled her hands out of Sandra's and walked away.

Sandra wanted to rush after her but Joshua stopped her.

"Let her be" 

"I should let her be? What's happening here, I am lost, can someone just explain what's going on here. Firstly, she left the lecture room in a jiffy without any proper explanation now, she's leaving the hospital looking like someone who is bereaved."

"Let's go in, ain't you  here to see Beulah?"

"Yes... but....." She stammers.

"No but, let's go in," Joshua held her hands and literally drag her in,since she remains reluctant.

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    "Tiwa, you've been with Hephzy for three years, you guys are close, has she told you what's wrong with her and her bestie?" Sandra removed her white shirt and placed it on  the hanger. She removed her wig and  scratched her untidy plaited cornrows,she sat down on the edge of her bed and picked up a novel, left on Hephzy's bed.

"You are her friend too,and you're also her roommate,so did she tell you anything?"  Tiwa said has she walked into room from the kitchen.

Tiwa  had been busy in the kitchen since she returned from class, she walked over to Sandra who was flipping through the pages of a novel,she snatched the book from her and kept it on her table.
Sandra glared at her "what's that for?"

"Don't mishandle my books" she  shrugged and returned to the kitchen.

"As if it is a living thing," she rolled her eyes."Tiwa, please nau  I really want to read that book".

"We were talking about Hephzy not my book," Tiwa came in with two plates of fried rice,fried plantain and chicken. Sandra rushed to her and collected one of the plates, grabbed a chair and settled devour to  devour the food.

"This is why I love you so much, you are the best." She winked and grinned happily, she swallowed two spoonful and gave Tiwa a thumbs up, Tiwa smiled and sat down on Hephzy's bed to eat.
They were eating when Hephzy walked in, looking exhausted.

"Hmm,where is this tantalizing aroma coming from?" Hephzy walked into the room, threw her school bag on Sandra's bed and collected the plate of food Sandra was eating from her,she had swallowed two spoonful before Sandra was able to get back her plate of food from her.

"Wetin nau, I beg gimme me my food jawe. Don't you Know I only get to eat this type of food once in a semester" Sandra took her plate from Hephzy and sat down to continue eating.

"You can eat for Africa! Thank God say you know book for Africa too"  she picked up the bag she dropped on the bed and removed some books and papers from the bag " here is your test, you scored the highest mark, you eventually made Mama proud"

Tiwa grabbed the paper from Hephzy and looked at it.

"Wow! This is exquisitely awesome! Well done pweety"
Sandra grinned happily and embraced the girls.

"Thank you, and glory to God"

" I am living with a first class undergraduate" Hephzy winked at Sandra and left to get her own food from the kitchen,but not  without taking another spoon from Sandra's food, Sandra glared at her,Tiwa rolled her eyes and returned to her food.

"Hephzy, what's up with you and your bestie" Tiwa asked.

"Yes! What's wrong with you guys?" Sandra emphasized.

"Nothing" Hephzy walks back in with her plate of food and sat next to Sandra.

"Nothing?" The girls asked simultaneously.

Hephzy just shrugged and concentrated on her food.
Tiwa and Sandra exchange glances and dropped the topic.
Obviously, she isn't going to talk about it anytime soon.