21/02/2023
Title: First And Ever Valentine
The day had begun like every other day, went smoothly like other days until the evening. I had just returned from a lecture, my body ached, my head banged, I felt weak from exhaustion. All I needed was a good sleep. My whole body screamed of it, the bed was inviting, I had no intention of rubbing myself of it.
I went up my bunk, the room was quiet enough. My room mates were all still out, perhaps, for their classes or for something. I was glad. Amina wouldn’t have allowed me rest had she been around. She would have been chattering about who was taking her out on the 14th,, Valentine’s Day. She also would have been lamenting over how I was wasting my attractive figure instead letting a young man take care of it.
I picked up my phone, hoping to just look at a few tweets before slipping off to sleep. I opened the bird app, the first tweet that met my eyes was a tweet asking single ladies to comment with their names, locations and a photo, perhaps they could find someone to be their val. I wasn’t looking for a val, I just saw the tweet as a game. I had no business with Valentine’s, I didn’t believe in that kind of love.
I read through comments, admired some pictures, laughed at some replies. Something in me hinted that I could just comment on the tweet, there was no sin in doing that. Besides, it wouldn’t kill to hear what people would say about my picture. Well, I just wanted to be a part of the fun. I commented as instructed with a photograph attached as others did. Before I blinked, there was a reply on my comment. “Hey beautiful princess! I see you’re in Delsu, I’m also in Delsu. Please be my val?”
I looked at the name, it wasn’t familiar so I checked the picture.
There, he was with the sweetest broad smile I have ever known. It was Femi, my first ever crush. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” I screamed. Since I didn’t want to appear excited about it, I gave a “not - so - interested response in affirmation.
My phoned beeped immediately, it was a message. He sent me a direct message explaining who he was. I have known Femi from our first year. He was very popular among girls. His name was always on the lips of girls. He was never without a girl or two by his side anywhere you saw him.
There were days I felt something squeeze or churn in my belle whenever I saw him with a different girl. Sometimes, I wished he could just say something to me but he never did. Well that wasn’t a problem, after all, there was nothing to connect us apart from the fact that we were in the same department. We were two parallels in opposite directions.
Femi was asking me out on date, on the 14th of February, of all days? It was worth a celebration. it was worth a risk to take. A risk ,considering his kind of person, a risk because that was how something in me saw it. I felt like I have just won a jackpot. “Hey girl! What do you say?” I forgot I hadn’t responded to his message. If you’re truly available, please be my val.”
“okay” I responded. I didn’t know what better response to give. He sent me a smile emoji, to which I responded with one.
I was the second child from a family of five kids, my parents would stake their lives that I would never stand with a boy. Unlike my siblings, I had lived my life in a triangle – from hostel to lecture, then back to the hostel or from hostel to fellowship then back to the hostel. If I went anywhere else, it was the library. I would rather sit back alone in my room to read a book than go out for any social gathering.
I was an active member of our fellowship, committed to church activities, I would always preach in the lecture hall, something everyone at my level knew me for. I never had anything to do with any boy apart from the usual “hello!” I was usually described as the “church girl,” all I wanted was to serve God, maintain a godly lifestyle, leave the school with a good result but I guess that wasn’t enough as I wasn’t cautious enough.
Femi would be the only guy I had ever gone on a date with. I was hopelessly attracted to him. Why I was so strongly attracted to him, I couldn’t understand. He was fair skinned, something I detested in men, yet it didn’t put me off. Something in me told me I was making a mistake when I accepted to go on that date with him. I dismissed it as my being over righteous. It was just a valentine’s date, there was nothing harmful about it. Besides, I was in my final year, I was of age. There was nothing wrong with dating a guy who is of age, who might want to spend his days on earth with me by his side.
