Chapter 1

Topesatin2001,arestaurantinNewhall.Justinhadaskedthattheymeetthere.Itwas twodaysaftertheymetandtheyhavebeentalkingsteady.Shelookedatherwatch.She wasearly.Shesmiled.Hehadbeenonhermindallday.Shecouldn'twaitforher lecturestobeover.Justthen,hewalkedin.Shewasnotfarfromtheentrance.She waved,tryingtogethisattention.Hesightedher.Hesmiledandwalkedovertoher.He waswearingglasses.Hegottowhereshewassitting. "HeysorryIkeptyouwaiting."Hesaid. Shesmiled."Actually,you'rerightontime." "Iam?" Shenodded.Heremovedtheglasses.Helookedather. "Youlooknice."Justintoldher.Topetriedherbesttonottomakehimknowthatshe blushed. "Wow.You'renowsobig."Shesaid."IrememberbacktheninschoolIthinkIwaseven tallerthanyou." Hechuckled."Weallgottagrowoneday."Helookedaround."Wanttogetsomething?" "Onlyifyou'regetting."Topefeltlikeshewasflirting.Shesmiledinwardly.Hestoodup andwenttooneofthecounters.Justthen,herphonerang.ItwasMercy.Shepickedit up. "Heybabewhereareyou?"Mercyasked. "Onadate."Topesmiled."WithJustin." Mercylaughed.Itwasascornfullaugh. "What'sfunny?" "Nothing.Enjoyyourself.I'mgoingoutside.IwanttogetsomethingatYaba." "Okay.I'llcallyoulater."ShelookeduptoseethatJustinhadcomebackwithaplateof jollofrice,salad,turkeyandabottleofcoke. "Ipresumeyoulikecoke." "Yeah.It'smyfavorite."Sherepliedandsmiled. "I'llberightback."Hesaidandleft.Probablytogethisfood. Woah.Topethought.Thisshouldcostlikealot.Theturkeyhereshouldcostabout#600. Shestartedeating.Justincameback.Healsoboughtthesamething.Buthebought fantainstead.Hesatinfrontofher. "Heythanksforthefood."Topestarted. "Shhh,eat.Talkafter."Hereplied. Topesmiled.Shecontinuedeating.Afterawhile,shewasdone.Shewasaquickeater. Justinwasstilleating.Sherelaxedandwatchhimeat.Topestartedwonderinghowshe gottolikehimallofasudden.Shelikedhimbacktheninsecondaryschool.Butitdied downwhenhelefttheirschool.Buthereshewas,fallingforhimalloveragain.He finallyfinishedhisfoodandpushedtheplateaway. "So,how'sitgoing?"Heasked. "Prettygreat.Imean,I'vebeenhavingagoodtimehereinUnilag."Shereplied.She leanedcloser."WeneverheardfromyoueversinceyouleftCaleb."(Caleb,thenameof thesecondaryschool.) "Yeah.Mydadmovesalot.Thattime,wemovedtoAbujacusofhisbusinessand stuff."Hesippedhisfanta."Whenhisbusinessgotstrongandcouldcopewithouthim, wemovedbacktoLagosandIchoseUnilagasmyfirstchoice.IwasluckyandIgotin." "Nice." "HowcomeI'mjustmeetingyou?" "Icameinasadirectentrystudent.Icouldn'tgetinwhenItried.SoIhadtodo diploma."Sheexplained. "Oh,that'sprobablywhyI'venotseenyouuntilnow."Justinpickedhisglassesandput themonhisface. Topelookedaround."IhopebaeisnotangrythatI'mwithyou." Justinlaughed."Bae?Iwish.I'msingle."Heplayedwiththecoverofthefantabottle. "Whyareyoustillsingle?" "Idon'tknow.IguessI'venotseenwhoIwantyet." Topesmiled.I'mgonnabetheone.You'llsee. "Issomethingfunny?"Heasked. "Nonothing.Nothingreally." "Doyouhaveanywhereyouhavetobe?" "Nowhereinparticular.Why?"Topewascurious. "Myfacultyisorganizingasportscompetition.Todayisthesemi-finals.Iwantedtosee thematch.Iwasthinkingyou'dcomewithme." "Sure.Areyouready?" "Ofcourse.Wemightevenbelate."Hegrinned.Hestoodup.Shedidthesame.They lefttherestaurant.Astheywalkeddownthestairs,Justinmetoneofhisfriends. "Ah,bosshowfarna?"Hisfriend. "Ideyjare."Hereplied."Wetindeysupna?" "Iwangochopjare."ThedudenoticedTopebesidehim."Iseeseyyoudeyenjoyna.Na thebabebethisabi?" Topeblushed. "Abina."Justinreplied. "Nayouooo."Theguysaidandwalkedup."Laterna.Wegochill." "Okayna." TheywalkedoutofNewHall. "Whatwasthatabout?"Topepretendedshedidknow. "Ah,it'snothingmuch.Justnormaldudestuff."Hereplied. Shenodded.TheywalkedsidebysidetowardsSportscenter.TheygotinandJustin tookhertowherehisfacultywasplaying.Itwasfootball.Theygotthereandacoupleof Justin'sfriendscameovertothem. "Geee!"Oneofthemexclaimed. "Wedonthinkseyyounogoshow."Anothersaid. "Ahnona.ItoldKingthatI'llbearound."Hesaid."Sowhat'supna?Whenareyouguys playing?" Thefirstfriendlookedatthepeopleonthefield. "We'vequalified.Butwestillhavetofaceyear4."Hesaid.HeglancedatTope."Who's thechick?"Heasked. JustinlookedatTope."OhhernameisTope.Mysecondaryschoolpadi." "HeyTope,mynameisChristopher.CallmeChris."Thefirstguysaidwaving. "Hi."Suddenly,Topefeltshy. "AndthisisSamuel."Justinpattedtheotherguyonhisshoulder.Hewaswatchingthe game. "HeyTope.Nicetomeetyou."Samuelsaidwithoutlookingback."PASSTHEBALL!" Justinchuckled."Don'tmindhim.That'sjusthowheis.Footballfreak." Topesaidnothing.Shejustkeptonsmiling.Thematchwasover.Justin'sclassgot readyandthefootballersgotintothefield.Topewatchedthemastheylinedupintheir formation.Shesawthelookofdeterminationontheirfaces.Ohthisniggasarewinning. Shethought.ShesawthatJustinstoodbesideher.Hewasn'twearinghisfootballkit. "You'renotplaying?"Sheasked. "Ohno.Footballisnotmything.AlthoughIlikethesport" Shenodded.JustthenJustin'sclassscored.Thewholefielderupted.Topewas beaming.ShesawJustin'sfriendsjumpingupanddowninjubilation.Sheglancedat Justin.Hejustshookhisfistwithalookofsatisfactiononhisface. "Thatwasfast."Shesaid. "Iknowright?Theboysarereallygood."Hereplied."Comeonboys,youcantrash them." ThematchwentonwithJustin'sclassdominating.Topesecretlylikedfootball.Her brotherswerebigfans.Sobasicallyshewatcheditwiththem.Justin'sclassadvanced intotheopponentpenaltyboxareaandTopeunconsciouslygrippedJustin'sarm. Unfortunately,theylosttheirchanceandtheballwentout.Sherealizedshewasholding hisarm. "Sorry."Shesmiled. "Nobiggie.Ineverimaginedyou'dlikefootball." "It'smyfavoritesport." "Okay."Hesaid."RonaldoorMessi?" "Messialltheway!"Shereplied. "Ohyeah.AnotherMessifan."Justinraisedhishandforahighfive.Topejumpedup andsmackedhishand. "He'sthebest.Nofurtherargument."Shecontinued.Thefielderuptedagain.300lvlhad scored! "Awman,wemissedthegoal"Justinlamented. "Shoot.Yourteamisreallygood.Thisistotaltrashing" "Yeah.Theytrainregularly.Themembersoftheteamarequitefamiliarwitheachother." Theycontinueddiscussingthematchandotherfootballstuff.Thematchendedand 300lvlwon3tonil.Thefinalfixturewas300lvlvs100lvl.Theywalkedtowardstheexit ofSportscenter. "So,tomorrowforthefinal?"Justinasked. "Sure.Wouldn'tmissit." "Great.I'llwalkyoutoyourhostel." TopestayedinQueenAminahall.Theywalkedsidebysidetoherhostelandwhenthey gotthere,Justinhuggedher.ShewentintoherhostelandJustin,feelinglazytowalkto hishostel,decidedtotakeacab......

Justinsatinclass.Hewaswatchingamovieonhisphone.Hewasreallyengrossedin whathewasdoingthathepracticallyshutouttherestofhiscoursemates.Suddenly, hefeltsomeoneyankhisleftairpodfromhisear.Alarmed,hepausedthemovieand lookedsideways.Hesawthebeautifulfaceofhiscoursemate,Silviastaringathim, smilingwiththeairpodinherhand. "WhydidyoudothatSilvia?"Heasked. "I'vebeencallingyou.Thisthingisgonnadamageyourears."Shesatbesidehim. "Ijustwantedtowatchthismovie.It'sagoodone."Hesaidandsatwell."So,what's up?"Hestretchedouthishandforhisairpod.Shedroppedthedeviceinhishand. "Nothingmuch.Ijustwantedtotalkabout,youknowus." "Whataboutus?"Justthen,acallfromTopecamein.HerpictureshowedandSilvia's eyesfollowedit."SorryIhavetotakethis."Justinsaid. "Sure." "HeyTemitope.What'sup?" "Nothingmuch."Topereplied."Iwantedtoknowthetimeforthematch." "Ohit'sby5pm." "Okay.Can'twait."Therewas excitementinhervoice. "Iknowright?Seeyouby4:30.I'llcometoyourfaculty."JustinglancedatSilvia.She wasusingherphone. "Okay.That'llbecool.Seeyouthen." "Bye."Thecallended

Whowasthat?"SilviaaskedassoonasJustinputhisphonedown. "Ohthat'sTope.She'smyfriendfromsecondaryschool."Hereplied. "Okaythen."ShetypedsomethingonherphoneandJustin'sphonestartedringing.It wasacallfromSilvia.Justinwassurprised. "Whydidyoucallme?" "Howcomemypicturedoesn'tshowwhenIcallyou?" "That'saweirdquestion.Ididn'tsetitthatway."Justinrealizedwhereshewasheaded. "Butherpictureisclearlyshowingwhenshecallsyou." "Doesitreallymatter?"JustinwastiredofSilvia. "JustinyouknowIlikeyoualot.Butyou'redenyingthefactthatIdo.Idon'twanttolose youtoanyone." "Silviawe'vebeenthroughthisalready."Hesatwellandfacedher.Shelookedsober.He feltsorryforher."Thethingis,I'mactuallynotyetreadyforcommitment." Silviasighed."Soyoudon'tlikeme?" "Ididn'tsaythat." "Soyoulikeme?" "Ididn'tsaythateither."Justinreplied. Silvialookedathimblankly. "Thiswasuseless."Shesaidandleft. Justinsighed...... "Girl,youandthisJustinguyarehittingoffprettyfast."Mercysaidtoherfriend.They werewaitingfortheirnextlecturertocome. "Yeah.Babe,Ilikehimalot."Topereplied."I'mhangingoutwithhimagainthisevening." "Woah.Yourock."Herfriendsaid."Youknow,I'venotactuallyseenthedude." "Don'tworry,you'llmeethim.

"You'resurehe'sstillsingleright?CusI'msurehe'scute.Imean,isn'titrareforcute guystobesingle?" "Iaskedhim.Hesaidhe'ssingle.He'shonest.I'veknownhimsincesecondaryschool." Mercyglaredather."Easybabe.Don'tyouthinkyou'refallingtoohard?" "AmI?" "Ifeelyouare."Mercyopenedhernote."Ihopeyou'venotgivenhimhintsthatyoulike him." "Ishouldn't?"Topeasked,surprised. "No.Heshouldn'tknowyoulikehimyet." Why?Sheaskedherself."Why?"SheaskedMercy. "Youknow,soitdoesn'tgetintohisheadtoomuch." "Oh." "Yeah.Yousee,whenguysrealizethataparticulargirllikesthem,boom!Theystartto messup."Mercytouchedhershoulder."Soifyouwanttokeepthisdude,makehimfall foryou.Nottheotherwayaround." Woah,thatactuallymakessense.Shethought.CanIactuallydothat? Thelecturercameinforthelecture. "Oh,he'scomingheretogetmesoyou'llprobablyseehim."Topewhisperedtoher friend. "Great.Ihopehe'scute.Ifhe'snot,it'satotalNO!" "Ican'tbelieveI'venotshownyouhispicture." "Idon'tevenwanttoseenow.Iwanttobesurprised."Mercyreplied. Thelectureraskedforhisassignmentsthathegavethepreviousweek.Thetwofriends submitted.Whentherestoftheclasshadsubmitted,thelecturestarted.Abouttwo hourslater,thelectureendedandthelecturerleft.Mercywaspressed.Sheranoutto thetoilet.Topesat,revisingwhatthelecturerlectured. Someonetappedhershoulder.Shelookedback.ItwasDamian.Oneofhercours