CHAPTER 24; EXPLORE MORE

I left the faculty of

engineering

with just one thing on

my

mind, and that was to explore

more.

I didn't go home immediately

after lectures for that day. I

went to a place called garden

of eden around the school and

sat on a seat beside a tree. I

really couldn't state my reason

for going there. The garden is

always filled with people who

want to relax their mind after

lectures. I sat quietly, staring

at ladies, trooping in and out

of the garden. I kept admiring

the beauty of God creation.

My phone suddenly started

ringing. I looked at the screen

and realized the call was from

Sharon. Then it occurred to

me that I was supposed to

tutor her. it was already

6:15pm and I was still in the

school. I picked the call and

placed the phone on my ear.

"hello Sharon" I said

"Christian where are you? I'm

at your place already" she said

"okay, just wait for me. I will

be with you in the next ten

minutes." I said

"alright be fast. I have been

standing here for close to ten

minutes already" she said.

"I'm on my way already" I

said.

I ended the call and stood up

immediately. my phone rang

immediately I stood up. I

looked at the screen and

realized the call was from

Sylvia. I picked it up

immediately.

"hello Sylvia" I said

"hello Christian, how are you?"

she asked

"I'm good, and you?" I asked

"I'm good too" she responded.

"you said you wanted to have

a word with me earlier today,

but when I came out of the

class after I have ended my

conversation with Sharon, I

didn't see you." I said

"yes, something came up and I

had to leave school early. don't

worry, we will talk when we

see in school tomorrow" she

responded.

"okay, I will talk to you later.

let me quickly rush home" I

said

"are you not at home already?"

she asked

"no, I'm still in school. I need

to get home quickly because

Sharon is already waiting for

me" I responded

"Sharon is at your place

already?" she asked sharply.

"yes she is at...…."

"talk to you later" she cut in

and ended the call immediately

without allowing me to

complete my sentence.

I dropped the phone in my

pocket and left the school

immediately.

I got home to see Sharon

standing beside my door. the

first thing she did when she

saw me was to give me a tight

hug. I froze at the warm

feeling I was getting. her

action caught me by surprise. I

never expected to get a hug

from her. she has never

hugged me before and I see no

reason why I deserved a hug

from her now. she held on to

me tight and I didn't know if I

was supposed to hold her back.

After a while, she freed me

and stared into my eyes.

"where have you been?" she

asked

"I went to get something from

the vendor down my street" I

lied

"okay, let's go in" she said.

I unlocked my door and we

entered. I locked it from inside

by fastening a bolt to the hook

on my door. we went to my

bed and sat down. I waited for

her to bring out her notebook

so that we can start the

tutorial, but she didn't. she

just sat quietly on my bed,

staring into space.

My door suddenly opened and

we turned our gaze to the door

to see Sylvia already inside my

room. she paused at the

entrance when she saw us. we

fixed our gaze on her and she

stared back at us with

remorse.

"actually I... I...….. I.... I

thought..." she stammered

"I actually thought….." she

paused

"I'm sorry. I should have

knocked"

while she was trying to

explain herself, I kept

wondering how she got in. I

thought I locked the door. it

suddenly occurred to me that

same thing happened the last

time she visited. I locked my

door from inside and she

opened it from outside. I

wanted to ask her how she got

in when the door was locked,

but chose not to ask because

she might give a different

meaning to the question. I also

thought she already told me

that we will see in school

tomorrow when we spoke on

phone. why is she here all of a

sudden. all these and other

questions were on my mind

but I chose not to ask.

she closed the door and walked

slowly to us.

"hi Sharon" Sylvia greeted

Sharon.

Sharon only waved her hand

without saying anything.

Sylvia walked to my bed and

sat down beside me.

"Christian you know we were

supposed to have a discussion

today in school but couldn't

because I left school early. I

will just wait for you to finish

up with Sharon so that we can

have our discussion" she said

and immediately lay on my

bed.

Sharon stared at her for a

while before she turned to face

me.

"Christian let's start our

tutorial please" she said

I could see the look of

disappointment on her face

when she said that.

"okay, let's start then" I said

she gave me her book, and I

began immediately.

After ten minutes of teaching,

I noticed that she was not

paying attention. she just kept

staring into air. her mind

seemed to be somewhere else.

"Sharon" I called to bring her

back to reality

she turned to face me

""you have not been listening"

I said

she didn't respond. she just

packed her books back into

her bag and stood up.

"let's continue another day"

she said and walked to the

door.

she walked out of my room

and closed the door behind

her. Sylvia suddenly sat up

with smiles on her face

immediately Sharon left. she

stood up from my bed and

walked to the door.

"where are you going?" I asked

"home of course" she

responded.

"I thought you said you have

something to tell me" I said

"I will tell you when we see in

school tomorrow. let me leave

you for now so that you can

prepare the speech you will

deliver next week" she said.

shiver went down my spine at

the mention of the word

speech. I have totally forgotten

about the speech. I have not

even made any preparation

towards it. I made up my mind

that moment to start all

necessary preparation.

"okay" I responded.

she walked to the door and

went out. I stood up

immediately I went to my

door. I wanted to know how

she managed to enter my

room when I locked the door

from inside. I locked the door

same way I did before she

came in. I held the door knob

and turned it but it didn't

open. I turned it again and

forcefully pulled the door and

it opened. I looked at the hook

on the door and realized it had

broken a bit and could not

hold the bolt properly. so that

was why Sylvia could get in

even when I locked the door. I

thought. I made a metal note

to get a new hook.