Shade was always a thorn in my flesh. Right from the very first day we set eyes on each other, we both knew that our spirits would have a tough time together.
She was fierce, bold, confident, quarrelsome, contentious and troublesome. To put in short, she was stupid.
I might be blunt…but that’s the only way my heart deems fit to define her. I would tell you why…she was fierce for flimsy reasons.
For example, she could decide to fight someone for knocking on the room door while she was asleep, even if she gave no notice about her sleep
schedule. She could argue from dusk to dawn, just because she never wanted to be termed wrong. In addition, she loved showing off wherever she went to.
Apart from all these, I had a little liking for her. I mean, I had to because she was my roommate and we were literally stuck together for a while.
Contrary to her traits, I was a quiet and observant girl, barely talked except when I’m spoken to.
I had a charm that called for attention,even without saying a word…unlike Shade who would use her last strength to show everyone she was in the building.
Life was going well for us in the school hostel, right until the day I introduced her to my boyfriend, Kachi.
This happened because of how much she bugged and tormented me to introduce her to him.
Honestly, I was against this, but after speaking to my boyfriend, he assured me that there was nothing huge in a mere introduction.
“Are you sure you really want Mercy as your girlfriend?” She had asked Kachi amidst a loud laughter.
The scene looked normal, apart from the fact I knew that things were barely normal with her.
“Of course! I will choose her over and over again”, Kachi said, not willing to be carried away by her bad energy.
I smiled in my heart as I looked at her crestfallen face which she tried to conceal with a smile.
Shade didn’t have a boyfriend. No guy seemed to have the capability of keeping up with her outrageous attitude. It wasn’t surprising that none of her relationships lasted for up to three months.
Which man would want to stay up all night in an argument?
After the introduction, she never stopped asking about Kachi and on days when I refused to talk about him, we would have a fight.
“You are secretive and deceptive! We share the same room but you keep hiding things from me”, she growled in rage and turned her back on me.
I hated confiding in her. No doubt, she was the worst person to pass as a confidant because you would hear the details of your story outside in barely twenty four hours.
“I don’t have anything to tell you, Shade! Just like I said…Kachi is fine”, I would bluntly reply and focus my gaze on my book.
The tension in the air would linger for a while, after which she would mumble some inaudible words before retiring to bed.
It continued that way…but as time went on, things turned quiet. She stopped asking me about him and life went on…or so I thought.
The day after she borrowed my phone to take pictures for hours marked a big change in my relationship.
Kachi stopped calling after that day and the very first person my suspicion was directed to was Shade.
“Is Kachi still calling?” She asked the next day after Kachi broke up with me. It was a painful phase and seeing how I didn’t even get a chance to meet him before the breakup was excruciating. But then, Shade’s sudden question triggered my suspicions. I couldn’t do anything though, because there was no proof.
“Yes…why?” I had lied, stuttering and searching through her eyes for answers. Everything about her was suspicious and the way she was eager to know if he called me was something.
“Nothing…I just thought that he wouldn’t be calling again by now”, she replied.
“By now?”
That was the end of the conversation. Each time I tried to ask her why she thought Kachi would stop calling me, she would shove it aside or pick an excuse.
One day, I overheard her conversation with another friend of hers. I was just outside the door, about to enter.
“I’m her roommate and I can say that they are not on talking terms. You know how secretive she is…she is only trying to cover up”
“You sound so sure”
The other girl replied curiously.
“I told that Kachi of a guy something…something that must have prompted him to end things.
I took his number from her phone, called him and met with him. And then, we discussed many things about her”, she had said .
My heart dropped that instant. I felt my bones melting away as I held on to the wall to stop my legs from shaking .
My lips quivered and my eyes turned blurry with tears. Kachi was a man I loved with all my heart…we were on our way to forever before he suddenly switched up on me. And here I was, listening to a conversation that was coming directly from the devil’s lips. Shade was responsible but she hid it all these while.
“What did you just say?” I finally asked as I walked into the room, blowing out hot air and trying to calm my raging soul.
“Ohh! About?” She feigned ignorance and wore that Delilah-kind of smile. That was when I lost it…
I rushed over to her, screaming aloud as though I was inside the rings. I grabbed her neck and slapped her so hard on her cheeks.
The other girl didn’t really make any effort to separate us. Apparently, she was fed up with Shade as well, but was only waiting for the savior to come up. Crazily, I was that savior…
I dug my nails into her neck, kicked her on her stomach and watched how she screamed and fell to the ground.
“What did you tell him?” That was a very important question. If I wanted to fix things, I needed to know what it was I was fixing.
“What did you tell him?” I asked again.
She wore that devilish smirk, groaning in pain, but still, smiling in delight.
“I won’t tell you”, she dropped and started laughing..
Click on the link below for Part 2.
