It was a gorgeous day, the birds were chirping and the cool breeze made the walk that much more pleasant. “But Teni you didn’t really believe that did you?” her best friend said with a look that indicated she was confused while she struggled not to laugh. Teni stared Deremi in the face with a look begging to be taken seriously – “Deremi, I’m trying to be vulnerable but you are making it impossible.”
“ok, I’m sorry Teni. Let me make sure I understand. You guys went to dinner, had a wonderful time. He drove you home and while you were parked outside, he offered you vitamins that help him relax. You didn’t think much of it and threw the vitamins in your mouth? Teni!” She burst out laughing again
I know how silly it sounds, but Jide was one of the coolest guys in schools. He had beautiful dark skin and the bone structure of his face was to die for. He had soft eyes and a confident smile that let you know he was always in control. He transferred to Birming College last semester and there was not a girl in school who wouldn’t give up their right arm to have been in my shoes that night.
We sat in the car under the stars and talked about our hopes and dreams. He told me how he had grown up without his father and how his mum gave everything to ensure he had the best education. She had him at 15 and refused to give him up for adoption. Instead, she dropped out of school and began doing odd jobs to take care of him. She was incredibly smart, so she poured all she had learned into him, homeschooling and educating him from a very young age.
By the time he was 4, he was a fluent reader, by 9 he was accepted to the best boarding school in the country on a full scholarship and then by the…. It was in this exact moment I realized I couldn’t hear the words that were coming out of his mouth. His lips were moving but I was overtaken by the eclipsing sensation through my body and radiating out of my neck. When I tried to say his name, my lips formed to pronounce it but all I could say was “Jay”
He began laughing so hard “Teni, are you ok? I see the vitamins have kicked in” My eyes were filled with surprise “wait, the vitamins? What kind of vitamins are …as I tried to form my thoughts something really funny happened, I couldn’t make out what it was but I had the uncontrollable urge to laugh. Now we are both laughing, I have no idea why and not a care in the world. I should be upset because I think Jide spiked his vitamins, but in this moment, all my brain has capacity for is experiencing my heightened senses and feeling all of me from my head to my toes.
“Then what?” Deremi asked awaiting some juicy ending. “I don’t know Deremi” This morning, I woke up in Salem Park with my shirt slightly torn and by myself. I have no recollection of that night. Terribly embarrassed and scared, I covered my torn shirt with my hands and ran to my dorm room then took a shower.
I have played it over and over again. “What were those vitamins? How did I get to the park? Where we there together? Did he take advantage of me? Why did he leave me there? Was the date even real? Boy was I going to give him a piece of my mind.
I thought about texting him, but I wasn’t even sure what to say or ask. So I met up with Deremi instead. She thought it was hilarious that I took the gummies but now that she heard how the night had ended, she was sober “Teni, you need to report this”
Report what? That I voluntarily went on a date and knowingly put a gummy in my mouth and that I don’t know what happened after that? She looked at me like she understood what I was saying so she responded “Well we need to figure out the details.”
Chapter 2->
