Nzdworld
#EMBARRASED 1
You go to a shop just down the streets. There are too many people in the shop so you just walk around for a while. When you return, the shop is already empty. You go in and greet the owner of the shop.
“Mama Aka, good afternoon ma.”
“Good afternoon. What do you want?”
“Always pad.”
She stands up, or honestly put, lifts her enormous mass of flesh from an already squeaking stool, and goes over to a counter and asks, “Is it the blue one or the pink one?”
Someone walks into the shop. A guy. _*Your Crush*_.
“Blood of Jesus!” You mutter under your breath. This is exactly why you waited for everyone to leave the shop before coming to buy your sanitary pads. You don’t know how to explain it to anyone, but you really feel _somehow_ buying your sanitary pads yourself.
You swallow hard and look at the packs of biscuits arranged in a glass showcase. Pure Bliss. Oxford. Chic-Choc. Digestive. Cream Crackers. Thin Crackers. Noreos. Fibre Active. Hard Tack.
“Ess!’ Mama Aka draws your attention. “The blue one or the pink one?”
You open your mouth to talk but no words come out. _You’re more than this girl!_ You try to chide yourself.
Mama Aka looks at you surprise written all over her face. “See this girl o! Is it the blue always pad or the pink one that you want?”
“Ummm” You try to talk again, but the words still refuse to come. You feel tears suddenly coming to your eyes. Here was your Crush watching you stutter while buying your sanitary pads, of all things!
“Wetin Musa no go see for gate? Hehehee!” Mama Aka claps her hands in exaggerated wonder. “Common pad, and you’re already shy. In this age and time? My dear, don’t you know what menstruation is?” She asks your Crush.
You look at him from the corner of your eyes and see his face blush a little, so little you wonder if he actually blushed.
“Yeah! I do!” There’s laughter in his voice, and for once in your life, you feel like punching him in the face.
“What is she now shy of?” Mama Aka asks no one in particular.
“Please, give her the both. I’ll pay for them.” He says and you feel your throat going drier than it already is.
Mama Aka doesn’t hesitate. She ties up the sanitary pads and hands them to you. “Nne, take it easy o. You’re too big for this thing you’re doing. Does it mean you’ll never have sex?! Nawa ooo!”
You clench your teeth at the word ‘sex’ and your Crush laughs. Tears come announced to your eyes.
“Come on, Sweetheart.” Your Crush leads you out of the shop. “See, you don’t have to be shy about these kind of things. _We_ actually know about them. And……Geez! You’re crying?” He sounds either amused or surprised. “This is more serious than I thought.”
He hugs you a little, just a little side hug and dabs your face with his face towel. The towel smells of something sweet and masculine. You almost take a deep sniff. “Chill, Honey. Chill.” He smoothes your hair and you feel a sudden chill run over your body.
Maybe that’s what a Crush’s touch does.
Two days after, you go for a youth empowerment seminar. Your parents actually forced you to go. After some minutes, you hear your Crush’s voice from behind you. You immediately become more self conscious than you liked. You check the way you laugh, squinting your eyes occasionally to appear attentive.
After the seminar, you sit back on your seat. You want to check if you’re stained, but you can’t do that with all these boys behind you. Instead, you read and reread the things you jotted down during the seminar. After about thirty minutes, the hall is relatively empty. You look around once again, nobody is around you.
You stand up and look at your behind. A red stain is patched on your white skirt. White of all colours! But before you could decide your next move, someone comes up behind you. Your Crush. Again!
He furrows his eyebrows a little and hands you his Cardigan. “Seems your most embarrassing moments come when I’m around. I’ll try to be around you often.” He clicks his tongue in a jocular manner.
You tie the cardigan on your waist so that it covers the stain.
“No ‘Thank you’, at least?” He raises an eyebrow.
“You’re the cause!” You almost shout at him. You feel your eyes are getting hot already.
“Like, seriously?” He widens his eyes in amusement. “Like, I’m the reason you’re stained?”
“Why must bad things always happen when you’re around?” You retort.
“Bad things? Like, buying your sanitary pads is a bad thing? _This_ is also a bad thing?”
“Hell no! _This_ is definitely not a bad thing. It’s actually one of the best things that ever happened to me this year!”
He laughs a little. “Don’t worry. I’ll stalk from now on. I’d really like to see more _best_ things happening to you.”
You find this funny. But you just pout to prevent the laughter from coming.
After some seconds, you ask him, “How’ll you get your cardigan back?”
“I’ll know how to get it back. Don’t worry about that for now. And please, I don’t want you getting shy or unnecessarily embarrassed by these things. These things are normal. You’re normal and you should act normal. Alright?”
You look at him through the cloud of tears already gathering in your eyes. A guy shouldn’t be telling you things like this. Not to talk of your _Crush_, of all the guys!
He smiles at you and you smile back through your teary eyes.
©Ebube💖
Thanks for reading 🤭❤
#EMBARRASED 2
It had rained the previous night and everywhere is muddy. You have a quiz this morning and you’re hurrying to class. You check your wristwatch – twenty minutes to time. You have to hasten up to avoid any problems with the strict lecturer.
It happens so fast, you trip over a stone and fall into a muddy pothole.
“Hey!”
“What happened?!”
“Are you okay?!”
“Thank God we didn’t have an earthquake”
People are commenting and laughing. You surprise yourself by being grateful that nobody wants to help you up. You silently pray for the ground to open and swallow you up. You know this is impossible but you just can’t help praying till your eyes become heavy and hot with tears.
“Biggie, you no go like stand up?” Someone mocks.
“Make una help am. She no fit carry herself up.” Another chips in and there is another round of laughter.
Someone taps you on your shoulder. You refuse to look up. The person taps you again, you still refuse to stand up. Then it clicks! You can actually pretend to be unconscious. It will at least save you the pain of knowing who these mockers are. A tap on your shoulder again. Another tap. Yet another tap. You didn’t budge.
“Guys, I don’t think she’s okay o.” It’s a guy that’s been tapping you all these while, you realise.
They flag down a cab, students call it shuttle anyway. They help the guy carry you into the shuttle.
“Just this small fall, Fatima don faint.” Someone says over your head and that incurs a general laughter. It is all you could do to stop yourself from tightening your fist.
“Her bag.” And a bag lands on you. You clench your teeth to stop yourself from hauling obscenities on the thrower.
The car engine rev up and you somehow release the breath you never knew you were holding, albeit slowly.
“Open your eyes. We’re alone now.” The Guy says. You pretend not to hear him.
“Come on, you can’t be unconscious and be crying or tightening your fist or clenching your teeth.”
“But I’ve seen an unconscious person shed tears before.” You say and blink a few times to keep the tears in check before you flutter your eyes open.
“That’s funny, actually. I’ve never seen. Never thought it was possible _sef_ .”
There is some minutes of silence and then you say, “Thank you.”
He laughs a little and and say, “You’re so messed up. Guess no classes for you today.”
“My quiz!” You almost shriek at him. You look at yourself. Your yellow palazzo and the blue top have drying patches of brown dirt on them. And for some seconds, you thank God that you were not wearing a dress. It would have been more _catastrophic_ if your dress had flown open.
“You have a quiz?” He asks and you nod trying so hard to blink your tears back.
“What department?”
You tell him.
“Where do you stay?”
You tell him too.
“Ow! That’s pretty far.” You could just nod.
“See, how about you come to my lodge and change.” He says and you look at him. “I actually have something you can change into. I stay in a lecturer’s boys’ quarters. Look, we are almost there.” He points to a house down the street. “How about that?”
You keep mute. You really don’t know what to say. You check your wristwatch again. About five more minutes to the time for class.
“Hey! Come on. I’m not even going to be inside when you’re changing. I can even leave the compound if you want.”
You laugh a little and nod your agreement while trying to clean off the strings of tears that lined your face.
©Ebube💖
Thanks for reading 🤭❤
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