Ninety Seven

I went to my vanity table and sat looking in the mirror for a while. The red dot of a pimple was still on my forehead; like being petite wasn't enough.

The textbooks were still in my bag, in front of me as they sat on the desk where I had left them. I sighed and took one out. I tried reading the name on the cover but the natural night light wasn't good for reading so I turned on my table lamp.

"Professor Hammer's easy guide to mathematical calculations." I read out in a low voice before opening it. The first page looked like a bunch of easy math so I went to the middle page. It was more complex than I expected so I just chuckled to myself and closed it.

I was about to turn off my table lamp and go to sleep when I remembered one of the topics that had been hard for me to learn even after Uche taught me so many times.

I went to the textbook index and searched for it then I located the chapter and page it was in. I found myself skimming through it randomly but then I realized I needed a pen and a jotter.

I immediately unpacked my bag, ravening for a pen, or a pencil at least. I finally found my pen and sat back up on the chair, brought the textbook closer and started to solve some of the questions using the given example.

I smiled in excitement and jubilation when I solved three questions and got them right. I couldn't believe it. I had solved those myself. My phone dinged and I turned to it still lying on the bed.

Uche: Babe? U awake? 

I read through Uche's message with a smile and my legs criss-crossed as I sat on the floor near my bed.

Me: Yh 

 Guess what...

I was still typing when my phone buzzed with a call. He was calling. I ignored the call, wanting to reply to all of his old messages first before taking his call but as I scrolled down, I saw that he had deleted all his previous messages.

I sighed and wanted to pick up the call but it stopped ringing. I tried to call him back but he beat me to it. His call came in again so I answered on its first ring.

"Babe," His husky voice came through. I bit my lips while I answered.

"I was tryna reply your message but I saw you deleted them," I brought it up to know what he'd say.

"You saw those?"

"Yeah, I did." I answered and he went silent, but I could still hear his breathing through the phone."Does it happen often?" I decided to ask but I heard him sigh.

"Not very often," His voice was lower when he replied like he was ashamed or something."I hate it, you know." He added.

"Nobody likes not being able to sleep, it's fine." 

"No, it's not fine Julie. Once it starts, it lasts for like two weeks. Two weeks or more, who knows? I'd get in bed and not be able to sleep." I heard him sigh again.

"So it's gonna happen Tomorrow again?" I asked.

My

"Most likely."

"Can't you avoid it? Maybe do a lot of stuff to make you tired before nighttime? Have you tried that?" or 

He laughed dryly, "I have. It just leaves me tired and awake, and trust me it's worse."

"It can't be that hard to sleep, can it?" I voiced out my thoughts but covered my lips with my palm in regret seconds after."I didn't mean it that way." 

"Yeah, it's only hard when I start to think about shit like..." He paused like he didn't want to let me know what he was thinking of.

"Like what?" I pressed.

"I can't sleep whenever I think of how my parents would still be together if I didn't exist." How voice was lower than it already was this time. My heart sank when I imagined the thoughts he must be having.

"It's not your fault your parents aren't together...I mean, people fall out of love...maybe they did and went their separate ways."

"No, Julie, people don't just fall out of love. Love is a forever thing you know. People only stop being together when there's something present to take the love away...something bigger than the love being shared..."

I listened silently as he spoke."With Nick's parents, it was gambling; With my parents, it was...me." He finished and we just both went mute, listening to each other breathe.

I guess he was right. But not entirely, my parents didn't even need a factor bigger than their love to separate; they were never even together. Unlike Nick's dad who loved him till he began gambling and got too deep in it, my dad didn't want me.

I've never met him, but I hear my grandparents say awful things about him whenever we visit for Thanksgiving or Christmas. 

"What's your mum like?" I thought I should try to take his attention away from feeling like the cause of his parent's separation, but without changing the subject.

"Hmmn?"

"Your mum, what's she like? Is she cool? Or strict like your dad? Or somewhere in between like my aunt."

"I don't know," His answer was dull. I didn't like to hear his voice that down so I ended the voice call and started a video call.

He picked it on the first ring but I was still trying to grab the table lamp so he couldn't see me yet.

"Julie?" He called and I picked up the phone after I had set up the lamp on the bedside table in a way that it could be on my face.

"Get your light, keep it the way I kept mine, I wanna see your face while we talk," I told him and he got out of his chair. He went to his bed with the light and positioned it the way I did mine.

He pulled his blanket over his shoulder and laid sideways, his cute smile on his lips as he settled in his bed.

"You feeling sleepy?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Okay," I smiled calmly."So, about your mum..."

"Last time I saw was when I was ten." He caught me short, "It was my tenth birthday, she said she came to wish me happy birthday, but I later saw her getting some papers from my dad's room. She only came by because she needed some of her legs...so I don't know much about her."

"Oh," I muttered.

"She started calling me on my every birthday after I turned fourteen and dad got me a phone. I guess she didn't call in my other birthdays before that 'cause she didn't wanna have to speak to my dad before she could get to me."

"Your birthday's next week, will she call? Can I hear her voice?"

"I don't know but I'll have my phone charged and with me for if she calls, so I don't miss it. What about your mum, how's she like?"