Chapter 12

Turns out that after a massive hangover, fast food is especially mouth wateringly amazing. Waking up around 7pm, Nicole got up and tidied her room, throwing all her alcohol smelling clothes into her laundry basket and putting away anything she had taken out in a hurry.

After that she took another shower again, stopping to check Ava's room and noticing that she still wasn't back. After cleaning herself up and putting on a fresh pair of pajama pants and a baggy t-shirt, she grabbed her cellphone from the charger, switching it on.

Groaning out loud, she dialed her mother's number as her phone started dinging all the missed calls from her mother and little sister, WhatsApp messages from them two, demanding to know where she was and why she wasn't picking up. Setting her face straight she grimaced as her mother dropped her call and immediately returned it but as a video call this time.

"Where the hell have you been wena?"

" Mama calm down, my phone's charger stopped working and it was hard getting a new one as I was not familiar with the place and couldn't get a new charge fast enough. But I found it now, so everything is okay. How are you?"

"Don't piss me off wena, how are you eyantoni. Is this how I raised you mina?"

"Mama sorry but it was just this once, I'll make sure not to repeat the same mi...."

Before Nicole could finish her sentence, her mother had dropped her call, showing her how pissed and annoyed she currently was. Knowing that calling her back will do nothing to lessen her mother's sour mood, she simply went into her WhatsApp, scrolling through her messages and responding to some of them.

Stopping at her and her little sister's chats, she clicked them open, only to find that her sister had messaged her relatively the same things as their mother had, asking her where she was and why she wasn't picking up and that their mother was really pissed to the point where she had called her uncles, informing them of what she had done. African parents sometimes.

Open hearing the front door to her dorm room opening, she threw her phone onto her bed, knowing that she was going to receive phone calls from her uncles sooner rather than later. Walking out of her room and into the little living room area, she realized that it was only Tammy, walking into with bags of Burger King under her arms, just as she had promised.

Walking up to her and the bags, Nicole lay them out onto the little coffee table before opening up the ones Tammy pointed at, indicating that they were hers and digging in. Eating her burger and fries first before her jalapeño fries, she felt at peace and at heaven.

Normally when she was back home and her mother would be in a foul mood, not even fast food could help lift Nicole's spirits up, but now that she was hundreds of miles away, Nicole knew that her mother's mood could in no way, affect hers, not even if she tried. She knew her mother would have no choice but to suck it all up and call her back a few days later.

"So, how were my classes, 'Nicole'."

"Lol don't worry, your classes aren't that hectic except maybe for accounting, Other than that, your lecture did nothing but introduce you to what will be happening in the module."

"Mmmhh okay, what about you, did you go to all your majors?"

"Yes, I did and turns out I was actually wrong. You and I have 3 modules together and the 4th one I have it with Ava, so yeah."

"Mmhh well them rest assured that from tomorrow onwards I am back to the same old me, more schoolwork and ballet and less drinking and partying, even though I am not completely stopping it."

"Well then, as your new friend I will cheers to that."

Clicking their plastic cups containing their drinks, the girls both went back to eating, not minding the silence as neither of them bothered with switching the tv on.

Suddenly, as if a long forgotten though had just struck her, Nicole turned to Tammy, a little guilt and worry dancing in her eyes.

"By the way, have you heard back from Ava, I tried calling her, but her phone went straight to voicemail. I'm kind of worried about her Tammy."

Sitting up from the couch a little, Tammy turned to look at Nicole, worry free with a little smile on her face.

"Don't worry up her, village girl. As long as you left her with that piece of trash, she should by back by midnight."

"How can you be sure Tammy?"

Sighing Tammy turned to Nicole, originally reluctant to her in on the bad things that Ava used to do but realizing that there was no point in with holding all this information.

"Look this is something that Ava would normally do with that scumbag, which, as much as I hate to admit it, cause a fallout in our friendship more than once. Those people are bad people Nicole, and for your sake, I hope you never find out why I'm saying so, but something tells me that you will."

After taking in Tammy's words, Nicole chose to simply lay back onto the couch and stare at the ceiling. Muttering to Tammy, Nicole whispered in a low voice.

"I hope nothing bad happens to her."

As Nicoler was about to drift off to sleep, she heard Tammy's voice, a low murmur as she responded.

"For her sake and ours, I hope nothing bad happened to her too."

***

Why won't this stupid phone just stop ringing. Waking up from her deep sleep, Nicole tried locating her loud ringing phone around her, until she realized that it was still in her room where she left it. Waking up from the couch, she groggily made her way over to her bedroom, pushing the door open before snatching her phone from her bed.

Without looking she answered it, only to be met with her oldest uncle's deep and displeased voice. Sighing to herself, she simply let her body plop down onto her mattress as she listened to her uncle's speech, in which he pointed out and made it clear how much he was truly disappointed in her.

After about an hour of conference calls with almost her whole entire family from her mother's side, Nicole threw her phone back onto the bed, sighing out loud at the amount of disappointment speeches she had heard in just one hour. Getting up and stretching her body, she lazily walked out of her bedroom, intending on getting herself a glass of water, only to be met with Tammy's frantic, watery eyes.

"You were right Nicole; something is really wrong. We need to find Ava now and fast."