chapter 6

I WOKE up a bit earlier than usual the following morning; probably because I didn't have a sound sleep. I remember waking up in the middle of the night from a strange dream I had about Nora. In that dream, she was getting married to someone else and I was the guy's best man. How stupid the dream was!

So I came out of my room and entered the bathroom. And few minutes later, I was done brushing my teeth, taking my bath before putting on a nice blue t-shirt on a black short knicker. Then I left my room and strolled towards the kitchen.

"Good morning Mom" I greeted in a cowardly tone as I paused in front of the kitchen doorway; looking at my mom who cast a quick glance at me.

"Morning" she replied rather coldly before returning her gaze back on the oatmeal she was making for breakfast. I knew she was still mad at me for my outburst and behaviour last night -- and I felt guilty about it.

So I inhaled deeply and entered the kitchen and paused beside her.

"Mom..." I called her attention in a low voice and continued speaking the moment she turned her head to face me. "Am sorry I acted that way I did last night. I was just upset you thought I left the house because of a girl"

'tssk' My mom clicked her tongue with a wide smile broadening her lips; pleased to see that I was remorseful for my actions. Then she placed her left hand on my shoulder and said. "It's okay, and am sorry for jumping to conclusions."

A warm smile broke out my lips.

"Hmm, I can almost taste the food in the air" I teased with an amused chuckle; changing the subject as I turned my head sideways to look at the plate of scrambled eggs and pot of oatmeal bubbling on the gas.

"Quick, let me have the milk" my mom snapped her left fingers at me while stirring the oatmeal with her right hand.

I nodded, rushing towards the kitchen cabinet and opened it.

"Mom, were out of milk" I informed, closing back the cabinet as I turned to face my mom who looked me in the eye with a frozen stare.

"Rush to the mall and get a bottle of milk. And please -- be fast about it so the oat doesn't get cold." My mom instructed before switching off the gas cooker. I didn't say anything but bolted out of the house for the mall where I almost bumped into Nora who was just coming out - holding a polythene bag with a loaf of bread inside.

"Hey" Nora wore a wide grin as I brought my hasty steps to a stop in front of her.

"Hi -- good morning" I greeted in short pants before gulping hard to catch my breath.

"Why were you running?" She giggled.

"My mom, she sent me -- we're out of milk" I answered, looking down at the polythene in her right hand before raising my gaze to stare Into her eyes with Brian's words of last night beginning to resound inside my head.

"Okay, let me leave you to it" Nora gave out a courteous smile and leaned her lips closer...

"Urm..." I quickly cocked my head back and turned my lips away to hinder her from even giving me a peck on the lips.

"What's wrong?" She slowly retreated in embarrassment with her eyes blinking rapidly in confusion. Then I shook my head and said "Nothing" in a plain voice that didn't sound too convincing for Nora who slowly moved closer to place her right hand on my left shoulder with her eyes searching my face.

"Just tell me -- please?" She urged.

So I returned my gaze back on hers; inhaling deeply before I whispered to her face, saying. "I just feel it's best if we stay apart from each other."

Nora exhaled from her mouth with her eyes slowly widening in doubtful shock as she stepped back from me; giving me a stare that expressed her disappointment with her chest slowly beginning to heave lightly. I couldn't quite tell what she was feeling inside, but judging by her countenance -- I knew she was still struggling to take in what I'd just said.

"I -- I don't understand you" she managed to say, shaking her head with a nervous chuckle as she looked me in the eyes; hoping that I was only kidding. But I wasn't, and she knew it from the serious look on my face.

I licked my lower lip and parted them to explain. "Look, I don't want to be one of other numerous guys trying to win your heart when in fact -- you always choose your boyfrie..."

"Who told you that?" She hushed my words with her instant inquisition.

'i can't have her know it was Brian that told me' I chorused purposefully in my head; clearing my throat as I parted my lips in response.

"No one, am just -- guessing" I lied, looking away so I wouldn't give in to her hard stare.

"Brian right?" Her angry voice immediately threw my attention back to her. "He said that to you, didn't he?" She asked, this time in a more serious and somewhat annoyed tone. The frown on her face hinted her rage; and I felt uncomfortable now that she knew it was Brian who filled my ears about detaching my feelings from her. My only fear and worry now was what she was going to do or say to Brian when she gets home!

"Listen.." I moved closer a bit and said to Nora's face in a soft whisper. "Your brother was only trying to..."

"Please stop... don't" she Interrupted sharply, raising her right hand halfway up while closing her eyes in suppressed anger before opening them back to look at me. "You don't want to get too attached, that's fine by me" then she brushed me off her way with her right shoulder as she walked past before turning around again to say.

"You know what?... This might just be the last time you'll see or say anything to me -- good thing I never got in bed with you"

Her voice sounded bitter and shaky, like she was at the verge of crying; even her face was reddened with anger.

"Wait -- nora" I called to her in a remorseful tone as she turned to leave; but she gave deaf ears to my pleading calls and trotted back home.

'What have I done' I sighed inaudibly to myself-- squeezing my eyes shut in regrets for making Nora emotional. Now, there was not telling if she was going to still consider me a friend or an enemy!

'Shet! Mom!' my eyes opened quickly when I remembered my main purpose of coming to this mall. And without wasting any time, I rushed into the mall; bought the bottle of milk and jogged back home to meet my mom in kitchen.

"What in heaven's sake kept you for so long?" My mom lamented as soon as I entered the kitchen.

I cowardly paused my steps almost near the kitchen entrance; holding the bottle of milk with both hands as I struggled on what to say. "Errm... There was um, there wa..."

"Mtcheww" my mom hissed in impatience and snapped her left fingers at me, saying. "Please spare me the excuses and hand the milk over... the oatmeal is already cold"

"Sorry mom" I muttered and moved forward to give her the bottle of milk; feeling a bit relieved that she hushed my clueless stammer because I myself didn't have anything to give as an excuse for delaying.

Moments later, we were all seated at the dinning table for breakfast. I sat directly opposite my mom while my dad sat beside me; dressed and ready for work. And in minutes, he was done with his own plate of oatmeal, scrambled egg and toast bread. He was a fast eater, unlike me and my mom -- we liked to savour every bit of our food before taking another spoon.

"I'll see you two when I get back from work" my dad informed in a cheerful tone; playfully rubbing my hair with his left hand as he stood up from the chair. Then he moved around the table to meet my mom; bending forward to give her a peck on the forehead.

"Have a lovely day, honey" my mom said softly; slowly rubbing her right thumb on his left cheek before he retreated and stood erect.

"Bye dad" I smiled, looking at my dad who smiled back at me and teased. "Make sure you don't give your mom or the baby any headache."

"I won't" I chuckled in amusement, leveling my gaze at my mom who was also giggling from his playful joke. Then he turned and left the house.

The smile on my face gradually faded when thoughts of Nora began to fill my head as I lowered my gaze to look at my plate of oatmeal. My appetite diminished as I recalled her frustrative outburst outside the mall.

"... touched your food" my mom's unclear voice suddenly filtered into my ears with these last words, snapping me out of my pondering mind as I sat transfixed and lost in my own thoughts.

"Huh, mom... You said?" I raised my head; waiting for her to repeat her last statement.

"I said, you've barely touched your food" she repeated without removing her eyes from me before dropping her spoon to lean her back comfortably on the chair. "Son, are you okay?"

"Pfff...sure mom, I'm fine" I scoffed, faking a smile as I scooped a spoonful of oatmeal and shoved it into my mouth in a bid to show her that I still had appetite for the food when infact, I didn't. The cold slime of oatmeal in my mouth seemed to irritate me the more as I struggled with all my might to swallow it; and when I finally did -- it felt as though I was going to throw up. But I gulped down my glass of water to quench that feeling. Maybe I was wrong trying to proof to my mom, and trust me when I say oatmeal is best eaten hot and not cold!

"Uh, Maybe I've lost my appetite -- for the oatmeal though" I confessed, gently leveling my spoon on my plate to look at my mom who slowly folded her arms over her protruding belly.

"Why?" She asked calmly.

"Because it's cold" I blurted.

"And whose fault was that?" She asked immediately with her right eyebrow raised in blame. I knew where she was driving at; for me to admit that I was the cause so she could start giving me long talks which I wasn't even in the mood to listen to. So I didn't say a word in response but looked away to dodge my mom's inquiring eyes.

"Fine" she later heaved out a deep sigh after few seconds of silence. Then added. "But am too tired to go prepare something els--"

"No, no... Am fine mom." I cut in sharply, pushing my chair back to stand up while holding the plates in my hand. "I can wait till you prepare lunch" I smiled at her before returning the plates to the kitchen and entering my room to rest.

I laid for hours on my bed, staring blankly at my room ceiling as disturbing thoughts filled my head, mostly about Nora -- making it hard for me to sleep, think or even read a book and staying indoor wasn't going to help either.

So I jumped up from my bed and dashed out of the room; almost bumping into my mom in the corridor as she came out of her own room.

"Where are running off to?" She slowed my steps with her concerned inquisition.

"Mom, can I um... go to our neighbours house?" I asked her permission with my left leg wiggling impatiently to leave.

"Why?... What's happening there?" She gave me a suspicious stare that made me a bit uneasy. I could only imagine the thoughts that were going on her head, and am sure one of it was that I was probably heading out to meet the new girl -- Nora. Well, if that was what my mom was thinking, then she wasn't wrong because I was resolved to go and apologize to Nora, if not for anything -- for being so insensitive to her feelings.

I rubbed both hands on the side of my jean trouser as I said in a low voice to my mom "Nothing serious, I just had a little argument with the new girl and I..."

"Nothing serious?? -- you just had a fight with a girl that has barely spent a week in the neighbourhood! God Henry... I thought we spoke about this." She groaned In frustration, turning halfway around in bitter disappointment.

"Seriously mom, it's not that huge ... We just had a misunderstanding that's all. Which is why I wanted going over to apologize to her" I shrugged my shoulders with my arms spread out as I explained.

"You better go apologize to that girl" my mom cautioned in a serious tone and left me for the kitchen. Then I sighed and left the house for Nora's place.

****

"Hey, uh... Is your sister in?" I asked, faking a nervous smile when Brian opened their entrance door. He stood in the doorway as if hindering me from coming inside. Even his facial expression hinted that he was somehow not happy to see me.

I guess his sister must have confronted him after leaving me at the mall but what did I care; he wasn't the reason I was coming over.

"She stepped out some minutes ago, except you want to wait for her" He answered in a rather cold tone. At this moment, I wanted to ask if his sister confronted him -- just to be sure that my speculation wasn't wrong because it wasn't the same manner he used in treating me yesterday. But I just waved off the thought and said.

"No, I don't think I can wait... But do you know when she might be coming back to I can come around?"

Brian lifted his gaze to look over my shoulder just as I was still talking. And when I was done speaking, he returned his gaze on mine and said. "Well, I think you won't have to wait at all, she's already coming behind you" then he retreated into the house and closed the door.

I froze, unable to turn around.

'just tell you're sorry' I told myself as I stood motionless facing their closed door; inhaling deeply as I waited for her to reach.

I felt nervous as her footsteps grew closer and closer with the muffled sounds of her laughter filtering into my ears.

Wait! did I say laughter?!

I turned around quickly to see who she was laughing with when my heart sank in grave disappointment; even as she brought her steps to a startled stop few metres in front of me -- holding the hand of some guy who I presumed was the acclaimed boyfriend Brian told me about!

What was I thinking to have come to give her an apology? Maybe she doesn't deserve it at all.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" She asked, her voice still nursing the anger from our little misunderstanding this morning. But my throat was too tightened to even speak. All I felt now was growing rage as I stood, looking speechlessly at Nora who was standing beside this guy who was undeniably charming and much more masculine than I was in design -- even though I regret having to admit that he was handsome...