Her Paper Marriage

“Good morning, Lena.” The man named Tobias said, placing his big arms on the arm rest of his black leather chair. He leaned back, making his pot belly protrude. He was a short man, brown skin with an air of importance around him. “Good morning.” I said, taking a seat without being asked.Tobias shrugged and glanced at the paper on his desk before turning to me. “Your aunt said you arrived yesterday and in fact your accent confirms that. It hasn’t changed at all”My lips parted but I managed to restrain myself from voicing out my thoughts which could've had a poisonous effect. What was the point of bringing up my accent? I knew that there were many foreigners in the states with different accents. So, why had the few people I'd spoken to given me weird looks when I spoke? Perhaps, they were trying to discern if they'd heard my kind of accent before. This was even strange considering I didn't have a heavy accent. It wa

“I've seen almost everyone who lives in this town,” he said after I'd told him my name. His name was Noah, one of my favorite names for males. “I guess you're new here. Are you African?”I nodded, feeling the rhythmic vibration on my phone. I fished it out and checked the caller ID. Aunt Caro. Jeff had probably told her what happened so I decided to ignore it. I was not in the mood for any kind of scolding or reproach, particularly in front of Noah. If I received the call, I’d have to move away from him to explain myself. What if he walked away while I was doing that? He was the first person of my age to talk to me in south bend. I needed some peer to peer interaction.“Nice to know that you're African,” he looked at me as if he was studying my facial features. i wished I could know what was going on in his mind at the time. After some seconds, he spoke again. “Can I show you around?”My face was suddenly warm. I could not believe t

I had never loved anyone as much as I loved Andrea Beza. Even though I had dated a number of girls before her, I still considered her my first love. I could never forget her because meeting her changed my life. It was during and after the relationship that many things became clear to me, things I had never taken time to think about. I realized who truly loved me, unconditionally.She was twenty at the time and had the most breathtaking brown eyes I'd ever seen. Ever since I was a teenager, the first thing I noticed on people’s faces were the eyes. This was probably because I was very insecure about my left eye -it had a brownish blemish. I think I was always looking for signs of imperfection in other people’s eyes. Andrea’s round face was over loaded with cuteness which made her look almost like a child. She was wearing a blue tank top and shorts. We were both waiting for our room keys at the reception when she glanced at me and said 'hello'. I replied with the same

“You’re not from here, are you?” Carla asked. She crossed her arms and offered me a death glare. “Were you following me?” Noah asked in a matter of fact tone. He didn't look too ecstatic to see her.“I would never do that,” she said but looking at her gave me the impression that she'd do it. She was wearing a white crop top and black leather pants with a resting bítch face. She was the personification of pretty but psycho. Considering my situation, I didn't want to have her as an enemy although I was sure she considered me one. Had I been a citizen of the United States, I'd have stood up to her to show I wasn't intimidated by her. For now, flight was my best alternative. Like they say, cowards live longer.“Noah, I think it’s time for me to go.” I started to walk away but he grabbed my wrist, forcing me to stand. I sighed. He wasn’t making things easier.“Carla, meet my girlfriend.”

“So, that was a great party, huh?” Jeff said when we were about to reach aunt Caro’s house.“It was,” I said. I wanted to add ‘until you ruined it’ but decided to keep those words inside. If I told him what I was truly feeling, there was a possibility of a fight erupting in that car. Knowing how temperamental people in his family seemed, it wasn’t far-fetched to think he’d crash the car and kill us both.“I’m glad you liked it,” he smiled and stopped the car since we had arrived at my destination. “So, what did you think of my proposal?”I got out and slammed the door of his father’s car so hard it almost came off its hinges. Jeff shouted profanities and drove off while I hurried up the path. I was wearing thin on patience. He had the guts to ask me what I thought of his surprise proposal. I had decided not to honor his question by responding, reserving my anger for someone who deserved it more than Jeff.