Chapter Two

Regina stared at the blank screen of her computer, her thoughts were all over her. She was thinking about her family, her education, her life in general, this is her first time experiencing exams in the university, so all emotions cowered her. While at it, she took up the wallet she picked from the library, it won’t be very difficult getting to the owner, unless there was no personal details. As expected, the owner had his student ID in it, “Michael Riley” she read out. She dialled the mobile number on the ID and the recipient picked up almost immediately, “Hello.”

“Hi, am I unto Michael” Regina asked.

“Yes, this is him.”

“Well, it seems I am in possession of your wallet, I picked it up at the library yesterday.”

“Oh my god!” Michael exclaimed, “I thought I’ve lost it, see I have a very important item in that wallet. How do I get it now, how much do your need? Name your price, I will pay.”

“Excuse you?” Regina was taken aback, “I picked up your wallet and called you, I didn’t introduce myself as a beggar.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry if you feel insulted, I didn’t mean that, I’m just that desperate to get back my wallet.”

“Apology accepted, but however I am visiting home today, like right now, so getting back your wallet has to be Monday, by morning,” Regina replied.

“Yeah sure, no probs, we will meet Monday. Thanks by the way.”

“You welcome,” the call ended.

*****

Regina arrived at her Aunt’s Maria’s house on a humid Saturday afternoon, the kind that made the air feel heavy against the skin. The compound looked exactly as she remembered- wide enough for the children to play, but quiet now, except for the low hum of a generator somewhere down the street.

Aunt Maria opened the door before Regina could raise her hand, her face lighting up in surprise. She pulled Regina into a tight embrace, the familiar scent of detergent and cooking spices wrapping around her. Inside, the house felt warm and lived-in. her cousins drifted one by one into her embrace, offering shy smiles and quick greetings, each of them catching up with lost times.

“Oh my! I was expecting to see you tomorrow,” Maria said.

“On no Aunty, I need to spend the night here, exams starts on Monday,” Regina replied.

“Good idea, Kaima has missed you too much, we all did,” Aunt Maria said catching a glimpse of the two year old child at the arms of Regina. Kaima is the youngest child of Aunt Maria, making them a family of seven. The rest of the day was spent eating, playing and chatting, Maria’s husband returned from work after a long day, pleasantries were exchange and questions about school, you know all of that stuff.

The next morning while Regina prepared to return back to school, Aunt Maria came bearing an envelope on her palms and stretched her arms to Regina, “What is this?”

“I met your mother yesterday and she gave me this for your upkeep.”

“Seriously?” Regina scoffed, “I’m sorry I don’t believe you Aunty, if my Mum wants to send me money, she has my account details. I am very sure this is from your own purse.”

“No it’s not, she gave me two envelopes, this is yours, and I’ve used mine to get some groceries. And also by the way, I took money from yours to get foodstuffs, I promise I will pay you back very soon,” Maria replied.

“You know I won’t take back that money,” Regina replied.

Aunt Maria laughed briefly and said, “Of course I know, there are other ways I can pay back. By the way, there’s jollof in the kitchen and there is a white synthetic bag containing some groceries I bought, take it, that’s yours.”

“Thanks Aunty,” Regina gave a peck at Maria’s face, “What will I do without you.”

“Absolutely nothing,” Maria smiled.

Regina thought about her mother, it’s been years and ever since her father’s death, they haven’t had a good mother-daughter quality time. In fact, the only time they get to stand together is usually at meetings and public gathering, to get good pictures for the world to see. Though with all that, Regina lives a very quiet, low-key life. She goes to school, church or the market without any drama, and has a very small cycle of friends, and there no record of any that she is close with. She is a gentle, less dramatic lady, one that thinks carefully before acting. But even with a low profile, she is envied by most girls in school, given her flawless skin and default classy personality, pretty face, hourglass body with nice tits, slim and sexy kind of way. Yet, despite all the quiet admiration that followed her, Regina barely noticed.

By Monday morning, before going into the hall for her first paper examination, Michael had reached out to her. She stood by a Mango tree, behind the school library, that was their meet-up point, it seems this Michael guy is running late, and when he eventually comes, she is going to find it hard to recognize him, she can’t rely on the ugly picture on his school ID. So she probably was expecting a random ordinary guy, then Michael came to her, “Regina?” he said, just to confirm.

Regina looked up at him and ‘wow…’ in her thoughts, she definitely wasn’t expecting this. Michael was the kind of boy people noticed without trying. Breathtakingly handsome in an effortless way, with a soft smile that made him seem approachable and a calm confidence that never crossed into arrogance.

He wasn’t rich, didn’t wear flashy clothes, and never tried to impress anyone, yet his cool, easy nature drew people to him naturally. A good student with sharp intelligence and quiet discipline, Michael was raised by his mother alone after losing his father at a young age (finally, something they have in common).

That absence had shaped him- making him responsible, grounded, and deeply respectful, especially towards women. Beneath his cute charm was a thoughtful young man who understood hardship, valued simplicity, and carried a quiet strength that set him apart from the rest.

“I’m so sorry for meeting up late, I had an engagement very early this morning,” ha ha, Michael woke Regina from her trance. Without saying a word, she stretched out her arms to Michael and handed his wallet to him, she walked out almost immediately but was stopped by Michael’s word, “Regina? Please…” she turned to face him, “Yes?”

“You seem very cool. Please, can I take out for dinner today?” He asked.

“Seriously? You’ve spent about 20 minutes of my time running late, that is aside your bully nature, and now you want us to have dinner together, I never told you I was hungry.”

“Jeez! My goodness, relax! Bully?” Michael was shocked, where is this coming from? “It seems I get on your nerves each time we had a conversation. Okay, I’m sorry I asked you dinner, not because I believe you are hungry, but because I am trying to get to know you. And thanks very much for this, I’ll see you around,” he was about to walk out then Regina held his arm to stop him, “I’m so sorry for yelling at you all the time, I’m actually very pissed at how I was treated by your friends that day at the library, and I didn’t get an apology. You guys were very rude and I felt insulted, I thought maybe you were like that.”

Michael drifted his mind to that scenario, and raised his lids in realization, “Oh! That’s true, I didn’t think of that. I swear it was never my intention to embarrass you that day, it just kind of happened. I’m sorry, forgive my ignorance.”

“Your sins are forgiven,” Regina smiled.

“Wow, so fast? No please, I want you to hold on to that grudge till evening so I can take you to dinner and properly apologize,” Michael replied.

“Okay then, I will. 6pm?”

“Whatever is convenient for you?”