08• Keith.

"Yo!" I shouted along with my friends as we clinked the cup against each other.

I gulped down some of the beer before looking up at Darren who was busy teasing one of the girls he recently met in the bar.

"I heard you visited Matthew." Billy started a conversation and I smiled a little. "How's he feeling now?" He asked as if concerned.

"I don't know," I replied sipping the remains of the beer in the cup.

"And if your dad asked about him?" Mark chimed in.

"I'd probably say he is still lying in the hospital and will get discharged next week," I answered.

"Whoa... You hospitalized him for that long?" Billy arched an eyebrow.

"I think it's not because I approached him," I say. "He seemed to have a health issue," I told them remembering the heart monitor in Matt's ward. "And will you guys quit asking me Matthew-related questions?" I rolled my eyes at them as Darren walked back to our table.

"How's it going guys." He sat beside me.

"How'd it go with the lady?" Mark asked back and we all quickly took a glimpse at the two ladies sitting opposite us, while one of the ladies blushed at me.

"It went well... Y'all know, I don't fail with making lady feel on top of the world." Darren bragged. "Unlike Keith who only teases a lady and never gets to make them feel special." He adds in.

"When I talk to any lady, they already feel special," I smirked at him.

"What's up with the plan for your birthday?" Mark asked me to change the topic since he knew if I and Darren went on arguing about who was good at this or that, we might end up leaving here the next day.

"I haven't even thought about that." I shrugged aware that each of my birthdays is always celebrated massively thanks to my friends who always end up convincing my dad that it's just a low-key birthday party but it never turned out as we promised.

"Aren't you planning on celebrating your birthday then?" Billy inquired pouring us another cup of beer.

"Of course. Birthdays are meant to be celebrated." I say clinking the cup with Darren. "But it would be hard convincing my dad this time." I sipped the beer.

"Why?" Darren asked after sipping from his cup.

"Remember the problem we had to go through because of Mark?" Billy responded and we all fixed our gaze at Mark who was pretending as though he didn't know what we were talking about.

"Fool." I cussed rolling my eyeballs against Mark while I tried not to remember the scene where Billy and I caught Mark trying to make out with his girlfriend in the lobby even though we had made it a warning that no sex. We tried to keep it a secret from any other person including my dad but he found out through my brother who saw Mark as well.

"You dumbass." Darren cussed sipping from the cup along with me.

"It's now in the past guys. And it was really, an honest mistake." Mark spoke. "And Jude is the real dumbass here, he was the one who ranted me out."

"Yeah, my brother always proves to be the devil." I smacked my lips.

"Then how do we go about convincing your dad such will not repeat?" Billy asked, he was the one my dad trusted the most among my friends.

"Should I apologize to---" Before Mark could complete his words, Billy who was sitting next to him smacked the back of his head.

"Apologize?" Billy scorned.

"Apologise my foot." Darren scoffed and Mark pouted innocently.

We had the rest of the night to ourselves, drinking our lungs out sure enough not to get drunk since we all have a reputation to protect since neither of our parents held a high position in the church.

We were all picked up by our drivers and I had to spray perfume on my body to not reek of alcohol when I met my dad.

During the drive, I leaned my head on the headrest, my eyes shut and my mind was fixed on nothing in particular except the fact that I was wondering why I always get tired of every lady I met within a short time.

I had lost count of the ladies I always met every weekend or even weekday. I wouldn't call them my ex because I've never asked any of them out, probably I'm meant to only catch fling for the rest of my life.

"We're here, sir." My driver called out.

I opened my eyes, unfastening my seatbelt before alighting from the car.

I strolled to our compound and the living room before meeting with Jude, sitting and watching breaking news like some old papa in their late seventies.

"You must be out drinking," Jude said not sparing me a look.

"No. I was out reading the holy Bible." I replied sarcastically.

"Dad is in his study room. He demands to see you." Jude informed me still staring at the TV.

I strode to the staircase climbing on it before walking to the second hallway leading to my Dad's study room.

I knocked on the room door before walking in.

My Dad was seated on the swivel chair, with reading glasses on him, he was going through some documents as I walked closer to him and he raised his head at me.

"Hi, Dad," I called.

"How was your day?" He asked.

"Good, and yours?" I asked back.

"You know how it always went." He replied putting off his eyeglasses. "I hope you haven't forgotten your schedule for tomorrow?" He inquired and I quickly searched my brain for tomorrow's event still putting on a calm look while my half-drunken state couldn't process what I was to do tomorrow.

"Uh..." I stammered.

"You volunteered to help with other church members at the orphanage home tomorrow." My dad reminded me.

"Oh!" I let out a surprised gasp. I did?

"Two. PM tomorrow, you should meet with Mrs.Harry. My dad said and I sighed. "You visited her son today?"

"Yes, I did Dad," I replied feeling a little bit tipsy.

"How's he doing?"

"Good. I gave him the flowers and---"

"Good?" He interrupted me with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I found out he will get discharged next week," I spoke about concluding my meeting with him.

"You should visit him until he gets discharged then." My dad said in an order and I looked confusedly at him.