MY MISTAKE

"Some people are afraid of heartbreak. Taiwo was afraid of holding a girl's hand". In the busy city of Lagos, where traffic could destroy your happiness, NEPA could destroy your evening, and a single w******p message could destroy your peace of mind, there lived a young man named Taiwo Emmanuel. Taiwo was a brilliant boy. Give him a complicated mathematical equation, and he would solve it before you finished complaining about the question. Ask him to explain simultaneous equations, and he would teach you until you began to wonder whether you were in a classroom or a mathematics conference. His brain? Five-star quality. His romantic life? A national emergency. If intelligence alone could make a man attractive, Taiwo would have been the president of all the boyfriends in Nigeria. Unfortunately, romance did not follow mathematical formulas. You couldn't calculate love using x and y, and no calculator in the world could tell him why girls smiled at other boys but looked at him as if he had come to collect their school fees. His w******p was so quiet that even the network provider had stopped checking on him. The only messages he received regularly were from his classmates. Taiwo, please send me the PDF. Taiwo, what's the answer to question five? Taiwo, have you read Chapter Three? One girl even sent him a message at 11:47 p.m. For the first time in his life, Taiwo's heart jumped. He opened the message with trembling fingers. Please, bro, do you have the complete BIO 101 notes? Taiwo stared at the screen. "God, why have You forsaken me?" He dropped his phone on the bed and covered his face with his pillow. Some people had relationship problems. Taiwo had relationship aspirations. And they were not looking promising. --- THE EMMANUEL HOUSEHOLD Taiwo lived with his parents in Lagos. His father, Mr. Emmanuel, worked in a reputable company and dressed every morning as though the president might personally invite him to a meeting. Even when he was going to buy bread, he looked ready to negotiate an international business agreement. His mother, Mrs. Mary, was a successful trader with a shop that sold almost everything. If you needed provisions, she had them. If you needed recharge cards, she had them. If you needed something you couldn't remember the name of but your grandmother had described as "that small thing we used in the old days," Mrs. Mary would probably bring it out before you finished explaining. She was a woman of business, wisdom, and absolutely zero tolerance for nonsense. Especially her son's nonsense. "Taiwo!" she shouted one Saturday morning. "Yes, Mummy!" "Come and help me carry these goods!" "Mummy, I'm studying!" Mrs. Mary stopped arranging her goods. "Studying what?" "Mathematics." She looked at him from head to toe. "Is mathematics what will cook soup for your wife in the future?" Taiwo blinked. "Mummy, I haven't even seen the wife." "Exactly! At your age, some boys are already discussing wedding colours. You are still discussing the value of x." "Mummy, marriage is not a compulsory course." "Neither is foolishness, but you are taking it as an elective!" Taiwo opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Then picked up the goods. Some arguments were better left unsolved. Even mathematics had taught him that. --- THE GIRLS AND THEIR MATHEMATICAL EMERGENCY There was something interesting about Taiwo's neighbourhood. Whenever examination season approached, his house suddenly became the most popular destination for young ladies. Girls who had ignored him for months would suddenly remember that he existed. Girls who had never greeted him before would begin calling him brother Taiwo with enough sweetness to make a diabetic person check their blood sugar. One afternoon, a beautiful girl named Sandra knocked on their gate. Taiwo opened it. "Good afternoon, Taiwo." He almost fainted. She knew his name. Not that boy who wears glasses. Not the one who always carries books. His actual name! "S-Sandra?" She smiled. "Please, can you help me with simultaneous equations?" Taiwo adjusted his shirt. "Of course! That's one of my favourite topics." Sandra leaned against the gate. "Really? So you like things that involve two people working together?" Taiwo nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Especially when the variables are independent." Sandra stared at him. For three seconds, there was silence. Then she burst out laughing. "Taiwo, you are so funny!" He smiled proudly. Finally! He had made a girl laugh. Maybe his romantic destiny was changing. Maybe this was the beginning of something beautiful. Maybe— "Please, can you send me the PDF when we're done?" His smile disappeared. "Ah." Sandra tilted her head. "What?" "Nothing. Let us solve the equations." He brought out his notebook. She brought out her textbook. And together, they spent forty-five minutes solving mathematical problems. At the end, Sandra collected the notes, thanked him, and left. Taiwo watched her walk away. He had just given a girl the best forty-five minutes of his life. She had given him zero romantic encouragement. The final answer was heartbreaking. Taiwo: 0. Sandra: 1. He needed a better strategy. --- THE DAY BIOLOGY ALMOST DESTROYED HIM If Taiwo thought Sandra's visit was the height of romantic confusion, he had not seen anything yet. Two days later, another girl arrived. Her name was Jennifer. Jennifer was beautiful, confident, and possessed the kind of smile that could make a man forget why he had entered a room. Taiwo opened the gate and nearly forgot his own surname. "Good afternoon, Taiwo," she said. "Good afternoon." "I need your help." His heart began to beat faster. This is it, he thought. Today is the day. No mathematics. No PDF. Just romance. "What do you need?" he asked, trying to sound like a responsible young man rather than someone whose brain had temporarily disconnected from his body. Jennifer raised her Biology textbook. "I don't understand reproduction." Taiwo froze. The birds stopped singing. Somewhere in the distance, a generator changed its sound. Even the sun seemed to pause. "Reproduction?" he repeated. Jennifer nodded innocently. "Yes. I need someone to explain it to me properly." Taiwo swallowed. "Okay. Reproduction is a biological process by which living organisms produce offspring." Jennifer smiled. "I know that part." "Oh." "I want you to explain the practical side." Taiwo's eyes widened. His brain immediately opened an emergency meeting. Agenda: How to survive this conversation without losing your future. "Practical?" he asked. "Yes." "Jennifer, please, there is a practical laboratory for that." She laughed. "Why are you suddenly afraid?" "Afraid? Me?" He straightened his shoulders. "I am not afraid. I am a serious student of science." "Then explain it." "Certainly!" He cleared his throat. "First, we must establish the objective of the experiment." Jennifer folded her arms, fighting a smile. "And what is the objective?" "To pass the examination!" Jennifer burst into laughter. Taiwo panicked. "See, Jennifer, I'm a man with a future. I have plans. I want to graduate. I want to get a good job. I want to make my parents proud. I want to build a laboratory. I want to travel around the world!" She nodded. "Wonderful." "And I don't want to become a trending topic on social media with the caption, 'How It Started Versus How the Police Met Us!'" Jennifer laughed so hard she had to hold the gate. Taiwo pointed toward the road. "Please, sister, your destination is that way!" "You're chasing me away?" "I'm protecting my destiny!" At that exact moment, Mrs. Mary appeared from her shop across the road. She had heard enough to understand that her son was once again embarrassing himself. "Taiwo!" He turned. "Mummy!" "Why are you shouting at this girl?" "Mummy, she wants practical Biology!" Jennifer covered her mouth. Mrs. Mary looked at the textbook, then at her son. "Is it not Biology you are reading?" "Mummy, you don't understand!" "Oh, I understand very well. You are the only boy I know who can explain reproduction but behaves as if a girl has brought a police warrant." Jennifer nearly fell over laughing. Mrs. Mary shook her head. "At this rate, my son will use a textbook to propose to his wife." "Mummy!" "What? You will probably write the proposal in mathematical equations." Jennifer finally managed to speak. "Mrs. Mary, your son is actually very funny." Mrs. Mary looked at her. "Funny? My daughter, take him before he uses a calculator to measure your love." Jennifer laughed again. And Taiwo? Taiwo wanted the ground to open and swallow him. Unfortunately, Lagos was not famous for providing convenient escape routes. --- THE GIRL WHO DIDN'T ASK FOR A PDF That evening, Taiwo sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He had survived another day without entering a romantic relationship. At this point, he was beginning to suspect that love was a scam invented to distract serious students from their academic goals. He picked up his phone and opened w******p. Nothing. He refreshed his messages. Nothing. He checked again. Still nothing. Then, suddenly, a notification appeared. New message from an unknown number. Taiwo sat upright. His heart started racing. He opened it. Hello, Taiwo. It's Amara. I got your number from Sandra. He stared at the message. Amara? Who was Amara? Was she another girl looking for BIO 101 notes? Was she about to request a PDF? Or was this the moment his destiny had been waiting for? He typed a reply. Hello. How may I help you? He read it. Too formal. He deleted it. Hi, Amara. What's up? Too casual. He deleted it. Good evening, beautiful. He stared at the words. "Beautiful ke? What if she screenshots this message and sends it to her entire family?" He deleted it immediately. Finally, he typed: Hello, Amara. Nice to hear from you. He pressed send. Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again. Taiwo held his breath. Then her reply arrived. Sandra told me you're very intelligent. I hope you're not as boring as she says. Taiwo's mouth fell open. Boring? Him? The same boy who had turned a Biology lesson into a public comedy show? He sat up straighter. For the first time in his life, he felt challenged. He typed: I'm not boring. I'm just academically misunderstood. Amara replied almost immediately. Oh, really? So what do you do for fun? Taiwo stared at the question. This was dangerous territory. He could say mathematics . He could say reading. He could say solving past questions . But none of those answers had ever made a girl fall in love with him. He took a deep breath and typed: I enjoy good conversations, making people laugh, and spending time with interesting people. He paused. Then added: And sometimes, I sleep. Amara sent a laughing emoji. Then another message appeared. You're funny. I like that. Taiwo stopped breathing. He read the message once. Twice. Five times. Then he jumped off his bed and began pacing around his room. "Jesus!" His father shouted from the sitting room. "Taiwo! What happened?" "Nothing, Daddy!" "Then why are you shouting?" "I'm happy" "Did you pass an examination?" "No, Daddy!" "Did you receive money?" "No, Daddy!" "Then what is making you happy?" Taiwo looked at his phone Amara had sent another message. Can we talk tomorrow? I'd like to know you better. He pressed the phone against his chest. "Daddy," he whispered, "I think I've finally understood the meaning of simultaneous equations." From the sitting room, his father shouted back: "Then go and teach your mother before she kills me with the price of tomatoes!" Taiwo laughed so hard that he nearly dropped his phone. For the first time in a long time, his w******p did not feel like a deserted village. Someone wanted to know him. Not for his notes. Not for his calculator. Not for an assignment. For him. And that was the beginning of his biggest problem. Because Taiwo had absolutely no idea how to handle a girl who genuinely liked him. --- TO BE CONTINUED... Will Taiwo finally discover the secret to winning a girl's heart? Will Amara become the love of his life, or will he ruin everything by explaining romance with a mathematical formula? And why did Amara seem so interested in a boy whom every other girl treated like a walking textbook? One thing was certain. Taiwo was about to learn that love had no formula, heartbreak had no calculator, and sometimes, the biggest mistake a person could make was falling in love without knowing the full story. NEXT EPISODE: THE GIRL WHO STOLE MY HEART... AND MY PEACE OF MIND. If Taiwo's struggle has made you laugh, follow the story and stay tuned for Episode 2. His love life is just getting started!