The Guy I Never Met

THINKING OF HOME

CHAPTER 13: THINKING OF HOME

Tomorrow is work again.

But tonight... tonight she can sleep in peace.

The next morning, Kemi woke up early.

Habit. Her body was already ready for work.

She was brushing her teeth when her phone rang.

Unknown number.

Kemi: Hello?

Voice: Kemi? This is Mr. Salim’s assistant.

The shop won’t be opening today. Boss said everyone should stay home.

Click.

Kemi stood there with toothpaste in her mouth and her heart doing a little flip.

A day off?

No rushing. No uniform. No bus to catch.

She sat on the edge of her bed. The room was quiet. Because her colleague are at work already.

Just the hum of the fan and the orange light from the window.

The air smelled like dust and yesterday’s noodles.

She picked up her phone.

No missed calls. No messages.

Just the usual.

And that was okay.

She hugged her knees.

I should probably go home, she thought.

Before, “home” was just a place she could go back to whenever.

No rush. No plan.

But now...

Since Ola...

Since he told her she was smart, that she could be great...

Home felt like a goal.

She remembered her mom’s jollof rice. The squeaky gate. The market women calling her name.

And school. The chalk. The notebooks. The feeling of having a future that was hers.

I want to go home sooner, she whispered to the empty room.

Not to run away. To start again.

To go back to school.

She opened her notebook and wrote one line:

*My first priority when I go home: School.*

Outside, the call to prayer started. Soft and distant.

Inside, Kemi felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hope.

Maybe I’m not stuck here, she thought.

Maybe I’m just preparing to go home.

Across town, Ola didn’t have a day off.

His laptop was open. Two tabs, three documents, and a half-eaten bread on his desk.

His phone kept buzzing. Project updates. Deadlines. "Can you send this by 3pm?"

Back to back work.

He rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t slept well in days.

But in between emails, his mind drifted.

To Kemi.

He wondered if she was okay. If she ate today. If work was treating her right.

He wanted to text her. Properly. Not just the random "you good?" at 2pm.

But he had three more slides to finish before the meeting.

He sighed and typed quickly in his notes app:

Ask Kemi how her day is later.

Then he went back to work.

---

Kemi wakes up expecting work, but gets a surprise call — the shop is closed today. It’s her first day off in months.

With nothing to rush for, she finally has time to think.

She sits in her quiet room and lets herself miss home. Not just the food and family, but school. The future.

Since meeting Ola, she started believing she could be more.

So she makes one decision: When I go home, my first priority will be school.

Meanwhile, Ola is drowning in back-to-back projects, no rest. But even in the middle of deadlines, he’s thinking of Kemi and hoping she’s okay.

Both of them are in different places, working toward different things...

But both are thinking of home, and of a better tomorrow.

TO BE CONTINUED...