CROSS ROAD
1947 Words
CHAPTER 3: “CROSS ROAD”
The room was small and hot.
There was only one window, and even though it was wide open, the afternoon breeze refused to enter.
A standing fan in the corner turned from left to right with a tired squeak, pushing warm air around the room instead of cooling it.
The room smelled faintly of detergent and Julie’s perfume.
Reuben sat on the edge of the bed, his admission letter folded carefully between his palms. He had read it so many times that he could almost recite every word on the paper.
Admission granted.
Those three words should have made him the happiest young man alive.
Instead, they frightened him.
He heard the door open.
He looked up.
Julie walked in.
Something was wrong.
Her face was blank. Not angry. Not happy. Just... empty.
She closed the door gently behind her and stood there for a moment as though she had forgotten why she came into the room.
Reuben watched her carefully.
“Hey,” he said. “Why is your face like this?”
Julie didn't answer immediately.
She walked over and sat beside him on the bed. She left a small space between them and placed both hands on her lap.
Reuben turned toward her.
“Julie?”
She finally looked at him.
“Sometimes,” she said quietly, “what we wish for don't come in total package.”
Reuben frowned.
“You speak in parable.”
A small smile appeared on her lips, but it disappeared almost immediately.
“We've always wanted to go to the university to study law. Remember?”
Reuben smiled.
“How can I forget?”
“JSS2,” Julie continued. “You were sitting at the back of the classroom, disturbing everybody.”
“I wasn't disturbing anybody.”
“You were disturbing me.”
“You enjoyed it.”
“I tolerated you.”
Reuben laughed softly.
Julie looked down.
“We wrote it on the back of your mathematics textbook,” she said. “You wrote, ‘Reuben and Julie, future lawyers.’”
“And you drew a heart beside it.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
Julie finally laughed.
For a few seconds, the heaviness in the room disappeared.
Then she looked at his admission letter.
“So it finally happened.”
Reuben followed her gaze.
“Yes.”
He held up the paper.
“University.”
Julie nodded slowly.
“Yes. University.”
There was something strange about the way she said the word.
Reuben lowered the letter.
“Why do you sound like someone died?”
Julie sighed.
“Because getting admission is one thing. Going to school is another.”
Reuben's smile disappeared.
“What do you mean?”
She turned toward him.
“Where?”
“Where what?”
“Where are you going to get the money?”
Reuben stared at her.
Julie continued before he could answer.
“You think university is secondary school? Look, all you spent in your primary and secondary school cannot even get you through one semester.”
Her words landed heavily.
Reuben looked down at his hands.
He knew she was right.
His admission letter had come with happiness, but behind the happiness was a mountain of expenses—school fees, accommodation, books, feeding, transportation and everything else that came with being a university student.
He had no parents to run to.
No father who would suddenly appear with money.
No mother who would sell something precious just to make sure her son stayed in school.
He had only himself.
And Uncle Ben.
“My father is not buoyant financially,” Julie said gently. “I would have said I would collect double school fees from him and share it with you, but you know my father.”
Reuben nodded.
Mr. Adebayo was the kind of man who checked everything.
“He verifies almost everything,” Julie continued. “He will call the bursary. Call the HOD. Ask for receipts. If he suspects anything, that's the end.”
Reuben rubbed his forehead.
“I understand.”
The room became quiet.
Outside, somebody shouted at a child. A motorcycle passed on the street, its engine roaring before fading into the distance.
Julie looked at him.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making you think we would be going through everything together.”
Reuben looked at her.
“Who said we're not?”
Julie shook her head.
“I'm going to UNIBEN. You're going to DELSU.”
“That's just two different schools.”
“Two different cities.”
“So?”
“So...” She hesitated. “Things change.”
Reuben looked away.
He hated that sentence
Things change.
People changed.
Feelings changed.
Circumstances changed.
Maybe even dreams changed.
He didn't want any of them to change.
He wanted the simple dream they had written on the back of his mathematics textbook to remain
untouched.
Two names
One profession.
One future.
He swallowed.
“Don't worry,” he finally said. “I have an uncle who will see me through the university.”
Julie's head snapped up.
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Uncle Ben.”
Julie stared at him for a moment.
Then her entire body relaxed.
“Thank God.”
She exhaled deeply.
Reuben noticed the relief on her face.
For the first time since she entered the room, she looked like herself again.
He smiled.
“So you care about me that much?”
Julie rolled her eyes.
“Don't start.”
“You were worried.”
“I wasn't.”
“You almost cried.”
“I did not.”
“You looked like you were about to faint.”
“Reuben!”
He laughed.
“Okay, okay. I won't say anything.”
Julie stood up.
“Go jor.”
But she was smiling.
Reuben watched her for a moment.
Then something came to his mind.
“Wait.”
Julie turned.
“What?”
“There is something else I haven't told you.”
Her smile faded slightly.
“What?”
Reuben hesitated.
He looked at the admission letter in his hand.
Then he looked at her.
“You remember I told you about Coach Martins?”
Julie nodded.
“The football coach?”
“Yes.”
“What about him?”
Reuben took a deep breath.
“He offered me a place at a football academy.”
Julie froze.
“What?”
“A football academy.”
She stared at him.
“When?”
“A few days ago.”
“And you're just telling me now?”
“I wanted to be sure first.”
Julie walked back toward him.
“What kind of offer?”
“He said he watched me play during that tournament last month. He spoke to some people who knew me and asked me to come for trials.”
“And?”
“I went.”
Julie sat down again.
“And?”
Reuben smiled faintly.
“I made it.”
Julie's mouth fell open.
“You made it?”
He nodded.
“Coach said I have potential. He said if I stay disciplined and train seriously, I could go far.”
Julie looked genuinely excited.
“Reuben! That's amazing!”
She grabbed his arm.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
“Eventually.”
She pushed his shoulder playfully.
“You're annoying.”
Reuben laughed.
Then her excitement slowly disappeared.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“The academy... what does it involve?”
“Training. Accommodation, I think. They said they would take care of some things.”
“Some things?”
“Yes.”
“And school?”
Reuben didn't answer.
Julie studied his face.
“You're thinking about it.”
“A little.”
“About what?”
Reuben looked at the admission letter.
“Football.”
Julie was silent.
He continued.
“I've always loved football. You know that.”
“I know.”
“I don't know if this is something I should take seriously.”
“You should.”
Reuben looked at her.
“You think so?”
“Yes.”
Her voice was firm.
“You're good at football. You know you are.”
“But Law is what we've always wanted.”
Julie looked at him.
“That's the problem.”
“What?”
“We have reached the crossroads.”
Reuben frowned.
Julie pointed toward the admission letter.
“That's one road.”
Then she looked at him.
“And football is another.”
Reuben stared at the floor.
Crossroads.
The word suddenly felt heavier than it sounded.
One road led to DELSU.
A law degree.
The dream he and Julie had carried since secondary school.
The other road led toward football.
Something uncertain.
Something risky.
Something he had never imagined could become a real future.
“Which one would you choose?” Reuben asked.
Julie smiled sadly.
“It's not my life.”
“But you're my girlfriend.”
“That doesn't mean I should choose your future for you.”
Reuben nodded slowly.
She was right.
Still, he wished she would tell him what to do.
He wished life came with instructions.
Instead, all he had were choices.
And consequences.
Julie reached for his hand.
“Whatever you choose,” she said softly, “make sure you choose something you won't regret.”
Reuben looked at their hands.
Then at her.
“What if I choose football and fail?”
“You'll learn.”
“What if I choose Law and hate it?”
“You'll learn.”
“What if I lose everything?”
Julie squeezed his hand.
“Then you start again.”
Reuben smiled.
“You make everything sound easy.”
“No,” she said. “I'm just trying to make you believe that your life isn't over because you don't know the next step.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
Outside, the afternoon sun was slowly beginning to lose its strength.
But inside the small room, Reuben felt as though he stood at the beginning of two different lives.
Law.
Football.
Julie.
His future.
Everything seemed to be pulling him in different directions.
He folded the admission letter and placed it carefully in his pocket.
“I'll think about it.”
Julie nodded
.
“You should.”
He stood.
She looked at him.
“And Reuben?”
“Yes?”
“Don't choose something just because you're afraid of losing me.”
He stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“It means...” She paused.
“If our love is real, it shouldn't force you to abandon your future.”
Reuben said nothing.
Julie smiled faintly.
“Now go.”
“Why?”
“Because you've been sitting here disturbing me for too long.”
He laughed.
“You're the one who invited me.”
“And now I'm uninviting you.”
Reuben walked toward the door.
Just before he stepped outside, he turned back.
Julie was still standing beside the bed.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Neither of them spoke.
They didn't know it yet, but the choices they were discussing that afternoon would soon become more than questions about school and football.
They would become questions about love.
Trust.
Family.
And survival.
Reuben stepped outside.
The door closed behind him.
And somewhere between the road to DELSU and the road to the football academy, his life had reached a crossroads.
Fade out.
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