The First Time

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

                                                                                   TRACY

     “This boy, so this is where you live,” she’d exclaimed one certain evening emerging out of the room with Alaska.         “Where is your room?” she asked.

     “See his room next door to mine,” it was Kristors’ voice that replied.

     “Really?”

     “How do you do?” Kelvin found his voice.

     “I am doing fine. What is it you’re doing?” she climbed the stairs.

     “Just working on your boys’ portrait,” he replied. 

     “Mine―oh―mine. You’re simply good at drawings. You can draw well?”

     “He’s quite fantastic,” replied Alaska starting to feel uncomfortable with the progress of the discussion.

     “I didn’t ask you, Alaska,” she objected to him.

     “It’s just the simple truth. Can’t you see the portrait he did on himself,” replied Alaska as he picked up the penciled portrait Kelvin did on himself.

     “That’s beautiful. You’re truly a born artist,”

     “He’s the best I’d ever seen,” replied Alaska. He tried to push himself into the discussion at least to command the flow of the interaction. Kelvin knew Alaska was a bit uneasy that he seemed sidelined in his presence by his own girl.

     “What’s that your name?” Kelvin pretended no knowledge of her name.

     “Tracy and yours?” 

     “Call me Kelvin,”

     “He’s quite a good guy and my man too,” Alaska added glancing from him to her.

     “I really like you Kelvin but for one thing,” she was saying.

     “What could that be?” He asked looking straight into her beautiful eyes.

     Kelvin had a weapon of mass attraction. That was a confession he must own up. It seemed to be something in his looks that make people stop their breath in awe. The female folks enjoy the brief moment of attention he gives with those eye contacts. He draws them closer romantically the moment he fixed those stares on them. He had found out the effects of looking straight into the eyes of anyone he’s conversing with. He draws out the soul of the individual. And it gets the best out of the person as he or she feels the commanding effects of his starry-eyes. When desires not be interested, he would deliberately avoid unnecessary eye contacts with girls. This to his utter amazement had been misunderstood as a sign of callous ignorance of their feelings. 

He had observed initially that most female folks felt uncomfortable at first at his soul searching gaze. That made him to avoid eye-contact at first meeting. This was a precautionary way of eliminating the embarrassing effects his stares puts them into. However, they enjoy the n***d-feeling effect his gaze has on them each time their eyes are locked into his . 

     “You don’t seem to acknowledge people when you met them on the road,” she replied. She maintained her fixed gaze on him in spite of Alaska’s presence. Alaska had walked away and was now slowly strolling towards the gate. It was an indication that she should be calling off the discussion for home.

     “Well, I don’t really get your point…It depends on what you mean by acknowledgement. All I know is that whenever people greets me I will always respond to that effect. I don't do snub,"

     " That's not what I mean. There are ways someone might approach you on the way and expect your.. I mean what if the person didn't greet you first, wouldn't you greet?" 

     "Well, it will depend on some factors. How close the person was to me. How close we were to each other on the road. Some people will not be predisposed to accept your greetings ..It wouldn't be necessary to greet everyone especially in a crowded place,"

     “That’s not the issue,” 

     “Then what is it?”

     “You knew better. You could distinguish between someone’s look of admiration from that of a total stranger passing by?”

     “I do appreciate people's admiration. Then how do I know every look of admiration is worth the attention? Anyone could stare at you with admiration without it being any particular about you,”

     She considered him for some seconds and smiled.

     He could feel the tension in the air. Everyone sat uncomfortably quiet pretending to be busy while listening out on them. He was aware of the visible embarrassing looks of unease on Alaska’s face. He was putting on great effort to control himself. It was obvious, no boy or man would be happy to see his prided girlfriend hitting on another boy or man at first sight in his presence. It all calls for maturity to handle a relationship. It is not all about fear for control. It is all about tolerance and understanding. How could you mean you have got a girl and she is in love with another right under your nose!

     Alaska could not bear the direction the innocent discussion was heading in. He could not stand the fact that his girl was having a crush on Kelvin. Tracy had seen this as an open opportunity. She was willing to give it a try. She wants to make the best out of the rare opportunity to talk to Kelvin. It was something she presumably had been denied for too long. This was her chance. It could present her with a possibility.

     Kelvin began to feel uneasy too at the turn of the event. She made her way straight to his side and sat down. Was she to be blamed? She just wanted to see how it feels to be by his side; her idol of crush.

     “Tracy! Shall we?” came the visibly annoyed Alaska. He could sense that the situation was really getting out of hand.

     “Yes Alaska, am coming,” she replied acknowledged his presence for the first time. It took her some precious moment to decide her next move. She reluctantly stood up slowly and climbed down the pavements. “Would you mind if I bring my picture for a portrait?” She suggestively asked as she gently strolled towards Alaska.

     “Yeah. Until I see you and the picture,” Kelvin replied without looking up from his work.

It was sometime after the foundation program that Kelvin got wind of how the relationship between the trio; Jane, Tracy, and Alaska ended. It was in his second year at the high institution that his colleague Bukas informed him on what really took place.

     One certain afternoon, Jane had paid Alaska a surprised visit to the lodge. She had entered the room and discovered Tracy in his apartment. Yes, she got to find out that he was really going out with her despite his constant assurance that it was not true. As the story was told, a free for all fight broke out in Alaska’s apartment between Alaska, Tracy, and Jane. Every item owned by the lover boy was used as a weapon against him. The fight brought to a c****x the whole affairs. Alaska lost all two of his girlfriends. All his dearly efforts to restore them came to naught; the end for Mr. Lover boy. For some time, he went about a really brokenhearted-boyish-boy.

Among the two girlfriends he once had, only Tracy was left as Jane later got admission into the Ebony State University and left forever. 

     Some of Kelvin’s friends had on many occasions bitterly complained to him that they don’t feel comfortable with the effects he has on their girls. They could not just comprehend the reason why their girls would get lovesick just because of him.

     He still recalls what took place one certain evening while waiting for an evening lecture. A colleague of his by the name of Nonso from the department of environmental science, looking visibly worried came to him to inquire about the whereabouts of his girlfriend. To be honest he was in actuality embarrassed.

     “Are you out of your mind?” He’d asked him after he’d repeated himself.

     “Don’t tell me you haven’t seen her lately,”

     “No, please, who’s she? Is she in my department?”

     He merely looked at him, with those quizzical looks that would ask you, “Do you think you can pull my legs for the fun of it?”

     “Kelvin, I just don’t get it and won’t tolerate any of your pranks. Don’t pretend to me that you never heard that Ngozi is my girl,”

     “For goodness’ sake, please if you’d taken something kindly do me a favor. Let me be in peace. Have you ever introduced any girl to me as your friend? When did you start seeing me as a girlfriend snatcher...please, I am in no mood for this entire rabblerousing,”

     Kelvin couldn’t just imagine what was really happening. In the first place, nobody was happy with the way the lecturer had postponed the afternoon lecture to an evening period. To make the situation really annoying it was the weekend; on a Friday and already four in the evening, yet there was no sign of the lecturer. Everyone was confused. No one had communicated to them pertaining to the possibility of the lecture holding or not.

     In that uneasy mood, someone just came in to add salt to the injury with an inquiry of an unknown identity that he hadn’t really known. Sincerely speaking, he tried to keep his cool; trying to take the whole scene as quietly as he could. It puzzled him that someone could come out boldly and rudely imply that he was having a secret affair with his girl whom he hadn’t known yet.

     “Kelvin...”

     “Please, Nonso, I just can’t entertain you anymore. If you can’t keep your house in order stop looking for an excuse or someone to make a scapegoat,”

     “Kelvin, I knew that she’d been confiding in you everything about the rows between us,”

     Kelvin felt the sharp sting of the accusation. Still, he made effort to keep his cool and surprisingly forced a false smile on his face to relax his nerves.

     “Nonso, could you just come out in the clear and tell me exactly what is the problem with you and who exactly the Ngozi―your girlfriend is. I want to know how you came to the conclusion that I’d been seeing her secretly. Could you please do me that favor? Frankly speaking, I don’t really seem to comprehend it all,”

     "I didn't say you've been seeing her secretly. You yourself just said it,"

     "Ok...fine, why are you here? Why are you asking me about her whereabouts if your sinister mind isn't construing negative thoughts? Why do you think I should be privy on her whereabouts order than you, her lover-boy?"

     That really brought the whole tension down and he was really relieved. It turned out that the whole problem had started the day he paid him an unscheduled visit to his apartment to retrieve his drawing instruments which Nonso had earlier borrowed from him and hadn’t yet returned.

     On getting there, he had met him in the company of a girl in his apartment. After the formal pleasantries, he had disclosed his unannounced cause of call and Nonso readily thanked Kelvin for his patience. Kelvin needed the drawing instruments because a class quiz was scheduled to be held the following morning. It was on a technical drawing subject being handled by one of the no-nonsense lecturers Mr. Onyejekwu.

     He did introduce the girl to him but not as his girlfriend and that was the first and last time, he met the girl in his apartment. Not a formal knowledge did he have as to whether the two were that close. Sometimes, though he meets her on her way to or from the market. They usually exchange friendly greetings from time to time. It was as if they had known for a while―that though was not unusual. Kelvin simply hadn’t the time to start checking or taking notice of who was a girlfriend or a boyfriend to whom. That would be rather silly enough if he should take that to be his priority.