Episode2
1256 Words
BETWEEN CURIOSITY AND BALANCE
After watching a podcast on relationships, Sophia updated her w******p status, writing:
“Men are just so full of themselves. I would rather not date anyone than be insulted and bullied in a relationship,” and then she added, “Cheats.”
Jennifer was the first to see it and burst into laughter since they had been together.
“Ha ha! So you mean to tell me that this triggered you so much?” Jennifer asked.
“I’m so pissed right now. What do you mean, ‘If he’s cheating, that’s not your problem since he’s giving you money’? This girl must be out of her mind. What if he gives you an STI? Did she even think of that?” Sophia replied.
“It’s just a random podcast. You’d better not take it to heart,” Jennifer said.
“Don’t tell me you’re supporting her,” Sophia replied.
Ding!
Sophia’s phone vibrated.
Guess who had just replied to her post? Jasper.
“Why is this one texting me? I hope he’s not here to get me pissed as usual,” Sophia muttered.
Jasper: “So are you trying to tell us that you want to be dragging shoulders with your man?”
Sophia: “Did you see anywhere that I said I want to be equal with anybody? Don’t get me pissed like you normally do, please.”
That last statement got Jasper curious.
Jasper: “What do you mean, I normally get you pissed? What did I do so I can apologize?”
Sophia murmured to herself, “Acting all cool, but he knows how to annoy someone.”
Then she replied, “You’re mean.”
Jasper: “How so?”
Sophia: “Whenever you reply to my messages, you respond as if I’ve done something to you, or maybe you just don’t want to talk to me.”
Jasper found her response funny and sent a laughing emoji.
Jasper: “Talk to you? Do you know me from anywhere? Or are you my girlfriend?”
Sophia: “I don’t have to be your girlfriend for you to want to talk to me. I could even be your girlfriend if you want me to.”
Jasper: “Funny girl. Okay, I don’t know what I might have done, but I’m sorry, honestly. I didn’t know you would take it that way. Hope my apology has been accepted?”
Sophia: “I’ll accept it when I want to. For now, I’m still pissed.”
It was around 9:30 p.m. Sophia was watching the video Jasper had sent on Telegram. She had lots of questions to ask, so she kept dropping them in his Telegram DMs. The constant notifications brought Jasper online.
Jasper: “Who’s that fearless, pretty human trying to drain my phone battery with her notifications?”
Sophia smiled as she stared at her phone.
“So you can type a long paragraph? I thought you weren’t going to reply to my messages. Please answer my questions.”
Jasper: “I know responding would make you happy, so why not? I’m going to answer your questions later, but for now, let’s get to know each other.”
Sophia bit her lip as she read his message.
“So, what do you want to know about me?” she asked.
Jasper: “Anything that would help me get to know you better.”
“Okayyyyy. I’m Sophia, a 100-level student at Lagos State University. I’m 20 years old. If you want to know anything else, you’re going to have to pay me,” Sophia typed.
Jasper: “100 level?”
“Do you have a problem with that, or are you just looking for my trouble?” Sophia replied.
Jasper: “Don’t get me wrong. You sound so mature.”
“I’m not a kid,” Sophia interrupted.
Jasper: “Anyway, nice meeting you, old woman. I just graduated, though, and it wasn’t easy. I hope you scale through this journey.”
“Thank you, sir,” Sophia replied.
Jasper: “I’m a little busy now. When I’m done, I’ll answer your questions. Before you wake up tomorrow morning, you’ll get your answers. And I’m not done getting to know you yet.”
Sophia: “Okay. Goodnight. Tomorrow, ask whatever you want, and I’ll gladly answer.”
The next day, Sophia had an afternoon lecture, so she didn’t leave for school early. After waking up, she went into the kitchen, washed the dishes, and made spaghetti with boiled eggs. Jennifer was watching a K-drama, so Sophia felt it was the perfect time to tell her what had happened.
“After I made that post last night, guess who texted me?” Sophia asked.
“Your crush, I guess. Almighty Jasper, the one giving you sleepless nights,” Jennifer teased.
“What’s your problem? Something is telling me you dislike him.”
“I can’t dislike someone I don’t know. So what happened? Did he ask you out?” Jennifer asked.
“No! Stop it. We just had a little conversation, and he said he wanted to know more about me. I only told him what I could at the moment. That was it,” Sophia replied.
Jennifer immediately burst into laughter.
“Why are you already sounding like you’re in a relationship? Something just doesn’t feel right about him. I hope you don’t fall in love so soon.”
“I control my feelings, ma,” Sophia replied before heading to the kitchen to dish out the food for both of them before leaving for lectures.
When it came to love and relationships, Sophia had never been lucky.
She once dated a guy named Victor. He was a young, vibrant man who was doing well for himself. They started dating shortly after Sophia finished secondary school. He loved her dearly, and Sophia loved him too. He provided for her even when she didn’t ask. They bonded so well that Sophia believed he was the right one.
Unfortunately, he did the unexpected.
Sophia’s birthday was on the 20th of October, and she took her birthdays very seriously.
Nothing was wrong. Everything had been going well between Victor and Sophia.
But on that very day, Sophia woke up to no calls and no text from her boyfriend, which was unlike him. She thought maybe something had happened.
Throughout the day, she kept calling, but there was no response.
Later that evening, Victor finally sent her a message.
“Happy birthday, Queen. Let’s end the relationship. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just feel we’re wasting our time. We should go our separate ways. I need to focus on my life for now. You’re not the problem; I am.”
Sophia thought it was a prank, but it wasn’t.
That was how her relationship with Victor ended.
Her second relationship was with Owen.
Owen Charles was tall and handsome, but he didn’t know how to express love to his woman. He wasn’t particularly intelligent, but Sophia didn’t care because, to her, personality mattered more.
Nothing much happened between them. He turned out to be the kiss-and-tell type.
The day Sophia found out was through Jennifer.
Jennifer had a male friend who was close to Owen. One conversation led to another, and Jennifer discovered that Owen had been telling his friends about sleeping with Sophia. It had never been real love to him.
Since then, Sophia had kept her distance from Owen and his friends because she now saw them as enemies.
- Writer
