FLAMING HEART

SEVEN - CLUMSY OBIOMA

Obioma was taken aback. Boyfriend? How could such a person be Uju's boyfriend? She wondered. But then, why wouldn't he? Her subconscious nudged her. Uju was classy and rich - Sharon once said this.

Obioma suddenly felt a surge of sadness consuming her as she turned to carry out the job she had been ordered to do. She was only a slave after all. Who was she to compete with any of the ladies living in that house?

She let out a loud sigh when she got to the kitchen and a tear slithered down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily; grabbed a packet of juice and retired back. She felt the guy's eyes on her as she poured some juice content into the tumbler. His intense gaze made her uncomfortable and she suddenly became aware of her appearance: white now turned brown slack singlet and an old wrapper with a slight tear by the side. Her hands became shaky as shame consumed her entire being and so some juice content poured on the table. 

"Are you okay, Obioma?" There was a slight irritation in Uju's voice. 

"I am sorry. . . I'll clean it up now." She stuttered whilst lowering her eyes. She made effort to wipe the mess with her wrapper when Uju stopped her. 

"Get a towel." She told her and Obioma nodded clumsily. It was like her brain stopped functioning for she couldn't think straight anymore. 

"Get another tumbler and take this one out." 

"It's fine." A cool masculine voice so mellifluous broke the tension already forming in the air. 

Obioma lifted her gaze to look at him and when she met with those intense eyes, she shifted her gaze to the floor. She wondered what had caught his attention and why he kept staring at her intently. Was it the hole in her wrapper?

"Hand me the glass." He continued and broke into a beautiful smile which made Obioma's legs wobble.

She nodded and offered him the tumbler and to her greatest surprise, his fingers grazed hers. That singular gesture filled her entire body with giddiness and she turned away immediately to get a towel. She wiped the table quickly for fear of melting and took quick and clumsy steps back to her room. 

She closed the door behind her and stood by it: dazed! She couldn't believe she was acting this way because of a stranger. She couldn't even believe a guy could have such effect on her. Back in the village, she was known for her lack of interest in guys. However, those guys were villagers with no future. This was a city boy and his aura told her he was rich. 

She walked slowly and sat on her bed; listening intently to the discussion ensuing. She could hear them clearly from her room; Evelyn's loud laughter filling the air. She tried to shut out any other voice and concentrate on that baritone - deep and cool like ice but she couldn't. She indeed was enchanted by him. He was her dream guy; the one she had always imagined a life with. 

As she listened, she discovered there was a slight contrast between the guy's voice and that of Uju. She had felt Uju had a masculine voice but she was wrong. The guy at the sitting room was filled with virility. Suddenly, she couldn't hear any of their voices. She heaved a sigh as she laid on her bed. He was gone! She thought. It was time to continue from where she had stopped in her sleep. 

As she laid on her bed, she heard her name shouted. It was Uloma this time. Obioma gave an inner shriek as she got up. She trudged out of her room; murmuring and grumbling as she made way to the stairs. She stopped right on her track when she saw Uju's boyfriend taking the stairs; gently. His eyes were fixated on his phone and Obioma wondered what could be so important that he couldn't take his eyes off his screen. She feared he might miss a step and hurt his foot but he didn't. 

She took a few step backward since he had not seen her. She was still in her ugly clothes and so couldn't afford to be seen by him again. Had she known he was still around, she would have changed into her best attire.

She stood by the wall; peeping and praying for him to go quickly but unfortunately for her, he stopped right at his track as he leaned on the wall. He was still looking at his phone; smiling. He looked so relaxed and comfortable and Obioma couldn't help but gawk. She knew he would be there for a long time and it would take only but a little time for Uloma to explode if she didn't appear as she had been called. She had had enough of embarassment and wouldn't want Uloma to add to it. Knowing who Uloma was, Obioma was sure she would never hesitate to lash out on her. The last thing she wanted was to be disgraced in front of this boy.

Obioma bit her lower lips as she took little steps to the stairs. She nodded and tried to walk past him only to be called out to by him. Her heart began to race as she turned to face him. 

"Hi! I'm Francis." He extended his hand.

Obioma stared at his hand awkwardly like it was a mysterious object she found. She deliberated within herself to accept his hand or not. She was scared she would grip it so tight and never let it go. 

Francis watched her as she stared at his hand; wondering what was going through her mind. He smiled reassuringly trying to communicate to her that he didn't bite. She finally held his hanging hand not wanting him to think she was a dumb villager who didn't know what a handshake was. His grip was firm and she was astonished at his sheer masculinity.

"What's your name? Oh yeah! You're. . ." He wriggled his brow. "You're Obioma."

Obioma nodded; pleased that he knew her name. She had never cherished her name but listening to him call it made her heart flutter. She loved the way the word rolled out of his tongue. Soft like velvet.

"I heard Uloma calling you 'Oby'. Is that like a short form?"

She nodded again trying to find her voice. It was difficult thinking straight with him this close to her. The gap between them was so small she felt she could close it by mere thrusting of her stomach forward. 

"That's cool." He smiled broadly at her. "It sounds like OB. I think I like that better. Mind if I call you that?"

Her skin tingled with excitement as she stared at his face. Dimpled cheek; smiling down at her. It was the best she had seen. His smile was so full of life. She nodded and smiled shyly at him. She wondered why her tongue felt tied suddenly. All she did was nod like an Agama lizard; this she didn't like.

"It's okay, sir." She stated softly.

Francis brow furrowed at this and she wondered what she had said wrong. She tried speaking but his deep voice silenced her.

"Don't call me sir. My name is Francis." He sounded angry and Obioma mentally scolded herself for provoking him at their first meeting. 

"I'm sorry, sir," she began hastily but soon slammed her fingers to her lips when she realized what she had just said. This gesture amused Francis and he began to crack up. Obioma released her lips when she heard him laughing. His laughter was like music to her ear. She watched him admiringly until his eyes met with hers. She turned her gaze to her feet immediately; her cheeks flushed in embarassment. 

"I'm sorry." She muttered and he nodded.

"It's fine. But always remember, it's Francis not sir."

She nodded at him like a student who had just been corrected by her teacher. His entire demeanor commanded respect. He carried himself confidently like he owned the world.

"Uju told me it's your first time being in the city." He stated and she nodded in affirmation.

"How are you enjoying your stay?" He asked.

"Well. . . I don't know for now but I wish for good good things. I have high expectations, sir. . . Sorry. Francis." She looked down at her feet. Saying his name out loud felt so magical. 

"I hope the city lives up to those expectations." He responded and smiled again. His smile warmed her up like hot soup. 

As they took the stairs together, Obioma kept stealing glances at him. However, to her horror, he stopped at Uju's door and waved to her as he entered. Obioma's heart sank as he disappeared into the room. She had thought for those split minutes he was hers. His departure into Uju's room brought her back to the bitter truth that he was taken and taken by no one else but Uju. She sighed ruefully as she knocked gently on Uloma's door.

"Come in." Uloma's voice was harsh and unfriendly. Obioma shuddered. 

She opened the door gently and walked in. Uloma was sitting on a chair scrolling through a page on her laptop.

"You sent for me."

"Yes I did and it took you good fifteen minutes to come here. I never knew the distance from your room to my room was this far. Perhaps, I should get a bicycle so as to save you the journey." She snapped still staring at her laptop.

Obioma didn't fail to notice the note of sarcasm in her voice but she apologized instead. "I'm sorry!" 

"What took you so long?" Uloma demanded.

"I was in the toilet when you called." She lied.

Uloma rolled her eyes at that and then turned to face her. 

"I went into the kitchen some minutes ago to get a glass of water. I used that opportunity to look into the cupboard and to my greatest surprise, it was almost empty. Didn't you know most of our foodstuffs are finished?"

"I did."

"And what did you do about it?" 

"I'm sorry." Obioma muttered.

"Obioma, I'm a very busy person and I don't have time to be checking the kitchen. That's why you are here. It's your duty to inform me or any other person in this house when the foodstuffs are almost finished. Do you want to starve us one night?"

"It's not like that. It just didn't come to my mind." Obioma protested.

"Whatever! Take that money on my bed. Go and buy all that had almost finished. Go to Joy plaza - it isn't difficult to locate. When you get to the express road, ask anyone you see for Joy plaza and you'd be directed." Uloma turned to her laptop and continued what she was doing.

Obioma took the money and walked away swiftly for fear of provoking Uloma further. to the bed and collected the money. As she walked down the stairs, she stared at Uju's door. It was firmly closed. She wondered if Francis was still in there and what they were doing if they was. The thought of them both behind closed doors ignited a desire to upchuck.

She stopped at the kitchen and made a list of things that were needed. It was strange that Uloma would send her alone to an unknown place but then, she was happy to go. This could be an opportunity to assess the streets of the city as much as she would like. She took a plastic bag, changed her clothes and walked out of the house. As she opened the gate, she saw a very beautiful car parked in front of the gate. She ignored it as she walked away.

"OB!" 

She stopped immediately at the sound of a voice she would forever remember. She didn't need a pastor or a teacher to inform her who was calling. She turned swiftly to see Francis gesturing her to come closer. She walked to the car and found out that Uju was seated beside him; a scowl on her face.

"Where are you going to?" He asked in his deep modulated voice.

"I want to buy something at Joy plaza. Uloma sent me." She rushed the words.

Francis then turned to Uju who had directed her attention to her phone like all that was unfolding was was none of her business.

"We can drop her, can't we?" Francis asked her.

"Your choice!" She shot back.

Francis then nodded at her; smiling. "We'll drop you."

"Thank you but there is no need. I'll just-"

"It isn't a bother. I want to drop you so get in." Francis replied; staring at her intently.

"Thank you." Obioma bowed as she opened the backseat of the car and slid in.

Obioma was stricken by the beauty of the car. It felt Ike she was in paradise. The chairs were uniformly clothed and there were two computers fixed to the back of the front seats. The car was so neat and posh. Obioma felt she would be committing a sin sitting down comfortably so she tried not to rest her back on the chair. The ride was so quiet and peaceful. She closed her eyes as she allowed the cool blues coupled with the air condition air caress her skin. 

"Obioma! Obioma!" She heard Uju's voice. Someone was shaking her roughly and wondered who had such guts. She lazily opened her eyes only to see the unfriendly face of Uju glaring at her. She sat up immediately; looking through the window. They were already in front of the plaza.

"Come on wake up!" Uju blurted out with irritation as she stared at her with disgust written plainly on her face.

"Baby, look how she has drooled all over your chair. Ewww! This girl is so disgusting. We should never have given her a lift." Uju spat without hiding her irritation.

Obioma felt her head spin immediately she heard that. She turned swiftly to the chair and saw a mass of saliva on the chair. Alarmed, She wiped it away with her hand quickly; unconsciously rubbing her hand on her dress. Her heart was racing as she stared at Francis to capture his reaction. However, Francis' face was expressionless so it was difficult to decipher what was going on through his mind.

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I don't think Obioma has the right to question Uju's relationship. By the way, what do you guys think is going on through Francis's mind?