PART SIXTEEN
"THE STORY"
BY UMORU PRAISE
(Sofia)
âWhat is this big thing Jeremy is keeping to himself and doesnât want to let out?â Alex asked Sofia âWith all the stories I have heard, they love each other, so what is that big thing that had to cut them far apart?â
âAlex I really donât know myself. I deeply want to know what happened but know body is ready to talkâ
Sofia hesitated, startled as she recalled something
âDid you remember anything, common tell meâ Alex anxiety to know was on the edge
âyou know whatâ Sofiaâs eyes werenât settled as they spaced aroundâ
âWhat is it?â Alex asked
âI have to goâ
âNoooâŚyou arenât leaving. You are the one that said you also want answers a while ago, just help us here, please. It canât be that badâ
âJeremyâŚheâŚoh no!â
âWhat did Jeremy do, common Sofia say something!â Alex snapped
âSofia jerked in fright
âYou guys shouldnât continue with this story, I donât have a good feeling about this one bit. Please. Iâm sorry I have to goâ
Sofia ran off leaving Alex clueless and more confused
(Quinn)
Quinn searched her brain on where she had heard the name Efua from. It sounded so familiar and then it clicked
âMaliaâs roommate! How come we didnât think of her all this while?â
Quinn knocked at Maliaâs lodge and thankfully Efua was home
âQuinn right?â Efua opened the door surprised to see Quinn
âYou know me?â
âWho doesnât? One of our famous school researchers. What are you doing here?â Efua said with a smile
âMmm⌠can I talk to you please? Itâs about Maliaâ
Efua gave an indifferent facial expression. She didnât feel it a good idea letting her in so she came outside. âI know you wanna talk to me about Malia and Jeremy. Your curiosity and persistence in their story has pretty much interested a lot of readers in the school and I know thatâs the more reason you guys want to get to the ending, but I donât think itâs a good idea.â
âWhyâŚ.why are you guys so secretive about this. What happened that no one else can know? I mean the more you push us away the more we all wanna know what happened. So please Efua, give me something here, I have been working under the sun for hours, pleaseeeâ
âQuinn you are just punishing yourself and you would be adding more if you continue with this. Malia and Jeremy who are the main victims arenât interested in talking about it so why do you think I would wanna interfereâ
âVictims? Victims of whatâ Quinn just wanted an explicit answer
âI donât really know what happened between them, I know they were really good friends until Jeremy started feeling uneasy about things⌠And then they foughtâŚ!â Efua started talking diversely, ââŚand that was the last I heard from FrankâŚâ Efua ceased immediately
âWait who fought who, is there someone else in the picture? Who is Frank? Efua please I donât understand youâŚ?â
âArggghhhâŚ!â she snapped âdo you need to know! For your safety just let it go!â
Efua stormed back in to the house
(Malia)
âSo if Jeremyâs relationship with Sofia isnât the issue here, what is?â Tony asked feeling exhausted already
Malia didnât seem like she was ready to talk. The atmosphere was quiet for five minutes but Tony wanted her to have the space she needed to think and be free with him, so he didnât rush her
âTony have you ever made a huge mistake in your life that it affected a lot of people around you even worse than it affected you?â Malia finally spoke up soberly
âMmm... well thatâs a big questionâŚâ Tony didnât want to lie to her, he wanted to be free with her the way he would want her to be free with him ââŚwell...once I did something really bad at home, when I was much younger. I went out with my dadâs laptop unknown to him, my brother came along with me but he wasnât supportive of me carrying the laptop but I would not listen. Before we came back home, the laptop fell from my hands and got broken, but my brother took the blame for me and was beaten mercilessly for what he didnât do. I couldnât forgive myself after seeing the numerous marks on his body, no thanks to me. Although he says he forgives me but I know I still owe him a lot.â
âDoes that count?â Tony asked
âAt least he forgave youâ
Malia started crying
âMalia whatâs wrong, did you do something bad?â
âI did something way bad Tony, and I really wish he can âŚI really wish he can forgive me. I didnât mean to I swearâ Maliaâs tears streamed ceaseless from her eyes. Tony could easily see her red eyes.ââŚIt just happened so fast, andâŚand... IâŚI donât know what came over me that day. It just happened andâŚI didnât knowâŚâ
âMalia breatheâŚcalm down stop crying. Is it Jeremy?â Tony sat beside her to calm her down but she ran off in tears from her eyes of guiltâŚâ
(Jeremy)
âSo Jeremy, I just have one pestering question everyone is dying to know and so am Iâ
Eli was starving already, so she tried summarizing the discussions left before the trio came to get her so they could all have something to eat together
âwhy is it so hard for you to mention Maliaâs name. I just want a straight answer Jeremy, what happened between you two?â
Jeremyâs head was obviously recalling a lot of events as he bowed his head nodding it left and right.
Elizabeth was starved so she couldnât put herself to disturb him instead she relaxed on the chair, praying that Tony would arrive anytime soon with foodâ
Then out of the blues after minutes of silence Jeremy took his bag to leave. Elizabeth couldnât raise herself up to confront him but then he came back and took his seat
âYou know something about you girls, you like acting too matured a times. Sometimes when a guy sees it, he is overwhelmed that with that he can boast of his girlfriendâs level of maturity, and thatâs exactly how I was with her. I boasted to my friends everyday about her level of maturity to handle things, her intelligence, how smart and swift she was. She had everything I wanted... I mean thatâs what I thoughtâŚâ
âAnd thenâŚâ Tony and Alex had chorused from behind Eli unknowing to her that they were there.
Tony took a seat close to Eli and gave her an apple he bought
âAnd then I realized the more I said it, the more it sunk into her headâ Jeremy continued âthat so called maturity I thought she had, she just changed it to stupidity, laziness, procrastination, ignorance. She didnât care what her actions would cause others, she just believed she had it under control. Now look at where it landed herâ
Eli felt a bit of strength run through her after finishing the apple. She thought of a scheme she always use on Tony whenever she wanted something from him or she wanted him to say something. She called it âplay the oppositeâ and she knew it would be a good scheme in getting Jeremy to talk
âYou know Jeremy, everything you just said isnât true and you know it. We have been in contact with Malia for months now and not even a pinch of what you mention has been found in her, stop making things up, maybe you are the one at fault here and you are just trying to push blames. I know we ladies have issues but donât point yourself as a saintâ
Alex and Tony where stunned at the turnover Eli was making. But after she gave Tony a raised brow, he understood what she was up to and he decided to play along
âSee guy, Malia is a sweet girl. She is considerate, meek, and jovial, she is even a giver. We have been on this case for months and to be honest you are the only one with a character, you alone have been all you pointed out towards Malia. You have procrastinated this story for so long, you claim to be angry that she did something awful but yet you are the one that was cut making out with someone else, you say she is ignorant but you have been ignorant of the time and energy we use every day pleading and begging you to spare a little time with us. You donât care about how we feel when you keep trashing us and you are here complaining about Malia?!â Tony pointed out rhetorically
Eli was amazed at his turn over but Alex grew more confused
âAre you both serious! You are blaming me here?!â you have no idea what I have been through. Jeremyâs fury had already risen. He picked up his bag and stood to take his leave in his vexation âif you think she is so perfect, then have it your way! You guys donât even understand a thing or the gravity of what this led to! I canât wasteâŚâ
Eli got furious. She snapped at him âif you feel you have been wasting your time because we donât understand, why donât you just freaking open up and make us understand whatâŚâ
âMALIA KILLED SOMEONE!!!â
Jeremyâs voice echoed into the trioâs ears.
Jeremy startled at the consciousness that he yelled out those words. He felt a tiny ease the eatery was empty of customers and the waiters, but realizing the words he just spilled out, followed by the trioâs shock he headed for the exit without another word. He noticed Quinn at the door who seemed also shocked. But he just went straight passed and left
âMmmâŚguys what just happened, whatâŚwhat did he just say?â Eliâs heart rate was beating faster than a Hareâs speed
âThe guys noticed Quinn coming closer slowly. The look on her face demonstrated her shock but she seemed to have something else in mind.
Quinn battled with herself if she should speak or not. She wanted to hide what she had to say but her facials werenât playing along
Alex was frightened by the news which he didnât want to believe. He pulled out a bold face like he wasnât affected by Jeremyâs words âQuinn please tell me something else, donât tell me you believe that?â Alex spoke with down hearted
âGuys IâŚI⌠donât know what to beâŚbelieveâ Quinn quivered
Eli struggled to speak with her words mumbling out âQuinn please donât scare me the moreâ
Quinn felt scared and her words proved it âI went over to Maliaâs place to talk to her roommate, Efua, and she said something about a guy named Frank. So I hooked up some info(s) about him and I came across one on Facebook whose mutual friends with me where only Jeremy and Malia, he had no other face friends. So when I checked for more details else where with his full name; Frank Ambrose, I found nothing, itâs like everything about him was cleared off, like he doesnât have a history or something. So I checked his profile and this is his pictureâ
Quinn showed the trio the picture and it clicked
âIsnâtâŚisnât that the guy we saw on Sofiaâs Phone?â Eli mustered
âSoâŚâAlex wanted to clear things up without giving himself a more reason to be frightened âso what if his only Facebook friends is Malia and Jeremy, not everyone likes to mingle so much. Letâs just go talk to him then, he should have something to tell us to clear up this mess Jeremy just made
âYeahâ Tony concurred looking towards Quinn âletâs give him a call or somethingâ
Quinn hesitated taking a deep breathe
Eliâs eyes was full of more fear as Quinn hesitated more and more âQuinn you are scaring me!â
âGuys, Frank is dead!â
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