BEAUTIFUL ME

 

PART SIXTEEN

"THE STORY"

BY UMORU PRAISE

(Sofia)

“What is this big thing Jeremy is keeping to himself and doesn’t want to let out?” Alex asked Sofia “With all the stories I have heard, they love each other, so what is that big thing that had to cut them far apart?”

“Alex I really don’t know myself. I deeply want to know what happened but know body is ready to talk”

Sofia hesitated, startled as she recalled something

“Did you remember anything, common tell me” Alex anxiety to know was on the edge

“you know what” Sofia’s eyes weren’t settled as they spaced around”

“What is it?” Alex asked

“I have to go”

“Nooo…you aren’t leaving. You are the one that said you also want answers a while ago, just help us here, please. It can’t be that bad”

“Jeremy…he…oh no!”

“What did Jeremy do, common Sofia say something!” Alex snapped

“Sofia jerked in fright

“You guys shouldn’t continue with this story, I don’t have a good feeling about this one bit. Please. I’m sorry I have to go”

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

“Malia’s roommate! How come we didn’t think of her all this while?”

Quinn knocked at Malia’s lodge and thankfully Efua was home

“Quinn right?” Efua opened the door surprised to see Quinn

“You know me?”

“Who doesn’t? One of our famous school researchers. What are you doing here?” Efua said with a smile

“Mmm… can I talk to you please? It’s about Malia” 

Efua gave an indifferent facial expression. She didn’t feel it a good idea letting her in so she came outside. “I 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 that’s the more reason you guys want to get to the ending, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why….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, pleaseee”

“Quinn you are just punishing yourself and you would be adding more if you continue with this. Malia and Jeremy who are the main victims aren’t interested in talking about it so why do you think I would wanna interfere”

“Victims? Victims of what” Quinn just wanted an explicit answer

“I don’t really know what happened between them, I know they were really good friends until Jeremy started feeling uneasy about things… And then they fought…!” Efua started talking diversely, “…and that was the last I heard from Frank…” Efua ceased immediately

“Wait who fought who, is there someone else in the picture? Who is Frank? Efua please I don’t understand you…?”

“Arggghhh…!” she snapped “do you need to know! For your safety just let it go!”

Efua stormed back in to the house

(Malia)

“So if Jeremy’s relationship with Sofia isn’t the issue here, what is?” Tony asked feeling exhausted already

Malia didn’t 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 didn’t rush her

“Tony 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?” Malia finally spoke up soberly

“Mmm... well that’s a big question…” Tony didn’t want to lie to her, he wanted to be free with her the way he would want her to be free with him “…well...once I did something really bad at home, when I was much younger. I went out with my dad’s laptop unknown to him, my brother came along with me but he wasn’t 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 didn’t do. I couldn’t 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.”

“Does that count?” Tony asked

“At least he forgave you” 

Malia started crying

“Malia what’s wrong, did you do something bad?”

“I did something way bad Tony, and I really wish he can …I really wish he can forgive me. I didn’t mean to I swear” Malia’s tears streamed ceaseless from her eyes. Tony could easily see her red eyes.”…It just happened so fast, and…and... I…I don’t know what came over me that day. It just happened and…I didn’t know…”

“Malia breathe…calm down stop crying. Is it Jeremy?” Tony sat beside her to calm her down but she ran off in tears from her eyes of guilt…”

(Jeremy)

“So Jeremy, I just have one pestering question everyone is dying to know and so am I”

 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

 “why is it so hard for you to mention Malia’s name. I just want a straight answer Jeremy, what happened between you two?”

Jeremy’s head was obviously recalling a lot of events as he bowed his head nodding it left and right.

Elizabeth was starved so she couldn’t put herself to disturb him instead she relaxed on the chair, praying that Tony would arrive anytime soon with food”

Then out of the blues after minutes of silence Jeremy took his bag to leave. Elizabeth couldn’t raise herself up to confront him but then he came back and took his seat

“You 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 girlfriend’s level of maturity, and that’s 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 that’s what I thought…”

“And then…” 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

“And then I realized the more I said it, the more it sunk into her head” Jeremy continued “that so called maturity I thought she had, she just changed it to stupidity, laziness, procrastination, ignorance. She didn’t care what her actions would cause others, she just believed she had it under control. Now look at where it landed her”

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 ‘play the opposite’ and she knew it would be a good scheme in getting Jeremy to talk

“You know Jeremy, everything you just said isn’t 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 don’t point yourself as a saint”

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

“See 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 don’t care about how we feel when you keep trashing us and you are here complaining about Malia?!” Tony pointed out rhetorically

Eli was amazed at his turn over but Alex grew more confused

“Are you both serious! You are blaming me here?!” you have no idea what I have been through. Jeremy’s fury had already risen. He picked up his bag and stood to take his leave in his vexation “if you think she is so perfect, then have it your way! You guys don’t even understand a thing or the gravity of what this led to! I can’t waste…”

Eli got furious. She snapped at him “if you feel you have been wasting your time because we don’t understand, why don’t you just freaking open up and make us understand what…”

“MALIA KILLED SOMEONE!!!”

Jeremy’s voice echoed into the trio’s 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 trio’s 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

“Mmm…guys what just happened, what…what did he just say?” Eli’s heart rate was beating faster than a Hare’s speed

“The 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 weren’t playing along

Alex was frightened by the news which he didn’t want to believe. He pulled out a bold face like he wasn’t affected by Jeremy’s words “Quinn please tell me something else, don’t tell me you believe that?” Alex spoke with down hearted

“Guys I…I… don’t know what to be…believe” Quinn quivered

Eli struggled to speak with her words mumbling out “Quinn please don’t scare me the more” 

Quinn felt scared and her words proved it “I went over to Malia’s 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, it’s like everything about him was cleared off, like he doesn’t have a history or something. So I checked his profile and this is his picture”

Quinn showed the trio the picture and it clicked 

“Isn’t…isn’t that the guy we saw on Sofia’s Phone?” Eli mustered

“So…”Alex wanted to clear things up without giving himself a more reason to be frightened “so what if his only Facebook friends is Malia and Jeremy, not everyone likes to mingle so much. Let’s just go talk to him then, he should have something to tell us to clear up this mess Jeremy just made

“Yeah” Tony concurred looking towards Quinn “let’s give him a call or something”

Quinn hesitated taking a deep breathe

Eli’s eyes was full of more fear as Quinn hesitated more and more “Quinn you are scaring me!”

“Guys, Frank is dead!”