Chapter 10
“Getting back in the right
standing with God just gives so much more meaning to life. I know why I’m here.
This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it” Adi
happily declared as she got out of bed. She felt amazing and couldn’t hide it.
Even though Adi was feeling good she knew there was still one person she really
had to talk to and she was feeling nervous because she wasn’t sure of what
reaction to expect from Mako whom she had grown really fond of. She sent him a
text that morning before she took a bath.
“Mako, is it ok for me to see you before
classes this morning? I have to talk to you”.
She would have accepted any
reply from him because she wasn’t even expecting one since she had not replied
any of the texts he had sent her. However, Mako replied her text in two words
“sure thing”.
Adi was relieved and she was
happy yet still nervous. She wasn’t even sure what she was going to say but all
she knew is that she missed him and that she needed to apologise.
Her mum took her to school
and when she got there Mako was waiting by the gate. She was felt happy but
didn’t let it show so she tried to keep her cool on the outside,she hoped her
excitement was not showing. She walked over to him and stood right in front of
him.
“Hi Mako” she started.
“Hey, you ok?” Mako replied
raising both his eyebrows.
“Yes, listen. I called you here to apologise
for my behaviour the other day”. Adi said to him.
“Well, that’s okay, you
really don’t owe me any explanation to be honest. You did what anyone drinking
for the first time would do. I just don’t understand why you didn’t reply any
of my text messages, I had to find out from my sister that you were ok” he
replied.
“I was too embarrassed, I
wouldn’t have known where to start and what to say. I’m sorry for shouting at
you as well.” She looked embarassed. Mako took a few steps closer to her and
held both her hands “Adi, over the past few months I have come to know you very
well. The reason why I said you didn’t have to take alcohol was because you
really didn’t have to. It was enough for me that you were at the gig and I
might even have been wrong for being a part of forcing u to go. And also I know
you’re better than that and I know that under normal circumstances you wouldn’t
take alcohol and I didn’t want to sit there and watch you make that mistake. I
really care about you.” Mako stuttered.
"You're kind of awesome
you know that?" Adi playfully punched his chest.
"Awesome does not mean
immune to pain" he playfully put his hand on his chest. "Let me walk
you to class" he took her hand. Adi's heart jumped from excitement and
still maintained her cool on the outside.
"Ok Mr Awesome,let's
walk"
When Adi got to class she
apologised to Nicole and Anotida for her behaviour towards them. They too
apologised for the pressure they put on her to go to the gig and to drink.
Everyone felt bad. Lunch break was as usual, it was Adi, Nicole, Anotida and
Mako.
“So Adi, I have a question
for you. Will God forgive you for getting drunk over the weekend or you're
doomed with the rest of us?” Anotida asked in low voice and sounded like she
was teasing her.
“God forgives anyone who asks
for forgiveness and repents, so he already has because I have repented. I will
never do it again.” Adi smiled. "And for the record no one has to stay
doomed,Jesus made sure of that"
“Really? Just like that?”
Nicole looked surprised.
“Our mistakes are the very
reasons Jesus came and the bible says where sin abounds, grace also abounds. I
remember reading in John somewhere, I think it's chapter three or somewhere
there" Adi flipped the pages in her bible. "Here is it, John 3 verse
36 and it says 'Whoever believes the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the
Son will not see life for God's wrath remains on him'"
They had a stimulating
conversation about God . Adi phoned Dalia and Nicole to tell them that she was
coming for the weekend and they were very excited. She also phoned Edward to
let him know she was coming. She figured it was the polite thing to do since he
had been phoning a lot. Edward and Adi had developed feelings for each other.
Adi was confused because she also liked Mako. She had been thinking about both
of them a lot and she figured even though Mako was the one she liked more,
Edward was better because he was saved.
“Mako never talks about God at all and never
comes to church so why should I get with him?” she thought to herself. So her
mind was already made up, if Edward asked her out again she was going to say
yes.
The weekend came and Adi and
her parents drove back where they used to live. Mr and Mrs Ishe dropped her off
at her friends’ house for the night and they went to their hotel rooms for the
night. The next day was a Saturday and the girls had made plans. They were
going to go for a meal and then go to the cinemas and come back home to
continue their fun. While they were in town Edward phoned Adi to find out what
she was up to and she told him they were in town. Edward asked if it was okay
for him to join them and the girls said it was okay. Edward was slightly taller
than Adi, he kept an afro but it was a short one. He dressed really nice as
well. They went for a meal and Edward paid for their meals, he was trying to
score points with Adi and it was working! After that they went to the cinema.
Edward sat next to Adi, as always he did not make his feelings for her a
secret. Edward attempted to hold Adi’s hand during the movie but Adi kept on
moving her hand from his. She didn’t want him to hold her hand. Edward did not
say anything but he felt confused because he was under the impression that Adi
liked him back. He eventually stopped trying and when Adi noticed this she was
relieved.
When the movie finished the
girls had to go home. Edward offered to drive them back home and they agreed.
Adi sat in the front but she was feeling very nervous. Even though she had
decided she would say yes to Edward she was feeling differently all of a sudden.
They got to the house, Dalia and Nicole got out the car and Edward asked Adi if
she could stay behind for a short chat and she said “Okay”. Edward looked at
Adi “I thought you and I had something Adi, was I wrong?” he asked.
“Why do you say that?” she
tried not to look at him.
“In the cinema I tried to
hold your hand but you kept stopping me, it’s not like I said I wanted to have
sex with you” he told her.
“I just didn’t feel
comfortable, that’s all. I’m sorry” Adi replied.
“No need to apologise. I just
really want to be with you and I’ve been so patient but I need you to tell me
if you want to be with me or not…” he hesitated.
“Oh gosh...” Adi sighed
shifting her sitting position.
“So that’s a no then?” he asked.
"No, it's not a no"
Adi hesitated suddenly feeling unsure of herself.
Edward let out a big sigh of
relief. “I was beginning to think I was reading you wrong. I prayed about us
and I feel like God is saying you’re the one.” He continued.
“What in the world have I
just done?” she asked herself as Edward proceeded to hug her, she hugged him
back but didn’t say anything.
“I have to go” she said as she got out the
car. She went straight to the bedroom she was sleeping with her friends because
she knew they were waiting to hear what had just happened.
When she entered the room
where Dalia and Nicole waited in anticipation she was breathing heavy. She
began to pace up and down the room breathing the words “what have I done?” Her
friends looked at each other and they looked at her in the hope that she would
start talking soon because they were curious enough as it is.
“Ya’ll are looking at
Edward’s new girlfriend” Adi said as if she was telling them she just committed
murder.
“Quit playing Adi, what
really happened?” Dalia asked as she sat on the bed as opposed to lying down.
“He asked me out and I said
yes, except I’m not sure why I said yes” Adi replied standing still. Adi’s phone received a text at that very
moment.
“It might be lover boy” Nicole teased her
friend and Adi just looked at her with a face that said it all
“It’s not even funny guys!” as she picked up
her phone. It was Mako.
Adi stopped and let out a
sigh, she wanted to scream but all she could say was “This is a sign, I made a
mistake” and she sat down. Dalia and Nicole grabbed her phone and she didn’t
even fight them for it. The text read
“hey beautiful, I miss you. Are you
having fun? I need to talk to you when you get back, maybe Monday morning
before school like always?”
“Like always??” exclaimed
Dalia, “What does he mean ‘like always’”
“and why is the first time
I’m hearing about a Mako today... in
a text...that was not even meant for me?” Nicole added.
“Obviously there’s more to this guys and I can
totally explain.” Adi softly replied.
“Please start with explaining
Mako” Dalia butted in.
“Mako is Nicole’s brother and
we’ve been hanging out a lot and I have developed strong feelings for him. He’s
charming and he’s so nice to me, I can’t even help it to be honest. I’m not
sure how he feels about me because he’s never told me anything. And on the side
Edward’s been calling me a lot and we’ve been talking more and more and he
asked me out but I had already told you guys that…”
“Yeah yeah yeah and???” Nicole asked getting
closer to Adi
“and I prefer Mako but I
can’t get with him because he’s not saved” and with that the tears she was
holding back flooded her face.
“So you said yes to Edward
only because he’s saved???” Nicole asked making that decision sound as
ridiculous as it was.
“You making it sound stupid
when you say it like that.” Adi said in a low embarrassed voice.
“That’s probably because it
is!” Dalia bluntly told her. Adi buried her face in her hands, which is what
she almost always does when she’s done something wrong. Adi’s phone rang before
they finished the conversation and before she had a chance to reply Mako’s text
even though she was dreading it.
“Hello”
“Hi Adi, it’s Edward here”
said the other voice.
“Errmmm …I know, is
everything ok?”
“Everything is perfect, and
that’s thanks to you” and he sounded like he was smiling.
“I need to talk to you” she
hesitated. Dalia and Nicole signalled her to put the phone on loud speaker
because they knew what she was planning on doing. So she put the phone on loud
speaker.
“Sorry, I didn’t get that Ed”
Adi said leaning towards her friends so that they could all hear.
“I said I also have something
exciting to tell you” Edward told her
“Oh...okay, you can go first”
she hesitated which proved to be a bad move.
“Okay, I’ve told my mum and dad about you and
they are so excited and tomorrow I’ll introduce you to them as my future wife”
he said with so much excitement that couldn’t be hidden in his voice
“What!!!” Adi squealed.
“Huh?” Edward was surprised.
The girls tried to hide their laughter by putting their hands over their mouths
as Adi signalled them to be quiet.
“I’m sorry...i meant… oh
that’s exciting” she responded.
“You don’t sound excited
though, is it okay, maybe I should have asked you first?”
“No, it’s okay. That’ll be nice” she smiled in
disbelief.
“Okay, so what did you want
to tell me babe?” Edward asked. Adi put her hand to cover the phone so that he
wouldn’t hear as she whispered to her friends
“He just called me babe” and
the three of them giggled.
“Ummm, don’t worry about it,
it can wait babe” she strongly
emphasising the word babe. “Anyway Edward, I have to go. My friends are waiting
on me right now so I’ll see you at church tomorrow.” she told him.
“Okay, see you tomorrow. I’ll
text you later.” And Adi hung up. The girls just looked at each other without
uttering a word.
“So you’re getting introduced
to the parents” Dalia blurted out and almost laughed at the same time.
“I do not think this is funny at all” Nicole
said with a serious face.
“You think?” Adi looked at
Nicole intensely.
“I really don’t see why you
would rush into getting in a relationship with someone you’re clearly not in
love with. Do you plan to get married to this guy Adi?” Dalia asked yet again
bluntly.
“I’m only 15 years old,
that’s not even on my mind. But I just thought that…” she was cut off by Nicole
“You just thought that since
two guys like you and you like them you should go for the saved one”
“Well, yeah…more or less” Adi
replied.
“Adi, you don’t have to go
out with every guy that you like. I never heard you saying you prayed about
this.” Dalia told her friend.
“Oh my gosh, I know I made a mistake. I have
to break up with Edward!” she blurted out.
She paused for a minute and
she just couldn’t come up with how she was going to do this.
“Maybe I might fall…” she
didn’t get a chance to finish before Nicole and Dalia chorused a big
“NO!!!” She couldn’t help but
laugh.
“You can’t hope to fall in
love with him. It sounds to me like you’re in love with this Mako guy” Dalia
said after that.
“Yeah, and you still need to tell us about
him. Is he on facebook, I want to see him” Nicole smiled as walked to where the
laptop was.
“Nah, I’m not going to show
you what he looks like. That’ll cloud your judgement” Adi smiled and stuck her
tongue out at them.
The girls argued about it
until they gave up.
“Ya’ll have to tell me what
I’m going to do about tomorrow” Adi said as she picked up her phone to text
Mako back.
“Hey Mako, I’m having loads of fun but I
can’t wait to get back home. Yeah I’ll meet you before. X”
Dalia and Nicole were both
right, she didn’t have to be with every guy that she liked but she felt like
Mako was the kind of guy she wanted to be with apart from the drinking, the
clubbing and she wasn’t even sure if he had a girlfriend because that
conversation had never come up. Maybe it never came up because he didn’t want
the conversation to come up. “Oh God!” she sighed in her heart but rolled her
eyes and didn’t realise her friends saw her do it.
“Tell us what you’re thinking missy, I for one
would like to know” Dalia asked moving closer to her.
“I’ve caused a mess for myself, I just came
out of one mess and I just couldn’t wait at least another month before doing it
again.” Dalia and Nicole were confused. They didn’t know of any other messes
she had been in lately. They looked at her waiting for her to start talking.
“Spill” Dalia said to her. She narrated to
them the story about when she got drunk for the first time and how everything
went down. She went on to thank her friends for their prayers because she
realised that if they had not been praying for her something worse might have
happened. She explained to them how Mako had been a gentleman through out the
whole thing. They instantly liked Mako because Adi painted a beautiful picture
of him.
“Obviously we like this Mako
guy, he sounds like a catch but you’re still only 15 and he’s not saved”
“But I like him” Adi said almost sounding like
a baby.
“Whatever the case you really can’t be with
Edward, even though I would pick him for you any day because as much you like
Mako I’m not sure he’s good for you and your salvation. He’s part of the reason
you went to that gig thing” Nicole said with a frown on her face.
“I’m stuck” Adi said throwing
herself on the bed. “I am so stuck!”
“You just need to call Edward
and tell him you made a mistake before this mess gets any worse” Dalia told her
friend.
“I should, but I doubt I will. I feel so bad
for him” Adi replied.
“Girls let’s watch a movie”
Nicole said out of the blue. Dalia and Adi looked at her trying to figure out
how the topic diverted from Adi to watching a movie but they agreed and they
decided they would pray about it and ask God to guide Adi in her decision
making. The rest of the night was fun even Adi’s mind kept drifting to the
problem that was at hand. Adi’s phone received a text and it was from Mako
“Did you just call here home? You’re
warming up to us, I’m glad. Goodnight, I’m off to bed. x x x”
And her reply was
“lol, yes it’s officially home. Sweet
dreams. X”
And she smiled.
Chapter 11
Church was in the morning.
The girls woke up at the same time, they had set an alarm so that they wouldn’t
be late for church. A few minutes after Adi got out of bed she all of a sudden
said “Darn!!” without realising she said it loud.
“Yes, today’s the day ain’t
it?” said Dalia from behind her giving a side sleepy smile.
“Don’t even start ya’ll, it’s Sunday today”
Nicole said as she stretched. All Adi could think of was how she needs to talk
to Edward and tell him she had made a mistake.
She picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts and paused at
Edward’s name. She didn’t tell any of her friends what she was doing. Adi’s
heart started beating fast and she was shaking just a little bit but the phone
went to voicemail. ‘Where is he’ she thought to herself. She really wanted to
talk to him before they met at church. They all got ready for church and
Dalia’s parents took the three girls to church. When they got to the entrance
Dalia couldn’t help but say “Right, are you ready to meet the in-laws missy?”
both Dalia and Nicole suppressed a laugh. Adi just looked at both of them and
rolled her eyes.
“Hey lighten up, we prayed
about it and God always comes through for us, you know that.” Nicole said
patting Adi’s back.
“I can’t wait to see how
God’s going to come through for me on this one.” She replied as they walked to
where they were going to sit. She prayed church would start before Edward and
his parents got there or spotted her and her prayer was answered. Church
started and Edward was sat at the back because he was late. She smiled at him
and pretended to pay attention to the service.
“It’s nice to see some
familiar faces in the church today, we welcome the Ishes” the convenor said and
shouts were heard all around the church. Adi let off a light smile, no one
could see through it. The convenor went on to speak “some of you came in here
today with burdens heavy on you, you need questions and prayers answered, some
of you need direction from the Lord and your answer is here this morning
because we’re in the presence of the Lord…”. In a short time the praise and
worship team came on stage and they sounded beautifu.
“Dear God” Adi started ,”I
have a way of messing up all the time. I made a rush decision and right now I’m
not sure how to handle it. I really need your direction, strength and boldness
today, in your presence there is liberty…please liberate me” and the whole time
she was looking upwards as if looking at God. She was so desperate because the
church service would soon be over and she would still have to face Edward
after. The service was really good, the preaching sounded like it was written
for her and she knew what she had to do regardless of how it made her feel.
Straight after the service
Edward did not delay, he walked straight to her without stopping to greet
anyone and if he did he wasn’t paying attention to them.
“I thought about you all
night” he said from behind Adi “You look beautiful, I like that skirt on you”
Edward smiled.
“Thanks Ed, can we go outside
to talk?” Adi said to him.
“Yeah sure, I’m sorry my
parents couldn’t make it today, you’ll have to meet them the next time you
come” he said as they were walking past a lot of people, some of them stopped
Adi because they hadn’t seen her in a while. Finally they got outside.
But she couldn’t get herself
to say what she really wanted to say, she was surprised to hear what came out
of her mouth after she had already said it
“I’m glad we’re together” she smiled, a fake
smile but he was too happy to notice.
“I’m so happy too sweety, you
make me so happy” he replied as he gave her a tight hug. They stood there
having a light conversation for a while until Adi excused herself and went back
inside. She walked straight to where Dalia and Nicole were standing with a
bunch of other teenagers and she pulled them to the side.
“I couldn’t do it” she
blurted out as she buried her face in her hands very close to tears. She just
wanted to beat herself up for not taking time to think about this.
“Maybe you’re better off
doing it over the phone, don’t you think?” Nicole said putting her arm around
her for comfort.
“I agree” Dalia added on.
“Oh I don’t know!!” Adi
exclaimed.
The rest of the day was a
blur to Adi. Most people from church decided to go to the Pastor’s house for a
meal, all the women helped cooking. Adi’s parents had decided they would spend
sometime with their friends and they were having fun. Everyone was having fun
except Adi whose mind was on the two guys in her life, Dalia and Nicole were
also worried about her. They both pulled her to the side and suggested they
pray about the whole thing. It was a short prayer and yet it seemed effective.
“Lord your word says that
when the Holy Spirit comes he will guide us in to all truth and he will tell us
of things unknown, we need you to show up and guide our friend into making the
right decision and acting on it too. In Jesus’ name we pray Amen.” Nicole
prayed.
“Wow” was all that could come out of Adi’s
mouth. It’s like she had just realised how true that prayer was.
“Sometimes I forget what God can do” Adi said
looking at both her friends. Edward went to where the girls where and started
chatting to all three of them and they were actually enjoying his company
despite of how Adi was feeling about him. He went to get them some drinks and
Adi couldn’t help but say
“Maybe me and him could work. He’s fun” she
said watching him walk back. Dalia and Nicole didn’t say anything because
whatever they would have said would have been heard by Edward. They talked and
laughed and at some point Adi and Edward were left alone. They talked for ages
and the feeling Adi was having was slowly going away. She was suddenly happy to
be with a man who not only loves her but also loves the Lord. “This is for the
best” she mumbled but didn’t mean to say it out. At that moment in her heart
she decided she was going to stay with Edward. But how was she going to tell
this to Mako? She was not sure how that was going to go down but she would
worry about that tomorrow.
“Your parents said it’s almost time for you to
go so get ready” one of her friends told her.
“Oh no” moaned Edward as he
took her right hand. She quickly pulled away looking embarrassed because there
were so many people around.
“Don’t do that Edward” she
whispered and smiled at the same time.
“I’m sorry, I forgot that no one knows about
us yet. When are we going to tell your parents because mine already know” he
asked looking concerned.
“I don’t know if that’s a
good idea, my parents kinda think I’m…umm… too young to have a boyfriend” she
replied looking at the floor.
“What? Are you serious? How
long are we meant to keep this a secret Adi?” Edward looked surprised.
“I’ll get back to you on that
one. I have to say bye to everyone, you’ll be the last one I say goodbye to
though so don’t go anywhere” she added trying not to answer the question. She
walked over to her friends to say goodbye.
“Looks like you were having a good time with
‘lover boy’ over there” Dalia said looking in his direction.
“Stop it, someone might hear
you” Adi as she used her hands to tell he friend to lower her voice. “I have to
go now so I came to say bye, when are you two coming to visit me?” she
continued.
“We’ll talk about that over
the phone, clearly we have more to talk about don’t we?” Nicole asked winking
at Adi.
“Please call us tomorrow
because if you don’t we’re definitely calling you. I wanna know what Mako has
to say” Dalia told her friend with a serious look that looked fake. The three
girls laughed at that. Adi walked to other people and bid them farewell. She
walked to Edward last before her parents told her they were leaving.
“So I’m going home now,
hopefully I’ll see you soon” she said to him.
“I guess there’s no chance of me visiting you
is there?” he asked her.
“Well, if you come for the
day then you can come whenever but definitely no sleepovers” she smiled and
leaned in for a hug. “I’ll miss you” they both said at the same time and they
just laughed.
“Bye”
“Bye, take care and be good”
he replied. And she walked to the car.
She sat in the car and all of
a sudden she remembered the Sunday she had left to go live in Eastside. This
time she wasn’t so sad, she actually smiled as she looked back and waved at her
friends. “I’m now going home” she thought to herself. The drive home was fun.
She and parents talked about old times, they had some laughs and when they got
home it seemed like the journey had been too short. They all had to wake up
early so they went straight to bed.
When Adi woke up the next
morning she dreaded the day soon as she woke up. However she still declared
“this is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it” in a
tone that was almost sarcastic. She got ready and as usual her mum dropped her
off at school. When she got there Mako wasn’t there yet, she thought to go to
class and avoid him but she would only delay it so she texted him and straight
after that he arrived. He looked so happy and excited, for a moment it seemed
like nothing would ruin his day no matter what. He moved in for a hug and it
was a tight one.
“Hey” he said.
“Hey yourself” she replied
biting her lip.
“So I wanted to talk to you
about something” he grinned.
“Okay...” she hesitated.
“Spill”.
“So, you know how ya’ll been
talking about God during break times?” Adi let out a big sigh that really
distracted him. He’s not going to say what I though he was going to say she
thought to herself.
“What’s that sigh?” Mako
asked.
“Oh I’m sorry, I’m just a
little tired from the weekend” she replied with her face looking brighter than
it did a minute before that.
“Anyway, as I was saying. I
was listening the whole time, though I didn’t say anything I went home to read
the bible myself because of the way you spoke about this Jesus and the passion
you have for God, I wanted to see why you were so crazy about him because to be
honest…” and he paused for a few seconds. “To be honest, I almost felt jealous
of this Jesus” he continued and he looked aside. Adi was so shocked she turned
his face towards her, her mouth was a little open like she wanted to say
something that just wouldn’t come out. He shut his eyes so that he couldn’t
look in her eyes.
“Please don’t look at me
weird” he said looking embarrassed.
“There’s absolutely nothing to be embarrassed
about, you have no idea how excited I am about this!” as she was grinning with
so much enthusiasm. At that moment she remembered how she had chosen to be with
Edward over Mako because Mako wasn’t a believer but here he was telling her
that he had become one.
“What’s the matter, you look
like you’ve seen a ghost?” Mako asked with a change in his tone.
“I feel like I’ve just seen one” she replied
laughing it off.
“That’s not all I have to say by the way, I
wanted to ask you something.”
“Go ahead but you’re just
scaring me now” she smiled.
“There’s a church camp that’s happening next
month. Now, I don’t have any Christian friends except you. I can’t ask my
sister because I’m not sure what she would say. I’m getting to know Jesus and
I’m loving him.” Adi could not believe the glow on his face when he said that.
The truth is she had not prayed for him to become a believer, she had
concentrated more on Nicole and Anotida. But then she remembered she had asked
God to make her a light to the friends around her and God was answering the
prayer she had forgotten she prayed.
“Wow, that sounds amazing but
don’t you think Nicole also needs to go because of that instability? You want
to go because you want to know more about Jesus but the truth is that she also
needs to know more about Jesus” Adi said convincingly, except she didn’t need
to convince him.
“I actually never thought
about it like that but you’re right. I’m sure mum and dad would say it’s okay.”
“Great! I will come as well,
I know I’ve got issues of my own” she said as they began to walk to class.
“I can’t even argue with
that” he joked and they both laughed.
She was really happy with the
start of her day. She could not stop praising God. She had gone to meet Mako
because she thought he was going to ask her out but she got something better,
Mako was now a believer. She didn’t say anything about it to Nicole when she
got to class. She figured they would talk when they got home. It had seemed
that lately Nicole and Anotida were losing interest in God, they were not
asking her about Jesus anymore and this worried Adi but she didn’t want to push
herself on them.
When she got home she could
not wait to phone Dalia and Nicole. When she told them the news they were
ecstatic, they could not believe what God was doing.
“So what are you going to do about Edward?”
Dalia asked her.
“I’m honestly not too sure
right now because the way things have just turned around is crazy but I know
God will help me with that side of things” Adi replied. They were on a three
way call so Nicole added
“We better pray about this really hard ya’ll
because we don’t want you Adi to be making any crazy mistakes hey” the girls
agreed. They decided to pray while on the phone.
Chapter 12
When Nicole came into school
the next day she seemed excited.
“What’s going on?” Adi asked her friend.
Nicole smiled and replied
“My brother told me about the
camp next month, I asked Anotida to come as well and she said yes. I’m so
excited” she said sounding just as excited. Adi breathed the words
“Thank you Jesus” but Nicole
didn’t even hear it. They spent their break time talking about the camp.
Anotida, Mako and Nicole had never been to a Christian camp before and they
couldn’t stop asking Adi how it was going to be like. Adi shared with them some
experiences that she had camping and that got them even more excited.
“This is gonna be so good”
Mako said gazing into the sky.
“Yes it is” Adi confirmed.
Adi hadn’t told her friends
about Edward and she didn’t know how to because they all knew how she felt
about Mako. Every time she tried to tell them some distraction would come and
every time she tried to tell them she would feel like she wasn’t supposed to be
in a relationship with Edward so she didn’t see the point. She tried all she
could to block those feelings but it wasn’t working. When ever she received a
text message or a phone call from him she wasn’t excited at all, if anything a
lot of the times she was tempted to ignore but she would end up picking up the
phone anyway. Sometimes when she spoke to him it was fun but most of the time
it was forced. Her friends Dalia and Nicole had decided to come on the next
weekend and she really wanted them to meet her friends Nicole and Anotida, she
believed they would get along. She also wanted them to meet Mako as much as
they wanted to meet him.
She lay on her bed deep in
thought.
“Why am I with Edward? What
is it that I want from this relationship? God please search my heart and show
me why I’m holding on to someone I clearly don’t want to be with. Mako makes me
happier and I don’t even know if he likes me in that way, sometimes I think he
does and then sometimes not. Maybe Mako and I are only meant to be friends, if
so why do I want to be more?” she said some of the things out loud. She had so
many questions and yet no answers at all. She picked up her bible and started
to read. She decided to read the book of Kings and as she read she was learning
so much. She made several notes on her notepad and after that she prayed and
went to sleep.
She spent her weekend with
her mum and dad. They had a good time because they hadn’t spent a full weekend
together as a family. Mr Ishe’s job allowed him weekends off. Adi told her
parents about the camp that was next month and told them how much it was.
“Who are you going with?” Mr
Ishe asked putting on a serious face.
“It’s going to be me, Nicole,
Anotida and Mako”
“Who’s Mako? I’ve never heard
you say that name” he asked again.
“He’s a friend from school and he’s also
Nicole’s older brother. It was his idea, the camp I mean” she replied.
“I would like to meet him
before you go to this camp and I would also like all the details about this
camp, I want to know who’s hosting it and all of that”
“I knew you would dad, that’s
why I have this” and she handed her dad a leaflet with all the information.
“Your mum and I will phone them tomorrow just
to make sure. I can’t trust anyone with my daughter, I will check AND double
check that it’s safe” Mr Ishe seemed to be telling both his wife and his
daughter. Mr Ishe wasn’t telling a lie because the next day he confirmed the
trip and paid for it. What was left was meeting Mako. Mr Ishe was convinced he
was a good judge of character and he wanted to meet Mako on Monday.
Adi did not delay, she rang
Mako straight after that conversation.
“Hello”
“Hey Mako, you okay?”
“Yeah I’m okay, why you
sounding like you laughing?”
“Because you’ll never guess
what”
“I’m not good at guessing so
spill it already” he chuckled.
“I told mum and dad about the
camp and now my father wants to meet you” she whispered as if someone else was
in the room yet her voice was filled with laughter. Mako went silent for a few
seconds then he finally said
“You aren’t kidding are you?”
“No I’m not and he’s serious
as well, he wants to meet you on Monday” Adi continued
“At least there’ll be people
around so he won’t kill me” and they both laughed.
“He’s never met you before
and he’s never heard me talk about you so since it was your idea to go to the
church camp he wants to meet you, he says he’s a good judge of character so if
you’re up to no good he’ll be able to tell”
“So let’s cancel the camp
thing then” Mako told her.
“You wouldn’t do that!” she
exclaimed
“Oh but I would missy, your
dad is scary”
“You’ve never met him before
though”
“I’m playing with you, check
you out getting all serious. Yeah I’ll meet your dad, that’s not a problem” and
he smiled.
“Good! Because if you were
cancelling on me I was going to kill you myself”.
Mako laughed and spoke for a
bit longer before she told him she had to get off the phone, in reality Edward
was calling her.
“Alright, see you Monday” and
she picked up Edward’s call.
She felt strange because she
had just got off the phone with Mako, she felt like she was cheating on one of
them, she just didn’t know which one.
Her conversation with Edward
was a short one, it lasted less than 5 minutes.
Monday soon came and the
first thing she did when she woke up was text Mako teasing him about meeting
her dad.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten you’re
meeting my dad today. Please be at the school gate when we get there, it would
be a bad start if you make him wait. X”
and he replied
“Relax, I’ll be there on time and I’m
bringing back up :P”
“ha-ha, funny…not!” she replied back.
When Adi and her father got
into the car she was feeling nervous all of a sudden. The drive to school was
almost a silent one. When they got to the school gate she couldn’t see Mako and
she started looking around from the car before her dad parked and then she
spotted him and she smiled.
“Wait here dad, I’ll go call him here.”
“Okay but hurry up I got to
get to work in a few minutes”.
She brought him back to the car and she waited
to hear what his father would say.
“Adi I’ll see you after work, have a good day”
her father said looking at her in a way that told her she needed to leave him
and Mako to chat.
“Ummm, okay” she hesitated as
she walked away, but she didn’t go too far, she waited right beside the gate
where Mako or her dad couldn’t see her. Mako and her father chatted for about 5
minutes and then he drove away.
The second that Mako walked
past her without realising she was there she ran up to him and said
“What did he want, what did he say? Does he
trust you, did he say it’s okay to go to the camp?” she asked very curiously.
“Slow down Adi, your dad’s cool but I can’t
tell you what he said” he said without even looking at her.
“Whoa, hold on a sec, you
have to tell me what my father said to you. I’m dying of curiosity” she said
standing in front of him. “As far as I’m concerned I don’t HAVE to do anything”
as he stepped to the side and started walking again. “Oh gosh you’re serious,
you’re really not going to tell me” “Oh gosh you’re right” he replied mimicking
her voice.
“Arggghhhh! This is not happening” she said
sounding frustrated but he wasn’t budging, he was determined to not tell her.
That morning he walked her to
class in silence and he was looking pleased with himself, he wasn’t bothered by
the anger she was pretending to show. When Adi got to class she threw herself
onto her chair, which hurt a little but she didn’t show it.
“Okay, spill” Nicole said
banging her hand on the desk.
“It’s your brother!” she growled
“My brother does have that
sort of effect” Nicole said pointed at Adi’s face. “He’s good at making people
angry and annoyed” she continued and gave a light laugh. Adi’s look told her to
stop making fun and Nicole raised both her hands to say I’ve stopped.
“On Saturday I told my dad
about the camp, and I told him who was going. He doesn’t know your brother so
he wanted to meet him”
“Oh yeah Mako did say
something about that” Nicole butted in
“Anyway, they met this
morning and my dad dismissed me and now Mako won’t tell me what they spoke
about” she lay her head on her desk.
“Obviously you’ll find out at
some point, I know Mako, he’s just trying to get you worked up and it seems to
be working. You should just pretend you don’t care” Nicole advised. Nicole was
right, she was going to pretend the whole thing was not a big deal to her.
During break time she didn’t even bother him about it, he tried everything to
get her attention concerning that but she didn’t give him the satisfaction.
After school Mako ran up to
Adi pretending as if he just wanted to walk her to the car park. “You know at
some point you’re gonna have to start finding your own way home right?” he said
as he walked next to her.
“Until that point comes I’m
okay with my dad taking me home” she
replied with an attitude. He just laughed.
“It’s still bothering you
ain’t it? Don’t worry, you’ll soon find out.” He smiled and Adi did not like
the sound of that at all.
“I really don’t want to find
out, it would be nice if you told me”
“Nah, there’s no fun in that.
Look there’s your dad, I better come with you to say hi” and he walked ahead of
her. She was well annoyed with him, she had no clue what was going on. “Good
afternoon Mr Ishe” Mako said shaking her dad’s hand through the window.
“Good afternoon son, how was school today?”
“It was especially
interesting” he replied implying he knew why and they both looked at Adi.
“Dad, can we go now”
“Yes sure” and he said good
bye to Mako and drove off. She really wanted to ask his dad what they had
spoken about but she controlled herself. Like Mako had said earlier, she will
find out soon.
When she got home she told
her mum what had happened but her mum just laughed it off.
“You know how your dad gets
when it comes to you, Mako probably doesn’t want to tell you because your
father threatened him” she giggled.
“Nah, he wasn’t threatened
otherwise he wouldn’t have been so calm when he walked away from the car and he
wouldn’t have gone to say hi to dad when he came to pick me up” Adi said as she
sat down in the kitchen looking worried. Before long her dad walked in and
walked straight to the kitchen.
“Darling, we have a guest for dinner tonight
so I hope you cooked extra” Mr Ishe said winking at his wife.
“Guest? I want to know who it
is” she whispered to her mum as she walked into the lounge.
When she saw the guest she
rolled her eyes.
“Good evening Adi” the guest
said with a notorious smile on his face.
“It makes sense now” Adi said
“My father decided to invite you over for dinner, I’m guessing he still wants
to judge you”
“You don’t look pleased to
see me Adi” Mako said being sarcastic.
“Oh leave me alone buddy, you
should have told me you were coming to my house, I really would have gone out”
she whispered but he knew she was joking.
“Dinner’s ready” her mum yelled from the
kitchen.
“Adi come and help me bring the food out” as
Adi left the room Mako followed her.
“I thought you could use a
helping hand Mrs Ishe” Mako said standing by the kitchen door.
“Hi, you must be Mako” Mrs Ishe shook Mako’s
hand after she wiped them with paper towel. “It’s so nice to meet you, my
husband told me you were coming for dinner so I cooked extra” she continued.
“Thank you very much ma’am, I appreciate the
hospitality”.
“So it looks like I’m the only clueless person
in this house” Adi said walking out of the room holding some plates and bumped
into Mako on her way out.
“I’m sorry Adi, are you okay” he said smiling
at her but she could see through the smile. He was trying so hard to bother
her.
“I thought that since Mako is
going to spend almost a week with you next month we might as well get to know
him a little bit more” Mr Ishe smiled looking at Adi and her smile back was
faint.
“Sorry we couldn’t tell you, we wanted to surprise
you” Mrs Ishe added.
“And you did!” she said under
her breath. Adi’s parents talked to Mako and that table was filled with so much
laughter. After Adi had warmed up to Mako being at their house for dinner and
keeping it from her she also joined in and they had a good time. After dinner
they sat in the lounge for about an hour before Mr Ishe volunteered to drive
Mako back home.
“I had a good time Mrs Ishe,
the meal was lovely thank you so much. I’ll come back for more if that’s ok”
Mako smiled as he got up.
“You’re welcome anytime Mako”
Mrs Ishe replied.
“Did you hear that Adi,
anytime” he teased her.
“She’s just being nice” Adi
replied him sticking her tongue out at him”. Adi walked him to the car and
before they got to the car Adi’s phone rang and it was Edward. She looked at
the phone and put it away.
“Aren’t you going to get that, don’t leave
Edward hanging on my account” Mako said.
“It’s okay, I’ll phone him back in a minute”
she replied.
“You mean after I’m gone?”
“Please let it go” she whispered because her
father was already in the car.
“See you tomorrow Adi, I had
a lovely time. Please thank your mum for me again” he said to her but his
countenance had fallen.
“I will” and Adi walked back
into the house ignoring the mood change.
Soon as he left Mrs Ishe said to her daughter
“He’s lovely, I like the way
he had so many questions about God. It’s nice to see young people who thirst
for God as much as he does” as she cleared up the table. All Adi could do was
give her mother one word answers because she was now trying to figure out what
that look on Mako’s face was. Was it jealousy, was it anger? She couldn’t
figure it out. She decided to let it go and deal with it whenever she had to.
She was tired of the complications and she just wanted to do away with them but
she didn’t know how.
She decided to phone Edward
back after she had done the dishes.
“Hey Adi, are you okay?”
“Yeah I’m okay, why do you
ask?”
“Because I phoned you earlier
and you didn’t pick up”
“Well I’m returning your call
now aren’t I?”
“Is everything okay? You
sound like I’m bothering you, how come you didn’t pick up when I called?”
“I was having dinner with my
parents and with Mako”
“Mako? Who’s he? Never heard
of him before”
“He’s a guy from my school,
we’re going to a church camp together so my parents wanted to meet him that’s
all”
“That’s all? Are you serious,
your parents just met a boy from school and you couldn’t introduce me to them?”
Edward sounded upset.
“Well to be honest having him
here was not my idea, it was my dad’s”
“I guess you’re saying that
to make me feel better?” he asked with a sarcastic tone.
“No, I’m just telling you the
truth. Are you saying you don’t believe me?”
“If he was just a friend you
would have picked up my call wouldn’t you?”
“Not if I was in the middle
of dinner! Listen this is not working for me, I don’t want to do it anymore!”
There was silence on both
ends.
“What?” Edward asked in the
lowest tone, he sounded shocked.
“I said I don’t want to do
this anymore” she replied in a much calm manner.
“Because of this argument,
because of this Mako guy or because you’ve been thinking about this?” he asked
her again.
“A little bit of everything
you said, I just don’t feel right about me and you. I don’t want to string you
along when I’m not even sure what I want” tears were already streaming down her
face.
“Are you seriously crying
right now? You dump me and then YOU cry?” he shouted from the other end and
after that the line cut off.
Adi looked at her phone and
he had cut her off. “Great” she sighed as she threw herself onto her bed.
All she could pray before bed
was “Lord, I need your help” as she looked up. She had a hard time falling
asleep because she had so many things running through her mind.
