"I keep my head high...I got my wings to carry me...I don't know freedom...I hope my dreams will rescue me...I keep my face strong...I ask the lord to follow me...I've been unfaithful...I don't know why you color me...this is my canvas...I'm a paint how I want it to be..." Banks sang along with J. Cole on the home theatre with his eyes closed. He had one hand on the vacuum cleaner and the other swaying in the air. He was cleaning up in the studio. The sleeves of his A&F shirt were tied around his waist, wore a white singlet and camouflage shorts. He hummed where he didn't know the lyrics and was so lost in the music the doorbell rang a few times before he heard it. He went to lower the volume of the music and go to answer the door.
"Who is it?" He asked.
"Andy!" Andy's voice shouted from the other side. Banks unlocked the door and opened it. Andy, Bayo and Tunde got in, each carrying school bags.
"Dude, we could hear you singing from the elevator! What's up!" Tunde asked.
"Nothing! Just in the mood for sing-alongs."
"Good mood or Bad mood?" Bayo asked eyeing him.
"Good mood. I cooked breakfast at home this morning, cleaned the garage, and now I'm cleaning my studio." Banks said.
"Sister Vee must've thought the world was coming to an end," Andy said chuckling.
"That's a lot of energy for one day," Bayo said.
Tunde noticed the bottle of wine and half-filled glass on the table with his brushes and palette next to the canvass-less easel. He walked to it and took the bottle for closer inspection.
"What wine is that?" Andy asked.
Tunde reads. "Chianti... 1991, nice... Couldn't have cost anything less than ten grand!" Tunde mentioned.
Bayo goes to join Tunde for a closer look at the bottle. "That's better than just a good mood, a great mood even. What are we celebrating?" Bayo asked,
"First time I meet up with my cousin since last week Thursday, he's drinking ten thousand naira worth of wine! Time to spill!" Andy quizzed.
A cell phone began ringing. "Aaah! Saved by the bell." Banks fished out his ringing phone from his pocket and looked at the caller ID. He grinned. "Excuse me guys, this is important." Banks answered the call heading for his makeshift office. "Hey dear!"
Bayo turned to the others. "Did you see that? The call...he smiled... a girl most likely... He said, 'Hey dear.'"
"Finally! Jennifer, who else?" Tunde asked sipping from Banks' glass. He savors the taste. "Mmm...rich." He looked up at his friends and found them staring at each other. "What?"
"It can't be Jennifer. Idara told me Jennifer slapped him when they ran into each other on campus on Monday for standing her up at Chika's party. That was barely two days ago." Bayo said looking at Andy for confirmation. Andy pulled out a pack of canned Heinekeen from his bag and carried it to the refrigerator, deep in his own thoughts. He opened the refrigerator and found it cleaned out.
Tunde was surprised though. "Slapped Banks! Well, they obviously made up already."
"So why walk away from us to answer her call?" Bayo argued. "He has never done that before."
"You're right. I doubt it is Jennifer too." Andy said quietly. The other two were quiet at that. Andy tore the pack open and started loading the beer cans into the refrigerator. He took out three wine glasses when he was done and gave Bayo and Tunde one.
Tunde poured the wine. "Who else could it have been?"
Andy shrugged. "Something is off."
"Something like what?" Bayo asked.
Tunde sighed. "Okay, now we are gossiping like a bunch of girls. I bet you're angry he missed your girlfriend's birthday bash and stood her cousin up. If I can recall, you spent the weekend with Chika at their house. Then you had that photo shoot on Monday, went clubbing with Bayo and I the entire night and came back Tuesday. Today's Wednesday, don't crucify him before you've had time to catch up."
Andy began to reply but they heard Banks exit his makeshift office, shutting the door after him. He had a pleased look on his face which evaporated when he saw the discomfort on theirs. They'd been discussing him, he realized. "I hope you guys didn't pour all of it." He said, rejoin them.
Tunde handed Banks his glass. "There's enough left," he said and refilled his glass. "Who was it on the phone? Jenny?"
Banks chuckled in surprise. "I wonder why you'd think that. Speaking of which, Andy how's she? She hasn't been picking my calls."
"I'm sure you've been blowing up her phone." Andy replied with a sarcastic smile. "She's okay...keeping to herself mostly these days. Same as you," he said.
Banks raised an eyebrow. He looked at the others but none of them would meet his gaze. They'd definitely been talking about him. "How do you mean?"
Bayo cut in a milder tone than Andy's. "You tell us. None of us have seen you since M-lounge on Thursday last week when you left with Jenny. You buy a ten thousand naira bottle of wine only for us to crash your 'alone party'."
"Come on guys... I haven't been feeling too well. Maybe if any of you had bothered to call me to ask what was up, I wouldn't be having this conversation with my friends." He stressed the word 'friends'.
"I never knew you were into expensive vintage stuff like this," Tunde said. "Just like I've never seen you run off to answer a girl's phone call. So, if it wasn't Jennifer, you must have met someone new this past weekend."
"You should have seen the way you grinned when you saw her call," Bayo said with a camaraderie smile. "Spill the beans already man."
Banks turned to Andy who yawned and shrugged. "Fine, I'm sorry. I too am dying of curiosity."
Banks was reluctant and for good reason. If there was a short version to the topic, he would have gladly taken the option of telling them. The long and only version was complicated and he didn't trust them to understand. If he painted her as a beautiful angel, they'll want to meet her and wonder if she was a figment of his imagination if he dragged the introduction out too long. If he told them the entire truth, they'll only criticize. Especially Andy who wouldn't hesitate to tell Chika, who would tell Jennifer whose friendship he had every intention of repairing.
Yet, what else where friends for? Andy had been very loyal, Bayo and Tunde too. He could ask them not to mention it to their girlfriends until he talked to Jennifer. "I ran into a girl I used to know back at Ibadan." He had their full attention.
"An old girlfriend!" Tunde asked.
"Who is she?" Bayo asked almost simultaneously. Andy didn't have to voice the questions reflected on his face.
Banks was still reluctant. "Her name is Lade. We were very close back then. I never dreamed I'll run into her ever again."
Bayo and Tunde were excited. "Small world," said Bayo.
"Okay, details bro," Tunde urged. "When did you run into her?"
"The night of Chika's party." Banks watched Andy drain his glass. He walked to the refrigerator to get a beer while he listened to Banks tell how he ran into the girl. He wasn't really excited by the news like the other two.
"Anyone else need a beer?"
Banks paused his narrative. "Stone me one." Andy threw him a can of Heinekeen. He caught it and drained his wine glass next. Andy took out two extra for Bayo and Tunde, and went to join them by the table next to the easel. Banks had continued his story after popping the can. Andy handed Bayo and Tunde a beer each and popped his.
