The Things Girls Do

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 19

Gloria’s POV:

” Gloria, wake up, wake up!” Someone called out my name out of the darkness of my mind.

I screwed up my eyes, unable to figure out from where the voice came from.

Hundreds of visions flashed through my mind.

I remembered sitting before Adeola in his bedroom while I told him what Junior told me about him and his secret occultic room.

I remembered Adeola telling me not to listen to what Junior said that he was probably saying things out of the crazy thoughts Linda must’ve put in his head.

I remembered Adeola explaining why he was stealing meat in the kitchen and then darkness returned, drowning me in my mind.

Then another vision appeared as well. I saw myself not talking to Junior as I got him prepared for school. He seemed scared and frightened to go out but I had enough of his silly jokes and pranks so I didn’t care to ask him what was wrong.

The next thing I knew, we were driving towards school. Linda had left an instruction for me to return back and start packing my things for she was bringing a new maid home tonight.

I remembered feeling relieved and Happy to finally get to leave that miserable strange house. But first I had to deliver junior to school.

I remembered the driver diverting to a different road away from Junior’s school.

Suddenly, the car picked up speed and raced down the road. I remembered Junior shouting and that was when I realized the driver was different from the one we knew.

It was at that moment I realized what was going on.

We were being kidnapped.

From behind us, two cars joined us and the three vehicles sped towards an isolated area close to an abandoned gas station.

I tried to Shout for help but a heavy club landed on my head, sending me quickly into darkness.

” Gloria,” a very familiar voice came to me again. ” Wake up….come on don’t die. Please wake up.”

My eyes suddenly flung opened as I was jerked out of the darkness into the light. I found myself in a room, binded on both legs and hands with some old clothes.

” Thank goodness, you’re alive,” came the voice again.

I turned sharply only to see Junior in the same state as I was. I was shocked beyond words.

” Junior,” I called. ” What happened?”

” Some gang kidnapped us and dumped us here,” he answered briefly, watching me closely. ” Hey, does your head still hurt?”

” A little,” I answered, still feeling the throbbing pains against my skull. ” Where are we?”

” I have no idea but I believe we’re close to an abandoned gas station,” he said, looking around as if he was impressed with the place.

I watched him, surprised at how calm he was at such a serious situation.

” How can you be Soo calm?” I asked, looking around like a fightened rabbit. ” Do you realized we’re kidnapped?”

” I know that.”

” This is bad,” I exclaimed. ” This isn’t what I wanted. I must’ve been Soo stupid to have taken Adeola’s job offer. What if I get butchered and sold for money?”

” Calm down, Gloria,” Junior said in disgust. ” You’re acting like a baby.”

I turned to glare at him but then I paused as I saw a pen knife at the back of his hand.

This boy is a beast. I swear.

” Where in the world did you get that?”

Just then the door swung opened and a big man in a dark outfit barged into the room with a gun and a phone in his hands. He was Making a call.

” Yes, Mr Adeola, This is Evans. I have your son here with me. He’s in good condition and will remain so as long as you cooperate with us. You want to speak to him?” The big man leaned forward to Junior and brought the phone to his ears. ” Speak to your father.”

I watched Junior hiding the knife behind his back as he spoke. ” Hello?”

I heard a familiar voice of Adeola and Linda ranting on the other side of the line. They were drenched in worry.

Junior didn’t say much. His face was still and expressionless but I noticed some prickle of tears fighting to be held back.

Evans took the phone away from his ears and spoke. ” You’ve heard from your son. Now let’s get down to business. When are you bringing my ten million naira?”

My eyes grew wide! Ten million naira?

” Tonight!” He growled into his phone. ” I want it tonight, Mr Adeola else you’d never set eyes on your son again.”

And he hanged up.

I watched him with frightened sick eyes. I realized I was of no use to him. If Junior’s ransom is paid, what then would be my fate?

He turned to Junior and pointed at him. ” Your father would be here at any moment from now. Till then, you are to be kept in good condition without a scratch on you. I’ll go nice with you. Are you hungry? Tell me what you want. Noodles? Fried rice? Chicken? Juice? Tell me what you need.”

” I want you to go f–k yourself!” Junior yelled angrily at him and I thought I saw tears streaming down his cheeks.

I jolted.

Did he just said that to this…this…this man? This boy got guts. Even in the face of death he was ten times troublesome and stubborn.

Evans didn’t stir. It was as if he was used to the insult. Junior was worth ten million naira to him at the moment. If he killed him, his hope of making those millions would be nothing but a pipedream. So he swallowed the insults instead and continued.

” Alright, then. I suppose you like Ice-cream then. Just hold on a while. I’ll be back,” then his eyes turned to me as well. He looked at me without interest then looked away and left.

Soo this bastard didn’t even care to ask what I’d like to eat? I was nothing to him. If I’m not mistaking, I have no place in Junior’s ramsome money.

The moment he was gone, I turned sharply to Junior. He was still crying.

” Junior wha-what’s wrong with you?”

” It’s my father,” he choked in between sobs.

” What about your father?”

Junior’s eyes met mine. ” I just don’t understand what’s happening. I mean he’s the bad guy. Now he’s trying to be the good guy. I just don’t…I don’t get it.”

” If you’re still maintaining your stand about your father being a ritualist then cut it out,” I scowled at him. ” I know you’re trying to play some mind games with me when you–”

” But it’s the truth!” Junior yelled at me. ” I know you don’t believe me. But that doesn’t mean I’m lying.”

” Then why is he ready to pay such a whopping amount of money to save you?” I asked feeling now was the time to knock some sense into him.

” That’s what I just don’t understand,” Junior admitted. ” He’s up to something. I can–”

” Junior, stop it,” I barked at him. ” Just stop it. I have had just about enough of you and your mother. You know nothing about your father. Your mother is just busy ruining your mind with wild imaginations so that you can turn against him. I don’t believe any of your lousy stupid story about your father being a ritualist. Your father is such a nice patient man with a loving heart. Despite your mother’s harsh treatment against him, he still refuses to cheat on her. Because he respected her, he rarely eats outside the house. Imagine a man who steals meat from his own house simply because his wife is too religious, too blinded by superstitious beliefs that’s he’s a ritualist. I mean who does that? And now here you are, kidnapped in the hands of some evil men and yet the same man whom you claim to be a ritualist is still struggling to get enough money to save your life. What kind of a son are you?”

Junior didn’t say anything. He was Soo broken he let the penknife fall to the ground and he cried the more. I’ve never seen him in this sight before.

” I’m just confused,” Junior sobbed. ” I have no idea whom to believe anymore.”

I felt sorry for him. He was lost in his own world of confusion that his mothier was responsible for. If it wasn’t for Linda’s stupidity and lack of understanding, Junior wouldn’t have hated his father this much. I began to realized just how right Adeola was in his plan of divorcing Linda. She was such a blind foolish woman. Turning her son against his father and still living in the same roof with him was the ultimate height of stupidity.

But that wasn’t my problem now. We were kidnapped and Junior seems like the only one with a plan of getting us out of here. The pen knife was the perfect key out of these old clothes binding our hands and legs.

If we could cut through these clothes and sneak out without being noticed, we could get away without Adeola having to pay a dime.

I hate the idea of dashing all that money to those heartless monkeys. Especially that ape called Evans.

And so I drew closer to Junior. Junior was still sobbing when I reached out to him and picked up the pen knife.

He noticed this and his eyes got glued to mine. ” What are you doing?”

” Trying to get us out of here,” I explained, cutting through the old clothes on his hands. ” Stay put. When I’m done unbinding you, I want you to unbind me as well. Then after that, we’d find a way out of this place before Evans returns.”

Junior kept quiet and this worried me a little. When he’s quiet like this it’d only mean one thing.

He was thinking and calculating. But what was it he was Soo absorbed in?

Finally I cut the clothes and freed him. He rose to his feet and sneaked towards the door, peeking through the keyhole for any guards.

” Is there anyone there?”

He shooked his head. ” There’s no body here. We’re all alone.”

This was perfect. ” That great. Come on, now unbind me.”

I threw him the knife and waited for him to cut through the clothes on my hands and legs.

But he didn’t do anything. He stood by the door, watching me with cold restless eyes.

I grew alarmed. ” Junior, what are you still waiting for? We’re running out of time. Come on, help me.”

He bent down, picked the penknife and dropped it in his pocket. ” Save yourself.”

My eye grew a triple larger as reality struck me. He was betraying me. How could he? For what reasons?

Before I could call out to him, he opened the door and ran out, abandoning me inside the cold smelly room.

I nearly screamed but I held myself. The shock was just too much to bear. I felt paralyzed, I felt weak, I felt dead.

Junior…….

Just then, Evans barged in with a tray of ice cream and a plate of chicken.

His eyes went from me to the loosed clothes on the floor. When they returned to me, I felt them tearing me apart.

” Where is he?”

I couldn’t answer him. The shock was still there inside me. All I could mutter was ” Junior…..”

Tbc