There was a company dinner today at 8 pm and she had been practically running around her house while being on the phone with Farha. It happened after every six months. Farha had been asking her to calm down but that was the last thing on Jalilah's mind right now. First, she was nervous about the thong of people she would have to meet today, second, she was nervous because if what they had planned with Farha didn't work out, she knew she would break down in front of everyone. And the main reason for all this is, parties aren't her thing.

It had been a week since she had last seen Yazeed and she knew she would have to meet him today even if all he would do will be ignoring her, she would take chances and see if she would be successful even if it's for once. "Are you sure this will fit? Farha, don't make me go and embarrass myself!" She placed her phone on her mirror and lifted the veil Farha suggested she wrap over her head. She grinned and nodded her head.

"Wait, I think we need to try the clothes first and I'll choose which ones look best in you. Yalla, go in and try the first suggestion we had." She had bought a new gown for this dinner, but Farha being Farha said the gown wouldn't go well with the event just because her ex-boyfriend liked blue and Jalilah 'foolishly' thought blue was a good colour. She had no choice but to drop it and surfed through her endless gowns and abayas.

She came out of the bathroom lifting the edges of the gown so she wouldn't trip. She stood in front of the phone and turned a little while she began wrapping the veil around her head, Farha said it would match this gown. She stared at her until she was done before she shook her head with a pout. "You look okay in it, but it doesn't look like partying. I suggest you put the other ones."

Jalilah's shoulders sagged with defeat, "Don't you think it's because my face is a mess now? By the time I wear it, it will look so good on me that you have no choice but to keep awing like an ambulance." She laughed at the way Farha scrunched up her face and rolled her eyes at her.

"You're sick in the head. It's not like you're extremely beautiful, I'm just being nice and considerate towards your sick self. Now, wear the other gowns and abayas."

She looked at her and slumped on the vanity stool, "Honestly, I'm so tired of this, Farha. Why don't you let me wear my new gown? You admit it yourself that it's a nice gown and it will look so good on me, you admit that yourself. All this is stressing my life."

She bossily shook her head, "Why are you like this, Jalilah? I told you blue has some bad luck with it. That day, I thought to wear his stupid ass best colour would make him accept me, but the idiot didn't even notice that I had blue on me. Now, get your lazy ass up and go change into those gowns until we get the one that will enhance your beauty, dear friend." Okay, the actual truth is that he was never her boyfriend. He was only a nice friend that she assumed had a liking on her and she started dating him in her head. It got to the point that Jalilah asked her to profess her feelings for him because living that way will bring more bad than good. Which even after she had invited him for lunch, looked at her best, told him what she felt, he blatantly rejected her that he had no feelings for her and he wasn't ready for any commitments.

She knew Farha hardly ever spoke about it, but she was still hurting about what had happened because she truly loved the guy. But being the hard girl she portrayed herself as, she had never spoken about him in a way that showed she had missed him or she wished he was still in her life, only insults. Which Jalilah figured out were her way of feeling better if someone hurt her. She would insult their sick and unlucky selves for not having her in their lives and she would at least use that way to tell herself that she wasn't at the losing end, they were.

"Okay, I'll do that. But if none of them fits me as you said, I think I won't go to this party." She rolled her eyes out of desperation and stood up to her feet, she was holding one of the gowns in her hand when Farha spoke again.

"You know you will rather lose your ballet class than miss this party, right? This is the only chance you have, Jalilah. We can't misplace it, I won't even let you do that." She rolled her eyes at her and watched as she went to her bathroom until to come out looking like a tote bag filled vegetables, Farha's words.

"I so much hate you, Farha!" Jalilah yelled and slumped on her bed. She, later on, urged and threatened her that she was going to end the call and switch up her phone in such a way that she wouldn't be able to reach her. She wasn't at home for her to call Baba and beg him to give the phone to her, she would have to be stranded, alone. She hissed loudly to the point that it scared Farha before she took all the gowns and began wearing them one after the other until she was done, and Farha had the same expression for all of them to the point that Jalilah nearly cried due to frustration.

"Sleep now, okay sweetheart? I'll figure out something better before you wake up. You have to cool your mind and be at your best, I can't take risks." Jalilah rolled her eyes and watched as Farha mischievously laughed before she ended the call, it was evident that her best friend found pleasure in torturing her life.

But she did as she had said, she went to bed because she had only a few hours left and if she didn't get enough sleep, she might end up being moody in the hall that she would either excuse herself to come back home without doing what took her there or she might just sit there looking all gloomy that one of them would think she had recently lost a parent.

She had lost count of the time she had spent sleeping until her phone began ringing and she stifled a yawn while she sat up on her bed. Taking her phone up, it was a new number and Jalilah wondered who was calling her. "Hello?" She greeted upon picking the call and placed the phone on her left ear, trying so hard to stay alive without getting back to sleep right at the instant.

"Hello, you got a package and I've delivered it to the said location. Can you please come out to get it?" She felt something in her heart, she thought about the day Yazeed took her out for a movie, but she knew even if she was going to commit suicide and the only person that could stop her from doing that is Yazeed, he would never call or visit her.

"Okay, just hold on, I'll be out in a minute." Who got a package for her? She asked but hopped out of the bed anyways. She took a glance of her wall clock and figured out she had only a few hours left before it was time for the party, it was either she acted fast or she will be late.

She rushed out of the house and met the delivery guy, he gave her the box and she signed before she walked back inside, wondering what was inside this exquisite box? She couldn't wait to reach her bedroom and when she did, she tore it open and there laid carefully and beautifully, was a magnificent she had never seen in her life. She lifted it with her mouth wide agape and a note fell out of it. She carefully placed the gown back in its place and held the card, there was a handwritten note and she was smiling even before she read it.

'Hey there crazy little friend, I love you. Wear this, I'm sure it will look tenfold better than that annoying blue thing you thought was a good gown (Not being like a bad bitch; it's amazing.) I have this gown brings out a beautiful smile on your face, I hope it makes you happy, An Jali Jali. I pray we win this time, try as much as you can, Baby girl. Farha loves you a lot.'

She knew Farha had done a lot of amazing things to her in their lives, but she felt nothing surpassed this, she felt tears pooling the brink of her eyes. She laughed and brought the gown out, she wasn't going to call her until she was ready to leave, that way she could see the kind of magnificent art she had gotten for her. She searched for the left oversleep in her but felt nothing, she was ecstatic and no more nervous, because she felt that if she had this dress on, she had the Farha spirit all over. She rushed to her bathroom and began taking her bath, smiling at the name Farha referred to her as 'An Jali Jali' that was what she called her whenever she decided to be all-loving toward her. Or it was 'Baby Jally', and truth be told, she loved all the names.

She came out with a wide grin on her life, eager to don herself into the gown and when she was done applying her lotion and putting on her underdresses, she got it into her body, but it was whole torture getting the zipper locked. She sat down on her vanity stool and began making up her face, trying as much as she could to keep it cool and soft, and when she was done, a cute and satisfying smile graced her lips, she indeed looked so amazing. She called Farha and waited until she picked the call before she squealed and began swirling around in the room.

"Girl! Have I ever told you that you're an angel? Oh my god, I can even thank you enough. Look at this dress for the sake of the almighty, I've never seen anything beautiful as this!" Jalilah squealed as she laughed and kept swirling until a laughing Farha asked her to sit down, that the fashion show was okay, she laughed and did as she said.

"How are you going to wear a veil? Make a turban or hijab out of it?" Farha asked, and that was when Jalilah got hooked, she didn't know what was the right way to tie her veil today.

"I don't know, you suggest. Or I should do both and you'll choose?" She asked and they agreed on that. She did both and they opted for the turban. By 7:30 pm, Jalilah was done with everything and she was nervous as well. She was about to leave when Farha screamed at her.

"Where do you think you're going? Wait until 7:45 pm before you leave, that way before you drive to the company, it's already past 8, and you know what will happen? Most of them have already made it there, it will be all eyes on you, and trust me, Jalilah, it will be a flood of eyes on you. Because you look stunning, girl!"

Jalilah whined and shook her head, "That's what I hate, Farha. I hate attention."

"You're an idiot, we're not seeking for anyone's attention, but he has to notice you. It's final, you aren't leaving until it's 7:45 pm, and if you sense any discomfort or you feel like giving up, don't forget to give me a call, okay? And if you can't call me at the moment, just send me a text, I'll stay close to my phone."

"I think I need to eat something, this nervousness is trying to end my life. And yes, I won't let you breathe even for a second." She walked to the kitchen as they conversed about anything, with Farha trying all she could to make sure she had eased off her anxiousness.

The time that Farha said clock, and they bid each other goodbye before Jalilah locked her house and she got into her car. She didn't know what she would do, she felt like running back into her house and staying there forever. Her problem wasn't going to the dinner, her problem was what she intended to do. But she knew she couldn't give up, she knew she had to do this even if it's for once. She had to try, and even if she was going to fail, she would have it in mind that she had once tried. And so she ignited her car to life and drove directly to Bunza companies Nig ltd. Because that was where the dinner always held, in their conference hall.

❤︎

It had already started, and when he had looked around the hall and didn't take a glimpse of her, he concluded that maybe she wasn't coming. Maybe she was trying all she could to avoid him, and he didn't feel angry at her if that was her reason. But even when he told Sulaiman that he wouldn't be there, and Sulaiman kept urging him until he agreed to come, his only reason for coming was for him to see her. He had to leave to Lagos next week, he knew they wouldn't converse or anything, and just like Sulaiman said, not all relationships needed to be romanticized. He thought of her as the friend he had never had but Sulaiman. She was like a path for him, which led him to the outer world, the world he had long given up on.

He was seated alone because Sulaiman had gone to his friends and he thought nothing could be as boring as this. He was contemplating whether to leave or not and when he looked at the door to have a better answer to himself, he had never lost his breath like he did today. She looked breathtaking, she looked like the angel she had always wanted to refer herself as. Jalilah was beautiful, he thought. She had this cool smile on her lips as she walked into the hall and she nodded curtly to whoever she laid her eyes on, the smile never leaving her face. He had noticed the way she was clutching onto her clutch bag, she was nervous.

Her eyes briskly wandered around the tables, he needn't be told that she was looking for Wafiyya. And he wished she didn't see her in time because he wanted to have a better look of her before she sat down. He knew he had worn almost all kinds of gowns he knew in his life, but this was exceptional. And it wasn't just about the gown, it was about her, her body, her skin, her smile, her beauty. Her eyes turned to where he sat, and Yazeed didn't know when he took a 160-degree turn that his neck made a cracking sound. The worst embarrassing thing that would happen to him was for her to catch him intensely staring at her like the way he did.

Wafiyya was sitting two tables behind theirs, they even came together because she was still at Sulaiman's house and Sulaiman brought him here. Through his peripheral view, Yazeed watched as she watched at Wafiyya and she began walking toward the tables. His breath seized when she walked past him, the sound of her heels making resonating through the walls of his heart. The way she walked with a gait even a gazelle would envy because she walked as though she was dancing ballet, so beautiful, so captivating. The way her scent filled all the opening of his lungs that forced him to close his eyes before he exhaled sharply.

He knew there was no way he could turn to look at her again without her noticing, and even if she didn't notice, Wafiyya would do that and she would rant his ears off until he was tired of hearing theories of how she was sure he loved Jalilah but he was acting like the hard guy he had always claimed to be. He didn't know how his relationship with Jalilah could be referred to as love. He was just used to her, and she was more of a friend than anything. And of course, Sulaiman made it clear to him that you could miss a friend.

Soon, the song was blasting the hall that he wished it could blast off his thoughts as well. He watched as the workers began walking up and dancing, Wafiyya included. Of course, there was no way this girl will let a chance of showcasing her dancing skills to pass her, he was surprised when he saw Sulaiman among her crew, even though he wasn't dancing like the rest of them, he was simply having fun and laughing so hard that Yazeed wished he could be in his shoes as well.

Amidst the blasting song, he heard the soft click of her heels, he hadn't turned yet, but he was sure she was the one. He thought she was going to the dancing stage as well, and something irked his chest. He couldn't imagine all those guys staring at her as she danced. He knew the way she danced, even though the only danced he had ever seen of her was that of ballet, but whoever danced like the way she did would be the coolest dancer ever. But to his surprise, Jalilah pulled out the chair opposite him and she sat down.

She kept looking at her fingers, fiddling with them and unable to voice a word out while he stared at her face. He didn't know what she wanted to speak to him about, but it was surely something huge. Because he had never seen her the nervous and restless. She looked up and their eyes met, which he didn't make any attempt of taking his eyes off her, he stared back without hiding anything in his soul. The staring contest got too intense that she had to take her eyes off him and back to her fingers, Yazeed knew there was more to this look than just missing him.

"Do you have something you want us to talk about?" He knew this would give her more courage to speak up, and it did. She looked up at him then nodded her head.

"Yes, I do. But it's so noisy here, can we move out a bit?" She asked and he was so fast at nodding his head. He wanted to be out of the hall too, he wanted to be hearing her voice without feeling like peeling his ears off and placing them on the table between them.

She was the first one to stand up and he followed her step. They walked side by side, in the utter silence that Yazeed wished she could be her old self, the Jalilah that would rant his ears off until he laughed even if he was feeling so gloomy.

They moved to where she had parked her car and leaned onto it before she heaved a sigh and looked into his eyes, "I think we have to set things right. I'm sorry, but you have to believe me that I haven't done what you accused me of."

He had his hands folded across his chest as he stared at her, he nodded his head. He had realized that it was so wrong of him to do that, he should have asked her politely, he knew she would never lie to him to say she wasn't the one if she was. She would answer him straight forward, he might kill her if he wanted. "I figured out that too, I'm sorry as well."

He didn't miss the breath she had exhaled, and that made him relieved. It was evident she had been holding this up for all the moments that had passed. "But you were so mean then, will you apologize again?" She asked again, which nearly brought a smile on his lips. He knew she didn't want to be her old self, but there were things she couldn't control.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Jalilah. You were mean too, will you mind apologizing again?" He had no choice but to chuckle at the kind of look she had flashed him, it was like 'Are you for real? You started the mean game, man!' They acted like kids, but he was loving it.

"Okay, I'm sorry even if you were the one that started it." She was silent for a while before she looked up to him with a pout and a glare which she fought so hard but it showed anyways, "I kind of missed you, and it wasn't a good feeling at all."

He threw his head back and laughed, sliding his hands into his pockets and appreciating the view before him. How she shone with the moonlight illuminating upon her. She was the real definition of beauty, her smile making it so hard for him not to fix his eyes on her. "Well, Sulaiman made it clear for me, but as much as I'd like not to admit this, I kind of missed you too. Since it isn't even a good feeling at all." He watched the way her eyes gleamed with sheer happiness and smiled. It was good to feel this lighthearted, he was right he said he had missed her because he did.

She was back with the fingers fiddling again, and Yazeed figured out that she had more things to say than just setting things right. "What is it? You have something going on in your mind."

"You're leaving to Lagos in a week, right?" Did she know? Oh yeah, he spoke to Sulaiman about it while she was in the office, but he guessed this question alone wasn't enough.

"Yes, I am."

She sighed and looked up at him, sweeping him off his feet with her confident and I'm back to my old self Jalilah smile. "I have a favour to ask, and no; it's not the reason why I want us to set aside our fight. That was sincere, I missed you. And for this, I don't know how you're going to take it."

The more she said she missed him with that shy smile and the twinkle in her eyes, the more something expanded in the way he had never felt before. "Okay, say it out. But, can we move to that bench? It seems like you're going to fall." She nodded her head and they walked to the bench and sat down. He had to urge her again to speak before she did.

"My name is Khadija Ibrahim Fufure. I have a mother, I call her Mama. I lost my Dad when I was 16, that was the year I graduated from secondary school. I have no sibling, I'm an only child. I have an obsession or excess love for ballet, you know that dance, right?" She asked, and he nodded his head, wondering where this was going. "I've always loved ballet, and when Mama realized that I loved it to an extent, she made sure she tried to discourage me, but it didn't work. Baba was the only one that supported me then, he enrolled me to an online school, Royal ballet school in London. That's before he died, that was the last gift I got from him. Before he died, I was just dancing, but after he enrolled me at the school, Mama noticed I was getting too serious with ballet, and it became a problem whenever she found me dancing. It got to the point that I'd have to hide in my room before I could dance, and that's how we do things up until today. I know if Baba was still alive, I would've long become the ballerina I dream of."

She cleared the stubborn tears that were trying to roll down her cheeks and tried to smile, "Mama thought I've given up on that dream, but there's no way I could. It's like giving up on life itself, Yazeed. I love ballet like I love my life. I have an Uncle, he's Baba's only sibling. Uncle Yusuf hates my love for ballet as well, so they teamed up with Mama, he was so strict that I had no choice than not to even laugh a ballet related film or anything, to show them I've given up on the dream. But truth be told, I haven't. I'm still practising ballet, I still take my classes. But the thing now is..." she didn't know how tears rolled down her cheeks, because she could already imagine him shaking his head as the no he uttered resonated through the walls of her heart.

"I don't know why this is so hard." She lifted her eyes and tried to pause her tears, "Okay, I stumbled upon an advert about a ballet school in Lagos, if you register with them, they will tutor you for three months and after that, there will be a grand competition. I want to do this, I want to, with all my heart. But from what I told you, you know Mama will never let me, not to even talk about my Uncle. And if I lied to her that I was sent there by this company, Uncle Yusuf will come here himself to ask, and if they find out I'm lying, that will be the end of my life. I know that you're going to Lagos, and you'll be there for the duration I want to, will you please help me out?"

He was just staring at her until she finished and he heaved a sigh. "I understand that you want to do this, but I don't understand what you want me to help you with."

"I've already registered, yeah I know I'm being eager, but that's the only way of consoling myself that even if I didn't get it, I've tried to. Getting your help will be the hardest, but I know with you I'll have no problem with Mama. I know the way I could convince her to let me leave, and she wouldn't tell Uncle Yusuf about it. If you agree to help me, we have to go to Adamawa together, and I'm sure she will let me. But the thing is, I have nowhere to stay in Lagos, Farha lived there with her parents, but if her father knew the truth, he would send me back home, so I can't stay in her house, she's even in Ogun for her service."

"So, you'll have to stay with me?" The question was even weird to him as he asked it. There was no way he could imagine of that.

She was reluctant at nodding her head, "I'm sorry, but yes. I know it's big for me to ask you, but I promise I won't cause you any trouble." She had ducked her head down, not having the courage to look into his eyes. She didn't want to see the disgusted look he had on his face before he told her it was a no.

Yazeed thought about it as he stared at her, he knew how she was feeling right now, just that he had never loved something the way she loved ballet. But he could imagine. The thing was, as much he would want her to achieve her dream, there was no way he could do that, and that was solely for her safety. If Alhaji heard that he had gone to Lagos with her when what he wanted to do was distance him from her, there was no way he could stop them from harming her. And he had to keeper safe as much as he could.

He didn't even want to think about all the things that she mentioned, nor bothered himself to ask about the plan she had in mind to tell her mother which she was sure would work out, what he knew was, there was no way this would work. He sighed and shook his head a bit, "I'm sorry, Jalilah. I won't say I know exactly what ballet means to you, I could only imagine. But there's no way I could help you out. I can't follow you to Adamawa to lie to your mother, whatever plan you have in mind. I'm sure I'll go there as a representative, I know how your mind thinks. But most importantly, we can't live in the same house."

That was the storm she had been waiting for, and when it came, she felt as everything she had in mind stopped moving. She wanted to assure him that he needn't worry about them staying in the same house, she would never go out of her lane. But she couldn't because it would be as if she was pushing herself to him and that didn't end well. Things were still awkward with them, as much as she wanted to do this, she would have to let it go now. She would have to give up. At least, she had tried.

She cleared the tears that rolled down her cheeks and nodded her head at him, "Okay, I understand. Thank you for your time." And she stood up without waiting for an answer from him. She wanted to cry, she wanted to leave, she wanted to just feel nothing.

She was rushing back to the hall to get her bag so she could leave, she didn't feel she could even call Farha, it was too heavy to speak about it. She bumped into Wafiyya, and when she looked at her, she couldn't stop her tears as she wanted to. "Jalilah, your phone has been ringing and it seems urgent..." She had handed her the bag but she stood mid-track when she noticed the tears on her cheeks.

"Yazeed again? What happened? What did he do this time, um Jalilah?" She asked, and from the looks of it, Wafiyya was so pissed at him now.

Jalilah opened her mouth to speak, but instead, she broke into tears, and she slumped onto Wafiyya. She didn't mind that they were standing in front of the hall and anyone might come out to see her like this, all she wanted was a shoulder to cry on, and even if that shoulder had to be Yazeed's.