The Painful Pleasure

Episode 29

When we got home, we were so lucky that there was light.

Our DVD needed to be beaten several times for it to work.

Or else there is no DVD for you. I did that repeatedly and the DVD did not seem to be responding. Moji advised that we
should just leave the DVD.

That was some minutes past
9pm. I was quite disappointed. Because as students, we don’t sleep until after midnight. “So how are we going to get
busy? Or are you feeling sleepy?” I asked Moji. “I didn’t take sleeping pills, I’m not feeling sleepy at all. You know in
school, we don’t get to sleep until past 12, so the body is programmed already.” Moji answered. “Let me try the DVD
again”. I said, going straight to the DVD, This time, it worked
perfectly. I was so happy. I played Moji’s favourite movie –
‘King Kong’. That was the only film I had anyway, I bought it
when I was in SS3 because I really liked the movie then, but
not anymore. Since that’s Moji’s favourite movie, I automatically like it too. “Oh my God!!! Is that king Kong? I love this movie” Moji said. I was really happy to see Moji
happy.

Moji was really enjoying the movie, but unfortunately, they
took the light. I switched on my phone torch, and put it on the table so we could see. It was really disappointing that
they took the light, since we didn’t have a generating plant.

So I thought that was a good time to tell Moji thank you for all she has done. . .

Me: Moji, I don’t know what I would have done without you.

How can I thank you enough. You donated blood to my mother, paid her hospital bills, stabbed lectures for my sake.

Moji, seriously, you are God sent.

Thank you so much.

Moji: Dapo, you don’t have to thank me. (Looking straight
into my eyes) I hold you in high esteem, and you are so
important to me. In fact, you are just like my twin brother. I
will do for your mum, whatever I can do for my mum.

Because your mother is my mother.

Me: (I was really touched by everything she said, she’s really God sent) I understand you Kehinde.

Moji: Did you Just call me Kehinde?

Me: Yes I did.

Moji: Why in God’s name did you call me that.

Me: Because since I’m like the twin brother you never had, I
will be Taiwo, and you will be Kehinde.

Moji: (Laughing) You can be whatever you want to be.

In fact, if you want to be Idowu, I’m cool with it. . .

We just kept talking and we really had fun talking about everything that should be talked about (except Sandra). We
talked till around past 12, then I offered her our room, while I slept in the sitting room.

I couldn’t sleep overnight, because I just kept thinking of how bad I was as a person. Keeping a secret from such a
wonderful friend. “If I had told her about Sandra, probably she wouldn’t have paid my mum’s hospital bills”. I thought
to myself. But after thinking back and forth. I discovered that I can’t hide the truth forever. Sandra had been so disturbing,
and it was affecting everything about me. The only person that could help me was Moji.

The only solution was to open up to her, because if she finds out on her own, it would be so disappointing. But the problem wasn’t what I wanted to say, it was how I was going to say it. I started rehearsing
different ways of saying it. “Moji, I am sleeping with a girl called sandra, and she is stalking me every time. I really
don’t know how to stop sleeping with her, can you help me?

NO!!!” I tried another. “Moji, you’ve done a lot for me, and I
don’t want you to hear this from anyone else. I’m sleeping
with a girl called Sandra. I didn’t really want to do it, but I just had to.

I’m really sorry if you are disappointed. NO!!!”

None of the ways I tried sounded good. It all sounded bad to me.

Moji was traveling back to Ife that Sunday morning.

So I had to tell her that morning.

When Moji woke up, she had her bath in our pan-made bathroom at the back yard. I’m sure she had never taken her
bath in such a local bathroom before. That is just how humble she was. She got dressed and she told me she
wanted to see my mum before going. She we went to the hospital to see my mum.

My mum thanked her for everything she had done, and told her to be careful on her
way back to Ife. I walked her to the bus stop and my heartbeat was getting faster than normal. I was really scared
of what her reaction will be if I should tell her.

“You wanted to tell me something before we received that emergency call, can you please tell me now?” Moji said to
me. I was so scared of telling her . . .