Hello!
It all happened when Debbie decided to have her own freedom, I mean her own apartment. Though we are from different parents, six of us have lived like siblings for three years. Ruth, Rhoda, Jane, Dorcas , Debbie and I are close friends from the same village. We used to read together, attend tutorials and got admitted into the same university. Even on campus, we became inseparable, until Debbie called me to a corner on a bright afternoon, "Mary, I have something to tell you." I looked at her anxiously and wondered what she had to say. She continued, "You know, I love you, guys but I'm no more comfortable staying in this tiny closet with you guys." It was like a dream, I was wondering where those words were coming from. We had been more than friends over the years. We attended the same church and did almost everything together. Debbie is not even that kind of person that likes to be by herself. She enjoyed our presence more than food.
I gripped my forehead, and managed to ask, "Who offended you, Debbie?" I looked her straight in the eyes, "We only have a year left, why do you want us separated?" Since I didn't get any answers to my questions, I left her presence angrily and went inside. Just when I thought she would change her mind, Debbie came in to break the news to the rest of us. "Babes, I'm moving out of here tomorrow. " Nobody expected that. It was indeed a rude shock.
Besides, Debbie was the most hilarious of us all. She had a great sense of humour and knew how to calm everyone down in a tense atmosphere. Seeing her mind was already made up, we all embraced her and showed her some love as she started packing her things.
My people would say, "20 children cannot play for 20 years." Her departure weakened us but life goes on. The day she was moving, her joy knew no bounds. While our own countenance fell, Debbie was beaming with smiles. I decided to accompany her to her place and helped her with her loads. Her new apartment was not that far from ours. It was a quiet new self-contained apartment. She brought out her key and opened the door. "Oh! This is quite luxurious." I exclaimed. The apartment was already furnished unlike ours, where we had to contribute to buy every little we had in the house. After an hour , I took my leave and we waved at each other. Little did I know that was the last I would freely see Debbie. After that she became a scarce commodity. I had gone to visit her more than 3 times, and I would have to struggle with her door, knocking without response. So, I stopped visiting.
I think Debbie had a special place in heart. While everyone in the room had moved on, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I just wanted to be sure everything was right with her. Once in a while, we crossed paths on campus but had no heart to heart discussion like before until she rang me on the phone one day that we had to talk. The call was shocking, " Hi Juliet, can you come to my house?" I couldn't believe my ears. Debbie had literally abandoned us since she moved to her new house. She wouldn't even open the door when I went visiting. Thank God it was the weekend, I stretched my hands to pick my striped skirt and blouse that were neatly placed on our plastic chair and headed towards Debbie's house. Immediately I got to her doorstep, she opened the door.
This was so unusual, because I would have knocked and knocked without response on a normal day. I entered her room but noticed how badly her countenance had fallen. "She must have cried her eyes out," I concluded. I just sat beside her on the mattress, "Debbie, what's the problem?" She burst into uncontrollable tears. "I'm in trouble" , Debbie stuttered. Immediately, my mind ran a marathon. I thought the only thing that could get a final year student into a problem was the result. "Is it an EGL 401course? I asked impatiently, "What did you score?" Since I got no answer, I decided to calm down and hear from the horse's mouth. But she wouldn't even stop crying, after a while, she raised her head from her laps and looked at me as if she wanted to tell a secret. I also adjusted posture, looked her straight in the eyes, I was more than ready for whatever news this time around. "Juliet, I'm pregnant" Debbie burst into tears. Oh, I see! I wasn't truly ready for this. "How Debbie?" I was so angry inside of me. "Was that the reason she moved out?" But she didn't even have a boyfriend while she was with us. Definitely, everything changed when she started living alone. "So, privacy has finally turned into a snare for Debbie?" I questioned myself." "Please, keep my secret, I met a guy not quite long ago, he started coming here and we had things together. So, I'm pregnant now and I didn't know what to do" Truthfully, I didn't know what to say. I was disappointed and angry because we just have a few months to finish our programme. Also, I knew the kind of humiliation it would bring to her when people find out.
I managed to advise her to be strong and keep the pregnancy. I went to her kitchen and offered her some food before I left for my hostel. At my place, I couldn't tell my friends because I promised to keep her secret. However, I was only able to keep it for two weeks. I didn't do it on purpose anyways. We were just watching a movie together in the room about unwanted pregnancy and its effect on a lady. So, I said, " It will definitely be hard on Debbie, right now" Before I could cover my mouth, they had got the message already. "Is Debbie pregnant?" They all asked surprisingly. "I have let the cat out of the bag" I said within myself. I felt so bad and undependable. They all stood up, as if to a warfront towards Debbie's house. I knew I had betrayed the poor girl and I doubt if the guilt will leave my doorstep.
Thanks for reading.
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