"Ay's girlfriend"
What? What did you say? I turned to be sure Ahmed was referring to me when he said that.
It was a hot evening, and the room temperature was making me sweaty inside the room, so I was just relaxing sitting on a bench in front of our lodge when Ahmed walked up to me and thought it was the best opportunity to say what had been bugging his mind.
"Don't even deny it, just admit that you are Ay's girl"
My face was blank, I didn't know how to react at first to such utterances from Ahmed.
And why will you call me that? I said as I managed to gather my thoughts.
"That is what Ay has been telling everyone close to him, isn't it true,? "
Wow, you mean he has been saying that?
"Yes, he is, you can go ahead and ask TJ my roommate if you think I'm lying."
At this point, I was so furious but I tried to stay calm as much as I could.
When did I become Ay's girl, that I wasn't aware of?
The last time I checked, he asked me out and I respectfully declined to be in a relationship with him.
I had a boyfriend outside the school and I wasn't the type that doubled date, I do not have a stomach for it, and besides dating a guy living in the same school lodge as mine could bring a great distraction to my studies. Thirdly, Ay isn't even my specs, he is too loud for my liking.
Yes, we were sort of close right from home, he was my sister's neighbor and through him, processing an admission into the school was very easy.
Being a second-year student, he already knows how to go about the admission process and he never hesitates to help me go through the process in my time of settling down in the school.
All I needed to do was to ask him for an assistant, and he would gladly come through, but that was all.
When Ay and I had that conversation about two months earlier I thought that he would respect my wishes and stay clear of my business, not knowing he had been going around spreading a rumor about the two of us being in a romantic relationship.
This was bad for me, really bad.
My boyfriend whose close friend lives close to our lodge might hear it and he might inform his friend without finding the truth from me. Ay on the other hand has nothing to lose. He is single and he is a man after all.
Ahmed, since you said Ay has been telling you guys about this, I won't say anything until he is present among us, and then he should say to my face that we have been dating.
It happened that, that week, Ay hadn't resumed back from the school holiday.
I waited patiently for the day he would arrive. Though it wasn't an easy wait, if there is anything I hate most in my life is someone telling lies against me. Not just any lies, but that was something that could put a turbulent hurdle in my six-month beautiful relationship with Ray who happens to be in a long-distance relationship with me.
A week later, I had just come back from the day lecture, and as I stepped foot inside the lodge compound I could hear Ay's voice, laughing kah kah kah while he was gisting among his roommates.
I hissed, and said silently, only God knows the kind of lies he is spreading this time around.
Just by hearing his voice, I remember the lies he had spread against me and I was overtaken by a range. My hands stiffened, my chest contracted and I felt like just punching his face.
I took a deep breath and walked inside my apartment to let myself calm down before handling the matter at hand.
About thirty minutes later, I walked into their apartment, I took a deep breath, before knocking on their door. Ko, ko, ko, "Who is there?" Said, a voice that sounded like Ahmed, it is me Ramat. May I?
"Please come on in, the door is open."
As soon as Ay sighted me, he put on a smiling face but I gave a furious look in return.
Lucky for me all his four roommates were present including Ahmed.
I went straight to the point, "Ay, can you please, look me in the eyes and tell us how I became your girlfriend"?
"Huh,"
yes, answer her, said Ahmed from the back, isn't that what you have been telling everyone?
"Ah ah oh, he began to stammer,"
Oh, so now you have lost your voice?
I snapped back at him.
"I'm sorry Ramat, I don't mean that."
You don't mean to tarnish my reputation, or what it is you are saying?
"I'm very sorry, you know how much I like you and ever since you turned me down I couldn't bear the thought of seeing any other guys coming close to you, so I said that to everyone to discourage them."
All eyes in the room were on him, and while he confessed to all that, they opened their mouths and all said wow! Almost at the same time.
"I'm truly, sorry I did it to protect you,"
still trying to feel better about himself I guess, after the damage he caused me.
No, Ay, you did that for your selfish interest and not for me.
Did you know that because of your silly lies, my boyfriend has stopped talking to me thinking that I had been cheating on him?
Oh, I'm sorry, please forgive me.
No, you are not, you can't be sorry, that is exactly what you wanted. You can just keep your sorry inside your tiny pockets in front of your shirt. I said for the last time
As I walked out of their apartment.
The lies that Ay told against me put a turbulent block on the relationship between Ray and me that we were never able to navigate and came out of it, even after I tried so hard.
After explaining to Ray many times that Ay had only been mischievous there was truly nothing between us, he found it hard to believe. At some point, I got tired of apologizing for an offense I never committed so I had to let Ray go.
Thank you!
