Read Parts 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Pristine series here, here  Here Here here here, here, here
Here  here and here

It was the last CDS meeting before
the batch B passing out, and Environmental CDS members had assumed Dara would
take up Chika’s position, being the Vice President and already familiar with
the president’s roles. She declined, however, giving a busy schedule as excuse,
what with her private tutoring and heavy workload at the school.

After the election meeting, Chika
caught up with her on her way out and asked, puzzled, “What was that about? You
know you deserved to be president.”

Dara smiled. “Well, I’d rather
spend my time grooming kids to be smart enough so they know not to litter the
environment in the first place.”

“I just hope that decision had
nothing to do with me,” he said, arching a brow.

Uju walked up to them then.
Playfully pulling Chika’s hand, she asked Dara, “Can I steal him for abit?”

Dara shrugged, mumbling, “Wouldn’t
be the first time.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Dara, please don’t leave yet,
we’re not done talking,” Chika said as Uju pulled him away.

Dara continued walking. The sun
was scorching and her phone was ringing, but all she wanted to do was walk. It
had been months, why did it still hurt so much that he chose Uju over her each
time?

The phone wouldn’t stop ringing,
so she picked up and hissed angrily, “What is it? Look, there’s nothing you can
say to make me change my mind so just don’t bother!”

There was a pause, then a confused
“Hello to you too. Change your mind about what, though?”

Dara frowned, confused too. She
hadn’t bothered to check who the caller was, she had simply assumed it was
Chika. She apologized, embarrassed, “Sorry, I thought it was someone else.”

Amused, Tayo asked, “Am I calling
at a bad time?”

“Just not having a good day,” she
told him quietly.

“I figured. You sound like someone’s
pissing you off. Where are you?”

“Leaving CDS. Headed home. Around Kasuwa.”

“I’m not at work today because I
have malaria. And I’m making myself some get-well-soon soup,” he said. “Want
some?”

Dara chuckled. “Over the phone?”

“Well, if you asked nicely, I
could allow you pay me a visit.” She hesitated, so he added, “You sound like
you need to talk, I’m offering you a listening ear plus a plate of soup, that’s
all.”

She thought about it for a second.
“You can tell me how to get to your place. I’ll just get home and change from
my uniform. But you know these tricks of yours are getting old, right?”

He laughed. “I’ll be expecting
you.”

When she showed up at his door
about an hour later, they were both dressed in similar blue jeans and tees, and
she told him, “You look younger.”

He frowned, smiling. “Is thirty
really so old?”

“Yes. To a twenty-one year old.”
She covered her face with her hands. “Now I feel so small.”

“Come on. It’s only almost a
decade.” He grinned.

“Only?! At your age, I hope to be
married with two kids—Are you married?” She quickly asked. It hadn’t occurred
to her before that he might be.

“Not yet. But you’re about to
taste the best soup ever. I boiled some rice to go with it,” he told her as he
fetched the plates.

Dara suddenly stiffened as she
watched him dish the food. He must have noticed, because he asked, looking at
her with concern, “Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“Then why aren’t you talking? I’m
the sick one here, remember? We agreed I was only going to listen.”

“Thanks,” she smiled as he handed
her a plate. “It’s just…the last meal I shared with a guy didn’t end so well. I
couldn’t help but remember.”

He took a seat beside her on the
couch. “What happened?”

“He-he tried to kiss me.”

Tayo shrugged. “He must’ve been a
healthy young man. Can’t blame him.”

Dara stared at him, astonished.
“Seriously? You’d do that too?”

He shrugged again and replied with
a straight face, feigning seriousness, “Well, we both know how you’ve asked me
for some favours in the past, so of course I would if you begged me to.”

She rolled her eyes at him,
smiling.

To be continued….

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