Chapter one: BROKEN

It is a starry friday night in the city of Lagos. TGIF. The weekend is just around the corner and Teni has the perfect idea of what her weekend would look like.

The regular schedule her whole life is welded into. Plans, drawing out lists is what got her to where she is and she is hell bent on keeping it that way.

She stares out of her window and admires the stars in the sky, blooming the night's view with how distinct each star is. She wonders how the stars manage to be content with their positions, each of them standing alone.

She can't imagine herself being alone and although she doesn't have that much friends, Teni prefers to be in a noisy gathering than having an afternoon nap alone in her room.

Or any nap at all. She hates sleep. The idea of zoning out for an unreasonable amount of time sounds bizarre to her.

Stars don't usually show up on just any night. She wonders what is so special about the night.

Or maybe tonight is special.

"Madam, what are you looking at? You just left your slave in the kitchen to wash plates for you abi?" Bolu joins her on the bed after making a mocking face at her best friend.

"Sorry. You already know I hate washing dishes." She has always liked having Bolu over at her house.

Homey. House-wifey type, the kind that helps her with all of her domestic needs but sometimes she feels bad for letting her do all the cooking and cleaning.

Emphasis on sometimes.

"I pity you. What man will understand that you in quote don't like washing plates." She mocks her and Teni in reciprocation, responds with a tongue out.

Teni adjusts her pink camisole gown and lays her head on Bolu's thick thighs. "How is your fashion designing business going?"

Bolu plays with Teni's long hair. She let out a little laugh. "You've asked me three times today already."

"I'm just trying to know how my best friend is doing. Shouldn't I worry about you?"

She chuckles. "Of course you can. I know what you're trying to do. You just want to get me to talk about it over and over cos you're really proud of me, hmm?"

"Yes!" They both laugh. "I'm pretty sure it's going to hit big Bolu. I can just feel it in my bones. Stella is just another rival who's jealous of you. That girl irks me."

Bolu grimaces. "I don't know why she turned out that way. Can't two women that are doing well be happy for each other? I mean I have nothing against her." She shoots her hands up as a form of surrender. "Some of her designs are like, really really good and sometimes I wish I had done that but I still respect her, you know?"

Teni sits up to give Bolu a slight push on her shoulder. "What design? What does she have?"

She continues. "You are by far the best at what you do. No Stella can take that away from you."

"This one that you're just complimenting someone like this..." Bolu shoots her a suspicious look.

"Ah ahn what is that supposed to mean?" Teni looks at bolu, with her hand on her chest, feigning hurt. "I always compliment you, don't I?."

Bolu shakes her head no.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Oh." Teni says, staring into space. "Okay well, from now on, I'm going to make sure to pay you thousands of compliments just like you deserve." She pat her cheeks. "Ugh, you're so cute."

"Another compliment?"

Teni nods aggressively, smiling sheepishly like a two year old.

"Give me another one. Let's hear you."

Teni's smile disappears as she racks her brain for something heartfelt. "Your hair is... not... terrible?"

"You!" Bolu lurches for her friend, tackling her till they both fall to the ground. "You said you liked it!" Teni's deep, rich laughter echoes through the corners of her large bedroom. Bolu soon joins in, still tackling her. "I hate you! You sneaky little thing."

"Okay! It's pretty. I love it!"

"Liar!" She smacks Teni's behind repeatedly, who is still rolling on the floor, her eyes shaped like a cat's, crinkling even more from the intensity of her laughter. "I hate you!"

"I'm sorry!." She wraps her long slender arms around Bolu, giving her a huge kiss on her forehead.

"You're lucky I love you Teni." Teni chuckles and just as she's about to tease her best friend some more, her cellphone vibrates and the familiar ringtone blasts through the phone's speaker.

Teni searches for her phone. "Where is... Where did I put it?"

"Here." Bolu retrieves her phone from the bed beside them and checks the caller ID, the name confirming her suspicion, it's him. "Here, your prince charming..." Sarcasm lacing through her bored tone.

Teni pokes her cheek but Bolu is not having it. She responds with a fake smile and steps towards the bathroom to take a shower.

"Wait for me o!" Teni yells. They always have their bath together.

She calms herself down with the adrenaline rushing through her bones. Her boyfriend is calling and she's pretty sure he wants her to come over tomorrow.

A date or a night in with Netflix. Whatever it is, she's ready and excited.

Tonight is special.

"Hey," she says, after accepting the call.

"Hi... Teniola." His raspy voice is the first thing she processes.

"Hey... how are you? I actually wanted to call but you know how Bolu is, she won't lea..."

"Yeah about that," he cuts her off. "I don't think you should call me anymore."

"Oh. Is your phone faulty?" She asks, that phone is always giving him problems.

"No. Well, yes. It was but I changed it now." He sighs deeply and Teni straightens on her knees, still on the floor.

"Femi, is something wrong?" She trembles, her heart pounding rapidly.

"I don't think I like you that much anymore. Frankly speaking, it's been that way for a while and I'm just... Tired of pretending."

Tired? It's been only eight months, and did I just hear him say like? It's been eight months for Pete's sake.

What about love?

She begins to stand to her feet, trying to decode the words coming out of his mouth.

Play dumb.

"Femi, I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"

He grunts. "That's it. You did not do anything wrong. You never do anything wrong but I'm bored. It's so boring with you. Safe. Tiring. All we do is go on dates. Watch Netflix. Go to church. After that, it's just one way street to boredom town."

That's harsh. Why didn't he tell me this sooner? He almost sounds like...

"I'm breaking up with you."

"No," she whispers. "Why? Because I'm boring?"

"Yes!" She knows by now, his hands are in his hair, pulling nonstop. He gets that way when he yells.

"Boring? I've never heard that one before. Femi, is something else on your mind and you want to say..."

"I want sex aunty! seeeex you hear? I'm tired of your stupid excuses. Chastity and all that bullcrap you keep pulling on me. They haff chop you finish abi?"

Wow.

Bolu comes out of the restroom and turns to Teni, who has a scared expression on. She motions with her fingers and mouth to her so she can put her phone on loud speaker.

Teni does just that.

"You do that all the time! Be patient. Until wedding night. Everytime, we're not ready. You're always so tense when it comes to fun stuff like that. It's so boring and tiring. I can't even cheat. Sometimes I feel like a creep cos anytime I want to touch my girlfriend, she flinches like a freaking scaredy cat!"

"You're mad." Teni turns to Bolu, whose voice she just heard, with a shocked expression and pleading eyes, she silently begs her not to say anything again.

"What- what did you say?" Femi's voice transports through the phone's speaker.

Teni begs her with her eyes and fingers, whispering, "please don't get him ups..."

"You're mad se. You were never a smart person from the start and now you have the audacity to criticize my friend's values. Who the hell do you think you are? Huh?." Bolu says that in the calmest way possible.

"Teni, that's your stupid friend, right? That fatso..."

"Hey, pipsqueak... You're lucky we're kilometers away from each other because that stupid mouth of yours that just body shamed me would have been fed to wild dogs that instant, and I'm not joking around. Trust me. I don't know what my friend saw in you. Oh I do actually, nothing. She's just used to making people feel more important than they actually deserve and someone like you, you're not even worth quarter of her time Femi. You're a dirty fool, a cheat! You lie! You..."

Teni tries to grab the phone from her but Bolu is obviously much more stronger.

"You always try to pin all the errors on her like you're perfect. In your life! Don't ever- ever call this number again." Bolu hisses at the phone. "Koshidanu!" She cuts the line and tosses the phone to the bed.

"Bolu! Why would you do that?!" Teni pushes her with an angered expression on her face.

"Hey, abeg. We all know Femi was and is a useless somebody. People like him do not stick around. You deserve so much more, you just don't have sense." Teni sighs and throws herself on the bed.

So much for a special night. She had been dating Femi for about eight months. Ever since this whole sex thing came up, Femi had been acting weird.

Teni is not stupid. She knows he has cheated twice or more. She has found used condoms in his pants on one or two occasions.

The lady's perfume anytime she hugs him. Locking her out and stealing back her spare key to his house. He's been cheating for as long as she can remember but part of her felt it was her fault since she decided there would be no sex till marriage.

He'll come around when we finally get married and we can have all the fun we want. Freely.

She couldn't be more wrong.

Bolu sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. She takes a seat beside her now crying friend. "Teni, why are you doing this to yourself? We both know he doesn't deserve you. You said it yourself, he was cheating!"

"But I love him! I don't know why sex has to be attached to a relationship! " She sniffs, drying her tears with her camisole gown.

"It's not a bad thing to want to keep yourself but you know all these creatures called men. They can't. They don't have that control. It's easy for you cos you're a virgin Teni." She massages her thick hair, patting her.

She continues. "And being a virgin in this time is a lot of hard work. Especially when you see some mouth-watering Idris Elba looking Yoruba demons." Bolu diverts, an attempt to cheer her friend up.

Teni chuckles, wiping away more tears. "Idris Elba is fine abeg..."

Bolu nods. "Fine like mad. You see that Jonathan in your office ehn, God help me because Emmanuel might suffer a heartbreak soon."

Teni laughs. "Jonathan is fine too."

"Fine gini? That man is shmoking. Atarodo. Sweet boy niyen now. Eyan falz."

"Jesus, you're so razz." She hits her on the shoulder playfully, laughing hysterically.

"I'm glad I can make you laugh." She pulls her in for a hug. "I'm here. If you want me to dump Emmanuel and fly solo for a while. You just say it."

She sniffs, looking at her. "You'd do that?"

Bolu chuckles, pulling her closer. "Of course not. What am I? Fucking Santa Claus?"

Teni sniffs, laughing hard. "Oh my God, I love you. Thanks for everything Bolu. I needed that."

"I'm always here for you. Always."

"Always."

She starts to process the harsh reality that is just dawning on her. She's single again.

Single again at 24.

Tonight is not special at all.

How the hell is she going to break the news to everyone else in her life now?