A Crazy Plan

I made sure not to let anyone know that I was the one who went to call the hostel master, but somehow this mysterious person found out.

The only way they could have known is if a secret admirer saw me going to the hostel master's lodge, which meant my secret admirer was a guy. There is another gay guy in this school who has taken a liking to me.

Initially, I should have been happy and excited. Someone had a crush on me, and they were compatible with my sexuality. It was everything I had ever wanted. However, this revelation was both shocking and frightening. The thought of having an intimate relationship with a guy scared me to the core, sending me into a long stream of worries.

What if we get caught? Would I end up like Senior Adams? Who could this anonymous admirer be, and why did he choose me?

I couldn't let this happen, especially after what I had witnessed. I couldn't accept such a burden. I needed to fix this before it was too late, and there was only one person I trusted enough to help me—Israel.

During the break, I looked everywhere for Israel, but he was nowhere to be found. I had told him earlier that I had something important to discuss during the break, yet he still bailed on me. But I wasn't going to give up.

This was too important for me to just give up. This was my problem, not his.

Like the saying goes, "If Mohammed doesn't go to the mountain, the mountain shall go to Mohammed." Not sure if this is the right idiom for my situation, but still, I searched from one class to the next until I covered the entire classroom area. It felt like I was searching for a missing person because nobody I asked seemed to have seen him. I felt stupid for relying on such an unreliable person, and I was genuinely worried. This was not just about him forgetting to meet up with me.

At this point, Israel was missing, and that was beginning to scare me. Although I knew I was overreacting a bit, I expanded my search, scouring the school field, hostel area, and even the dining hall, but there was still no sign of him.

Just as I was about to give up my solo search party and report him missing to the school authorities, I found him. To my surprise, Israel emerged from the school's infamous uncompleted building, accompanied by a female accomplice.

"What was Israel doing with a female in such a sketchy environment?" I asked myself. And then it hit me—Israel wasn't missing; he was busy fooling around with someone else, a girl.

I shut my eyes tightly as hot tears ran down my cheeks. My brain couldn't understand why I was so emotionally upset about it. I ran back to my classroom, struggling to wipe away the tears.

Now I knew what to do. Somehow, Israel had provided me with the ultimate solution to my problem. The answer was crystal clear. I didn't know why I hadn't seen it before.

All I needed to do was to get myself a girlfriend. Once I had a girlfriend, everyone, especially my so-called secret admirer, would know that I was not gay. The only problem now was finding someone who would agree to date someone like me. Time was not on my side because the longer I waited, the more my sexual identity was at risk. I needed a girlfriend as soon as possible—yesterday, if that were even possible.

I couldn't afford to go through the whole "friends to lovers" routine; it would take forever, and I might end up stuck in the friend zone.

Luckily, I already had a female friend, Sophie, so I didn't need to go through the entire friends-to-lovers process. Sophie was one of the most beautiful girls in my grade, at least a thousand feet above my league.

There was no way she would agree to date someone like me, not even in my wildest dreams. But again, I was out of options, cornered with my back against the wall.

It was either Sophie or brace myself and accept the burden of being an African gay man. I had a tough choice to make. Was it worth risking our friendship over? Actually, it was.

She was a good friend, but we had only been friends for three to four weeks. Perhaps we could return to being just friends and try to rebuild our friendship in the future. What could possibly go wrong?

The closing bell rang, signaling it was time for me to make my move. There she was, as elegant as ever, accompanied by a couple of her friends—my kryptonite.

For personal reasons, I could only talk to Sophie when she was alone. I took the saying "three's a crowd" a bit too seriously. Finally, she was alone. This was my opening, my chance to make my move.

"Hey Sophie, how are you doing?" I knew it was a cliché line, but it was all I had.

"Hello, Danny-boy! It's been a while. Where have you been? I was looking for you during recess," Sophie said.

"Sorry, I was doing some treasure hunting of my own," I replied, attempting to inject some humor.

"Haha, very funny. So, did you want to tell me something?" Sophie asked, her confusion evident.

"What's that supposed to mean? Can't I walk with my closest friend again?" I tried to sound casual, though deep down, my heart was pounding.

"Correction, Israel is your closest friend. I'm your only female friend," Sophie clarified.

"Fair point, but if you don't mind, I'd like to change that," I said, mustering up all the courage and strength within me. This was, by far, the bravest thing I had ever done.

Stunned, Sophie asked for reassurance, "Daniel Itua, are you asking me out?"

"Yes, I am," I replied confidently.

This was it—the moment I had been waiting for. It was a fifty-fifty game, or perhaps more like a seventy-five to thirty-five chance, but who cared? The odds didn't matter; the result did.

"Okay, Danny-boy, way to go! I never knew you had the guts to pull this off," Sophie exclaimed. Little did she know, I was unsure myself. Still, I couldn't let her see my doubt.

"So, is that a yes?" I asked, eager to get this over with.

"Hold your horses, cowboy. You don't expect me to say yes immediately, do you? I mean, you'll have to give me some time to think about your proposal," she said, a mischievous smile on her face.

"What? Yes, I do! That's the whole point of asking you out now. If I wanted your reply in the future, I could have just asked in the future," I thought to myself.

However, I couldn't reveal my true thoughts, as it would only jeopardize my chances.

"Okay, yeah, you're right. But please don't keep me waiting too long," I replied, trying to mask my disappointment.

"I can't make any promises," Sophie teased, and we both laughed it off.

At that moment, I knew my operation to get a girlfriend was surprisingly a success. Sophie was straightforward, and if she wanted to say no, she would have done so right then and there. From the way she responded, it was evident that her eventual answer would be a yes.

My plan had succeeded, and I hoped it would yield the desired result. It had to; otherwise, I would be in as much trouble as an African gay man.

....

"Oh my goodness, who thought it was a good idea to blast music at this time of day?" I exclaimed as the noise grew louder.

People were chatting, and curiosity got the better of me. I opened my eyes to see what was going on, and what I saw left me speechless

"Hey, you're finally awake," a familiar voice greeted me. I turned to find Israel sitting on my bed.

"What do you mean I'm finally awake? Where the heck are we?" I demanded answers.

"You tell me," Israel responded, his smile growing wider.

Confused, I got up from the extra soft couch and looked around. Holy cow, I couldn't believe it. I was back, back in the gay strip club nightmare.

"No, this can't be happening again! Israel, you have to get me out of here!" I pleaded, desperate for an escape.

"Hey there, fresh blood!" Michael's voice rang out, and I recognized it instantly. I quickly moved out of the way, avoiding his grasp.

"Relax, baby. You look spooked," Michael said, his tone filled with amusement.

Israel stood by, wearing a broad smile.

Sooner than expected, Michael climbed onto one of the tables and announced, "Hey!!! Can I get everyone's attention, please? It's my friend's birthday today, and I propose we give him the infamous special gay strip club birthday celebration."

It felt like an amplified déjà vu, only this time, I was certain I had experienced it all before.

As soon as he finished his speech, there was a loud cheer. I wasn't sure if it was for me or Michael, but it didn't matter. The DJ resumed the music, and everyone started dancing in a circle.

"No, no, no! This can't be happening," I muttered to myself, well aware of how it would all play out in the end. It was an experience I didn't want to endure again.

In frustration, I closed my eyes tightly and let out a yell, hoping someone in the real world would hear and wake me from this strange nightmare.

When I opened my eyes, what I saw made me wish I had kept them shut. There was a shadowy figure sitting on my bed, their hands on my manhood.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed, shocked by the intrusion.

Startled by my awakening, the figure quickly fled from the room.

I didn't bother chasing after them because I had more pressing concerns—there it was, an erection, another confirmation of my interest in men.

Just when I thought things were finally looking up for me, the universe threw a surprise curveball, leaving me off balance in ways I couldn't comprehend.