CHAPTER THIRTEEN

After shopping, the three ladies

agreed to meet up for dinner later

that night. They dropped Chris off

at the hotel and left for their various

houses. When Chris was finally

inside her hotel room alone, she

decided to pick up her calls. Her

phone has been ringing for quite

some time now but because it was

on silent mode, nobody knew except

her. She checked her phone and

saw many missed calls from her

assistant Rezy, her manager, and

even Doja. Calls from her assistant

and manager weren't surprising

because she had expected them,

but calls from Doja? That's new.

She wondered what he wanted

from her this time and she laughed

and a thought came into her mind.

Could it be that his fiance is

demanding an apology, so, like her

underdog, he's calling me so that he

can force me to apologize to Ima?

She smiled and said, "even if they

see me in their dreams, they will

never be able to get an apology out

of me." For the first time since the

incident with Ima happened, she

turned on the internet connection

on her phone and decided to check

what has been happening since she

went offline and what people have

been saying about her. She was

expecting to read all sorts of terrible

things about herself but was

shocked at her discoveries. She was

disappointed and disgusted at what

Doja has done. She couldn't imagine

that she once let this guy lay his filthy

hands on her. Anyway, people have

always said that the Apple never

falls far from the tree. And they are

right because that's really the case of

Doja. He's a casanova like his father.

You can't expect a pig to become a

horse because it's in their genes to

be pigs. When she read further on

the whole story and even saw

pictures, she said "God's not dead

baby" They plotted against me and

rigged the audition to favor

themselves. How good has that

turned out for them now? We all

ended up in the same position at the

end of the day. None of us got the

available spots. I wish I was still

back there to witness this. I would

have paid them a visit at the

hospital to laugh in their faces and

add more to their sorrows. This is

not the kind of scene that I am

supposed to miss. She laughed

again as she kept imagining what

Ima's face looks like right now. She

called up her manager to listen to

her rant because ranting is one thing

a manager does best. The call got

connected and as predicted, the

first thing she did was to scold Chris.

"Why are you ruining your image by

going around and fighting in public?

If you want to quit the modeling

industry and join wrestling why not

do so? It is only mad people that

respond to every insult that is

thrown their way. Even if Ima had

insulted you, you were supposed

to walk away. I used to think that

you had more sense in your head.

I know that within you right now,

you are saying that I have started

again. Chris, you know how and

where you started from. I don't

want you to compare yourself to

models like Ima. Chris, did you know

that you've got no one? You got to

where you are today with so much

hard work, so why not walk away

from unnecessary brawls that will

bring you no upliftment in your

career? Ima has a father who can

buy her a career if she so wishes.

Do you think that you will have a

place in this agency if her father

decides to kick you out? Be careful

about whose toes you step on

because this industry even this

life favors the rich. Are you

understanding me? I want you to

answer me if you are still there." 

"Yes I can understand you," Chris

said. She saw no need in explaining

herself to someone who has drawn

conclusions about her. Her manager

never asked her what happened

between her and Ima because that

is how her manager has always

been. She never wants to know the

cause of something that you have

done. All she cares about is your

response. If you respond and it

turns out bad, she'll nag about why

you responded that way and if you

don't respond, she will still complain.

That's the kind of person she is, so

none of the models under her, waste

their time in trying to explain the

situation to her. With her, silence is

the best answer. "So where have

you been hiding because Rezy has

just told me you are not in your

apartment and we couldn't get to

you for hours until now that you

decided to contact us at your own

time." I am away from town because

my father is sick. Her manager

laughed and said, "Chris have you

forgotten who you are talking to?

In case you have forgotten, you are

talking to me, Itohan your manager,

and I know that even if your father

dies, you will never attend his

funeral. So I'll ask again, where

are you?" Chris rolled her eyes

before saying I am in Abuja.

Itohan paused for a few minutes

before saying "is your modeling

agency now in Abuja? Who gave

you the right to leave town in the

midst of a crisis? Now listen, I will

give you just three days to organize

yourself and walk back into this

agency at exactly noon on the third

day. If you have any excuses,  save

them for when you get here else you

are fired." After saying that, she

disconnected the call and sat

down heavily on her chair as she

kept pondering about why such a

quiet and sensible girl like Chris

will get herself mixed up in a love

triangle and start fighting in public.

Like all of that was not enough,

she still packed her bags and left

like she owns her job. She sighed

and said, "this girl is impossible."

Chris dropped her phone after Itohan

disconnected the call.  she has never

been afraid of her manager because

she knows that her manager's bark

is worse than her bite. she checked

the time and it was already 5:30 in

the evening. she and the others

agreed to meet by 7 p.m. so she

went into the bathroom to take a

shower because she can't have a

bath anymore at this time else she

will keep the others waiting. after she

came out of the bathroom she laid

her edges and applied light makeup

because she was going to dinner with

her friends and not some official

company dinner or a date she

decided to dress casually. She

wore a short-fitting white dress

and a gold knee strap sandal and

a gold purse. she looked up at

herself in the mirror before stepping

out of her hotel room. at 7:30 p.m,

the three ladies met up at one of

their all-time favorite restaurant.

They discussed many things while

having their dinner. Chris who has

always watched what she eats

because she doesn't want to be fat

threw all caution to the wind and ate

to her heart's content. The two

ladies she was having dinner with,

couldn't keep it in anymore, so they

had to ask Chris what's going on in

her love life. It was Candice who

first asked by saying "Chris don't

let us die in suspense. You know

that we have been waiting to hear

the whole story of what happened

so just tell us already." Jade also

added by saying I've never pictured

you as a person who will fight

another woman because of a man

so I'm dying of curiosity. We really

want to hear the full gist and

remember, you will tell us everything

without any reservations. Chris

laughed as she looked at the two

women sitting in front of her and

said, I thought after getting married

the two of you will desist from

gossiping. "What's gossip are you

talking about Chris? This is not

called gossip it is called hearing the

entire story from the horse's mouth

so just tell us already or Jade what

do you think?" Chris told them

everything that happened with Doja

and how she never knew that

he was engaged to Ima. While she

was talking to her friends, a

thought suddenly popped up in

her head and she went quiet. She

just remembered that after that day

with Doja at the hotel, she never

took the morning-after pills because

it's been from one drama to

another so it skipped my mind.

By the time she will recover from

her shock, she shouted "Oh my

goodness gracious. I'm dead. "Her

voice startled the other two ladies

who were busy asking her why she

was quiet. Chris's hands began to

tremble as she looked towards

Jade and Candice. The other two

ladies looked at Chris with both

surprise and fear written on their

faces while asking her what the

problem was. Chris turned to them

with tears in her eyes as she said,

I think I have just ended my career

with my own hands. Jade held her

hands And said Chris what are you

talking about? your career cannot

come to an end because you had

a fight with someone. It is

something that happens almost

all the time in the entertainment

industry. Chris's hands kept

trembling as she said with a shaky

voice "after the time I spent with Doja

at the hotel, I never took the

morning-after pills. It was  Candice

who first reacted as she almost

shouted out loud by saying, "Chris

how could you have sex with a

total stranger without using a

condom? There are many

sexually transmitted infections

out there and you are being this

careless?" Jade held onto Chris's

hands and said "stop being afraid

for no reason because you might

not even be pregnant. Pregnancy

doesn't happen like magic. "Chris

looked at them and said you can't

understand. It was my ovulation that

was the reason I was so horny. The

three ladies kept looking at each

other as they sat in silence because

no one had anything to say to the

other. Finally, Jade spoke up "Chris

I want you to hear me out. I know

that your career is very important to

you. I know how much you want to

prove to your father and your

stepmother that you can make it

without them and I also know how

much you want to prove to the

world that a woman can succeed

without a man. You are an

independent hard-working lady and

you can raise a child all by yourself.

Even if it happens that you are

pregnant, it is not the end of your

career or the end of the world for

you. It will take about four months

before people start noticing

anything. It simply means that

you will only be missing in action

for maybe six to eight months. Your

career will not end between 6 to 8

months that you will be inactive.

"Candice looked at her and said "you

are our friend and no matter the

decision you take, we will never judge

you. We have always been there for

each other and that's how it will

continue to be. If you decide to have

this child even though we are not

sure it's there yet, remember that

you don't need to take care of this

child because Jade and I are here

for you. Just have the child and

bring the child to us. Nobody needs

to know about it because it's your

life and you choose whether you

want your life to be private or

public or whether you want to be

influenced by public opinion which

includes Jade and me. Instead of

wanting Jade and me to have

those twenty children, I guess we

can share them amongst ourselves."

Candice said that just so she can

lighten up the atmosphere that was

looking gloomy like someone has

passed on. They resumed eating but

Chris couldn't eat anything as she

had a lot on her mind. While they

were having their dinner in silence,

Rita who was also in the same

restaurant with another man who is

not Mark, walked up to them and

said "I thought my eyes were

deceiving me when I saw you

bunch of losers sitting here. I knew

you losers couldn't be saved anymore

when I saw your dear friend here

fighting a lady because of her fiance.

What is it about you three in this

group and fighting for men? You

always chase after those who are

way out of your league and when you

don't get them you converge in a

place to have a pity party just like

you are right now. Chris looked up

at her but said nothing and the three

ladies continued eating like Rita

was Invisible and that silent

treatment they gave to her really

got her mad. She turned around to

leave in anger but in the process,

she knocked down a glass of wine

on the table. Chris whose mood has

not been so great because of the

events of the last few days lost all

control and pulled Rita by her hair

as she slammed her head on their

table. Jade and Candice also

joined in as they started giving the

tramp the beating of her life. Because

it was late at night and nobody knew

that, that was Chris, people were

not so keen on taking pictures or

making videos. People from other

tables rushed over to separate the

ladies who were fighting. Even the

man who was having dinner with Rita

a while ago rushed down and was

surprised to see that Rita was the

lady that was being beaten up. He

looked behind him again to be sure

his eyes were seeing clearly.  The

ladies were separated but Rita was

still lying on the table amidst the

scattered food and broken dishes

and glasses that were on the table

and the floor. Her face was swollen

and her arms were bleeding. She

had only half a pair of her shoe on

as the other one has been lost during

the fight. In the midst of the whole

chaos, the three ladies strategically

and quietly walked away from the

scene. While some people felt pity

for the lady who has been beaten

up on the table, some felt that the

scene before them was funny as

they were laughing. She was crying

and threatening to sue them and by

the time people turned around to

check on the other three ladies, they

were nowhere to be found as they

have since fled the scene. Chris

forgot about her problems and joined

her other two friends as they all

began to laugh about what they had

just done. Chris shouted, "that bitch

had it coming."