I bit my nails as I waited for my supervisor to call me into his office. He was angry with me, that much I knew. I was weeks behind on my project. I had lied to him, I had avoided him and of course I blamed Creep for all of these. It was four days since I was supposed to meet with Creep and I was yet to hear anything from him. I should be happy but I wasnāt. Was he preoccupied with something else? Was he leaving me alone? Was he planning something terrible for me? It was better when he spoke to me, at least then I knew what he was doing. Maybe he moved on; unlikely but possible.
My research on Mr Tunji only proved he loved sleeping with students, it proved no blackmail or setting up any other student. Dave had been asked to report at the security office every day and he did. Nothing was happening on that end too. Everything was quiet.
āCome in.ā Dr Koredeās voice cut off my thoughts. I whispered a silent prayer and entered his office.
āLook who finally decided to show up. Whatās going on with you? Iāve never known you to be this way.ā He said as I sat.
āIām sorry sir.ā I mumbled.
āI have done what you told me to.ā I said taking my laptop from my bag. He looked at the laptop and laughed.
āYou think it will just be business as usual? Whatāll stop you from upping and leaving again?ā
āI promise I wonāt sir. I had some issues before but Iām fine now.ā I said.
āReally, the school has let your boyfriend go?ā
āWell, no sir.ā
āThis person you say is following you around, has he stopped?ā I shook my head.
āSo, what are you saying?ā I sighed and looked at him.
āSir, I promise Iāve put it all that behind me.ā He shrugged and nodded.
āOkay, bring out the flash drive I gave you, I need to show you something.ā I immediately dug into my bag. I couldnāt find the flash drive. Of course I couldnāt, it was back in my room. I told my supervisor, he was not pleased.
āYouāre not doing yourself any favours here. How am I sure you will be back?ā He asked.
āI will be back in thirty minutes.ā I hurried out of the office and almost as soon as I got out my phone rang. My heart skipped, I hoped it wasnāt Creep. It was Dupe. I wondered why she was calling.
āDupe, whatās up?ā
āThat guy, Jones, I know how he outdid the lecturer.ā She said.
āYou know how he told you get someone more connected to help against Mr Tunji? Thatās what he did.ā She said.
āOkay, who helped him? Someone in the school?ā I asked.
āNo, but guess what his surname is: Ogunsakin!ā
āOkayā¦ā The name did not mean anything to me.
āYou donāt know the name? Thatās the speaker of the state house of assembly.ā It made sense then that he was able to circumvent Mr Tunjiās plan but why wasnāt Mr Tunji sacked? It was the expected outcome.
āYou know this Jones guy, right? Maybe you could talk to him about helping Dave.ā I said.
āI donāt think so.ā Dupe replied.
āWhy?ā I was surprised she was refusing to help.
āI know the guy because he had a fight with Segun once.ā She said.
āWhat was the fight about?ā
āI donāt know but I donāt think Segun will want me talking with or ask the guy for anything.ā
āAre you kidding me? Segun broke up with you! Why do you care what he thinks?ā I could not believe what I was hearing.
āI donāt know, I just donāt think itās right. And the guy might know Iām Segunās girlfriend and not pay me any attention anyway.ā
āDupe! I canāt believe you are saying this. Even Segun wonāt refuse this on account of a stupid fight they had a long time ago.ā As I talked I heard the sound of a car behind me, I looked back and saw a black Toyota following me.
āDupe, thereās a car following me.ā I whispered.
āAre you sure? Stop moving and see if it stops too.ā It was good advice. I stopped walking and moved to the side of the road. The car kept coming; maybe it wasnāt following me after all. The car moved slowly as it moved past me then suddenly it stopped. Was it Creep? The windows were tinted, I couldnāt see.
āDupe, the car has stopped in front of me. What do I do?ā Surely, I wasnāt going to be abducted in the middle of the school.
āIs the car still there?ā Dupe asked.
āYes! Thatās what I just said.ā
āWhat are you waiting for? Run!ā I wanted to run but I could not move. I just held the phone to my ear and stared at the car. I was worse than a sitting duck.
āAre you out of there?ā Dupe asked.
āNo.ā I whispered back. And just then the windows of the car rolled down.Segun?
āGet in.ā He said, waving me in.
āDupe, Iāll call you back.ā I said and ended the call.
āSegun, what are you doing here?ā āJust enter first.ā He replied. I took a step to enter then stopped. Iād never seen the car before.
āWhere did you get this car?ā
āI stole it.ā He said. I looked at him and stepped back. He laughed, leaned over and opened the door. I hissed and entered the car.
āWhere are you going?ā He asked.
āTo my room, I need to get a flash drive for my project.ā
āWant to go for a ride first?ā He asked.
āNo, I donāt want to. My supervisor is waiting for me.ā I said.
āBy the way, Dupe mentioned that you know Jones.ā
āJones?ā He asked and turned away from me. He was suddenly uneasy.
āYou know him right?ā
āWhy are you asking?ā
āI need you to ask him for a favour on my behalf.ā
āWhat do you want to ask?ā He asked. He wasnāt looking at me, something was wrong.
āHey Segun, is there something youāre not telling me?ā I asked and looked at him.
āJust sit, you can ask questions later.ā Maybe I shouldnāt relax in the car. Segun was acting weird. Did he steal the car for real?
āSegun, where did you get this car?ā
āDonāt worry, I didnāt steal it. It belongs to a friend.ā He said. I was not quite satisfied with that answer.
āWhich friend?ā I asked.
āToo many questions.ā He said. Anyway, I canāt help you with Jones. He and I had a fight a while ago. Sorry about that.ā
āIf you wonāt do it for me, wonāt you do it for your friend Dave?ā I said. He didnāt answer. I want to get down.ā I said.
āWhat?ā He asked.
āStop the car, I want to get down.ā I repeated.
āCome on, because I said I canāt help? Donāt be silly.ā
āSegun, stop the car!ā I was so angry now, I was shivering.
āOkay, calm down. Iāll stop now.ā He said and looked behind me. He pushed a button and the doors locked. I looked at him and for the first time I began to panic. What was he doing?
āSegun, what the hell?ā
āIām sorry.ā He said and turned away from the road to my hostel. I banged the door.
āLet me out!ā
āIām sorry.ā he said again.
āWhat are you doing?ā He didnāt answer but looked behind me again. Was somebody there? I started to look behind but I felt a hand grab my neck. I closed my eyes and screamed. I felt a pinch on my neck.
āSegun, help!ā I screamed. He did not look my way, he just kept driving. My vision began to blur.
āSegun, heā¦eelp.ā My words slurred. Was Segun working with Creep? Why would he do that? Oh my God, was he Creep? My head drooped and I dropped into darkness.
I opened my eyes and saw nothing. My head thumped and my mouth was dry. Then I remembered being in the car with Segun. I screamed but no sound came out, my throat was too dry. I tried to move my hand but they were tied. I stood to my feet but fell immediately and I began to cry. I felt a hand grab me and set me on the chair. And a voice said.
āWelcome.ā . . .
Tbc
The Stalker ~Episode 9
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