Anyone who didn’t attend Ben Louise College would have had a wrong notion of Nike and Michael as they both walked into the living quarters of the Williams. They looked so much like a couple. Nike was wearing her favourite peach gown with floral designs and a sash around the middle. The design was beautiful and it accentuated her feminine beauty as much as her hair and personality paid respect to the charm everyone had come to know of Nike Bright. Even Lara was impressed with their look when she saw them across the living room where she was making small talk with some people. She praised her gorgeously dressed friend from afar with satisfaction then her eyes met in gridlock with the dashing image that had walked in with her. He wasn’t badly dressed; in fact, he looked much more handsome than she had ever seen him before – not to mention the fact that she had always seen him in their school uniform. He sported a light blue T-shirt and deep blue jeans by Denim and wore matching blue trainers on his feet. His hair was neat and well cut, as usual and as he smiled at the people they greeted, his face glowed with masculine beauty. Lara excused herself from her company and made her way to meet her new arrivals. As she walked towards them, her eyes caught with Michael’s again and she detected a hardness in his eyes as he looked at her.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my friend, welcome to my party. What took you so long?” Lara teased as she greeted her friend with an embrace.
“My birthday girl, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think it would take so long to get here. I would have called anyway but I guess I got carried away,” Nike said apologetically.
Michael leaned over to Nike and whispered something to her which made her giggle. This usually fluttered Lara but she reminded herself to keep her cool, after all she was the host and had to keep up an appearance and keep everyone happy.
“Anyway, Lara, I want you to finally meet Michael. Michael, this is Lara, the Celebrant.” Nike introduced.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Lara said with a smile as she shook hands with Michael.
“The pleasure is mine,” Michael replied.
“Excuse me, but I see someone I have to talk to over there. I’ll be right back, okay?” Nike said as she left Michael and Lara alone. Sensing, and knowing it would be impolite to leave him by himself, Lara quickly brought up conversation for them.
“So, how did you and Nike meet? She never told me.”
“Oh, well, we happened to meet in the library one day at school,” he began. “Probably because of the way I acted or was behaving, Nike knew I had to be new at the school. So she introduced herself and took me around. She really made me feel at home,” Michael said, relaxing a little.
“That’s my friend. But it’s funny that I never noticed you with her so much.” Lara wondered.
“Hmm! I guess so. You might not have seen me but I always saw you. I don’t see you as that kind of person to notice such little things.” He replied stressing the word “little”.
That retort almost infuriated Lara but she maintained her cool and only answered back.
“I didn’t know one could determine what kind of person another is just because you think of them that way. Moreover, I must have had a lot on my mind then. Exactly what time did you join us in Ben Louise?”
“That must have been February or about that time. I got transferred from one of the schools at Ikeja, here in Lagos, but we moved into Ikoyi earlier this year,” Michael said. Obviously this girl, Lara, is nowhere near the person he thought she was, Michael wondered to himself.
“I’m sorry, I seem to have lost my manners. I’m just talking your head off without offering you anything to drink. What would you like to drink, Juice, fruit wine, soft drink, water or – if you want to indulge yourself – ice-cream? So what will it be?” Lara queried as they walked over to the table.
“I don’t mind something light. I guess I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Michael said as they stood together at the table and he watched her serve two glasses of Eva fruit wine with such grace, it was beautiful to behold.
“So,” she said, when she handed him his glass, “tell me something honestly, when you came in, I had an impression that you really don’t like me and would rather not be here. Am I right?”
“Well … Okay, honestly, it’s not that I don’t like you. It’s just that, like I said earlier, you don’t strike me as the kind of person that would go out of her way to know people like me, much more be friends with me. You just seem like someone with a lot of class, if you know what I mean?” Michael said with mixed feelings as to how she would react.
“Wow! I’ve never been referred to being a snob yet. That’s a new one, I must admit. But I do know that different people perceive me in many wrong ways until they get the chance to meet me.” Lara argued.
“Okay, I can relate to that, no pun intended. You know, you really are good with words, and you know how to converse sensibly and maturely,” Michael said appraisingly.
“Why, thank you,” Lara said beaming all over.
“I really appreciate this talk, and I hope we remain friends,” he pressed on.
“Of course,” She answered. “Here comes Nicky.”
Indeed, Nike, who had cautiously been observing her two friends from afar and was satisfied that they had started off well, was making her way to where they stood talking with smiles all over her face. At least, she mused, they weren’t tearing each other apart.
“Hey, what’s up? Mike, for someone who really wasn’t sure he wanted to come to this party, you sure are hoarding the Celebrant all to yourself, meanwhile, there are rows of people who want to talk to or even get a chance to see the birthday girl while it’s still this millennium,” Nike teased them both.
“I didn’t think about that. I mean, we were just chatting, you know,” Michael replied sheepishly.
“Alright, I get the message. I’ll move around and see some other guests, okay? By the way Mike, thanks for telling me all that. It really means a lot to me.” And with that Lara walked off into the crowd greeting friends that had just walked in or answering questions here and there.
“So, Mr. Uppity, there goes Mrs. Snob. How come you guys talked so much? And you didn’t even miss me, your date for the party, eh?” Nike teased Mike when Lara was out of earshot.
“Come off it, Nike. Don’t rub it in okay? I know now that I was wrong about her and you were right. She is a great person. Anyway, let’s grab something to eat. I’m starving with all these delicacies,” Mike said doing his best to dodge the matter.
As the sun went down, everyone was in high spirits. The DJ, who arrived late, called up the celebrant to a makeshift stage. Lara with her mood very high, cat walked to the stage amidst cheers and applause from everyone. Then the DJ asked for someone to join Lara on stage for a dance. Nike, ever the quick and bright tone, rushed up to the microphone and suggested she be the one to choose who would get the opportunity to dance with Lara on such a wonderful occasion – since she was indeed the best friend to the celebrant. The idea seemed okay to everyone except Lara and Michael who knew exactly what Nike was up to. Lara didn’t disagree with Nike and she wasn’t surprised when Nike called out Michael’s name.
Michael on the other hand, was sure he had never been in such a fix as this before in his life. But he also knew there was no way he could object or evade it. He had once heard that when a woman sets her mind on a thing, it would be all but impossible to change her mind. He also knew he was going to scold Nike for putting him in such an awkward position. So as he walked out to the stage with people slapping him on the back, applauding, cheering and whistling, he did his best to calm down. Moreover, he saw that Lara didn’t object to it, so he might as well go with it.
With the little scene that played out, the ever observant DJ knew what to do. He quickly changed the song to one of Marc Anthony’s best – I Need You – and many other people began to pick partners to join Mike and Lara on the dance floor. When Lara joined arms with Michael, she felt stiff, nervous, shy and a bit shaky.
“Hey, relax!”Mik
e whispered into her ears. “It’s your birthday okay? You’ve got to enjoy every bit of it. Besides, I’m not going to bite. We’re just going to dance.”
With his gentle cool voice cooling in her ears such words of assurance, Lara visibly relaxed in his arms and they began to move with grace and ease on the dance floor.
“Hmm! I like your fragrance,” Michael said as they danced, inhaling the softness of her essence. “It’s vanilla right?”
“Yes, it is. My mum gave it to me. She says it makes me smell sweet,” Lara replied suddenly feeling warm all over. His gentle way of praising her in even the smallest of things made her happy and she could feel herself blush even as she thought of it.
“She’s right you know. It does make you smell sweet,” Mike answered.
“That’s very nice of you. Thanks. You’re cool too. And you do smell wonderful yourself. But I think your height and build makes me feel so small,” Lara responded.
“Does that intimidate you then?” Mike queried mischievously.
“No! Not at all, it’s okay,” Lara replied. Then they both got lost in thought, dancing, swaying this way and that way to the rhythm of the music, while thoughts ran amock in their minds.
‘My goodness, if only I’d known I would be holding her tonight, dancing with her like this. I would have prepared. I feel so tongue-tied. And the way she fits into my arms so perfectly, it seems unbelievable,’ Mike thought.
Lara, on the other hand, was thinking of subtle ways and what tactics she could employ to get Nike to keep making her paths cross with Michael’s. She could hardly believe, let alone express the way she was feeling. She felt excited. It was like they had been catapulted through time into the makings of a 1960s romance drama, and they were the main stars. She had certainly not felt anything like this before in her life. ‘Well, Lara, speak to yourself. I’m principled, yes I am. I wonder what this silly guy will be thinking in his tiny head,’ Lara smiled as she thought. She looked round and everyone seemed to be enjoying the party. So, she finally concluded, it’s a dance and nothing more. Anyway, she almost wished it would never end as they danced to King Sunny Ade’s best – Celebration. It seemed she thought too soon, because almost immediately, she felt and heard Nike behind her, coughing lightly to interrupt them.
“Eh hmm, excuse me, my wonderful friend and celebrant. Do you mind if I have a dance with this young man? I’ll be sure to return him when I’m through,” she whispered into her friend’s ears then turned to smile at Michael who just stood there staring at them.
“Of course, go ahead,” Lara said reluctantly.
“But Lara, promise me one more dance before we leave okay?” Mike said.
“Sure. I’ll be around. Anytime,” Lara said smiling and blushing as she left her friend and Michael together.
“So, tell me. When are we going to hear wedding bells?” Nike teased.
“What? Whatever are you talking about now?” Michael asked.
“Come on. I saw the way both of you danced and looked at each other. One could almost see the stars in your eyes. Seriously, I’m sure you were both off this planet. You might not have remembered I even existed,” she said.
“Ah-ah Nike! You sure know how to make mountains out of mole hills. And by the way, why complain? This was all your doing from the beginning, so don’t let me hear you complain that I was having a good time dancing with such a great dancer. Come on, show me what you’ve got.” Michael answered, and they continued dancing. The party went on and on; people were enjoying themselves, making new friends and gisting all the way. But Mike didn’t see Lara anywhere.
Meanwhile, Lara had gone to the garden to sit by herself and gaze upon the night sky as stars began to twinkle in the sky. She reminisced on the day. It had been a lovely day for her and she was sure not to forget it. She thought about the gifts she’d received, the friends and loved ones who had called and sent their regards, but most of all, she thought about the dance with Michael; his gracefulness as he stepped in rhythm to the melody being played, his voice as they both talked.
“What is wrong with me?” She asked herself. “I mustn’t think of this. Come on girl, snap out of it.” She looked up and saw the moon smiling down on her from its perch in the clear night sky, so she smiled back then laughed at herself for doing so.
Inside, Nike had searched for her friend and after checking in all the likely places in the house, she figured where she would find Lara. Then she had an idea and went to meet Mike.
“This room is getting stuffy. Why don’t we step outside for a bit of fresh evening air?”
“No problem, if it’s okay with you,” Mike responded, not desiring to sound rude. He had been trying frantically to catch a glimpse of Lara inside, without drawing attention to himself as doing that. So with one last effort, he scanned the room and followed Nike outside. No sight of Lara.
Chapter 5