Falling love was never easy as girls of the township always frowned upon guys coming from outside their location. Things were simple when we were young. I always played with this pretty young woman called Gift. we lived in the same street, attended the same school and even; taught by the same teacher.

i was a nerd thus according, to my classmates and street elders. Back then I did not know how to approach a girl. I watched girls writing and renditioning music artists' song lyrics. my friend, Patrick and I built wired cars and pushed them in the hot sun. I guess that put paid to my every chance of winning a good girl's heart. when I opened my eyes I was in grade seven--left with a mere four months to go to high school. I told my classmate, Happiness about that. He laughed at me as if I was cracking a joke.

Patrick got arrested for pointing a toy guy at an elderly man at a pay-point and; the community began to look at me suspiciously. My good grades and humility put paid to their suspicions. They started admiring me more. Gift fell in love and I began seeing changes in her physique. Her grades dropped. her brother, Johnny, started teasing her using me as an example of an astute, well-behaved young man. Wow! His praise won me secret admirers. a girl whom we all wanted at grade six started showing interest in me, Gift became jealous and that is how I had been longing for things to be. I did not waste time and self-invited myself to her family dinner. Her father, Jack, was so happy I came. He said my friend's grades was on the brink of  self-destruction because; could not seek help and tell them she was in an abusive relationship, that if she had, Johnny whould have solved the fool a long time ago. I knew the fool who had won her heart but, could not tell her parents who he was--to protect our friendship.

I, Happiness and she made a study group because we all struggled with mathematics. By the end of the year she thanked me by booking us in a five star motel were we spend the night. She has not told me how she did that. To this day I am still wondering; how did
she do that?