Chapter 2. Rude but Rich

Marissa was amused by how anxious she was about the news Evelyn was about to give her boyfriend. 

"One would think that you are the one who is pregnant" she scoffed at herself in amusement as she opened her front door. 

She looked back towards the room and wondered why she couldn't hear anything. 

She decided to move away and do something with herself before she barged in there like a mother hen demanding that Mukhtar should give Evelyn a favourable answer. 

She decided to take a walk or even go as far as the convenience store down the street to get soft drinks. 

Marissa knew why Evelyn was so anxious and she couldn't blame the girl. If it was just about Mukhtar alone, she was sure that the couple would gave no issue sorting out what they should do next. 

The main problem was Mukhtar's mother. The woman had been vehemently against Evelyn and her son's relationship that Marissa once advised Evelyn to let the guy go but her girl was already in love with the Muslim guy, whose mother not only hated Evelyn because she was not a Muslim but also because she was an Igbo girl while Mukhtar was Yoruba. 

Marissa decidedly ignored the apprehension she felt at how the woman would take the news of Evelyn's pregnancy but then she shrugged it off with the thought that Mukhtar should be able to handle his mother's extreme behaviours. 

Evelyn did not have any relatives truly but she was not about to allow anybody to railroad the girl even if she had to fight with everything in her! 

"Stop getting ahead of yourself," she thought to herself with a smile as she rubbed her temple to ward off the mild headache she was feeling. Even though the sun was setting already, the weather was still warm enough for her to feel a film of sweat on her forehead. 

No sun burns brighter than the Naija sun. She thought to herself as she felt her blue, chiffon top clung to her skin. She raised her head to see that she was almost at the convenience store. 

"Better to get back to those two," she thought to herself. 

A car honk jolted her out of her reverie and she wondered what the driver was causing a racket for even though she was not even in the middle of the road. 

The honk got louder and its sound ricocheted long and sharp in the quiet neighbourhood. 

Marissa whipped her head back in annoyance at the same time that someone shouted "Hey,  can't you hear that I was trying to get your attention? "

Marissa couldn't believe her ears and she looked at her front as if to be certain that the driver was talking to her. Nobody else was there! 

Marissa forgot her worries in an instant as she fully turned back to look at the young lady behind the wheel of the red Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392.

She did not pay any heed to the person in the passenger's seat as the Jeep moved closer to her and stopped a few paces away. 

"Excuse me? " she asked in a disbelieving tone at the lady's rudeness. 

"No, you are not excused!" the last said haughtily as she flung her red human hair behind her, the texture of the hair blended well with her red, slinky, spaghetti straps gown.  She glared at Marissa as she said.

"How can you pretend not to hear me despite how much I was pressing the horn? Is this how backwater girls, like you, behave? Back in the States, we…"

"Ehn,  look here!" Marissa snapped, interrupting the girl's tirade." I don't know who you think you are and I don't care to know but if you think you can just…."

"Let's just go, Nat" 

Marissa's head swerved toward the direction where she just heard the voice and she was amazed that she had not paid the man there any attention before. 

Not that Marissa gets moved by things like that of course but the man was very handsome with his tousled hair, chiselled features, and…. 

Marissa snapped off the train of her thought as her anger doubled at herself and these two idiots who dated to disturb her evening. 

"I just wanted her to tell us… " The lady called Nat started but she was interrupted by the man. 

"I don't care, I am done with all this. Let's go" he said firmly but the girl pouted. 

"Babe, how can you be so…. "

Marissa rolled her eyes as she wondered why she was still standing there as if she was expecting more insults from the insensitive couple who seemed to be in their world. 

She turned away and headed towards where she was coming from, suddenly losing the penchant for the soft drinks she wanted to get. 

"Hey! " she heard behind her and she shook her head. 

"Is that girl stupid?" she thought in anger as she knew that she wouldn't hesitate to deal with the rude thing if she dared followed her. 

She heard the car engine start again and it continued its journey in the direction of the convenience store. 

She was still seething when she got back home and she hoped that Mukhtar wouldn't give her a reason to lash out at him. 

She opened the door, a little too sharply and the couple who were in the middle of an embrace in the room looked at her in surprise. 

Then Evelyn started laughing out loud as she bent over trying to control her mirth. 

"Oh my God, Mari… You… You… look like a ferocious lioness out to save her cub! " she said amidst laughter. 

Marissa reluctantly smiled when she saw her friend laughing with such gaiety and Mukthar was positively beaming as well. 

She knew that he must have received the news well if the two of them were tightly locked together as she met them earlier. She finally relaxed as the smile fully engulfed her face. 

Everything would be fine. She said to herself. 

As she congratulated Mukhtar and they proceeded to have fun, she couldn't firmly rid her mind of a sharp, piercing gaze she had felt from an unforgettable face. 

Idiots! She thought to herself even as she wondered" Who are those two and what were they looking for in that area? "

Marissa might not have a car of her own but she knew about cars and that type was not the type you see on her street daily. 

Where were they from?

 Little did she know what fate had in store for her.