The Roommate © Eunice Ansah-Agyeman
Episode 3
Mina woke up to smooth, soothing, and soft music filtering through the stillness of the morning.
For a spell, she was not sure where it was coming from as she lay in bed trying to realign to her bearings.
She quickly glanced at the table clock beside her bed, it was half past four in the morning. It was the day she had been waiting for the whole year.
Slowly, she picked up her phone and navigated to WhatsApp.
And, as was always the case, hordes of messages had flooded in, and she smiled as she read and replied to each of them as a man continued to sing that soft and soothing music accompanied by the violin, or so, early that morning.
Listening attentively, she recognised it was her all-time favourite song and she felt like it was being sung for her.
A message from Sabastian came in and the warmth on her face was enough to express her joy and love for the one man who could bring her heart out with just a look or a smile.
‘Hope you like the performance by your window.
Mina gasped with shock and joy, and then she got off her bed quickly, drew the curtains and opened the windows in one swift movement.
Two men were standing in the street adjacent to her window. One was busily playing her song on the violin, while the other who was singing in that melodious voice was showing a big banner-like poster with the inscription ‘Happiest Birthday, My Only Love.’
Deeply touched by the humbling gesture, Mina gave out a soft cry and stood transfixed to the spot with her heart singing her love for the one man she loved with everything she held dear.
To think that Sabastian would go to such lengths to make her happy was humbling. It was feeling better experienced than described.
She went to her phone when it dinged again, and there were pictures of her standing at the window of her room with joy in her eyes.
Quickly, she looked around with the hope of finding Sabastian and running into his arms. When she did not see him anywhere, she sent a text enquiring about where he was.
‘I’m an unseen guest, will see you later, Love,’ Sabastian replied just as the duo brought their performance to an end and bowed to Mina.
A clap from behind her made her turn sharply around, and Mina was instantly disappointed to see Julie-Anna standing close by.
“That is so sweet, isn’t it? He loves you to bits, huh,” she said with a smile that did not reach her eyes, but Mina was too happy to notice.
Mina sat on the bed; a bit deflated since she was hoping Sabastian would stay with her the whole day as he always did on her birthdays especially when it fell on a weekend like this one.
She did not want to believe that Julie-Anna’s presence could be the reason Sabastian was keeping away.
It was as if Sabastian was still punishing her for letting her coursemate stay with her. She was aware things were a bit awkward when it came to Sabastian spending time with her these days.
In the past, less than a week ago, he was coming to her every day and spending most of his free time with her. It was convenient that way since he decided not to leave home for school because of his mother.
“So, where is Prince Charming taking you today?”
The question cut through Mina’s thoughts, and for a brief moment, her eyes felt moist. She turned to look at Julie-Anna, who was still standing in the middle of the room with a sly smile on her face.
Mina gave her a plastic smile and tried not to break down in tears. This is not how things had worked with her and Sabastian over the years. She would by now know where Sabastian would be taking her and the whole plan for the day.
Realizing she was not going to get an answer to her question, Julie-Anna walked to her side of the room, picked up her sponge bag and padded into the bathroom without uttering another word.
Deep inside, she was fuming with rage out of jealousy. She did not understand why the world was so unfair.
Here she was struggling to get an education because she was financially bankrupt and her love life was nothing to write home about. And yet, Mina had it all. Her parents had money and could afford to put her in an executive hostel and to crown it all, she had a man who not only loved her but also had a lot of money at his disposal.
As the water from the shower poured down her face and body, Julie-Anna wondered what it would feel like to have a man like Sabastian in her life.
***
It was noon and Mina had still not heard anything else from Sabastian. She had tried to call him but that annoying mechanical voice had come on to tell her the number she was trying to reach was not available.
To keep her mind busy, Mina cleaned the room a bit after Julie-Anna had left for the library, had a light breakfast and showered, with plans to head to Sabastian’s house when she did not hear from him after noon.
Mina was all dressed up and ready to head out when a soft knock came on her door.
Without waiting for an answer, Sabastian, dressed up in exquisite casual wear strode in looking like an angel.
Mina ran to him with her love and relief from her soul mirrored on her face, and without any hesitation, Sabastian drew her into his arms and kissed her so passionately that, when they broke apart, they both had to catch their breaths.
“We should get out of here before I change my mind,” Sabastian said, almost in a whisper.
“Where are you taking me?” Mina asked expectantly.
“You will know when you get there.”
***
Sabastian’s car pulled up after a few minutes’ drive into the parking lot of Dine247, a new restaurant close to the university.
He quickly got down, walked briskly to the front passenger door and opened it with one hand behind him and a bow.
Mina smiled happily and got down, using Sabastian’s outstretched hand for support.
Mina was not disappointed with the exterior décor at all. She felt happy as she walked on Sabastian’s arm to the entrance of the plush restaurant.
The door flung open before they got to it and two smartly dressed young men saluted and welcomed them as they stepped inside into the cool, welcoming reception area of the restaurant.
A beautiful, smartly dressed young lady in an all-white outfit, smiled at them and asked them to follow her.
Mina took in the beauty of the place as they walked the length of the restaurant until they reached a twin wooden door. The door swung open when the lady tapped on it and then, Mina came to a standstill when they entered.
“Surprise!!!!!!!”
The chorus from the occupants of the medium-sized dining room was deafening, and seeing how elated Mina was, he bowed and crushed her to his chest in a bare hug.
Almost everyone she knew on campus was there, her coursemates, sister, Sabastian’s coursemates, students in the executive hostel, a few lecturers and TAs.
And somewhere in the middle row, standing with one of the lecturers was Julie-Anna, her roommate.