A Tang of Misfortune

Read an excerpt from my recently completed book: THE UNDERGRADUATE It's fiction. It's adventure. It's for you. Drop your comments and be honest please. I'd hope you enjoyed the story!

A Tang of Misfortune

QUARTER PAST FOUR in the evening and Mirabel Adams still waited, and waited in vain. Marvin Chuks, her boyfriend would not just appear. For weeks now, he didn’t call—and wasn’t bothered at all. He has become a lying mirror; he was hiding in the shadow of his excuses and would readily reject her calls, each time she dialed him. This overwhelmed the girl as she hovered in a downbeat feeling. Barely two days ago, Marvin had sent a message to her and it confirmed her suspicion:

Mimi, I’d understand if you stay on your own. Stop calling me. Stop seeing me. Please! I’d love to be alone.

At first she couldn’t accept those words, and the very notion behind the voice. It was a terrible, powerful twinge; one she felt like a deep knife thrust in her delicate skin. She rapidly started to have a misgiving that she had somehow, someway, wronged him. She, however, couldn’t trace any fossil connecting to his outlandishness.

Mirabel sat still, of course like a statue as an hour passed in the wheel of desperation before her keen eyes. There were no signs of Marvin’s footprints. She looked around her and saw other girls relishing with their guys. The smiles on their faces prickled her. So she lost composure but managed to keep tears from rolling after she remembered that she was in a place filled with prying eyes—they called it the ‘gossip centre’ or ‘love garden’. Many stories from here made headlines in the campus tabloid.

As she waited, her patience narrowed. Mirabel then realized it was hopeless to wait further. He will not come—she thoughtfully inferred and glanced at her wristwatch. It was getting late. She then picked her handbag and left the place with a touch of anguish. Her heart was wandering in sick thoughts. Her room now was the next place in her mind. She really needed rest.

On her way to her room, Mirabel suddenly stopped, poised and in outrage shock, as tons of adrenalin rushed through her spine. She sighted Marvin at a distance, flanked by two girls with his arms around them. They were staggering and rollicking in laughter. Quickly she averted her eyes and went in another direction. She could perceive the strong smell of bile discharge within her. Her eyes glinted in vicious demand for explanation as the feeling to meet and harass him lingered. “What!” She screamed to herself, perhaps as a wolf howling from the middle of a thick forest. The pills were so hard that with the bitterness in her heart, jealousy now crept. Marvin was daring her—she thought again.

No sooner did she arrive in the hostel room, than her phone began to ring. Mirabel’s heart fluttered. Reluctantly she dipped her hand into the bag she was carrying and shuffled. She produced her phone and touched the screen. In response, a message popped and displayed:

First semester results are out. Come to the faculty and check.

She read this with restiveness. Her course mates had been notified too. At once, she darted to her faculty to verify the information. When she got there, she found many students gathered in front of a wide notice board. There was a great noise and eager pushing. Not minding she waded in. She clutched tightly her bag against her side and snaked her way to the front. Her breath was heavy. Mirabel traced her registration number and memorized her grades. Thrusting back into the crowd, she came out sweating like a marathon runner. Just then she wiped her face with a white handkerchief and feigned a brief smile. Lowering her head in dismay, the girl quietly walked out of the scene.

Mirabel took very quick steps along a long corridor that linked offices; she avoided colliding with the people she passed and brushed aside their greetings. She was panting seriously. Down a spiral staircase, she found the exit of the faculty building and continued in haste. A few distance away from the building someone called her name. It was from behind her. The voice was subtle though compelling. She almost turned but increased her steps and marched on straight like a robot. She was not in the mood to speak to anyone. She paced and paced faster. The footsteps behind her persisted and trailed her by inches. She could now sense a shadow from the corner of her eyes. Just then a warm pat fell on her right shoulder.

“Hello”, a handsome guy warmly greeted in Kiswahili, the main language in Kenya. Jambo was the word he uttered. He stretched out his hand for a handshake.

Mirabel abruptly turned around. She looked startled. She saw the dark smiling guy and his well-aligned large sparkling teeth. Then she smiled back, because she knew him. He had proposed to her some days ago and told her his name is Nicholas; Nick for short.

“Hi”, she responded, quite disturbed by the towering height of the slim guy. They shook hands and Nick tried to broach as he rubbed his palms together, “I have come to—”

“I know”, Mirabel interjected. “I haven’t made up my mind. We shall talk later—”

“But…wait…but”, he stammered, an inclination she had noticed before whilst he was expressing his affection for her. She wondered if he had any impediment in speech.

“We can meet some other time”, Mirabel impatiently ended and walked on. The guy followed her pleading, “Mimi, please fulfill my desires. Show me the colour of your heart. Reassure me. My feelings are decent. Nakupenda sana!” He raised his eyebrows.

She turned and crossly faced him. She didn’t like it that Nick chipped in words she didn’t understand to express himself. But Nakupenda Sana equaled I love you so much. He was Kenyan and the ilk that barely spoke English without adding a smattering of Swahili or the local ‘sheng’. The girl could not understand as it irked her.

“Let me be!” She shouted on him. “You can’t have me. Don’t you understand?”

Nick recoiled noticing the flash of anger and frustration in her eyes. Something must be wrong—he thought. The first time he met her, she was the cheering, sweet girl he has ever experienced. It shocked him more when Mirabel narrowed her eyes and glared, “Don’t you ever, ever, and ever—”, she stressed, pointing a warning finger at him, “accost me like that again.” An obnoxious hiss and she walked out on him.

The guy refrained and whiffed out a helpless sigh. He then shrugged and muttered to himself: “It takes a brave heart to save a weak one. I shall not love in vain.”

This is just a small part of the novel...Just say something. Thanks for reading! God bless you