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with
something akin to awe on her face. "I can't believe it!" She was
almost dancing with excitement. "Small wonder you've never been
interested in any guy on campus. You had your eyes set on much
bigger fry!"
    Yemi looked at her indignantly. "Bigger fry? You know I'm not
like that." She looked at the picture again. It had been taken
during one of the moments that Akeem had his arm around her and she
was gazing up at him. The caption beneath the picture said: Akeem Kadiri, scion of the famous Kadiri family
and CEO of Kadiri Holdings, with the beautiful Yemi… The article went on to talk about Akeem and his
family, but apart from that reference, there was nothing more about
her. They had not even bothered with her surname.
    "Girl,
I'm so impressed with you! How does it feel like to be dating one
of the most eligible guys in the country?"
    Yemi
inhaled slowly. She didn't even remember any of that when they were
together. "He's just a nice guy."
    Ada's
eyes widened. "Oh, so it's true? You're really in a relationship
with him?" She was getting more and more excited. "I told Brenda
and Paula that you're much too straightforward to deny if anything
was really going on, but they didn't believe me!"
    Yemi
sighed. Brenda and Paula were girls in her department. They were
pretty loud, and that meant many people would get to know very
soon. "I've got to go now," she said to Ada. "I'm really tired.
I've been in the library all morning."
    Ada
winked at her. "You don't need to swot anymore. With a catch like
Akeem Kadiri, you're settled for life!" She paused for a moment.
"But wait a minute. What about Sesan?"
    "What
about him? I've always told you that he is just a
friend."
    "And I'm
believing that story for the very first time! The guy is so hot,
and I didn't know how you could claim to be just friends when
you're always together!"
    "Sesan
is just like a brother…"
    Ada
grinned. "Save your breath, girl. I'm going after him now that I
know for sure!"
    Yemi
shook her head and smiled. "Go ahead. I can even chip in a good
word for you."
    She
waved at Ada and continued towards home. She called Akeem and told
him about the magazine. He did not seem surprised at the
news.
    "I
haven't seen it, but does it bother you?"
    Did it?
She wasn't sure. "I'm just not used to being the center of
attention." She could just imagine the curious stares she would get
at school on Monday.
    His
voice was quiet. "I don't really get chased by the paparazzi. I'm
just a businessman, and there are enough celebs to keep them busy.
But I do get photographed once in a while at public functions, so
this can happen again."
    Yemi
grimaced. Her life was getting "interesting." She only hoped it
would be "nice interesting." and not the other way
around.
    "But
tell your friend I'm the one who's lucky to have you," he added
softly.
    Yemi
could not help smiling after the call. Well, so long as he knew
that she did not consider him a big catch or anything like that,
then it didn't matter if anyone else thought so. She would just
smile through Monday and whatever comments her classmates made. She
stopped and bought a copy of the magazine at a shop near her house.
She wanted to read it again when she got home.
    Her
parents were not in when she arrived at her house some fifteen
minutes later. She snacked on some cake and pineapple juice and
decided to take a quick nap. But just as she settled down, she
heard a knock on the door and the voice of her immediate elder
brother, Dotun.
    "Come
in," Yemi responded wearily. Her brother entered the room. "You
sure know when to come for a visit."
    "Someone
is sounding very grumpy. What's the matter?"
    "I just
got home from the library, and I'm a little tired." She rubbed her
hand across her forehead. "How've you been?"
    "Good. I
decided to come see you. You don't bother about us anymore since
the entrance of that guy into your life, er…what's his name again?"
Dotun asked, pretending to think hard.
    "I won't
even answer you," Yemi said,