C4 The Hoodie Stranger

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I grabbed the door handle, turned it and swung the door open. Rushing inside the flat like an athlete training for a marathon, I shut the door with a bang and made a beeline for the fridge.

Water

Water

Water

I threw my bag on the dining table, reached for the fridge and flung it open. I pulled a bottle of water from it, uncapped it and greedily downed its content in seconds. Releasing a grunt of satisfaction and hungrily gasping for oxygen, I dispose of the empty bottle in the dustbin. Who knew water could taste so good? The scorching sun outside seemed to be feeding off the water in my body. I was bloody dehydrated. I should have taken a taxi but because I wanted to save money, I decided to trek which I regretted. My sore muscles were the result of my selfish decision. But damn, the water tasted so good. Now I understand why people die faster from thirst than from hunger.

A very sleepy Dave appeared in the kitchen breaking me out of my thoughts. His shoulders sagged and his head dropped.

"Could you not open the door like a lady? Did you have to almost pull it off its hinges? The banging of the door against the wall knocked me out of my slumber!" Dave reprimanded me.

I fluttered my eyelashes at him and gave him an innocent smile. Dave, however, grunted in frustration. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he shook his head at me, strode to the parlour and plopped down on the couch. He couldn't have expected my brain to think about opening the door like a lady when it was seconds away from shutting down due to dehydration. I picked up my bag from the dining table and walked to my room to take a shower and change.

After about an hour of showering plus pondering on the fact that the world was spherical and not square or trapezium in shape, I finally left the bathroom. I had a feeling I still had something to do but I couldn't remember it. Still, in my towel, I sat on the bed and began racking my brain to remember whatever it was that I still needed to take care of.

Finally, I got it-I still had a criminal to interrogate. I quickly dressed up, grabbed my phone that was lying on my bed and made a dash to the parlour. Dave was massaging his temples with his fingers, a frown etched on his face. I plopped down next to him and give him my registered suspicious look.

"Dave"

"Yes," he replied weakly.

"Dave"

"Yes"

"David"

'Uh oh'. He tensed up at my next choice of name. Calling him that meant I was going to do something bad.

"Are you going to start talking or would you rather I chop off your balls and feed them to my dragons?" I gave him a shrewd smile. Dave looked at me, noting my smile, he sighed exasperatedly.

"Why can't you just forget it D?"

"Begin talking or I'll cut off your balls and feed them to my gryphons," I threatened this time pointing a finger in his face.

"I never knew you have such love for mythical creatures. Tell me, do you also have a Satyr or a Minotaur? How about a Phoenix?" Dave asked, sarcasm coating every word. My intense stare was enough to snap him out of his goofy mood. He cleared his throat and nervously stared at the cracks in the ceiling for some seconds before speaking.

"I was with my boss," he calmly said.

"Why does my gut tell me you're lying?" I eyed him rather askance at his implausible excuse. He looked at me for a moment then looked away and stared into space; seeming to be lost in thoughts. The only response I got was silence. The response he always gave me whenever he had something to hide. The only other response I got apart from 'I work in a bar' anytime I questioned him about where he worked. I knew he was hiding something-something he had been hiding from Esther and me for years which always left me gutted, to say the least. We were a trio. Just the three of us sharing everything and anything. There were no secrets of any sort amongst us. Although, Esther keeping her relationship from us was quite shocking but still excusable.

"David"

"Yeah"

"Where do you work?"

"I have told you I work in a bar". It was the same old answer with no smidgen of truth in it. If he wasn't going to tell me where he worked, I was going to find out myself even though I had no idea how to go about it.

I was lost in my thoughts when I felt hands on my shoulders. He slowly turned me to him and gently squeezed my shoulder, staring straight into my eyes.

"Olori," he softly called and my body tensed up. No one had called me that since they died and whenever I was called that when they were alive only indicated there was trouble in paradise. I waited patiently for him to say something-my patience wearing thin by the second. He shut his eyes, tucked his lips in and breathed in a large amount of oxygen. He breathed out heavily and opened his eyes, searching mine for something I didn't know of.

"Can you just listen to me this once? Just listen to me this once without questions please?" he pleaded. I didn't utter a word, rather I waited for him to continue.

"Stop asking questions about where I work for now and please don't take that job"

"Why?" I asked.

His response again: Silence

He was very well aware I'd need a concrete reason for me not to do something. To me, the word 'dangerous' was not even enough a tangible reason not to do whatever I had set my mind upon. He opened his mouth to say something but whatever it was, it didn't make it through his lips before he shut his mouth. He then removed his hands from my shoulders and placed them on his thighs, moved his body away from me so he could stare into nothing again.

I wanted to talk- hell I had a lot to say but the click of the door put a stop to whatever I had to say.

A very weary Esther came into view. "Hi," she murmured flopping herself on an empty couch.

"Is a time ever coming when you'll bring home a happy face from school?" I asked.

She described secondary school as hell but it wasn't to me when I was there. I very much loved it. Focusing only on my academics and ignoring every other aspect of the school was something I never regretted. Regardless of what the school called me, I didn't give a damn.

"You're quite early today," Dave pointed out

"Yeah. The exam timetable was released today so the school gave us the rest of today and next week to prepare for our doom,'' she explained, groaning at the last part.

A free week before exams? Unbelievable. That didn't happen during my time. If it was possible then, one would even attend classes on the day the exams commenced. Such ungrateful kids.

"I saw this at the doorstep," Esther said handing me a white envelope.

I frowned in confusion. "What's in it?"

"I don't know. I didn't open it," she answered with a shrug.

I suspiciously eyed the envelope before tearing it open. It was a short note from someone but I must admit, the sender had the worst handwriting I had ever seen. It took a great amount of effort to understand what was written in it.

Greetings,

This letter is to remind you that your flat rent will lapse in six weeks after which I would be glad to put the apartment on a lease if you refuse to pay up. I figured this is the best way to communicate with you since you have been ignoring my calls. Pay up or you will be kicked out.

Landlord.

What the....?

This disgusting piece of shit

"It's from Mr Gollum".

"Mr Gollum?" Esther and Dave asked confused.

"Yeah? Our landlord that looks like Mr Gollum?" Dave and Esther exchanged looks before bursting into laughter. I had no idea why they were laughing. I always called our landlord Mr Gollum because of the striking resemblance between him and the real Gollum.

"I still don't understand why you call him that," Esther said.

"Me neither," Dave added

"Guys, it is completely impossible to ignore the resemblance between the two. It's too conspicuous!" I argued.

"You know now that you mentioned it again, I think they do look alike," Dave mused after a while.

"Thank you for finally seeing him from my perspective," I said dramatically.

"What does the letter say?" Esther asked.

"It says to make sure to pay our rent. We have from now till in six weeks." I returned the letter to the envelope and dropped it on the centre table.

"What should we do? Knowing Mr Gollum, he'd be happy to put up a 'To Let' on our front door if we fail to pay". Esther was right. Mr Gollum didn't joke with money. He loved money more than his children and his wife. It was rumoured he almost gave his wife up for rent too- a very hardworking and dedicated businessman if you asked me. Why his wife still stayed married to him was what was beyond me.

"The Akanjis sacked me today but fret not. Don't forget I already have another job with a huge salary". David grew quiet at my announcement, seeming to be lost in his thoughts yet again.

Esther's eyes grew wide in surprise. "Have you decided to take the job?"

"Of course. I was supposed to meet with Madam Rose this morning but I called her to ask for more time to think about it and she gladly gave it to me".

I hadn't expected her to give me more time but she did. Certainly, the time I asked for was not to think about the job but to give me time to probe Dave. I knew his behaviour during dinner the previous day had something to do with the name of my employer but since he was not ready to talk, there was no point in wasting any more time.

Whilst Esther beamed with joy at the news, I glanced at Dave to see him frowning. His fists were clenching and unclenching again, and his jaw tightened but I couldn't be bothered. Since he was ready to keep whatever it was to himself, I might as well do whatever I wanted. He stood up abruptly and strode into the apartment without as much as a word to either of us. I wasn't going to ask him what was wrong. He would tell me himself. Esther stood up to occupy the seat Dave had just left vacant.

"Am I the only one who thinks Dave has some skeletons in his cupboard?" Esther asked, her voice low.

I had my suspicions too. Dave claimed he got a job at a bar in his first semester at the university. Esther and I had asked him the name of the bar and how much his salary was but he always found ways to dodge the questions. At first, I overlooked it but as time went on, I became suspicious. The secret calls he received, his sudden disappearances at any time of the day only for him to tell me he had work anytime I asked him about his whereabouts. My suspicions became stronger when I asked him for the address and phone number of the bar he worked at or of any of his coworkers there, he became nervous, gave a stupid excuse and ran off to his room; he didn't come out until it was time to go to work again.

"You and me both sister. You and me both. And I am bound to find out what the skeletons are this time even if it's to spy on him". Esther's eyes lit up at that-a mischievous smile working its way across her face into her eyes.

I stared at her suspiciously. "What is going on in that little head of yours because your smile is beginning to creep me out?"

Her mischievous smile broadened developing into a full teethed grin now. "Oh sister, you just said something that exhilarates my mind".

"And what might that be?" I questioned.

"Spying on Dave of course"

Confused. "And how in the world is that exhilarating to you?"

"I don't mean to blow my own trumpet but spying on someone is one of my many fortes," she bragged.

"Indeed," I said giving her a dubious look. "And how do you propose to do this when you have exams soon?"

"Leave that to me sister. Studying is a lot easier than you think, and I'm smart too so I have no worries. Just sit back and prepare to be amazed"

"Well then, blow me".

She grinned with her eyes lighting up with excitement. "With pleasure".

~~~

"You know when I suggested 'going out to celebrate your new job,' I didn't mean coming to the shopping mall just to drool over video games. Every normal lady of your age would hit the club or go on a shopping spree," Esther complained shaking her head in disappointment.

"Video games are the best thing that could ever happen to a person!" I argued. "Besides, this is a shopping spree to me". I stared at the latest version of PS which sadly enough, I had no money to buy yet.

Don't worry, I'm coming back for you

Esther rolled her eyes at me before grabbing my hand and dragging me away from the game section.

An hour passed and the only thing we had done was whiffle. The mall was surprisingly too crowded for a weekday. The loud music blasting from the huge speakers standing at every corner of the mall permeated the whole place, muffling the noise that was produced by the many customers.

Esther suddenly nudged my side. "I think someone is watching you," Esther said, her voice barely above a whisper. My face contorted in confusion, having not the slightest clue what she was on about

"A hoodie has been appearing every place we went from the moment we stepped in this supermarket with his eyes solely fixed on you and he's still right here. He's right behind you," she lowly explained whereat I wildly turned about to confirm what she said but she grabbed my arm just in time.

"You shouldn't let him know we've seen him".

I nodded and immediately began shuffling through the perfectly nappy stocked shelf beside me, pretending to search for something whilst I askance to take a quick peer at the hoodie.

He was there, a few feet away from us wearing a black hoodie, a pair of dark blue jean trousers and a pair of black trainers. His hands were buried deep into the kangaroo pocket of the hoodie and his eyes were covered with a pair of black sunglasses. He stood there impassive with his eyes looking straight in my direction.

"Do you perchance know him from somewhere? Perhaps a friend or an acquaintance?" Esther questioned.

"I'm afraid not sis". I turned around fully to take a good look at him. He stood still there not phased in a bit. He knew I was looking at him but he didn't even make an effort to look elsewhere.

"Wait here," I told Esther and began marching towards the hoodie.

He stood motionless there still staring at me until I was a few steps away from him. But before I could utter a word to him, he pulled the hood of his hoodie further down to cover his face and dashed into the pool of customers in the mall. I followed him immediately; my legs picking up speed with each step I took. He wasn't running but he was walking too fast for me to catch up with him. He successfully dodged people that got in his way whilst I successfully bumped into them which even slowed me down the more. He took a sharp turn and I caught a glimpse of him walking towards an exit. Determined to know who he was and why he was watching me, I fought my way through some bunch of people surrounding a uniformed lady shouting 'Promo! Promo!! Promo!!!'.

I was almost at the exit when I crashed into something. I would have landed on my arse if I hadn't felt a pair of strong hands supporting me. The hands gently balanced me back on my feet and it was then I discovered the pair of strong hands belonged to a huge man. He was built and unfamiliar but he screamed money judging by the suit, shoes and wristwatch he was wearing.

Not forgetting the mission at hand, I mumbled a 'sorry' and scurried off to the door. But Instead of the hoodie, I was met with different models, sizes, shapes and colours of cars. My eyes frantically darted around the car park, searching for the hoodie but he was nowhere to be found. Giving up after a while, I brought out my phone from my pocket and called Esther to meet me outside the mall.

She appeared a moment later ambling towards me with a box of cake in her hands.

I eyed the box in her hands and opened it. "Did you by any means buy this particular type of cake so I wouldn't eat out of it?"

She grinned. "You've never been more precise sister".

Sighing heavily, we walked further down the pavement and hailed a taxi to return home.

"So did you catch him?" Esther asked immediately we got into the taxi.

"No, I didn't. He was too fast and I had a little distraction in my pursuit".

"I thought you were going to the way you charged after him. Reminds me of a film we watched when........ " Esther rambled on whilst I let my mind wander off to the first time I felt I was been watched.

It was long before our parents died but it stopped after they died only to continue again when we moved to the city. Initially, I was scared. Knowing the feeling of being watched might be the onset of a stalker's escapade, I expected the creepy and scary notes, gifts, and text messages from some crazed obsessed secret admirer but nothing happened.

Now, I was being watched again and I just couldn't help but feel I wasn't safe and neither were my family.