The next morning, I woke up and, as usual, reached for my phone. The first thing I saw was a message from Celeste.
"We should be friends," she wrote. "I really like you. You're fun and understanding."
I smiled to myself and replied, "Alright, that's fine by me." We started chatting laughing about this girl who apparently lied about everything, from her age to her phone brand. Celeste was hilarious, and the conversation flowed so easily that I even posted parts of it on my WhatsApp story.
A few minutes later, Jovi replied to my status.
"You're making new friends now, okayyyyyyyyyyy," she wrote.
I giggled and texted back, "Celeste is just my online friend. She's been inviting me to her place, but I haven't gone. Chill, abeg. Besides, you have Daphne."
I didn't realize how much that last line would sting. Her reply was short. "Ok."
Then came the silence. The attitude. The cold responses.
After a while, I couldn't take it anymore. I decided to go to her house.
When I got there, she didn't look happy to see me. That alone broke me a little inside, but I hid it behind a small smile. I started talking, trying to cheer her up teasing her, telling jokes, doing anything just to make her laugh again. After a few minutes, she finally did. She laughed and said, "Leave me joor."
I laughed too and said softly, "I won't like anyone more than you, Jovi. Celeste just likes me she wants to be friends."
Jovi looked at me quietly for a moment and said, "If you had to choose… would you like me more than her?"
I said, "Yes." ...Her face softened, and for the first time that day, I saw her blush. I smiled, and we went inside together.
Later, Jovi started talking about my upcoming birthday. I told her I wasn't sure I'd celebrate it, that I didn't really feel like it. She insisted, "At least do something small, na. Something special."
It made me happy she cared more than she showed...When evening came, I said goodbye and went home.
That night, I sent my WhatsApp link to a few new online friends. They posted it, and soon my add-ups were booming even more than last time. I saved all the new numbers even though I knew the replying would be exhausting. Some people tried to get to know me, but one stood out. He was funny. His name was Ray. We started talking. He looked way older than me, but honestly, I didn't care. Our chat was going fine until he said something that made me pause:
"I got your number from your friend Marissa… I'm Celeste's brother."
I blinked. "Wait, what?"
He laughed. "Yeah. I heard your name in the house. My sisters were saying you're beautiful, so I asked who you were. Celeste said you're her friend, and I took your number from Marissa."
I just replied, "Ohhh, really? Okay."
Then I texted Celeste: "Did you know your brother took my number?"
She replied with laughing emojis. "Yes he kept hearing your name, so he got curious. It's fine, right?"
"Yeah, it's fine," I told her. "I just wanted to ask because he and I are chatting now."
Later that night, I told Jovi and Daphne everything. They both said I should come to the lesson the next day so we could talk about it face to face. I agreed. Then I lay on my bed, watching my phone screen fade into darkness. So much had changed new faces, new names, new feelings.
And somewhere between all that noise, I wondered if I was slowly drifting away from Jovi, or if she was just scared that I already had but deep down I know I would choose her over anybody.