Editor’s note
It is part of Lino’s mission to encourage creativity and nurture talent and this category titled LINO SERIES is created for this outcome. Historically, many popular writers published their works in serial form before publishing the book in its entirety. This is true of Charles Dicken and Sir Arthur Doyle and Lino is therefore replicating this tradition to allow readers to part take in the creative process of our budding authors. The reader in this case is very instrumental because their insights will help in the production process. This excerpt is taken from Jenifer Nesi’s maiden novella titled No Happy Ever After. Enjoy.
CHAPTER ONE
My name is Jasmine and I am an only child and trust me it’s not much fun because my parentsfussover me all the time. This is so annoying because they don’t allow me to socialize with other people of my age and that gets me really angry; and sometimes I wish I had other siblings in order to take the spotlight off me. In any case, I love my parents way too much. Ok, so let’s get to the story already; it was my high school graduation night and we had an after party which I did not want to attend; but my boyfriend Dave had been acting up, ignoring my calls and text messages. My friends Rosaline and Imelda convinced me to show up at the party in a sexy dress that will force him to pay attention. Since he was not expecting me there, it will make a double statement that I was a big girl now. So I went into my closet and took out my favorite dress; one that my mom had never seen because trust me mom is one very strict boring dresser who will make you wear a long skirt with leggings underneath for fear your angle could be too distracting to the opposite sex. Anyways as I was saying, my dress was a red strapless body hugging number; a little short for a proper young lady like me. I paired my attire with a pair of gold sandals with a cute pink rose. Looking in the mirror I was pleased with the transformation, I looked beautiful and nothing screamed tramp about my appearance. The makeup was a little much because I was not in the habit of wearing makeup and holding my hair up in a ponytail.
I called my best friend Rosaline and she picked up after the third attempt.
“Hey bestie,” she said in her usual breezy manner. “Why are you blowing up my phone, are you having cold feet deja?”she asked.
“Of course, not!!” I protested though she knew me too well.
“I want to get my boyfriend back and I will do anything to achieve that” I insisted.
“When you say anything, does it include putting out, you know…” Rosaline went for the kill.
“Shut up!” I interrupted her, this was a topic I was not ready to visit, and unconsciously I knew that Dave’s aloofness originated from there.
“I called to find out if you have a plan relating to ‘the get my boyfriend back campaign’ which does not involve anything weird’” I said.
“The plan is for you to dress to kill and make an appearance. Trust me bestie, it is ironclad, with that hot body of yours which you keep hiding under your born again attires, Dave will come running. Trust me” she said laughing.
“I hate it when you make fun of me and you know it, see you at the party then” I said and ended the called as she kept laughing at my expense.
I met Imelda and Rose at the party venue; they were waiting for me outside. The open mouthed reaction I received as I walked towards them was both flattering and annoying.
“Why are you girls looking so surprised” I asked though I knew the answer.
“Wow so this is what you have been covering up all this while, look girl, you should dress like this more often” Rose answered.
“You look like a princess” said Imelda circling me in awe.
We decided to go inside and mingle one last time with high school friends we might never see again. Everyone was excited and the commotion I caused with my outfit was rewarding. All I really wanted to do was see my boyfriend and sort things out with him. The crowd was huge with loud music which was intimidating for me; I was totally out of my comfort zone. I could see my female classmates grinding on their boyfriends on the dance floor while some were testing their amateur seduction skills. There was so much bullshit going on and to make everything worse students who had never tasted alcohol were making a nuisance of themselves. The different stages of intoxication were evident as some people were throwing up and others falling on the floor while their friends were trying to lift them up and falling too since they were all drunk.
My friends and I joined the crowd on the dance floor and got drinks for ourselves. I was only faking mirth because my purpose was not yet attained. I was yet to see the object of my mission. I kept looking around for any sign of my boyfriend who was still at large. I was already getting frustrated and afraid that he might not show up and my efforts will go to nothing. Being glammed up was not a natural everyday feat for me and I didn’t want it to go to waste. I was already thinking of abandoning my mission and returning home when I saw one of Dave’s buddies. I quickly interrogated him about the whereabouts of his friend and was relieved to know that he was actually at the party.
CHAPTER TWO
So as I was saying the only thing that made sense to me was to see my boyfriend. All the drama was just a backdrop to my romantic reunion, nothing else mattered. Then my heart almost missed a beat when I saw him lounging on a corner sofa with another girl.Chills sizzled up my spine and my eyes became watery. I did not want any more embarrassment so I decided to just go outside and clear my head before confronting the cheating asshole. I sat outside for some time and when I got tired of sulking I walked back inside with my head held high ready to confront him and his new bitch. Seeing that girl with Dave just brought out the worst in me. I’m sure you can relate with me in this situation; I forgot all the morals my mama taught me because I was seeing fire, I wanted to gouge out her eyes. In retrospect I should have allowed her to have him, but I was naïve and stupid and believed in love. This is not a tale of romance;even if my naivety seems humorous there is no happy ending. As painful as it is, I must tell it all so that another innocent young woman can avoid this kind of pain, trauma and humiliation that resulted from my predicament.
Unfortunately courage deserted me as I stepped through the door and I could not confront Dave and his new catch. Luckily, he was so busy frolicking with her he had not noticed me. I returned to my friends who were jumping excitedly on the dance floor and tried to act happy. When my friends left me to get more drinks, I went to seat on an emptysofain the isolated area of the room.The thoughts of Dave with another girl returned to torment me and I could not pretend anymore. I was deep in my sad musings and did not notice his approach until he addressed me.
“Hey Jas I did not know you could come to places like this, wow you look really amazing”. He said in admiration.
“Hey Dave,” I replied. The look of admiration in his eyes melted my heart, I completely forgot that just a little while back, he had been giving mouth to mouth to another girl. He took my hand and twirled me around and I was completely breathless when he kissed me.
“You should have told me you were coming to this party, I could have been your date” he said looking into my eyes.
“How could I, you won’t take my calls or respond to my messages” I said breathlessly.
“I am sorry for all that but I can explain. Please give me five minutes to dispatch my friends and we will talk.” Of course I would have given him an eternity. Five minutes was nothing especially since I knew he was going to get rid of that jezebel who was sticking her tongue down his throat like a shameless hussy. I was excited to tell my friends that my boyfriend and I had made up and he was getting rid of his friends in order to dedicate all his attention to me.
As promised Dave showed up five minutes later and insisted that we leave the party and go somewhere quiet so we could talk about the issues we had been having lately. Just hearing him say that made me so happy, I could have walked to the ends of the earth with him if he had asked me. In my excitement I forgot the dangers I could face as an inexperienced eighteen years old girl alone with a twenty-two years old man. I giddily walked with him into an isolated building a mile away from the party venue. No alarm bells went off in my head, I was with Prince Charming and my head was in the clouds.
I noticed a maton the floor all made up with a sheet and pillow. This was puzzling but my boyfriend assured me that some homeless people used the building for accommodation. It didn’t occur to me to question his wisdom or how he came to have such intimate knowledge of this isolated uncompleted building. He brought out some beer cans and offered me one which I gladly took and we started drinking. I was so eager to show him I was a big girl, so I drank without a grimace even though beer tastes awful in my mouth. The beer gave me Dutch courage and I started questioning him about the girl he had been with at the party. Dave was smooth, he made it looked like my fault that he was looking at other women.
“Jas, you know I love you deeply, but I am a man and you won’t give me what I want” he said caressing my hand. I didn’t quite understand what he was implying and I was getting tipsy really quickly. Dave started fondling and kissing me, while telling me that if I promise to give him good sex constantly, he would never look at another girl. I tried to push him away;I tried to tell him that I was not ready for a sexual relationship. He didn’t heed my plea to stop, he kept kissing me and it was difficult for me to resist him. I fell into the spell of the kiss and continued kissing him back whilehe used his very skilled hands to roam my body. Without warning, he pushed my legs apart and shoved himself into me; it was so sudden, it was so unexpected and the pain almost blinded me. I screamed and tried to push away but I was impaled and he won’t budge. Then he started grinding in and out of my body and my screams and scratches did nothing to deter him. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely and he had transformed from the handsome guy I thought I loved to a sweaty monster who was taking my virginity without my consent in an uncompleted building. I cried even harder and begged him to stop, then he suddenly went silent and then grunted, then I felt his sperm filling my body as he kept grunting. Then he slumped on top of me and I thought he was going to suffocate me with the weight of his body. He finally got off me and paid no attention to my weeping. I thought he was leaving, then I heard him whistle and out of the shadows emerged three guys, apparently his friends had been waiting for their turn. Each of them took a turn riding me as I continued screaming.I lost sense of time, I was delirious and my voice was hoarse then it went really quiet. Dave and his friends had assuaged their lust by riding my body like stubborn pony. They had their fun and then left me to die in that abandoned building.
To be continued…
Bio Note
Jenifer Nesi is a Cameroonian actress and budding writer. She has featured in movies like Mirage: Love Beyond Measures and The Grace.