DIARY OF A CORPER — EPISODE 5: LOVE TRIANGLE?
Let me just say that first.
Because... how?
How did I finally secure a decent place to stay—only for it to come with Femi and Bassey as a package deal?
This life is not balanced.
Bassey was excited the day I moved in.
Too excited.
“Ah, Dewa, this is good oh!” he said, carrying one of my bags like he'd been waiting for this moment all his life.
“At least we’ll all be in the same compound.”
We?
I paused.
There was no we in my plan.
My plan was peace.
My plan was privacy.
My plan did not include familiar faces that talk too much.
But I didn’t say anything.
I just smiled.
The thing about Bassey is… he’s easy.
Easy to talk to.
Easy to laugh with.
The kind of person that makes you feel comfortable without trying too hard.
And somehow, he was always around.
Like a supporting character that refused to stay in the background.
And lately, I’ve been noticing little things.
The way he calls my name now—slower, softer.
The way his jokes are suddenly not just jokes.
The way he finds reasons to start conversations that don’t really have direction.
“Have you eaten?”
“Are you going out?”
“You’re back already?”
At first, I thought it was just friendliness.
Now…
I’m not so sure.
Then there’s Femi.
He’s not a corper.
He served last year, but somehow he’s still here—working, figuring things out.
Same university.
Same department.
Yet we never met.
Funny how life works.
Because now, I see him every day.
But what doesn’t add up is his lifestyle.
The house?
Average.
Even slightly below average.
But his room?
That place is a different world.
Clean.
Organized.
Comfortable in a way that doesn’t match the environment.
The kind of space that quietly tells you:
I’m here... but I don’t belong here.
You don’t need to ask.
Femi comes from money.
Still, he doesn’t act like it.
Bassey was only living with Femi because life dealt him a wicked card.
He got scammed.
Rent money gone.
Savings gone.
Everything gone.
I remember the first time he told me—the way his voice dropped slightly, like he was still trying to process it.
Femi took him in without much noise.
Just like that.
And now, the three of us keep crossing paths.
Like something is slowly tying our lives together without permission.
With Bassey, it feels safe.
Familiar.
Peaceful.
With Femi…
It feels different.
Dangerous.
Like something I don’t fully understand—but I’m still drawn to.
And then there’s the way he looks at you.
Oh, that look…
Lord, save me.
That evening, it really hit me.
I had gone to their room to borrow a power bank.
So I knocked.
“Come in,” Bassey’s voice came from inside.
I stepped in.
Bassey was sprawled on the bed, phone in hand.
Femi sat at the table, laptop open, sleeves slightly rolled, looking like someone who had his life together—even if the building disagreed.
“Dewa, what’s up?” Bassey said, sitting up immediately.
“I’m good. Please, do you have a power bank? Mine is dead.”
“I left mine to charge at Peter’s place,” he replied.
Shit.
I should have directed the question at both of them.
Now it felt awkward to ask Femi.
Wouldn’t that make him seem like a second option?
As I tried to figure out how to ask, Femi glanced up.
Not fully.
Just enough.
And without looking directly at me, he said, “Take this one.”
I moved closer to where he sat at the desk and picked it up.
I glanced briefly at his screen but couldn’t make sense of what he was doing.
“Sit now,” Bassey said, patting the bed.
I joined him on the bed and realized I hadn’t said thank you to Femi.
Again.
I felt so embarrassed that I almost stood up again to leave.
Thankfully, Bassey saved the day.
“How was your day?”
“Fine. Give me your cord,” I replied quickly.
He laughed.
“Madam, wetin you get sef?”
“Shut up.”
I smacked him lightly, and he laughed again.
He handed me the cable, and I connected my phone.
Then we started talking.
Small talk.
Random gist.
Bassey doing most of the talking.
Me laughing more than I should.
And more importantly, I could feel Femi’s eyes on me, even though he wasn’t staring.
Then light was restored.
Cheers erupted across the compound.
Bassey stood up from the bed to plug in his rechargeables, then switched on his MP3 player.
“Ehn ehn, you have come again with your noise,” I said.
“Well, my dear, I love music.”
“Uhn uhn.”
Bassey came back to the bed and shifted closer to me.
“What kind of music do you like?” he asked.
Before I could answer, Femi suddenly spoke.
“She looks like someone who listens to calm songs,” he said.
I looked at him.
“Excuse me?”
This time, he turned towards me and shrugged slightly.
“Soft. Selective. Not noisy.”
That look was there again.
Like he was studying me without permission.
I stood up.
“I think I should leave now. I have things to do.”
“Like what?” Bassey asked.
I stared at him.
He laughed.
I moved towards the desk to place the power bank on it, and at the same time, Femi stood up from his chair.
We almost bumped into each other.
He stood a little too close.
I felt a sudden rush through my body.
He moved aside quickly, but it felt like we'd been staring at each other for minutes.
He didn’t apologize.
Then it happened.
Bassey glanced at Femi.
Femi glanced back.
It was quick.
Almost nothing.
But I saw it.
That look.
I’ve seen it before.
In movies.
I picked up my phone, bade them goodnight, and left the room quickly.
I needed to breathe.
Outside, I suddenly became aware of myself.
Like I had become something to be decided over.
Something to be… negotiated.
And that’s when it hit me.
Wait.
Am I—
In a love triangle?
End of Episode 5
To be continued…
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