Part 1: Amnesiacs
Eddy in Wonderland
Eddy the rugby player was having one of those months. To almost anyone who knew him, he was still Eddy: cool, laid-back, and effortlessly charming. He was the guy who owned the rugby field, a smooth talker who could model for Mochez one minute and tackle a winger the next. The guy’s guy, and the girl’s guy. But beneath all that ‘perfection,’ something was quietly unravelling.
He wasn’t sure if it was a crisis of identity or something deeper, but everything around him felt... off. Maybe the truth was finally sinking in—he was in his third year of university, just one more until graduation. And after that? Back to Ghana, back to his father’s agro-processing business, a path laid out for him since he could remember. The future made the present feel oddly bleak. His friends felt distant. Rugby, his passion, his escape, felt pointless. And his current girlfriend? Another decision that seemed fine at first but now felt like just another pointless venture.
Worse, he felt guilty for being miserable. At least he had something lined up after graduation, right? Something stable, even lucrative. So why did it all feel Wrong? Was he just being privileged? Like restless vultures, these thoughts circled endlessly in his head, and there wasn’t anyone he trusted enough to talk to. The idea of seeing a counselor freaked him out even more, so he kept it all inside, letting it simmer.
Today was the same, he was sitting in the noisy cafeteria in a similar headspace. Half of his brain was tuned into his friends’ loud opinions, but the other half was spiraling, wondering if he should’ve taken Agriculture as a double major instead of Psychology. That seemed more aligned with his future. Also, why was he with Mochez? What was modelling going to do for him in the real world? Serve face at investor meetings? It was too late to change things now, though. The thought of switching majors this late was laughable; his father would fly over personally to drag him home if he even tried.
His silent spiral was interrupted when he overheard a conversation from the table behind him.
"We should just meet at your place, Sabiha. Get ready there, and then go," a soft voice suggested.
Sabiha (he assumed) responded shyly, "Well, that would work, except that I might be going out with John."
A couple of girls groaned. Eddy resisted the urge to turn around, though some of the voices sounded familiar.
The husky, confident voice of another girl teased, "Your boyfriend over us again, huh?"
There was a brief silence.
Then a voice he definitely recognized—Kim—chimed in. “Well, duuuh. Are you giving her the ‘good good’ like Kristof is? Don’t listen to them, Sabiha. Never listen to sad desperate singles."
There was a collective gasp, then the group burst into laughter.
Eddy found himself chuckling too. It had been a while since he’d genuinely laughed like that, laughed until his stomach hurt.
His friends were funny, sure, but something about the way the girls spoke and laughed felt nostalgic.
He snapped back to his table, just as Peter, one of the wingers, shouted, “No, seriously, it starts in the middle of his back, I swear!” referring to their coach’s unusually long butt crack. Everyone howled with laughter. Eddy couldn’t help but laugh along. They were ridiculous, but funny, nonetheless.
Fifteen minutes later, he was leaving the cafeteria, heading to meet his... girlfriend, to break things off, to clear the air before graduation. He wasn’t ready for any type of commitment, not with his life in such disarray. Yet as he walked, doubt crept in. He was the “cool good guy.” He didn’t want his final months to be marred by rumors. He had to handle it carefully. This was Angela, and a new relationship of just three months.
“Hi, Eddy!” a familiar voice called out beside him.
The voice pulled him from his internal monologue.
He looked over and immediately recognized the petite, light-skinned girl with thick round glasses, and dreadlocks adorned with wooden beads. Her petite yet curvy frame was draped in a vibrant, patterned dress that hugged her full hips. Kim. Her energy was always... grounding. Warm, authentic, the type of person who felt like home to anyone she met.
Eddy smiled, genuinely this time, and slowed his pace. “Hey, Kim. It’s been a while.”
Kim nodded, her expression casual but her eyes sharp, as if she could see past his mask. “Yeah, you’ve been busy. I don’t see you around as much.”
He almost told her. Almost said how draining everything had become, how he’d been staying in more often, wrestling with his thoughts, his anxiety, and sometimes the panic that came late at night. But instead, he said, “Yeah, busy.”
Kim nodded back, not pressing. Eddy liked her for that. She didn’t pry, never pushed for more than what he was willing to give.
She glanced back at the cafeteria. “Just had lunch?” she asked, keeping it casual.
Eddy shook his head. Hell no. The only thing he ever ate from the cafeteria was oatmeal cookies. Which he thought was the only decent thing they served.
He forced a smile, trying to push the looming anxiety away. “Nah, just with Tyler and the guys. Meeting up with Angela for lunch.”
Kim smiled, “Cool. Say hi to Angela for me.”
Eddy hesitated for a moment like there was something more he wanted to say. “Sure. I’ll see you around.”
Kim must have sensed the pause, the weight of something unsaid, because she suddenly blurted, “Hey, if you have nothing going on next Friday, come to my place, Oakwood Apartment, room 104. Bring an ID to leave with the guard. He’s a stickler, and no matter how much we beg, wont’ let you in without the ID.”
Eddy raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. It was an unexpected invitation. They were acquaintances bordering on friends. They’d shared a few moments here and there in Business Ethics last semester, and while he always thought she was cool, they hadn’t hung out beyond the classroom.
“Maybe,” he said, his smile warm but uncertain. “If I can, I will.”
Kim grinned and playfully bumped him with her hip. “Cool. See you, Eddy.”
The Right Conditions
10 days later
"She's not going to come," Nubia said, her face inches from the mirror Kim had barely managed to wedge between stacks of books and random clothes. Her reflection was half-obscured by a Gryffindor scarf hanging haphazardly over the edge of the mirror. Nubia didn’t mind, this was basically her second apartment. She paused, the red lipstick hovering momentarily in front of her mouth before grimacing.
"Isn’t she going through it right now?" she questioned the lipstick finally meeting her lips.
“She’s coming,” Kim replied confidently from the bed, eyes glued to her phone. The reflection in her bright-red, round-rimmed glasses revealed her scrolling through Pinterest.
Nubia snorted, dragging the red across her lips. "If I just broke up with my boyfriend, you wouldn’t catch me dead going anywhere. I'd lock myself in my room for days."
“I don’t think you know how to stay in your room. You are barely in there. You basically live in other people’s houses. Hell, half of the shit in my apartment is yours!" Kim exclaimed, her tone teasing.
Nubia ignored the jab, smacking her lips. "Well, a breakup is different, it changes you."
Kim smirked, barely glancing up from her dream gardens on Pinterest. "Why are you speaking like someone who has had a serious relationship, let one a noteworthy break up? "
That jab landed with a soft, playful sting. Nubia’s lips twitched, but she let it slide.
"Whatever, I bet that Sabi is not coming. You’ll see."
Kim finally set her phone down on her chest and tilted her head. "She’ll come, enjoy herself, get high, and forget all about Kristof. We just have to make sure tonight’s…exciting enough."
Nubia’s eyes flicked toward the bed, narrowing. "You think one good night’s gonna fix her heartbreak?"
Kim’s silence was her only answer to the stupid question. Nubia shrugged and turned back to the mirror, expertly applying gold eyeshadow over her lids. But something about the shimmer didn’t sit right with her. It felt… off. She pursed her lips.
"Did she tell you why they broke up?" She frowned at her gold eyeshadow, reapplying it for the third time.
"Don’t redo it," Kim warned, sensing her friend’s uncertainty. "You look perfect. Now help me with mine."
Nubia shot her a look through the mirror, eyebrows raised. "You’re ignoring me again. Why did they even break up? She didn’t give me the details."
Kim shrugged, lazily pointing at the cluttered desk. "Grab my makeup kit will you? It should be somewhere there."
Nubia groaned glancing at the messy desk, then half-joking replied, "It’s your house. You get it."
Kim narrowed her eyes. "Don’t make me kick you out, you bum."
Nubia sighed and glanced at the disaster zone that was Kim’s desk. Old notebooks, cables, half-open makeup bags, and other random trinkets lay in a tangled heap. She planted her hands on her hips, her black shorts hugging her hips and highlighting the full length of her long, dark, toned legs. The bright light caught the sheen of her skin as she glanced around the room, exasperated. "How do you even know where things are? It's like an elephant stumbled through here."
Kim glanced at her desk and shrugged. Sure, it was cluttered, but it was organized clutter. She had a system. It was people like Nubia who messed it up.
“Like I said, half the stuff in this house is yours,” Kim muttered under her breath, trying to dismiss the conversation.
Nubia spun around, shaking her head, clearly uninterested in digging through the mess. "Don’t think I don’t see you trying to avoid my question, Kims." She planted her hands on her hips, her large brown eyes narrowing. "Did Sabiha tell you not to tell me?"
Kim sighed at Nubia’s nosiness. "It’s complicated, Nu. Sabi will explain it all to you, not me. I just want you to grab my makeup and help me with my face."
Nubia gave Kim a look that said, I can’t believe you won’t tell me. "Fine, don’t tell me. Come and get your own makeup then. I’m going to look for a different top."
Kim sat up, her pulse quickening, suddenly remembering the thing in her closet. She wasn’t sure what would happen if Nubia opened the closet and found it, but her body was screaming that it wasn’t time. The conditions were still not right. The time would come to drag the rest of her friends into... she didn’t know what, but she was certain it would be life-changing.
She tried to keep her voice calm, but her inner panic was forcing her mouth shut, her throat too dry to croak a simple, "don’t."
Before Nubia could reach the closet door, there was a sudden knock. Both girls froze for a moment, unused to hearing someone knock.
Nubia raised an eyebrow. "Sabiha wouldn’t knock. Who is it?"
Kim was too relieved to care. But it was true. Sabiha always barged in. Another knock, more hesitant.
"I’ll get it," Kim volunteered dramatically, hopping off the bed and kicking aside Nubia’s mountain of shoes.
Peering through the peephole, she did a double take. "No way."
Nubia’s curiosity flared, walking towards Kim. "Who is it?"
Kim turned, eyes wide, whispering urgently, "It’s Eddy."
Nubia’s jaw dropped. "Which Eddy….The Eddy? Rugby Eddy? What’s he doing here?"
Kim bit her lip. "I invited him."
Kim’s pulse was pounding in her ears now. Of all the conditions, Eddy had been the wild card, and he had actually shown up. She was now certain that it would happen tonight. She opened the door, plastering a smile.
“Well, look who’s here! It’s Eddy,” Kim announced, trying to sound casual, “I wasn’t sure you’d actually come.”
Eddy stood there, tall and muscled, hands in his pockets, wearing his signature leather jacket. He never went anywhere without it, and Kim had to admit, he wore it well. Very well.
She had really really hoped he wouldn’t show up, but now that he had, there was no turning back.
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