"If you deliver me from this, lord, I promise I won't do it again!" Simbiat wailed and shouted as she saw her life flash before her very eyes.
"Engage the brakes, the brakes, Simbiat," Ahmed, her brother called out, running to catch the bicycle.
She heard him, but her brain didn't decipher what he meant at that moment. "What brakes? What brakes?" She asked, shouting back at him. She was crying hotly and sweating profusely, her palms had already started to slip from holding on tightly to the bicycle with sweaty palms. She looked up and saw that she was headed for the trees that were lined up at the side of the deserted road. "I'm going to die," she thought as the bicycle swung unsteadily this way and that under the influence of the stones and pebbles scattered all over the ground.
It was inevitable that if the bicycle collided with any one of the big trees that spread their roots around as if marking their territory, she wasn't going to make it. She could already hear the sound of one of the trees colliding with her head, splat! Her brains would be scattered all over and she was certain her baby sister would inherit all her clothes, even the newest ones she got for her weekend date with Audu. She resigned herself to fate, closed her eyes, and drifted back to the occasion that got her in this spot.
"You are beautiful, Simbiat. I've always looked at and admired you." Audu, the hottest boy in class told her in the cafeteria, winking his left evil eye, and smiling in a way that highlighted his dimples as he took his seat at her table after greetings had been exchanged.
She had already turned to jelly, and it took all her self-restraint to not kiss him right there. As casually as she could without drooling, she asked, "What are you doing at my table, Audu?" She let her eyes roam over him slowly as she took in his outfit, he was handsome, very handsome, the most handsome guy she had ever seen. He had the looks of a model or TV star, he was tall, she didn't know how tall but he was taller than her. He was fair in complexion and didn't have a single blemish on his skin. His skin shone, like polished brass, so much that she wanted to reach out and touch him. He was fit, very fit and she could have sworn his abs were visible under his white school shirt. His hair was cut low in a wavy cut that made his scalp visible and it was beautiful too. Is it okay to say one has a beautiful scalp? Nah, it's weird, only a creep would say that. No one says stuff like that. She was starting to lose it with this guy.
"I just came to keep your company. I saw you eating alone and I decided to drop by. We are classmates after all." He winked at her again.
Those eyes, those eyes contributed to the problem, they were irresistible and godamned penetrating. He had blue eyes and his thick, eyebrows acted as a roof over them. Audu was bad news, but who cares right now? "We've been classmates for years, why are you just pointing out the obvious?"
"I've always known we are classmates, just never noticed how beautiful you are, I must have been blind the whole time." His beautiful lips spoke the words that sent her common sense fleeing.
"Stop, Audu, don't flatter me. What do you want?"
"Believe me, I'm not flattering you. Why would I?"
Why would he truly? He could have any girl he wanted in school, he must consider her special.
What are you doing this weekend?" He asked, licking his sinful lips.
"Why?" She asked suspiciously.
"I have a bicycle club that we meet up every Saturday, and I was hoping you could join in. You and I can hang out after. You know how to ride a bicycle, don't you?"
"Sure, I'm very good at it." She lied without thinking.
"That's cool, I love girls who know how to ride bicycles, no wonder I got attracted to you. I'll text you in the evening with the details." He smiled and stood up as he walked away to join his friends at another table.
Audu was asking her out??? That's just crazy. She had nurtured a crush on him since they were in the junior class, but he never noticed her until now in the senior class. She didn't know how to ride a bicycle, but she was going to learn. She could wing it in three days, Ahmed, her twin brother was very good at bicycle riding, he would teach her.
"Why didn't you tell him you can't ride a bicycle? Saturday is only three days away."
"Ahmed, please, I'll owe you one."
"Audu is not worth all the stress, he has lots of girls flocking around him, don't make a fool of yourself."
"What do you want in return?"
"I'll tell you as soon as I decide."
"Okay, so, deal?"
"Deal." He murmured reluctantly.
That was just two days ago, and now, she was headed for her death. Ahmed did try his best, he taught her as much as he could within the time frame he had, but it wasn't enough time, and Simbiat was a terrible student. All she talked about was Audu during the riding lessons.
"The front brake is controlled by the lever on the left-hand side of the handlebar and the rear brake by the right-hand lever. The best thing to do when you want to brake is to apply the rear brake, followed by the front brake."
"Which one do you think Audu will like? long trousers or simple shorts?" She asked not seeming to have heard a thing he said.
She got on the bicycle for the practical lesson this morning after the theoretical lessons with Ahmed by her side, instructing her as usual. She pedaled as he taught her and the bicycle moved on. Excited, she pedaled furiously and was having fun when she suddenly realized that she didn't remember how to get the bicycle to stop and she was heading towards the trees on the isolated road they used for their lessons.
Ahmed panicked when he figured out what the problem was, he ran after the bike, but he wasn't fast enough. It continued rolling fast like it had a mind of its own.
With the realization that she was going to die, she braced herself for the impact. Wait! She remembered what Ahmed said, "The front brake is controlled by the lever on the left-hand side of the handlebar and the rear brake by the right-hand lever. The best thing to do when you want to brake is to apply the rear brake, followed by the front brake." She took a deep breath and applied the brakes with all of her might and the bicycle rolled to a stop just a few inches from the first tree.
She stood there, motionless and panting from tension.
Ahmed ran up to her, breathing heavily, and hugged her tightly, "Thank God for his intervention, sis."
She released the bicycle and hugged him back tighter. They stood there for a few minutes before Ahmed carried his bike, and they went home in silence. It's understandable, they were both overwhelmed and short of words. The incident was humbling.
"Hey Simbiat, how are you doing?" Audu asked her causally on Monday as she passed by him in the corridor on her way to class. He had his arm wrapped around a girl in junior class intimately. It didn't take a clairvoyant to know they had something going on between them.
She ignored him and walked off. The idiot didn't so much as call even after Ahmed called him on her behalf to explain why she couldn't make it to their hangout.
He came by her table again during lunch and sat down with his tray of food. "I heard you had an incident, I hope you are good though. I wanted to call, but I forgot. Why don't we reschedule our hang-out for this weekend?"
"Listen to me, you idiot. Let this be the very last time you would so much as say, "hello" to me in this school. I'll make a scene the next time you do, and I'll disgrace you." Simbiat stood angrily and left her tray of food untouched. What if she had died? Audu would have moved on to the next girl. In his defense, they weren't dating, and he didn't owe her anything but he could have at least called. She would have died for nothing, the bicycle riding lessons didn't do her any good and she wasn't sure if she would ever ride a bicycle in her lifetime. The story behind it will be one she will tell her children and grandchildren forever.