At the bus stop he missed, the passenger who needed a ride showed up in a hurry. The rider couldn't make it there in time to pick them up, so the chance was gone — and that was bad luck for Semeni; even if he'd come and waited, he wouldn't have been there to meet her. She would have been told he wasn't around, and that would have hurt her more.
---
Farida didn't leave Rama's house. She stayed, clutching the photo she'd taken with Frida — Rama's partner — like a keepsake. They'd sat together and talked like old friends; the snapshot felt like proof of that easy camaraderie.
When her brother came home that day and saw the picture, he asked who the fair-haired girl was. She only asked about that one girl — the one sitting between Rama's knees in the photo, Rama sitting low with his elbows on his thighs.
When she heard it was her brother's woman, she clicked her tongue, tucked her hand into her waist, looked at him a second time, and then walked away from Farida without another word. She didn't want to see how her brother would behave from that point on or get any more details; she just wanted out.
Hamisi — the one who'd teased his brother — treated him like a kid who didn't deserve serious attention. He was in form two at Feza School, sent there by their father like the girls were sent to theirs. He was cocky and brash, full of himself and not bothered by anything. He used his home comforts to show off and sometimes even bullied other girls, threatening them if they resisted.
If a girl liked him, he'd push until she gave in. Any pretty girl he wanted, he expected to get. He was full of swagger, unlike his brother, who kept to himself. Whenever he saw his brother's face, resentment showed — no matter what signs of affection his brother displayed, Hamisi didn't care.
Rajabu returned to the stand after making four rounds and parking his bike. He sat with his friends, telling them how fed up he'd become with Semeni's strange behavior.
After greeting his usual mate — the one who always gave him blunt advice — Rajabu passed on the news that Semeni had shown up but then left again. He'd gone to look for her and couldn't find her; that unsettled him.
"Man, forget about that girl. I sent her messages and he never answered. I left and ran into one thing after another until I came back," Rajabu said.
"We'll talk later. Your girl's coming here — you'll see her tomorrow. Let's chill for now," his friend said, bumping fists with him. They moved a little down the road toward the bike-parts shop.
Semeni arrived by the narrow lane between two fences, cut across the road, and went to the boda-boda stand after dropping off a passenger. Rajabu kept his head down and didn't bother her until she sat beside him.
"Why don't you pick up my calls?" she asked.
."Which message are you talking about?" he answered.
"Rajabu, don't mess me around. You get my SMS in the morning and answer it at night. I call you and you don't pick up. I come to your stand and you're nowhere. Where am I supposed to start with this?" she fired back.
"You keep driving me crazy. You flip out and expect me to follow. When I want to talk, you push. I'm not the one starting fights — you act like I'm being rude when I haven't. And now you're telling me it's because I'm on a big road? You want me to be hit by a truck?" Rajabu shot back.
"I told you already — I'm coming over tonight and you'll get everything. What else you want?" she insisted.
"Decide then. If you think you own my wants, fine. If you want someone who's all about you, go find another servant to do that stuff. I'm done with hands tied," Rajabu said, raising his voice a notch before storming off.
His mates regrouped with him a little later. He told them what had happened and explained his decision: if the girl acted like she'd done nothing wrong, he would press her until she gave in, then play with her like a performer — give her a taste and leave it at that. If she still refused, he'd treat her differently: push hard when desire hit, but not change his mind or beg.
"Now that's manhood," one friend said. "You can't be tripping over little things to calm yourself down. You messed up by making her feel like the boss. Make her remember who's in charge — if she realizes your worth she'll come back. If she doesn't, she's got other people helping her."
He slapped Rajabu on the shoulder as confirmation, and the group moved on.