Last Friday night you were Jaheed’s girl. You were lost in euphoria inside his room. You dared ask him to turn the light off. He refused saying he needed to see all of you. You obliged. You sat on his laps and felt his skin. He asked you to dance for him. You couldn’t dance, never had, but you stood and slowly shook your buttocks like you had seen the girl do in the video you watched earlier. He laughed. You told him you’ve never done this before, but he said he knows but you’re such a natural. You removed your top without him asking, leaving only the push up bra and pink underwear. Then you got into bed.

That was a week ago, now you’re at it in your sleep. Your hands are folded with the intent to hug yourself. You whisper a name. You pull the pillow closer. A phone rings. You hear it but you don’t want to get up, the boy in your dream is saying something nice so your lips stretch and your cheeks pull upward. The phone rings and rings and, you are up. It is morning already. There’s something about the air, makes you want to fall back in bed again. It’s Friday, and the girl you stare at through the mirror has her face beaming with expectations.

The phone is still ringing. It’s June. You wonder why she’s calling because you saved her number to always reject her call. It stops ringing, only to start a couple of seconds later. You almost jump up when it does. This time around, the caller is different. It’s Esther. God, why are all these people calling me? You thought. The phone goes silent. You breathe in and out, time for mouth care. In the bath, it starts ringing again. This time it is “BFF funny”. You would never miss Anen’s call. “Otto where are you? Have you seen it? Jesus, girl, this is hell. Are you okay?” She doesn’t breathe or give you time to think. When she’s done you wait some seconds trying to remember, but nothing comes up in your brain. “What are you talking about? What happened, who died?” “You mean you haven’t seen it? It’s everywhere.” “What, now?” “Are you serious? See, whatever you do, don’t go online. I’ll call you back.” She ends the call before you say anything else.

Your hands shake as you scroll through the apps on your phone wondering what the fuss is all about. Then you see it. The video starts, a girl slowly shakes her waist, she starts removing her mini brown skirt and before she gets to the bra, you realize it’s you. You are in shock. The girl in the video is on the bed now. The guy is next to her, his face has been blurred. He removes her bra and pinches. You scream.

Ekpenyong Kosisochukwu Collins, is from Nigeria. He grew up in Nsukka where he is currently studying English and literature at at the the University of Nigeria. His works have appeared in the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize anthology and Differed Dreams. He is 20 years old.