The brief but tense encounter with Akin left an unpleasant aftertaste. Bisi was clearly annoyed by him, and Daniel felt a bit of possessiveness and was understandably pissed off.
They agreed that Akin was best ignored, since there really wasn't much they could do, since he hasn't harassed them .
A few weeks later, the official results for the first semester were released online. Students anxiously logged into the university portal, eager to see how well they had done. Daniel and Bisi checked theirs together one evening in Daniel's living room, laptops open side-by-side on the coffee table.
Bisi logged in first, holding her breath as the page loaded. A wide smile spread across her face as she saw the result, and he pumped her fist into the air.
"Yes! 4.10!" she exclaimed, relief flooding her voice. "Thank God! That Calculus exam was brutal."
"My girl is so smart!," Daniel laughed. "Congrats," he congratulated her sincerely, genuinely pleased for her. He knew how hard she'd worked.
"Thanks! Now let's see yours, Mr. Adekunle," she teased, nudging him.
Daniel logged in, his own results displaying quickly. He scanned the grades – mostly A's, a couple of B's. His GPA calculated at the bottom: 4.35.
"Hmm, 4.35," he stated calmly, showing her the screen. Of course, this was an attempt to act nonchalant; he was actually very satisfied.
Bisi leaned over, her eyes widening. "4.35?! Daniel! You beat me! How did you manage that considering how busy you usually are?" She looked genuinely surprised and impressed. "Okay, maybe you really are brilliant."
He just playfully faced her with his head raised arrogantly. "Of course I am. Did you think twelfth level intelligence is child's play?! I am galactic royalty!"
Bisi gently smacked him on the head, and they laughed.
Excelling academically felt good on its own merit. And yes, Daniel really was brilliant.
In the Post UTME CBE that he and every aspiring undergraduate had to take before applying for University admission, he had scored up to 302 out of 400, no small feat considering the difficulty of the examination, not to mention he was even smarter now, having worked his brain in overdrive to run RF and now PeDan Ltd.
They cooked a grand meal to celebrate the occasion... toast bread and eggs.
…
A few days later.
{"You won't believe what Akin did today,"} Bisi told Daniel, sounding utterly exasperated over the phone. {"He somehow got my number – probably from some departmental list – and sent me a picture of a Cartier bracelet, asking if I liked it!"}
"Bro's starting to do too much." Daniel felt a flash of annoyance.
{"Yes! I blocked the number immediately, obviously. Then, this afternoon, after our practical, he tried to stop me by the car park again, holding an actual shopping bag from some designer store! He said he 'bought me something small' as a peace offering for the other day, saying he wants to be friends."}
"What did you do?" Daniel asked, keeping his voice calm.
{"I didn't even look inside the bag,"} Bisi said firmly.
{"I just told him, very clearly, that I wasn't interested in him or his gifts, that I was happy with my boyfriend, and that he needed to respect that and leave me alone. He looked furious, mumbled something rude, and actually threw the bag on the ground near my feet before stalking off!"}
"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Daniel's voice hardened.
{"Nah. He's just acting like a spoiled child having a tantrum cause he didn't get what he wanted. I just walked away. Left the stupid bag there. Honestly, Daniel, I don't know what his problem is, but it's getting really tiring."}
"You handled it exactly right, Bisi," Daniel said, his admiration for her growing. "Don't let him get to you. He's just trying to provoke a reaction." He comforted her, trying to act casual about the whole thing.
They exchanged the usual 'I love you' and ended the call.
But the incident sparked that possessive instinct in him again. Akin tried using money to impress her? Daniel could play that game on an entirely different level. The testing phase was already over and it was time to fully commit to Bisi.
Daniel started thinking as he dropped the phone.
His earlier caution about lavish gifts faded. Bisi wasn't Cassandra; she wasn't materialistic, but she deserved to be treated exceptionally well.
Perhaps a weekend trip to Lagos once the semester break started, staying at a luxury hotel, dining at the best restaurants. He could even take it a step further and buy her a new phone.
He would show her the world he could offer, solidifying their bond and making Akin's efforts seem even more insignificant.
'It would be like taking candy from a baby.' Daniel thought.
Pretty sure Akin thought that too.