Neighbour Diaries: Jojo wins

It had been long since I last hang out with my boys. Staying with your mother, there are certain things you don’t do, and one of them is staggering into the house in the morning, drunk and smelling like a skunk. But last Friday, I truly had to unwind, so I told my mum I would be sleeping out, and I went out to catch up with what was happening on the social scene. I hadn’t missed much apparently, as it was still the same drunkards in the bars, the same girls, and the alcohol tasted the same. We usually hang out just the boys, but this time Mark, one of my friends, had his cousin in tow. The girl, Linda, that’s her name, was on holiday, studying in Canada. She was here for a few weeks, and from the look of things, she wanted to make every minute of those weeks count for her. Immediately after settling down, getting myself a drink, Mark walked in with Linda. Petite, nice hair, nice complexion! She had every guy’s attention on her, but she seemed used to receiving attention from men. She sat about two seats away from me, and I promptly forgot about her. I had a lot of things on my mind, the girls in my life, my current financial status, the fact that my life seemed to have no direction, all piled up and threatened to spoil my evening. At some point, I stood up and went outside to get some fresh air. About ten minutes later, lost in thought, I felt some one tap me from behind. Turning, I noticed it was Linda. She said, “Hi, mind if I join you?” To be honest, I preferred to be left alone, but well, I didn’t want to be anti-social, so I said, sure. She had her drink with her, and setting it down, she lit a cigarette. There is something about girls that smoke that is strange. I don’t mind them, I mean, it’s her life, but this girl looked utmost 18years; she shouldn’t be smoking. Noticing my attitude, she asked me if I minded, and I said, nope. Somehow, we got into conversation, and three drinks later, we decided to go back join the rest. This time, Linda came and sat right next to me. When Jojo’s phone call came, she had to notice. When I refused to answer it, she got curious. When I refused to tell her who Jojo was, she probably assumed Jojo was my girlfriend, and she started getting cagey. To settle her down, I told her that Jojo was my ex-girlfriend; she wanted me to lend her some money. Then, Jojo sent me a text telling me that “when you are done with that little girl, come over to the counter and I buy you a drink”. Clearly, Jojo was in the same bar, there was no way she could have known I was there! Looking towards the bar, I saw her, sipping at a cocktail, looking dashing as always. There was a guy talking to her, but clearly, she wasn’t hearing anything he was saying because her eyes were on me the entire time! Excusing myself, I walked over to the bar, and said hi to her. And she asked me if she could join us. Before I could refuse, she got her drink, walked away from her man-friend or whoever he was, and dragged me back to the table. The effect was electric! All conversation stopped immediately. JoJo had them all speechless, she looked really stunning. Ever the manipulative chic, she greeted everyone so nicely, and within seconds, everyone was warming up to her, every one, besides Linda. Linda was green with envy; clearly, Jojo was in a different league from her. We all sat down. After one drink, I excused myself. I expected Jojo to follow me, but she didn’t. Instead, it was Linda who came after me. She asked me if we could exchange numbers, maybe hook up the next day. I gave her my number, and headed back to the table to see what Jojo was up to. Jojo saw me coming, stood up, pecked me on the lips, told everyone that “we have to leave”, and dragged me away. The rest is history. Jojo had won. Ends