Stephanie was a bright girl who revelled in her looks. Perhaps if only she had concentrated more on her studies as she did her appearance, she wouldn’t have been expelled from Universita di Roma. She stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, twisting from side to side, ensuring that she looked good at every angle. Stephanie wanted to look her best for the party that night and she didn’t want to be late. She wanted the stakes in the prime ‘meat’ that were the eligible bachelors of the Lagos’ young society and she was going to have her way if she had any say in the matter. She knew that James was going to invite his wealthy friends and she was determined to get her claws deep into one of them.
Stephanie was a determined young girl who believed it was a necessity to own the latest gadgets and fashion from abroad. ‘Air is to life as fashion is to Steph’ She fondly quoted anytime her parents admonished her for spending too much on vain items as they put it; but ever since her parents had cut her monthly allowance by half, she could no longer afford her lavish lifestyle and was now left to find other means to sustain her high tastes. To Stephanie, the ‘other means’ meant finding a guy who would fall blindly in love with her to do just that. Times like these, she got upset that she was made to leave Italy. She tried not to remember the events that led to her departure from Rome and return to Lagos. Instead, she blamed her parents, aunt and the University, but never herself. Stephanie was that self-obsessed.
She started to reminisce about the last time she had seen her then lover who had taken her on a trip to Dubai. She had met him through her aunt who was a business associate of his in Rome. He had been the perfect mugu(fool). For less than a kiss she was quick to tell her Italian friends even though they never truly believed her, she had gained a lot from the old man who had marital woes. He just wanted someone who would care enough to listen to his ramblings and for that, she got all she wanted. She knew that the trip had been an expensive one but she didn’t care.
‘Enough thinking Steph, it’s time to go and party!’ She said to her self and strutted out of the room to go and find her mother. She had previously told her mother that she would be visiting Simi for a catch up because she hadn’t seen her friend since she returned from Europe. She was going to stay over for a sleepover so wasn’t to be expected home that night. As she walked into the living room with her bandeau bandage dress that she had bought from Topshop on, her mother looked at how the tight dress clinged to her curves and exclaimed: “What sort of sleep over is Simi having that you’re dressing like this ehn?!”
Stephanie shrugged off her mothers concerns and replied: “Ah, these days you can meet your husband anywhere o. Biko let me dress”
“Hmm ok o” Her mother responded and picked up the newspaper that she had been reading.
As Stephanie walked away, she couldn’t help but smile at her daughter’s humour, but secretly, she was glad that Stephanie was thinking about marriage and nabbing a good suitor. She hoped a wealthy in-law would be the miracle that they needed, given the state they were slowly descending into.
Stephanie looked at her reflection in the hallway mirror as she proceeded to the door and smiled. She liked how her fair complexioned skin glimmered from the shimmery cream she had applied. Then she reapplied the Ruby Woo red lipstick she had purchased from MAC and winked, but then grunted as she looked down at the lipstick in her hand and realised that it was going to finish soon. She sighed because she knew that she couldn’t afford another one just yet.
‘I really need to get a rich dude soon’ she thought as she walked out and hailed a taxi at the end of her street.
Coming soon: Did things get better for Stephanie when she got to the party?
Photo Credit- Teemages
