Imad’s News and a Call From Lyssa (Part 7)

Aches and a Missed Call

More than twenty pages have been unleashed from my mind and yet, my fingers do not strain as the rest of my body does. Man, my body ached this morning when I jumped up out of bed and climbing up and down stairs was almost unbearable. What mostly hurts is my Quadriceps, Glutes and Calves where I can feel it also in my Back, Triceps, Forearms, Neck and Hamstrings. The pain in the dominant three is excruciating when standing up from a seated position but good pain nonetheless.

Much from my wear and tear agonies of flesh, I tried giving Lyssa a call a minute ago to which her mum answered after a few rings. Knowing that Lyssa wasn’t home, I was curious as to where she would be late on a Monday night. Of course I’m going to jump to the conclusion that Lyssa is out at the movies with some guy but she’s most probably with Penelope helping her with her grievances.

If Lyssa gets home in the next half an hour then I should be expecting a call from her unless she is extremely irritated with me. It has been a while since last we chatted on the phone as I have now grown accustomed again to Lyssa calling me at least once a week. To some small extent, I figure that Lyssa doesn’t want to call me because she figures I’d ask her about Naqi and Penelope breaking up and to some extent, that’s the reason why I’m thinking of calling Imad now.

Ringing Imad

However, my curiosity and yearning to talk with Lyssa has not been met and I’m going to give Imad a call because he’s the closest thing there is when it comes to speaking with Lyssa. Maybe he can shed some light upon the topics that Lyssa and I would normally speak of so here we go, off to call Imad and hold up chronology somewhat.

Man does it pay to talk to Imad and scoop out that news now and again. The time now is 9:38 p.m. and I don’t know for how long I’ve been speaking to Imad but just as our informative conversation was coming to a close I heard my call waiting and figured it to be Lyssa. “Did you call me before” Lyssa asked as I told her it was me and as I asked where she had been she mentioned that she had just been at Georgios Restaurant drinking coffee with Penelope.

Lyssa seems to be going to this place often now, deeming herself to be the suave type. Not even a minute into our conversation Lyssa asked if she could call me back in half an hour. “That depends on who you’re calling” I asked always wanting to be in the know. Noting that she was calling Penelope I asked “Didn’t you just come back from Georgios with Penelope” to which she agreed.

Finding this a touch peculiar, it might make sense with the conversation I just held with Imad and what at first made me laugh and later made me stunned with disbelief. Lyssa is set to call me back in half an hour so figuring that I only have as much time as I talked to Imad on the phone to write it all here, I shall get started immediately.

Imad Drops a Bombshell

The brass conversation started loosely as usual and as I began by explaining my missing a day of work and the reason being my weekend at skirmish, he uttered “I wouldn’t mind going there one day”. Pledging that I would take him along one day he asked “What, did Keith go with you” to which I reminded him that no one speaks or cares to speak with Keith anymore. When I uttered the words “So, how was your week” Imad burst out into excited laughter saying “Man, you’ve missed out on a big week haven’t you”.

Dropping a bombshell in the next sentence which led me to disbelief, Imad uttered “Naqi’s in the Waratah House”. Explaining himself some more, I found out that Naqi was admitted on Friday. Naqi was taking too much E’s and as Imad always knew Naqi was a touch schizophrenic, the E’s led him to repeatedly tell everyone “Hey, I’ll make you a million dollars”. Imad explained that once taking an E, being without one is like an empty oil tank, it’ll fuck you right up.

It’s clouded as to who admitted Naqi to the Waratah house but I heard that when Imad went to see him today Naqi was still saying the same old shit. However, Naqi boasted that everyone in the Waratah house was in on his scheme, his boss worked for him and all sorts of other shit. Naqi really has cracked as Imad noted there was a thin line between being a compulsive liar and turning into a schizophrenic. That would now explain the reason why Lyssa hasn’t called me lately, had coffee with Penelope and needed to talk with her urgently upon getting home.

Imad also noted that Penelope went to see Naqi in the Waratah house to which he noted that they had broken up due to his becoming crazy and disillusioned. “It’s been a long time coming” Imad noted, “I knew that Naqi always had the potential of being crazy”. Now I recall that whenever Naqi and I went out and I said he was crazy he would literally snap at the word. These drugs have brought him out from being a compulsive liar to a schizophrenic.

Wondering About Lyssa

Naqi’s been in there for a couple of days now (Maybe from last Friday one week ago) to which Imad noted he was set to see a judge tomorrow to see if he was fit to head home. I got a touch concerned when Imad uttered “I think he’s going to be in there for a little while longer” but as Imad mentioned that I should go in there to see him, I quickly snapped to my senses. Lyssa was right, Naqi’s not my problem anymore.

To tell you the truth, I believe that Lyssa was lying to me about this whole ‘Naqi is a cheater’ fiasco. When Lyssa called me last week asking for Imad’s number I jumped to the conclusion that Naqi had been busted and to hide the truth, a worse truth was hidden behind a lesser demeaning one. That would explain why Lyssa was being so defensive on the subject and why we ended with an argument when last we talked.

Well, I’ll just have to wait for Lyssa to call me in a couple of minutes so I can pester her for some insight into what I shouldn’t know. Imad told me to keep it down pat so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Now I can understand why Lyssa was so defensive in our last conversation when I mentioned that I would call Imad to find out what was going on about Naqi and Penelope breaking up.

“That would be right” she shouted explaining to me time and time again that it was none of my business. In parting, I’ll just note that I’ll keep myself and everyone else posted and as for Naqi, I’d hate to be him right now. His being in Waratah house will be slapped on him for the rest of his life and none of his friends will ever look at him the same again. I remember once that I wished the worse on Naqi but now the worst even for him seems too much.

Lyssa Calls Back

The plot thickens, with Lyssa and I speaking for the last half an hour and with her call waiting beeping, she knew that it would be Penelope to which she would have to go. However, there has been much wealth in information dug from the translucence of our conversation. Lyssa’s conversation was alike of a murky pond. Where her earnest conversation would allow me to look into the mysterious waters with curiosity but never allow me to dip my head under the water for the truth underneath.

Our conversation started with Lyssa sounded not as her normal self and as I asked “Is anything wrong” Lyssa mentioned that she was just a little depressed. “It doesn’t matter thought” she quickly snapped, “I’m getting over it because I had such a good time yesterday”. Finding some more about her rewarding day on Sunday, I knew that Lyssa’s not mentioning any names in her outing meant she was out with some guy, probably Ivan. Later in conversation I found my hunch was true as Ivan told Lyssa he would plan a day out and asked her not to worry about it.

Well, he picked her up early Sunday morning to which they headed to Newtown, ate some African food, walked around and then headed into the City to watch a movie on the Imax screen. When that was all over they stuck around for the laser show that night and ended up coming home some time in the night. Figuring that Lyssa could only think it was so fabulous because she was in his embrace I asked “Did you get onto him” to which she could have lied but she said no.

Glad that Lyssa had a great Sunday, she noted that Friday, Saturday and Saturday night were dominantly shit and it was left to Sunday to bring her out of a somber mood to which had began ever since she headed to Retro. Trying to get to the bottom of what happened at Retro, Lyssa was vigilant in keeping everything a secret and didn’t shed anything that she didn’t want to tell.

Arguing About Her Temper

Sounding naïve, I asked Lyssa “All I can remember of Retro night was you having that argument with Naqi” and questioning if in fact that triggered off her feeling like shit for two weeks she agreed. Lyssa has such a choleric temper and that was my argument when Lyssa just raised her voice really at nothing in particular. “You know why you always raise your voice, argue with me and hang up the phone on me”

I asked Lyssa to whom awaited in anticipation, “Because you can”. Furthering my argument I uttered “I’m the only one that you can get so irritable with because I’m the only one you’ve gone out with”. Lyssa seemed to shut her mouth to discrepancy as I mentioned she never seems to raise her voice so easily with any of her friends or guys that want to go out with her simply because she hasn’t gone out with someone as soft and giving as me in order to be a glutton for her bullshit.

“You don’t know me and what I say to my friends” she protested as I advised her what I recalled from my memory of being around her and her friends. It is a truth, Lyssa is easily irritated and choleric when she speaks with me where even the smallest phrase of words used in normal sentence could trigger her off into a dispute.

What Lyssa Hid

Apart from the outing with Ivan on Sunday and her failing to reveal anything on the issue about Naqi pledging that it was still none of my business, she explained that she hasn’t cared to call me for the last couple of days because I pissed her off in our last conversation. Again, Lyssa being easily irritated and protective of her friends didn’t want to reveal how Naqi was locked up in the loony bin and because I was so persistent in reminding her that ‘I needed to know’ she decided to hang up the phone in a big huff and puff, never to call back again.

Lyssa was almost caught out in our conversation as I kept referring to Naqi breaking up with Penelope saying “So what, Naqi broke up with Penelope, what more is there to know”. Some time into our conversation I noted that Lyssa was starting to act suspicious telling me I didn’t need to know anything and that I shouldn’t call Imad but I played along, knowing since tonight the real truth.

Lyssa paused for a second after my last quote of the both of them breaking up and as I said “What is there anything else you aren’t telling me” she remarked “You mean, Penelope broke up with Naqi” so put on that if I didn’t know anything, I would have known something was up. Like I always say, these pages will eventually know everything and man, what a life it is where each day is a surprise upon surprise.

Who would have guessed that Naqi would have ended up in the nut bin with a promise of more days to come. What’s going to happen to his job, all his fines, his car and the rest of the dues he owes to the world. Methinks that Penelope ended up breaking up with Naqi because he was taking E’s and now she feels sorry for him in an obligated way to see him at Waratah house. However, cut the girl some slack, she’s just broken up with Naqi and from what I know, she probably doesn’t even know about Naqi cheating on her.

Birthday Plans

Another portion of conversation we spoke of when we wanted to change the subject was Lyssa’s birthday. Lyssa thought that I’d forgotten about her birthday so quickly when we were speaking about Chevy’s this weekend but I’m not so thoughtless. Lyssa was thinking of heading to Chevy’s for the weekend and as I noted that I was probably heading there with Tyler I mentioned that I would probably head somewhere else so I wouldn’t ruin her birthday party.

“Why would you ruin it” she protested in her easily irritable voice, answering “Well, Penelope might not like me being there and then that would affect you and what do you know, your night’s ruined”. Lyssa told me that she didn’t care if I was there but later in the conversation that she would probably head to Molly McGuire’s instead. In addition, when she heads to the Amazon on Saturday night with fifteen of her friends, it will include Shayma, Silvio (The short guy who is Shayma’s friend from Retro), her brother, her dad and a bunch of girls.

From there the girls will head out to a city club to which I gather Lyssa is renting a room. Explaining my ambitions for my 21st birthday, I mentioned how I wanted to take a harbor trip and then head to a nightclub in the City whilst renting a hotel room, they seemed to be the same plans for Lyssa’s 21st birthday party.

Nikita and Goodnight

In parting, before Lyssa had to leave to her second call from Penelope in the one day who was obviously distraught and feeling alone, I mentioned that I had seen Nikita on the train and asked if she was going out with the guy sitting next to her. As to my assumption, the guy turned out to be her ex boyfriend and his squeezing her leg or kissing sounded alright to Lyssa. As for her voice, Lyssa noted that for around one week her voice changed and now it has returned back to normal. Apart from that, our half an hour conversation was without much else digression.

The time is now precisely 11:00 p.m. and wanting of a good night’s sleep, I will part words now and wake early and refreshed tomorrow morning. Winding up my little alarm clock and readying my bed, I am refreshed knowing that I’ve completed Wednesday and Thursday at work. However, with Friday’s notation being three pages long I can only hope it will all be concluded when I arrive home from work because by the way this weekend is looking, I won’t have any time to write amongst these pages.

Friday night looks like Chevy’s, Saturday dedicated to contact lenses and Sunday, a possible day of relaxing and capitalizing on forgotten memories. Naqi’s life being in shambles affects many people around him including Lyssa who has been depressed on and off since that night at Retro to which Naqi was later admitted to Waratah house (To my chronological knowledge). Allow me anon to adjourn these pages without much strife and a life of destitution in dreams allow. So that dreams may fill with hopes my days and fantasy turns real in my memoirs as plays…