Excerpt for The Absolutely Boring Life of Mya by Dora Okeyo, available in its entirety at Smashwords



THE ABSOLUTELY BORING LIFE OF MYA.

By: Dora Achieng Okeyo

Smashwords Edition, 2012.

Thank You for downloading this free e-book. Check Smashwords for more books.



Dear Bored person,

Well that makes two of us. You must be so bored that you had to read about my life!

Well, forget that first line scratch it my name is Mya. I am some 22 year old girl who looks like she has everything going for her but deep down I swear I am a mystery. At times I look at myself in the mirror and say “Gosh! You are weird!” So now you know three things about me: my name, age and status. I am Mya, 22 years old and completely boring! So, what else? I love reading books. I drink loads of soda too. In fact I like it that they tell you nowadays how many calories you are consuming. I love taking Fanta Pineapple! Isn’t it odd that when you drink the 500ml soda they only tell you how many calories you consume for half of that? It is boldly written “124 calories per 250ml”, now isn’t that downright wrong? They should say “248 calories in this!” My friends do not take soda as I do because they fear they will grow fat. I look at them and think Africans! You are to have some fat! I always tell them that the origin of skinny lies in Barbie doll and she’s white! The first black Barbie doll was unleashed in 1998. That was after White Barbie had sold more than expected from the sixties! So I drink soda and other than that I am collector. I do not collect stamps or pictures, gosh those are too common! Well, I wish I did at times because then it would be better…but I collect quotes. Yes, I collect quotes and always have something to say about them. I rate the quotes and share them with my friends. So who are these friends who do not want to gain weight? Well, there’s Lucy and Diana. I prefer to call them “L” and “D” hope you can catch up! So, L has this thing going on for her-she is DDG- drop dead gorgeous. She is also smart and is studying Accounts. D on the other hand, is sarcastic and quick with her feet. She has a black belt in karate and is always ready to fight. She is doing Communications. We have been friends for over ten years and they know am crazy. Well, not crazy really but they think am funny which I do not understand. My life is just plain! Yeah…wait another thing I love listening to music. I cannot listen to anything soulful or reggae, so scratch those too. Hope you are awesome and simply dozing off by now because there’s more of this boring stuff coming right up!

Ttyl,

QOB (Queen of Boredom)

Session 2: Truth or Dare

I will tell you the truth, the whole of it as I know it in this session. So, we’ll stick to Mya because that name works for me. So what do I look like? Well, try having a normal person with hair so sleek and smooth any Asian would think they’re a fake! Yes, I do have silky smooth hair that is not a weave! I also have some deep black eyes. I have a round face. I weigh 57 kilograms and my height is somewhere between 5’7” and 5’8”. I just graduated from the university with a degree in English! Yes, I actually have a degree in English, so if you encounter any Grammar quirks know that some trend of thought interrupted my writing! I graduated with honors can you believe it? Well, my parents could because they always knew I was weird. I studied English because I love reading books and also writing some articles. I have written at least three articles that have featured in the Dailies. I got my pay and spent it on a book, soda and pizza. So now you know where to find me in the city.

I wake up at 6:00am to listen to radio and then walk around the house doing chores. I like cleaning and cooking too. My parents leave for work mostly by 6:30am and they get home late into the night. I used to ask what kept them but after getting a seven letter word response more than ten times I gave up. Each evening the answer would be “traffic!” I am taking a break from school as I apply for jobs. It may sound crazy but I would like to stay home and sleep forever! I love my sleep too. I know with time I will be working with a media house doing some editing for them and then sooner or later I will be either a gossip or truth seeker. See, with journalists you are either of the two. My bad, I just messed up in that previous sentence “either…or” that’s the rule. Well, forget rules for now, what was I telling you about? Yeah, journalists are either gossips or truth seekers. Since we have very few shows on air that are investigative 85% of our journalists are gossips! I also got the chance to intern at some publication house but I turned it down. I cannot handle the pressure of reading boring manuscripts for a meager pay! I will have to stick to a place full of gossips for my financial benefit! It’s been a tough year for me because not so much has occurred like I scripted! There had to be girls who pissed me off, lecturers who delayed submitting my grades, friends who irked me, and to top it all, this dude who simply thought I could be some toy he could play with. Yeah, sucks when you realize that the guy you fancy is dating some freshman on campus behind your back. He was cute, tall and a hopeless romantic. Now I cannot talk about him worse off give you the full details on paper. So scratch him too! I had set my mind on doing my own stuff and moving on. I had set my mind to simply relaxing and being single. I did not know how beautiful the single life would be for me. First let me tell you how good it is; financially, emotionally, socially, physically, and academically. Financially speaking, I saved the cash I’d spend talking to the guy, and also the money I used to buy stuff to look cute like gloss, dresses, heels and good perfume. That’s like enough money to buy a 500ml Fanta Pineapple soda every day! Emotionally speaking I saved myself the pressure of feeling empty without talking to him or spending time with him. I had enough time to see through the lies other guys fed my friends and it made me stronger. Socially speaking well I had time to do whatever I wanted without wondering whether he could accompany me like a dog on a leash! Physically speaking I did take time off to work on my dance routines and caught up with my friends at church whom I barely hang out with because I was often swooning after a guy. Now I am more flexible and I am happy when I attend all dance rehearsals at church. I know that somehow the 248 calories I take have to be burned down! Then there’s the big one, my final project paper was on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and how much books on romance have changed since the 16th Century. This was inspired by the guy who broke my heart and, guess what I scored a pure A and was invited by my Professor to lecture in his Masters class. It is true that the novels written in the 16th Century were well thought out and so full of structure that you would be mesmerized by each word and each character. If anyone feeds on Mills & Boons they are a lost bunch! Romance in the 19th century has become too pornographic and at times you do not feel the genuine emotion and concern of the actors. Most of the Mills & Boon novels I have encountered portray the women as sexual objects or tools and the men as users. Classics have lessons their characters grow. I also chose PnP because I love Jane Austen and there’s also Arthur Koestler-some amazing Russian author of the book “Darkness at Noon.” So, given how hard it was a year-it ended well and I am glad it did. So just when I thought that cupid would send me to the infirmary he decided to aim three arrows my way! The chubby cherub in a diaper sent three arrows straight through my heart and I couldn’t even punch him! The next time I see cupid I will pull a gun on him or simply swing a bat his direction then go for a home run! So, who are the unlucky guys? They are David, Wayne and Clive!

Ttyl, QOT (Queen of Truth)

Session 3: Prince Charming

Yeah blame cupid for sending David, Wayne and Clive my way! So before I start complaining and you continue snoring…let me break it down for you.

David

He’s studying Political Science in a private university and is in his final year of study. We went to the same primary school. He was in the rose stream while I was in the lily stream. He is almost 5’7”, dark and walks like he’s the illest thing around. He asked me for some music albums I had in my collection and then asked that we meet for lunch some time via Facebook. I met him in town one Saturday spotting a beautiful black dress and heels. He was charming and our conversation was mostly about primary school and our class mates. I had a good laugh. He became attached after that. Well, not attached per se, but he is a good friend. He has this air of arrogance that is more like an aura than an aspect of his personality. He is also good at striking conversations and he gets along with my folks and my elder brother. They get along best with my brother because both of them have a background in Political Science! He came to know me better when we’d take walks and talk about anything that was on his mind. He is very interesting. I think cupid missed his target, because David is most definitely a no!

Wayne

Wayne is six feet tall and he graduated from school with a degree in Math. He works at some bank now and is starting his masters’ class which is a very good move if you ask me. I have known Wayne longer than David. He is not so dark, and he is very funny. I laugh more in his company and he always wants to know how I am doing. We have talked a while and he’s a good friend. He loved me before I started going out with the fool who cheated on me. I turned him down because that fool was his friend and neighbor. Yeah, wonder how a guy would go behind his friend and steal the girl. So yeah, he’s always been persistent and this time around I could tell he had high hopes of getting through to me. I cannot comprehend all this. Truth be told, well Wayne has no hopes at all, because according to his profile on Facebook he is in a relationship with my best friend Gloria! Boys can dog but as a girl I do not bitch. I think he is better off with Gloria and all that could ever be between us is nothing but friendship-simple friendship is all I can afford, now where’s Cupid so I can slap him on the face? Isn’t he taught how to aim right? With Wayne he had aimed his arrow at Gloria and she accepted it, now it had better stick there.

Clive

Okay…I like Clive! Clive does not like me! How stupid can a guy be? I mean, at times I feel like Taylor Swift always there singing “You belong with me” at times when it is very clear that he isn’t paying attention my mind starts playing Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.” I have known Clive since high school. He is the guy who is not only sweet but displays an ounce of honesty. He does not mind the fact that I am weird and that I collect quotes. He actually asked me to tell him about him and how I know which quote goes into my collection, how cool is that really? L really likes Clive because she thinks his height is to die for. He is also six feet tall. He is dark and simple. He likes to sit back, read, listen to people and at times simply likes his own space. I know for a fact that a dude who takes time off everything and seeks his own conscience is a thoughtful one. He is thoughtful and yeah…has an awesome smile which I cannot describe. I think that Cupid was right in his aim but only at the wrong time. He is hell bent on getting his life straight. He is done with school too and on him lays the pressure to work and simply show his independence. He has a degree in Journalism. He however focused on the technical side with his desire to be a producer or technical controller. I have seen him around machines and I swear he’d be better off as a technical controller. I have been to their home. They have a lovely green home that is full of such beauty you’d stay there your whole life. In the middle of their home lies this huge mango tree that seems to be taking up the whole compound. The first time I saw it I recalled a short poem I had read in my second year at the university “I see a tree. A tree ti hi hi.” I found that poem hilarious and this got me laughing in his presence. I blush a whole lot around him and D saw that cupid had shot right through me with Clive. L and D now insist that I am weird because I haven’t made known my feelings to Clive. So where do I start defending myself? Okay, hold that thought I have to go downstairs and listen to my Dad’s account of how ignorant Kenyans are.

Ttyl, QOD (Queen of Drama)

Session 3: Friends suck!

Okay this is one of those days where people think you are pmsing! I am not pmsing, friends suck! Scratch that, L and D suck! Yeah they suck big time! I could lift them up and simply watch them say their prayers before dropping them down! L talked to David today and she likes him. Can you believe that my best friend likes the guy I find irksome? Do not dare say that tastes are different or something like opposites attract. When it comes to L and D those two laws by Newton do not apply. Wait; was it Newton who came up with them? That guy who was inspired by an apple that hit his head? Well I wish a log hit him instead; maybe he would have understood how peaceful death is! So L likes David. She does not want to go out with him, but she feels as though he would be the ideal guy for me. He is arrogant, doubtful and is all about winning. I am the listening type and so we are a match made in Heaven! L has lost it. They are good friends on Facebook and I saw her post on his wall “hey, awesome meeting you today, have a fab weekend.” They are also good friends on twitter and his tweet to her was “@The_David: anytime, will holla when am around, tk care @Lovelylucy.” When I saw that I knew I was in trouble because he had won her over like he had with my family. So when I checked my timeline I get one from him saying “@The_David: hey you, had a fab time, y’all should come to our place nxt time @QueenMya”

So I told him “Cool. RT @The_David: hey you, had a fab time, y’all should come to our place nxt time @QueenMya”

Well we have been through a lot with my friends and when I need their help they simply jump ship and save their skins. I must admit that I was hurt listening to L go on about how good she knows that David and I would be. One thing you ought to know about me is that I am a Pepsi can. I do not love Pepsi because their brand is just second-rate. If you have had a sip of Coke, why would you want to have the disgusting flat taste of Pepsi? I am loyal to my Fanta Pineapple and before she hit the market I was great mates with Fanta Orange and Fanta BlackCurrant. I call them Energy and Gas. Fanta BlackCurrant makes me belch every second but she is awesome! Getting sugar high is way cooler than getting wasted! I am a serious Pepsi can! If there are two things you ought to know about Pepsi Cola, is that first it is frizzy and second it is flat. Taking it is like taking cold coffee, and I am not talking about an iced mocha. Mocha is coffee and chocolate. This is the greatest insult to coffee. Coffee is purely coffee don’t try and mix it up with anything else. I wouldn’t mind taking an iced mocha though! I keep things to myself and when I ought to let out my frustration all you get is a smile and my back as I walk away. That is precisely what I did when L kept talking about David. They caught up with me ten minutes later three blocks away from our house. I do not mean to be rude or emotional but at that moment all I could think of was how miserable I was. If I can get my folks to buy me what I want but certainly don’t need, why can’t I walk up to Clive and go “I like you a lot!” Well, this is not a movie and though it is the 21st Century I am stuck in the 16th Century! I believe that it is much better for a guy to say he likes you at least that way he will work hard to keep you. If you go ahead and make the first move you can easily make the first exit! I do not want to exit from a relationship with Clive if any materializes. So that’s why I am reluctant to tell him anything. So now here goes the better part of my talk with my annoying two friends:

L: so what if I think David is good for you?

Me: I don’t like him L and that’s what you fail to see.

L: I see it alright, but your mind is all over Clive to even see the good in David! Am I right D?

D: You keep me out of your thoughts, I think we have gone through everything and besides, Clive is single, and so is Mya she ought to go after him. It’s all about the heart L.

L: Heart my foot! Mya is head over heels in love with a guy who doesn’t even know she exists in that capacity. There’s David who has made his intentions clear and all she needs to do is give him the chance and be open minded.

Me: could we just drop this?

D: I’m sorry Mya but you have to go with what you feel and if your heart tells you it is Clive what do you have to lose by telling him that you like him? Haven’t you ever heard that the longest distance is the one where you are standing before your love and he/she cannot see you? Go tell Clive.

L: Your loss Mya, do what you want to do, but as far as I’m concerned you are playing hardball. Give all three a chance-see beyond the surface and choose, what about Wayne?

Me: he is dating Gloria and I am not a home breaker.

L: What home? Are they married?

D: Jesus! Keep your negative thoughts to yourself L!

Me: hey D, they are not so negative by law they are married because they have been staying together for three years, the last time I checked three is a step ahead of two.

D: Are you for real? I know I have been going out with Michael but to stay with him right now is like throwing my freedom card out of the window.

Me: So you are not serious with him?

D: Serious? Is anyone on campus ever seriously committed to their relationship? L do you hear what Mya is feeding me?

L: Mya is special; leave her out of our drama. She’s in love with a guy who doesn’t feel the same way and she is hanging around hoping he will, so that makes her no different. We are also dating guys we have no future with and they are hanging around hoping they have something with us, same old same old stuff!

Me: See you later on. I have to go home and work on some applications okay?

D: Right now?

L: Did we offend you Mya?

Me: No, I just have to go. Goodnight.

I must have shed a tear or two as I ran home. I haven’t answered their calls all night and now that it’s almost midnight all I can listen to is some Creed. I am listening to their song “Higher” and it hurts reflecting on what L and D said. Have you ever watched that film “the Ugly Truth” starring Katherine Heigl and Gerrard Butler? Gerrard tells Heigl in the movie that “the truth is really ugly, isn’t it?” I must confess that is part of my quote collection. “The truth is really ugly, isn’t it?” It still is and now instead of talking to my friends here I am listening to Creed and wondering “Can you take me Higher?” So guess now I know what most characters in the classics felt as they tried to make their beloved notice them. It is an awful feeling and for once I will admit that I am not well. I am tormented by a feeling that I cannot comprehend, is it love or fear? Love is beautiful and it expands everything while fear makes everything shrink. I like Clive and I am afraid of making my true feelings known because he might just not feel the same way. Life is crazy and now it sucks! My life is boring and instead of having some action all it has is inaction. I feel like Hamlet in the castle talking to himself “to be or not to be, that is the question…whether tis’ nobler…” I feel like Hamlet without a sword and Horatio! I guess I will be good tomorrow before I meet Clive. We are having lunch and taking a walk around the city. I have to listen to some music before I drift to sleep, thanks for sticking around thus far…hope you hang around more.

Ttyl, QOH (Queen of Heartache)

Session 4: Things I’ll never say

Clive came for lunch at 2:00pm. He was carrying his portfolio with him and he looked so worn out. I was in the shower when he came in. My brother saw him in and engaged him in conversation till I was done. He bought me a gift. Actually gifts: a sketch pad and set of paintbrushes. I couldn’t thank him enough because I loved them. I sketch in my free time and for him to have remembered that just took my breath away. He however asked me not to sketch him and even though I have already done that I said I wouldn’t. It is true that what you don’t know doesn’t kill you. He has no clue and I would like to keep it that way. I prepared some rice and vegetable stew which we had before we left. Unlike David I can be silent around Clive and he wouldn’t mind. David always asks me “Talk to me” but with Clive he listens. It’s more like he knows my mind is somewhere and he doesn’t demand to have it at that moment. When you are in the presence of nature if words escape your senses then you are the special one. In nature I am always speechless. I always see some pencil strokes in an attempt to express such beauty, at times I simply let the memory stick in my head for a later time. As we made our way through the crowd of people rushing home, he reached out for my hand. I felt an inferno overtake me but didn’t withdraw. My hand fits in his hand so beautifully. It reminds me of Daniel Bedingfield’s song “If you’re not the One” where he asks “if you’re not the one then why does your hand fit in mine?” I didn’t think twice of it. When I am around Clive I am me! I laugh heartily, smile and at times though my mind drifts away I feel as though the real me is there. We walked around the city often snacking at various restaurants before he saw me home and then left for his. I like Clive and he likes me too, but just as a friend. I will not tell him what I feel for him. I will not go up to him and tell him that I like him. I will not go to him and ask him to be my boyfriend again. I am an old soul and something stops me from doing so, call it fear or punishment. I will keep sketching if I have to or pick up my internship to simply get immersed in something other than him. He is a good guy. He is a Christian not by words but by action too. He is respectful and most of all a good listener. The spark is most definitely between us. Every time I am around him I light up, but what if he likes me? Well, I don’t believe in destroying petals in an attempt to know if he does love me! I am also a coward because I cannot ask him right out. L and D were right, what do I have to lose? Nothing, and that’s the truth. He called to let me know he had gotten home. He also did take time and tweet me “@Clive003: Hey awesome, it was fab hanging out with you, sketch away the night @QueenMya”

“@QueenMya: thanks for coming over, t’was cool seeing you, already sketching @Clive003

I sketched our hands- just as he held it as we walked around the city. I might not be the girl he is looking for and somehow sketching it has made me know that there is so much to love that I can never explain. I was in the kitchen a while back fetching a glass of water when suddenly a long quote came to mind. See, it is said that any good writer will have not their characters but their opening lines stuck in your head. For fairy tales people know “once upon a time…” These tales also end with “and they lived happily ever after.” Dickens is famous for his lines “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Jane Austen is known for “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.” The quote that came to mind in the kitchen was from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The opening lines of the first scene of act one the Duke says “If music be the food of love, play on.” So does that mean that I quit? Sadly so it does. I am not Taylor Swift or Avril to ask Clive to look at me through a song. I am not a writer to come up with the right words to woo him. I am not even a poet to make him understand how I feel. The truth is I am an artist. I can make him see what I see through strokes on a canvas, but I am not ready to take that risk. I will stick to what we have now. I will accept his friendship and go for that. I will be a good friend and if he happens to fall in love with another girl, I will pray every night that she treats him well because he’s special. I need to go down stairs now and listen to what my Dad has to say about my internship. We are to set out at the same time for work. If I am right, I will be leaving the house at 6:30am with them for town. I start working officially with gossips as a writer. I do not know which is worse their belief that I write better than I edit or that I will put on a suit to work? Yeah that’s pretty much it. I will not be talking to you now that I start working for gossips. I might be home at 8:00pm like my folks and might simply collapse on my bed till the next day. I do not know which is worse, crying myself to sleep now or the fact that I feel as though I should lock my door and cry myself to sleep. I need to talk to my Dad first then maybe I will drink a soda to celebrate my integration into the workforce. So before I leave you hanging or snoring, let me tell you the truth. I will be honest with you because I think I have nothing to lose. You already know that this is The Absolutely Boring Life and Encounters of Mya. We have also settled that my name is Mya and I am 22 years old. I love my life however boring it is. I would not trade my life for another because I have so much to experience. L and D might be annoying but I still love them. L has this boyfriend whom we all can’t stand because he smokes. She loves him and he seems faithful to her. D on the other hand has Michael who adores her to his soul. She is not serious about him but he is giving their relationship his all. Cupid aimed three arrows at me: gold, silver and bronze. I cherished the golden arrow because I like Clive but seems as though Cupid is still going around aiming at people’s hearts, or maybe he is waiting for the gods to change his diaper for Clive doesn’t seem to feel the inferno I feel when we are together. David is the silver arrow, and I turned it down because I am not myself around him. I get more irked and restless around him than I do anyone else. Wayne already has a girlfriend and I think his arrow would have been crafted from mud such that it’d fall before it got to me. I should have titled this journal as “Mya’s folly.” It would have made more sense then. Now that all the cards are on the table I will let you in on one last conversation-the one that I had with D.

D: Hey, Mya sorry if we did offend you. We never meant to do so.

Me: Let’s forget about that, what’s good?

D: Mya can I ask you something?
Me: Sure

D: Do you like Clive or do you love him?

Me: What do you think?

D: Stop playing those mind games with me girl, just say it out loud and maybe your heart will feel much better.

Me: I don’t know if it’s right anymore D

D: What did he do?

Me: He’s still Clive. He’s still my friend and maybe I need to take it for what it is and let it be.

D: Seriously Mya? OMG! You love Clive. Hey can I come over now?

Me: Why do you want to come over?
D: You need a friend Mya. You finally find the guy your heart can’t stop beating for and he doesn’t see it, can we investigate and let you in on our findings, because I know any guy would be lucky to have you Mya, you are beautiful in and out.

Me: I am okay Mya. I start work tomorrow, finally?

D: You need to say it Mya, you have to get it out of you…you might get some sleep

Me: Goodnight D.

D: Mya…if you need a friend know I am always here okay?

Me: Thanks love, and get some sleep.

D: Hugs!

Me: Kisses!

Tomorrow’s a brand new day.

Ttyl, QOS (Queen of Silence)

Appointment booking: 9:00am, Thursday.

I have learned a few things in life. First, people expect the world of others but themselves. Second whatever little you have cherish. Third, when you complain something doesn’t change in fact it keeps getting worse. Four…well, there is a lot more to do with expression than I will ever admit. So, we will be seeing each other tomorrow as I fill you in on my day. I have nothing much to do today but watch television and listen to radio. I tried sketching but nothing good comes to mind so I have to take a break. Picasso is believed to have once said “Art cannot be rushed.” He was right even though he became famous after he died! I can sit down to a good book but when it comes to sketching just one stroke is enough to give the sketch a different meaning. There is no room for spontaneity on a canvas and even though people think there ought to be, I will tell you the truth, there isn’t. If your pencil or brush makes a stroke somewhere unintended you go with the flow instead of trying to fix it. My life is boring, so now I’m stuck watching cartoons, hope you are not as bored as me!

TTYL, Queen Mya.

Session 6: Termination of Therapy sessions

So welcome to my boring life reader! Welcome to the life where as a script writer I hold my pen and stare at the blank page till a character ceases to exist! I am still friends with David and Wayne. The two already know that I feel nothing but respect and understanding for them. I had to scream at Wayne though because he was betraying his relationship with Gloria by coming after me. I asked him to style up and stick to the one who is always by his side. David still calls and we do talk when I am not committed. He still demands attention and often seeks to have his way, but I understand that he cannot change because I want him to. He knows that I love another guy and he respects that though he seems disappointed and a little distant, but I am most grateful for this. A huge part of me still aches for Clive. Instead of becoming some stupid telenovella I will let go of this Clive talk and do what I might. I however know that there is a difference between a spark and an inferno. Each time he tweets, calls or texts me the inferno ignites my whole being. If it were a spark I’d not feel nostalgic or super high when I contact him. We still take those walks in the evening and he gets to hold my hand but I think of other things like social injustice to ignore the inferno I feel within me. He still stares right through me with his black eyes and I still smile and laugh heartily around him. He’s my friend and I will cherish that. So, let’s see, how much do I owe you for these sessions? You write that check and let me know. You can definitely be kind enough to tweet me about the payment or better yet consider them free lullabies that you can use to lull yourself to sleep when you see fit. Yes, I know I started out sarcastically but don’t all people in therapy start out like that? Well, with time I let you in on the truth, well…to be completely honest, my version of it. There is one thing I however have to say before I sign out and wish you a freaking’ awesome year!

I love Clive…

Honestly, Mya.

##

13 | Mya



Download this book for your ebook reader.
(Pages 1-11 show above.)