Emmanuel has been by my side all my life; we grew up together, attended the same school, and were always seen together. Even those who do not know our background thought we were twins, as anywhere you saw him, there I would be too. The only thing that separated Emmanuel and me was the fact that we sleep in different houses, but the moment we are up, we are back together. We helped each other out with our house chores and moved to the other person's house to get his own house chores done too. Our friendship was one of the most famous in the neighborhood. When people see me, they always ask, "Where is your twin?" and he is never far away, so I just point them in his direction.
Our families were aware of how close we were, and that brought our families close too, as they wanted to support our friendship, and the only way to do that is by coming together and treating each other just the way Emmanuel and I treat ourselves.
"Maybe both of you will just get married because I have never seen boys get this close." Emmanuel's mother teased as we all laughed.
I would have said we were a match made in heaven because of how close we were, but the real match for my friend came around when a new girl joined the class. "I will like you all to meet Bridget; she will be part of the class, and I hope you guys will give her a warm welcome." The form master said as he showed her where to sit and then left.
Bridget was a very beautiful girl; she got every guy's attention, and some guys rushed to introduce themselves to her immediately after the form master stepped out.
"The new girl got my attention too, bro, but let me watch her for a few days before making my intentions known." Emmanuel said
"She might reject you, bro; clearly she will have many guys taking shots at her, so calm down and let it go." I suggested
"No, bro, I am going to ask her out. Give me a few days. They call me fine boy Emmanuel." Emmanuel said as we all tear up in laughter.
About three days later, Emmanuel went to school without me, and I was shocked as it had not happened before; even my parents kept asking questions to know if we had a quarrel, but I told them we were fine; he had things to handle in school, and I could not meet up, so he had to go without me, but even I did not know why he left without me. I got to school and searched for him to ask why he left from school without me.
"Hey bro, you left for school without me and no word from you. I hope all is well." I asked with a look on my face.
"I sincerely apologize, bro, but Bridget asked me to walk with her to school, and you know man is on a mission, so I had to." Emmanuel said as he winked.
"Talk about Bridget; here she comes." I said using my eyes to signal in the direction she was approaching.
"You have not met my brother from another mother; meet Kachi, and Kachi, meet Bridget." Emmanuel introduced us.
I watched them tease each other, and it felt like they were indeed made for each other; they bonded like they had known each other for ages, and it was indeed a match made in heaven. Bridget became Emmanuel's new buddy, and I was tossed aside, though we were still close, but not as close as we used to be, as he had to spend time with Bridget. Two weeks later, he came to me with a smiling face.
"So what is with the look on your face?" I asked Emmanuel, who was smiling sheepishly, or rather weirdly.
"She said yes to me. I am so proud of myself after turning down so many people." Emmanuel said, still smiling and showing excitement like a kid.
"Congratulations, my friend, high school love. I just want you to know that I was here before they broke your heart, and I will still be here after they break it." I said with a straight face.
"Trust me, she is the one. I can already see a future with her." Emmanuel, said with a big smile.
"Then I wish you the best of luck; remember I will be here, ooo." I teased as we both laughed.
They were indeed meant for each other; after high school, Emmanuel joined the army. He proposed to her last year, and they will be getting married by December. Something I thought would not go beyond high school has stayed solid for years; they were indeed a match made in heaven. Though she took my friend away, I am glad he found happiness with her.