Big mouth, small wins: The cons of pretense.

I have never liked the kind of people that pretend. I can’t hate them because they are humans but, I’ve found that over the years, I’ve never liked to associate with people with that trait. I mean, why? Just why would anyone be like that?

I never cared to find out because I don’t have people like that around me or so I thought. Until 2 years ago when I had to move to a new place very far from my home and I met one of my primary school friends. Oh, how fortunate I was.

We got talking, and I realized that this thing I hate so much, he has it in abundance. “Oh, you just graduated school? ah ah. You’re such a baby”, he said to me. I looked at him, smiled and asked when he graduated. Then, with his fake British accent, he responded, yunno, I should’ve graduated a long time ago, but my school didn’t wanna let us leave fast, so, they gave us many issues. I don’t know why the lecturer finds me interesting, but he told me he was gonna keep me around until he’s pleased to let me go. So, I graduated not long ago too, but before you, so, I’m your senior still, you get what I’m saying?”

While he was talking, the disgust I felt was out of the world, but I had to keep it in check and understand how, and why he became like that. He went on and on and on about how he had so many girls on his neck and how soon he would want to get married so that he can travel of the country to meet his lover in Germany. He wouldn’t stop raving about how he successfully aced an interview where he would earn six figures as a software engineer, but his dad didn’t let him take the job. He mentioned how he had two well furnished apartments at our current location, and another one in Abuja where he would like me to visit and see for myself. He raved about a lot of things, but I knew the only real thing behind all the façade he wore was that he didn’t know the directions of his life at the time. He was just moving with the train hoping that it would land him somewhere safe.

One day, I told him I was going to visit another friend of mine somewhere not far from where I stayed, and he insisted he would go with me. I didn’t stop him though, because having a company isn’t a bad idea, right? Plus, I was trying to understand why he acts the way he does.

We got to my friend’s place, and he started, yet again. He lamented about how he wanted to also go into Airforce (because the friend we visited is an airplane engineer), but his dad stopped him. He said he knew a lot about planes, and the parts, and he wouldn’t just stop raving about many things he had no knowledge of. My friend looked at me and asked how I knew him. At that point, I just knew that he was tired of his excesses. Before we left, he got my friend’s number and promised to catch up some other day.

The day after the visit, he called my friend to borrow him four thousand naira to quickly sort some things, and that he would reimburse him pretty soon. My friend called me to inform me of what he said. Shocked or disappointed, I didn’t know what exactly to feel. The only emotion I felt was anger.

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Later after a little bit of studying, I realized that he had low self-esteem. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon, but he wanted it by all means, so, he mixed with goons and dons with wealth, copied their ways, started calling them friends, while still struggling to make his life better.

One day, I told him if he wouldn’t stop the fake life he lived, it would be tough for him to get help. Even when he direly needs it, nobody would believe he does need help because he has portrayed himself to have-it-all, know-it-all, and as someone that can survive as an island without needing the help of others.

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This is my entry to the #inleo prompt for today. The topic is phobias, mental disorders, and pet peeves. You can join here.

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