We’re always encouraging people to shoot their shot, whether male or female because you just never know how things could turn out. What is not said, though, is what to do when you have been rejected. I mean a simple no means no, and you walk away and shoot your shot elsewhere hoping things turn out better next time. But what about the people who don’t actually verbalise the word no, and turn you down in a different way? What do you do when you realise that the girl pretended she had a hearing impairment just so that she doesn’t talk to you? How do you move on from this?
Njuguna was a party animal. He was out every weekend and even on some weekdays. He loved the good life. Good music and good vibes were where you would find him. His personality matched this. He was an extrovert who could talk to anyone. He wasn’t embarrassed about his uncoordinated dance moves, and he was always up to date with the latest club bangers.
It was Friday night. They left campus late, after struggling to complete an assignment that was due at 5 pm on that day. They headed directly to one of their friend’s bedsitters to start their routine. But this time, things were different. It was the end of the month and their allowances had come in so that meant money. They wouldn’t be drinking their regular cheap alcohol. Normally, they blew almost a quarter of their money that first weekend and then struggled on instant noodles and cheap liquor for the remaining part of the month.
The mood was set, and they were now pre-gaming as they played video games. The music was playing so loud that the speakers were vibrating vigorously. This was how they did it, just about every end of the week.
Now, it was time to hit the club. An Uber was ordered and within a few minutes, they arrived at their destination, which was the most popular club in Nairobi at the time. The bouncers let them in without any trouble, and Njuguna was confident that this was going to be his night. He knew that this was the night he would live to tell stories about, and he wasn’t wrong.
As soon as they settled, Njuguna walked straight to the bar to order a shot. The waiter had taken too long to bring the bottle that they ordered, so he chose to go to the bar and get a shot as he waited. As he was approaching he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. She was seated by herself sipping on a glass of whiskey on a seat at a corner near the bar. She danced on the seat and you could tell that she was comfortable by herself. To make things even better, there was an empty seat right next to where she was seated. Jackpot!
Njuguna forgot that he was going to the bar. He sat on that seat and started talking to her. He had perfected the art of shooting his shot. This wasn’t the first or fiftieth time he had done this for that matter.
“Hi, I think you’re beautiful,” he said, in his conveniently deep voice.
But the girl didn’t respond, at least not with words. She took her time and then turned to sign language, but Njuguna didn’t understand her. He smiled politely and then stood up feeling ashamed that he couldn’t communicate with her.
He went back to his table slowly and found his friends. He told them the story, and a few minutes later he burst into tears. Not just regular tears, he cried like a baby. Maybe it was the alcohol that was making him this emotional, but he just couldn’t stop crying. When his friends suggested they go back home he refused. He just wanted to cry, right there, in the middle of the club, because there was a girl with a hearing impairment.
The next morning when Njuguna woke up he couldn’t remember the events of the previous night. He walked to the sitting room, and as soon as his friends saw him they burst into laughter.
“What’s wrong with you?” One of them asked.
“No, really, why were you behaving that way last night?” Another asked, almost falling off the chair because of laughing.
“What are you guys talking about exactly? I remember nothing. All I remember is meeting a deaf girl at the bar,” Njuguna said, defending himself.
“What about the crying? Were you crying because you were rejected, or because she had a hearing impairment?” One of them asked, and they started laughing uncontrollably.
“Just be grateful that you don’t remember, you would have been embarrassed if you did,” They said.
It turns out, this girl wasn’t actually deaf. Njuguna caused such a big scene that someone noticed, and then told his friends that she wasn’t deaf. She just liked to use sign language. Or maybe she used sign language to turn him down.
At first, he couldn’t believe it, because this girl had smiled broadly when she approached him. It didn’t make sense. Perhaps she was trying to see if it would work, and what his reaction would be.
At the time, it hadn’t occurred to Njuguna that the “deaf” girl was dancing to the music and so she could probably hear it. When he realised it, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.
This story is loosely based on a story we found on Twitter
Here are more stories from The Singlehood Series:
The Singlehood Series: The Guy At The Club Turned Violent When She Rejected His Advances
The Singlehood Series: He Found Out She Was Intersex When They Were In Bed During A Casual Hookup
The Singlehood Series: My Crush Had A Secret Relationship He Hid From Me
The Singlehood Series: When Her Friend Was Trying To Pimp Her Out To A Nigerian Man
The Singlehood Series: I Broke Up With My Fiancé Because He Wanted Me To Cut Off My Baby Daddy
Image from Freepik.
