The return of Chuks. Am loving it already

I have a little confession to make. I hate flying. There is something about my feet leaving the ground that agitates me greatly. That coupled with the fact that the plane I entered was proudly but quietly stated by one of the staff to be quite old and so couldn't fly long distances did not do much to ease my already tensed mind. Suffice to say the short flight to Asaba was filled with trepidation on my part although since I didn't see any manifestation of impending doom I actually ought to have been a little more relaxed.

Asaba is a fast growing town situated along the banks of the great River Niger, just before the bridge to the Eastern part of the country. It is essentially a town for civil service workers although the hustle and bustle business of nearby Onitsha rubs off on it a bit. Added to the fact that it is a state capital and that a lot of the infrastructure looked new and very modern, I was quite impressed.

The airport was located a little bit outside the town. I alighted from the plane by 1pm to a vast and tarred field occupied by taxis for hire looking out for prospective passengers. I took one and called out the name of the hotel I would be staying in during the period. The driver nodded and soon I was being driven into the main town itself. The whole place appeared less calm than Lagos and for a moment I fantasized about coming over to settle down.

The driver took me through a few streets and soon we were at the hotel. I checked in and the hotel manager came to welcome me personally and show me to my room. I checked the number on the door. D19.

"Please feel free to let me know if you need anything," the manager said politely. I thanked him and he left me alone. I sighed and took off the chequered grey sweater I had put on. The drive down had been a little hot and the room obviously hadn't been aired in some time. The room itself was a simple one with a single large bed with bedpost lamps, a table and sofa for reading or working, a single wardrobe filled with plastic hangers and a very elaborate restroom. I promptly turned on the air conditioning and ordered for lunch. Then I made a call to Jenny, the representative of Leemen's Consulting that I had been in contact with.

"Welcome to Asaba, Mr chukudi, I trust you had a pleasant flight."

I lied the second time that day, "Yes I did, Jenny. Are we seeing today?"

"Sure," she replied. "My boss has scheduled a meeting for 3pm and we are expecting that you'll be there. I'll come over to pick you up."

"Thanks Jenny." I said. I could almost feel her smile at the other end of the phone.

"So how are you finding our little town na?" Not as busy as Lagos, I know but we move things when we want to."

"I believe you." I said.

"Maybe I can show you around when the meeting is over?" She asked coyly.

I paused. Over the past few weeks our calls had become slightly less than professional. I shamefully admit I had enjoyed the sound of her cool voice as it wafted through the speakers of my phone and Nina had occasionally admonished me for having an online girlfriend albeit playfully, but now I was about to meet her in the flesh I decided it was time to be more formal. I didn't want to start giving her ideas.

"Erm, jenny...what say we discuss it after the meeting? For all we know it could last for the rest of the day." I hoped I didn't sound too condescending.

I heard her sigh. "No problem. You are going to be here for two weeks anyway. There's no rush. See you by 3pm." And she hung up.

A knock on my door a few minutes later heralded my lunch; fried rice and chicken with a serving of coleslaw. I ate ravenously after which I had my bath and changed to something more formal, a red shirt and black trousers. I found a suit I had hurriedly packed and pondered whether I should wear it or not. Then I made a quick call to Nina.

"Hey baby," her cute voice came on almost as soon as the phone began to ring.

"Hey baby." I replied. "That was fast, you didn't even let the phone ring."

"Well, you know I miss you dear" she said. "How was your flight?"

"Horrible," I said with a groan and she laughed. She knew how I hated to fly. We talked about her parents and how she was enjoying her visit. I was glad to know that she was happy.

"I do miss you, you know," I said after a while. "And staying in this town for two weeks is going to be kind of lonely."

"Don't worry, you have your girlfriend jenny to keep you company don't you?" She asked mischievously.

"Yeah, she can keep me company since you plan on abandoning me here." I said laughing. Then, "You are not worried are you? You know I won't ..."

"I trust you Chuks." She said in an even voice. "I can't keep hovering over you like a hawk. All I can do is trust that you'll be the gentleman I know you to be and you won't do anything to hurt me."

"Darn it." I said. "And here I was thinking of all the deliciously sinful things I could do with my online girlfriend."

She laughed again, that laugh I loved so much. I was so lucky Nina wasn't the jealous type which was the reason I could joke and discuss freely with her and she knew it.

"I love you babe." I said.

"I love you too." She said. "Besides, you haven't met Jenny before. For all you know she could be an obese, short elderly woman with a face like pa jimoh."

"Well, I'm about to find out," I said as I looked out my window and saw a Honda, 2010 model with the imprint 'Leemen consulting' pull up in the parking lot. "Talk to you later babe."

"Okay dear." She said and hung up.

I took one last look in the mirror and went outside, coming across the manager again in the lobby.

"Hope you enjoyed your meal sir?" He asked jovially. I nodded and smiled and headed out the hotel door into the warm afternoon sun, just as the occupants of the car came out. There was a man in a suit who had driven the car and a woman behind him. I'm not even going to pretend to describe the man because I honestly don't remember. I was too busy looking at his exceedingly beautiful partner.

Long braided black hair complemented an almost obscenely beautiful face with piercing light brown eyes and pouting red lips. Her fair skin was so smooth it seemed to have been sculpted from milk. Her smile radiated so much warmth and her teeth were pearly white. She didn't have a single straight line on her, there were curves everywhere. She had put on a simple body hugging yellow top with frilled collars and sleeves and matched it with an orange pencil skirt. Her long elegant legs were magnificently sculpted and ended in feet articulately encased in matching orange and black high heeled shoes. I gauged that with the shoes off, she would be slightly below my height. When she started walking towards me I actually took a step back to appreciate her movements. I was still looking at this ravishing beauty when she held out her hand in friendship.

"You must be Mr Chukwudi?" She said in that voice I had come to know so well. I thought I had answered but apparently I didn't because she repeated the question.

"Sir? Are you Mr Chukwudi?"

I smiled at her and wondered what she was talking about. Then my brain started functioning again.

"Yes I am!" I almost shouted. "Please call me Chuks. All my friends do."

She looked at me for a few seconds and her face registered some puzzlement, like she was realizing something. Then she smiled again and I lost consciousness for a nano-second.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Jenny. Please join us in the car, let's take you to our firm." And she turned and walked elegantly back to the car.


Oh dear, I thought. I definitely wasn't going to describe her to Nina.

davedave1: Look Mr Roy, i am sort of a person that hardly comment on NL, more of a silent reader, but i enjoyed the first 'Chuks' story, and i am going to say this that you have made me one of your greatest fan that i even bookmarked ur NL profile to know wen you start anoda story. Even the start of this story had knock me off mt feet already, the point in this comment is to let you know am with you all the way, i understand the pain and the pleasure in writing, so take your time bro,and i hope and pray that someday, we will meet at the top....**spread mat, took a few out of the 25ltr palm wine, and looking anxiously for the next update**. YOU ROCK !!!

Thanks! Hope you enjoy the show!

Obinnau: Just passing. Anyway, nice story plot.

Will keep a seat for you in case u pass this way again.

Royver:
Will keep a seat for you in case u pass this way again.

ok. Seat nø what?

This na seduction. It can lead to confusion. I no dey there o.

Obinnau: ok. Seat nø what?

Any seat of your choice. Just let me know when u come in and I'll take care of you.

Just superlative! That's all I'm gonna say.

Great job Roy, as usual .

Note that 'cute' is an improper adjective for the sound of a voice. Cute can describe a person's physical feature or an object, but not the way a voice sounds. Rather, you can use 'sweet', 'singsong', 'melodious' etc

Leemen's Consulting is an establishment that helps clients create new ventures including subsidiaries, coalitions and business products. Currently I had helped them close a 12million naira deal with a developing oil company coming in from the states and the management wanted my say in thier business plan development. I say 'my' because jenny said so. I had tried to correct her by saying that it was the input of the firm I worked for that they wanted but she was quite specific. The management wanted me.
"That was why we asked for you to come and not any of your bosses. You personally followed the case relentlessly; You did all the hard work and brought about adequate exposure for us. They were highly impressed and wanted to see you live."

i closed my mouth and tried not to feel too proud of myself.

The building itself was a makeshift from a duplex apartment. The entire front side of the compound was tarred with some imported trees, about the height of a human being, growing in two rows down to the main entrance of the house. The building itself was painted white with a singular brown stripe across the ground and first floor. Two other official cars were in the copound and there was some bustle of activity as employees moved in and out, engrossed in their daily chores.

I was ushered into the building and upstairs where i met with the managing director and some foriegn partners from the english-french district. They were all very pleased to see me and Jenny did a good job in making me feel comfortable.
the meeting lasted till 5pm and a working plan was laid to bring in the new company gradually into the country. Afterwards i was escorted downstairs and asked to wait for my designated driver who would return me back to my hotel. i decided to use the opportunity to walk around and explore the compound. As i had said earlier most of the front was tarred, but as I moved round to the back of the building, i came across a miniature garden. The place was beautiful. Elaborately hidden by a high fence and an even higher gate, i doubted if any of the people living in the vicinity knew there was a place like this in the town. The garden was outlined by granite stones and the grass that bedded the soil within was luscious and well cultivated giving the backyard a wonderful lemon-green texture. Two rose bushes, obviously imported, were to be seen in full bloom. I touched one but dared not pluck it for fear of annoying my hosts. Maybe i could ask jenny if i could collect a specimen for Nina when going back to Lagos.

And then i saw the leopard.

At first i thought it was a painted statue, part of the decoration for the garden, one of those live size animal mannikins. It was sitting on its haunches at the far end of the garden, almost hidden behind one of the rose bushes. It had a beautiful spotted yellow and black fur coat that shone like it had just been groomed. i was looking at it and wondering how it could look so life-like when it suddenly turned its head to look at me.
A chill ran down my spine as I watched it quickly get up on all fours. My eyes scanned its neck for some sort of chain or restraint but found none. it remained deathly still, watching me, and then i reasoned that there was no way they would leave a leopard roaming freely in the compound. This was obviously a manifestation. i relaxed and stared hard, looking to see if i would be privy to any more revealing manifestations, but the leopard remained still. i knelt on one knee and whistled gently to it, to see if it would approach. it tilted its head to the side in curiosity and i couldn't help but admire the creature. It continued to watch me with interest, then suddenly gave a low growl and ambled towards me. Before i knew it, it was beneath my hand and i was petting its large orange-yellow head. it purred like a kitten and i laughed as i gained the courage to tickle it further. it felt so real.

that's because it is real

The thought floated through my head. It was true that since the awakening of Chukwudi the stronger, I could make contact with manifestations but this...this was looking too real. On impulse I looked down at the green grass where the leopard had been standing and the one it stood on now as it pawed the ground with its claws.

The grass was indented where it had lay previously. The blades of grass moved as the leopard raised its foot.

this creature was making contact with the ground.

This wasn't a manifestation.

The chill on my spine came back full force and my heart skipped several beats.



I was petting a real life leopard.

Ishilove: Great job Roy, as usual .

Note that 'cute' is an improper adjective for the sound of a voice. Cute can describe a person's physical feature or an object, but not the way a voice sounds. Rather, you can use 'sweet', 'singsong', 'melodious' etc

cute [kjuːt]
adj
1. appealing or attractive.
I think it can be used here in terms of when a person is said to have an appealing or attractive voice as opposed to someone who is cute physically i.e having features that are "pleasing" or "charming" or "physically endearing". Thanks all the same for the heads-up.
And you are highly welcome to the thread!

Can I use "sweet" to describe a story? That's the only word in my head now. You write with a saccharine pen, don't you?

Definitely following

Royver:
cute [kjuːt]
adj
1. appealing or attractive.
I think it can be used here in terms of when a person is said to have an appealing or attractive voice as opposed to someone who is cute physically i.e having features that are "pleasing" or "charming" or "physically endearing". Thanks all the same for the heads-up.
And you are highly welcome to the thread!

I completely disagree because of the context in which it is used in the story. However, I will not argue because I don't want to derail the thread, and it is your story, after all.

Nice. Keep it coming

nice one bro..i will most definitely follow this one

I don laannd!

*grabs a chilled bottle of coke*. . . .reali onto dis one

Walks into thread


Sup y'll! Roy hpe u'll update fast I dnt want this 2 be boring abeg

Could have started the story with a short prologue detailing what d play is about. Its hard to just start reading a story like that without any knowledge bout it.

#JOKE
Royver, pls can I be ur grlfriend. I know I have a boyfrend already, bt I wll love you just as much as I love le beau....pls pls pls
p.s-I'm not desperate

Following......sure it's gonna be the bomb.Fire on

.

*walks in with gallon of Palm wine and groundnut*
Royver, knock yourself out

Royver ooooo. Conan see you're on FP oooo .
I saw it first

miss.terious:
Can I use "sweet" to describe a story? That's the only word in my head now. You write with a saccharine pen, don't you?

Lol. I try to. Not too sweet, not too sour.

adegwurulez: Definitely following

Welcome sir. Concerning what we discussed, av not forgotten oh. Just been super busy.

Ishilove:
I completely disagree because of the context in which it is used in the story. However, I will not argue because I don't want to derail the thread, and it is your story, after all.

No wahala. You be my person. And compliments of the season oh!

doyouknowjohnny: nice one bro..i will most definitely follow this one

Welcome

Obinnau: I don laannd!

*shouting* usher! Usher!!

Pls follow this sexy lady to your seat sir.

Ddonoflife: *grabs a chilled bottle of coke*. . . .reali onto dis one

Thanks