Not again! The voices were discordant. They had woken me up from my fitful sleep, in the stifling room for there had been no electricity for three days. The voices were coming from backyard. I jumped out of bed and rushed to the backyard.
My eyes took in the whole scene at a glance. I was furious when I saw those four troublesome girls encircling my mother. Lolu, that blob of fat with bleached skin, was making fun of my mother. She was the ringleader.
Since I came home for vacation, I had noticed that Lolu was always quarrelling with my mum over the most trivial things. Mum is a brave woman, but she would quiver in the presence of Lolu. The awful thing about it all was that Lolu was always in the wrong. But for my mother’s sake, I would settle the quarrel amicably for I sensed something evil about her. In three days, I would be returning to the campus - what would happen to my mum when I was not around?
I saw Lolu almost poking her finger into my mother’s eye. I couldn’t take it anymore. Damn the consequences, I thought. I charged into the circle that they formed, standing between Lolu and my mum. Although Lolu was twice my size, albeit shorter, I squared up to her and stooped so that she could see the rage in my eyes.
“Useless woman!” I shouted. What has my mother done to you? Stop this nonsense! I won’t take it easy with you next time I see you harassing her in this house!’ She looked at me scornfully. Probably she just saw me as a brat. It was then I noticed the scorpion tattooed on her right shoulder. She must be a member of the notorious scorpion gang. The three other troublesome girls were raining abuses on my head.
My mother tugged at me, her voice tinged with fear. “Kazeem, let us go. Leave them alone”. I didn’t move. “Leave them, let us go,” she pleaded again. My warrior instinct told me that it was better to kill a Goliath than face the whole army of the Philistines. So I started to leave. I threw a parting shot at Lolu. “I will deal with you.”
At the moment one of the girls, Tawa, charged at me. I stopped her with my hands. She croaked: “Who you be? Useless, shameless bastard!” It was unbearable. My mother was sobbing. “Kazeem, leave these troublemakers alone. Let’s go, please, let us go!” I heeded her advice. As I turned, I saw the landlord. He must have been watching the whole drama, pretending to be unconcerned. The old goat!
I went back into my room and was raging so much that a button came off as I was trying to remove my trousers. I threw it on the bed and changed into another pair. Then I stormed past my mother and the landlord. “Kazeem, come back,” they called out in unison. I said to them, “Don’t try to stop me! This shit has got to stop!” I moved on. With each step I took, a certain calm descended on me because I had decided on what action to take: I would go to the police.
At the gate of the Moore police station, I uttered a silent prayer. I knew the reputation of the scorpion gang. They were vicious and brutal, and they and they didn’t spare anyone that dared to cross their path. But I never crossed her path - she crossed mine!
I opened the gate and the policeman stationed beside it questioned me. “Wetin you dey find?” I explained to him. He muttered: “Drop something. Two hundred naira is not too much. Na so we dey do.” I gave him a Hundred. Then he showed me the way to the counter. There I met a fair skinned policewoman. The fairness looked acquired to me. “Wetin happen?” Her accent betrayed her mid-western origin. I started explaining in ‘Queen’s English’, but then realized she wasn’t getting my explanation, so I changed to pidgin. She sounded incredulous. “You mean say for your presence she dey curse ya mama?” Her voice was low: “You ready to make case?”
“Yes,” I answered impetuously. The policemen behind the counter looked at me.
She continued, “Go bring N2,000!”
My eyes popped from their sockets. I certainly didn’t have that kind of money – I only had N500. I thought one did not have to pay anything. If I didn’t get that Lolu woman arrested, I knew I would be safe even if she was arrested. I knew I just had to put up some bravado. I did not know what came over me.
“Okay, make I pay N1,000.”
“No way! The only thing wey I fit do for you be say …. hmmm, o ya bring N1,500.” there was a note of finality in her voice.
I stood there, befuddled, I decided to press further. “Make I drop N500;when dem catch the woman, I go pay the balance.”
“Sorry o! No credit today, come tomorrow!”
I left the counter, dejected. As I returned to the big, brown gate, the policeman there asked. “You don see the counter?” I nodded. Something told me he could be helpful. I explained what transpired at the counter to him.
“But dem no suppose to collect that kin’ money – e too much!” he said.
I began to hope.
He continued, “you sure of wetin you dey talk?”
“Yes.” I replied. His next statement deflated me. “Why dem no dey share us? Dem go collect that kin” money for counter and e no dey reach us here.” I was shattered, and I just slouched out of the station.