Life and a Sixteen-Year-Old by Lemuel Irabor


All Rights Reserved.

© Lemuel Irabor
2016-









16-Sept.

Life is so complicated!
Sometimes I don't even get it.Look at it this way:God created apples for eating.But insatiable humans had to squash the apple to get the pulp for apple pies,etc. and extract the juice in big machines and add lots and lots of health hazards,just so we can have drinks like 5 Alive and Lacasera.
That's not the complicated part.
It's when they give us tests in class asking us to explain the processes involved that really irks.
I mean,who does that?
Sigh.
All I wanna write is that the apple-in whatever form-gets into the stomach of man.

Again I wan..
Oh!Hi there.
You may be reading this and wondering who could be writing this.
Well..
I'm Martin. Sixteen. Nigerian. 174cm tall.
And believe me I have my share of problems.UNfair share of problems.
And now you're trespassing..
Don't you know it's impolite to read someone's diary?
Wait..
On second thought,maybe I should let you have a 'little' peek.
Then maybe you'd understand when I say life is tough.
So there you pretty much have it.I've given you my description.I guess you could even picture me in your mind.

NB:I'm fair-skinned.So don't picture me as a young version of Tunde Baiyewu.

***

Today I begin a new term of a new session in a new class in a new school in a new neighbourhood in a new..
Ok.OK.You get it right?
My family moved from our old neighbourhood in Shasha to the state capital,Ikeja(Yeah..Lagos State).
I guess you're probably wondering why we left that old neighbourhood.That's a tale for another day.
Dad drove us to school:me,the firstborn;my sister Martha,the middle child and Marvel(Haha.. If you read Spiderman or Incredible Hawk comics I know you're probably laughing right now).
I'm in my final year of High School(Senior High).
Martha's two classes below me.She's fourteen.
And Marvel's is in his last year of Junior High.He's eleven.
NB:Nigeria uses the 6-3-3-4 educational system.
I'd read a lot about Bedford High School and once,in my old school,we were opponents in a debate.But I never imagined it was this..BIG.
I don't wanna bore you with architectural descriptions and stuff,but it was bigger than most of the other private secondary schools in that area.
In structure. In population.
Sigh.
I still miss Lord Lugard(Gotcha! Hehe..my old school was Lord Lugard Memorial High).

I had eight classes today.Forty minutes alotted to each subject with a break period for lunch after the fourth class and before the fifth.
English was fun.I'd always aced English all my educational career.A burly boy slept through English,snoring annoyingly.Our classmates had a blast painting moustaches and a weird beard on his face.
The skinny girl who sits in front painted rabbit incisors on his lips.
We all laughed when the boy was roused suddenly by the teacher's question on gerunds.He sat upright suddenly.His tongue still out,plus the rabbit grafitti joined to make the semblance of a bunny munching a carrot!
(I'm still laughing now at the memory).
Physics was great too..
Had a pretty funny teacher,Mr D and even the snoozing boy stayed awake throughout.
I made a new friend,my seatmate.A dude called Joseph. He seems intelligent and we exchanged contacts.
Uhm..there was this girl too.An obvious coquette.Good-looking though. I ignored her.
I don't have time for girls.
Weird right?A teen's supposed to have raging hormones.But I believe God gave us self-control for our own good.
So don't be surprised that I'm a virgin and vowing to stay one till I get married,if that ever happens.

Mom picked us up from school.She works in the Fertility Clinic at Lagoon Hospitals.A nurse and partial housewife.We love her loads.
Spent the rest of the day reading Ebooks and Paperbacks.
I downloaded the entire Sherlock Holmes collection from UC Forum.
I like murder mysteries.I prefer to solve them as I read not just wait till the end of the novel to know who did the crime.
Martha and Marvel watched Nickelodeon and Zee World.
Mom complained at dinnertime about my reticence.She just doesn't get it.
She tried making small talk but I only nodded in response.
Mom doesn't know that I'd noticed that there was a fast-growing rift between her and dad.
It's amazing that parents never expect or anticipate how smart their kids can get.Yet they pray for smart kids.

Whatever.

Joe called.

Hi all! I'm the new guy around here..


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Almighty Divepen1

quite interesting...
fingers crossed
#anticipating more ideas to your story bruh

Following

17-Sept.

Tuesday.

Getting used to this new school has been keeping me quite occupied.
Today,We received our school uniforms:for boys,a yellow long-sleeve shirt bearing the school badge,with a black tie on black trousers,plus a black blazer also emblazoned with the school badge.The girls get yellow blouses and black skirts instead.
Martha really looked chic in her uniform and I could already guess she had a busy day ahead of her.
First class today was Biology.We had a rat-faced teacher with spectacles like Dexter(in Dexter's lab).He looked like a combination of something from Ratoutoille and Oscar in Oscar's Oasis.
You get the picture.Once a boy tried to joke about the man's oversized pants.The teacher overheard and the hapless lad got sent out.
Talk about making an impression.
Next was Math.Teacher absent.A substitute teacher came but we pretty much did just revision and quick sums.No calculus yet.

At Lunch,I decided to go to the school cafeteria..and boy,did I regret it?
Please if you're reading this and you plan on attending Bedford High,NEVER GO TO THE CAFETERIA!!
Besides the massive number of kids crammed into such a small space,the air reeks of food gone bad and putrid sweat.
When I got to the front of the line,after bumping into kids front,back,left,right and centre,I saw a big woman with a lump on the left side of her face.She was dishing the food and I saw her sticky yellowish sweat drip from her face and brow into the flasks of food.I gulped hard and immediately turned to leave.
At the top of the stairs leading out of the cafeteria,I heard the woman shout.Apparently a student had poured away his food on the other students in the disorderly ramble of students.
In the ensuing imbroglio,I saw the woman add saliva to the food in the flasks.
Eek..I think I'll never look at rice the same again.
After lunch(I went to the tuck shop and bought some snacks and a Coke),I had Chemistry for two periods and I had to fight to keep awake.Our teacher was an owlish man whose explanation on Organic Chemistry was as boring as ever.Kid Snoozle(I don't even know his name..yet.The rabbit graffitti was still visible) dozed some and was asked to stand up throughout.
Class erupted in titter when the dude FELL asleep while standing..He lost his balance and while trying to regain it,grabbed the hair of the girl who sat before him.She screamed.
Mr Lanre(the Chemistry teacher) tried to restore normalcy to no avail.Everyone was bored of seeing enough Cs and Hs to make you hate the letters.

After school,Joe invited me over.I had to take my siblings home first,eat(Yeap..I was starved,who can survive on Coke and Rolls and Martha makes very good Yam porridge),do homework,chores;study a little,help Martha and Marvel with their Homework before heading over.
Joe's house was like..real big.His dad must be into politics,oil or fraud.
Just saying..
He gave me a tour of the house and boy oh boy..they were in money.
We played chess,table soccer and exchanged book recommendations.
Turns out Joe's a book lover too.
Dude prefers to read biographies and historical fiction.He told me he wanted to be an Archeologist or Historian.
''Nice Bro.,Nice..",I said,smiling.
Big chance of him getting a job in such a career in Nigeria..
Joe also loves puns.Every time he speaks,he uses at least a pun.
''Heh,Martin..you're so sallow,your chances of getting seen in the dark are really FAIR.''
And he laughs like he's one oaf of a comedian.
He's still cool though.

As I got off the rickety 'Danfo' bus(a Volkswagen van-turned-bus by Nigerians,owned by private er..individuals not government)at my bus-stop,I just had this gut feeling that something was wrong. I looked at my wristwatch.
20:42.
Great!Mom's gonna kill me. My curfew is 20:30.
Turns out I didn't get killed or I wouldn't be writing this.
Mom was standing,leaning on the kitchen counter and crying into a handkerchief.
'Mother,What's wrong?',I asked,suddenly solicitous.
'Oh Martin,you're back..',she sniffed and wiped her eyes.'Martha told me a friend invited you over.How was it?
I ignored the attempt to dismiss me.
'What's wrong?'
Mom saw the determined look on my face and sighed.'One day,I'll tell you..Just not now.No,not now'
She walked over and caressed my face.
OK,I think I'm my mom's favourite child because I give her less stress..than the others(Even at childbirth,Mom told me).
But right now,it'd take more than caressing my face to dismiss me..
'Mom,but..'
She placed a finger on my lips and mouthed 'Not now'.
I sighed resignedly.
'Dinner's ready.I mad-'
'I'm not hungry.',I said simply,climbing up the stairs..I turned ran to Mom and hugged her.
'Goodnight Mom.'
She kissed my hair.
And I ran up,quietly as a cat for I could hear Marvel snoring.It sounded like a wounded hippo.
Dad was offshore.He was..er,is a Naval Engineer.
So I took a quick shower,changed and jumped into my bed and went to sleep.

Or tried to.
Fitful sleep.
I know because I woke up to write this:

Ciao!

Tell me what you think,guys.

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I think its dope. please continue bro following

Lemuel Neva Knew Yhur Such a Good Writer....

keep it up....


Guys dont Just Read and Go....

Comment Biko....

nice one dear...keep it coming,am here with my popcorn nd coke....oya let me sit

18-Sept.

Wednesday

'Oti M.'
'Present!',I exclaimed in riposte.
Oh!Did I forget to mention that my surname is Oti.Heh-Heh.
Anyway,our Principal's been getting reports that some final year students skip out of school during lunch.
So he comes around with this big book and makes a role call every fifth period.He doesn't even do it in alphabetical order:he does it according to seating arrangement.

'Etuk J.'
No answer.
What the ...?
I look beside me and notice Joe's not there.
Sheesh,I didn't even notice.
Some friend I am..
'Etuk J.'
Again,no rep-

'I'm hh..hhere,Sir.',Joe stuttered as he ran in,breathing hard.
Mr Abdullateef,the Geography teacher(We had Geography for 5th today) said in his most sanctimonious manner,'Young Man,where are you coming from?'
It sounded more like a command than a question.
Everyone hates..er,really dislikes Mr Abdullateef.He's so self-righteous and doesn't like kids at all.
Rumour has it(Heh-Heh,my third day in a new school and I already know the latest gossip.Doesn't help when the girls sitting on my left are such talebearers.Plus I have a keen ear..) that he's friends with the Principal and is hoping for a promotion to Head of Department or Vice Principal.
If he ever gets there,I promise,I'll leave Bedford High.

'The toilet,Sir.',Joe said as he smarted his uniform.'The line was quite longer than usual and I was quite PISSED.'
A titter waved through the classroom.
Kid Snozzle drooled as he laughed.Weird dude.
Turns out his name's Akin:that would be Yoruba for 'Hero'.
I prefer calling him Kid Snozzle.
One reason I like Bedford High was that most things are done in an orderly fashion,like going to the lavatory or waiting to see the nurse or..er,pretty much everything.
Except the cafeteria.
Back in Lord Lugard,there was perpetually a bedlam on any..I mean,every occassion.
Mr Abdullateef flushed and shook with rage.

'That's Ok,Mr Abdullateef.Mr Etuk,you can go sit down.'
'Mr Etuk' walked modestly to his seat.
I nudged him with my elbow.
The bell rang.
However,We were not able to talk or even pass notes until school closed at 14:00.
'Hey,where did you go during lunch?',I all but yelled at Joe at the sound of the bell at 14:02,over the happy shouts of other students.
Sometimes it seems like everyone hates school.
Wait,14:02!
That timekeeper dude is a disgrace to the word 'efficient.'

Joe smirked.
'I did it on purpose.'
Shock.
Confusion.
And finally,on getting his drift,I snickered.
Mehn,I love this dude.
What?
At least,Mr Abdullateef was put in his place.

Back home,I read my Biology and Chemistry textbooks.I'm pretty good at Evolution and Organic Chemistry I now.
Boy,do I love it when hard work pays off..
Martha made coconut rice and 'mini' salad(just cabbage and carrots) with our homemade salad cream.
To you 'peeking' at my journal,you really should join us for a Martha dinner sometime.
Psst..Don't tell Mom but Martha cooks better than her.
Heh-Heh.
I don't really have much to write about today.
No hanging out today.
Joe called. We later 'hung out' on Whatsapp.
Do you want my number?
You wish!
He had to go offline though.Something about going to visit a relative.
Martha went to babysit for the neighbours.Marvel had an essay to write so he sat in front of the desktop all evening.He spilled some coconut rice and salad cream on the WHITE keyboard.
If Dad sees the greasy stain,we'll all receive a lecture on neatness—Mom inclusive.He can be a neatness freak sometimes.
Sigh.
Little brothers..

So..
I'm gonna turn in now..
Yawn.
Wait a sec..
Someone's calling me.
My God!
Do you know who called?
That coquette in class.Turns out her name's Theresa.
I was cool and all throughout the call..
But..
Ew! Ew!
How did she get my number?
JOE!
Why that-
I'll tell him what I think about this.
Dude's been teasing me about her.
Join me tomorrow as I verbally debase my friend.
Gee..that sounds mean.
Oh!Mom's on night duty by the way,Dad's still offshore.
Saw this on facebook and decided to write it down in my journal:

''Be like the Panda..
He's White.
He's Black.
He's Asian.
#Say_No_to_Racism''

truth is ...the story is interesting...but quite confusing...
anyway keep it coming boss

sirblero:
truth is ...the story is interesting...but quite confusing...

anyway keep it coming boss

Hey bro,tell me what confuses you.

Awwwn, I love this

19-Sept.

Turns out I couldn't 'verbally debase' my friend before classes.
We got to school quite late.A PMS tanker accident blocked our usual route so we had to take a longer,unfamiliar one.

Oh No!
As I climbed the stairs and got close to our class,I could hear Mr Abdullateef's sonorous voice trying to teach the class the difference between mesas and buttes.
Trust me..
I did a 180 and went to the library instead.
Apparently I wasn't the only one who decided to skip Geo class.
Entering the library I spied some familiar faces:Wole,the Class Rep.,Kid Snozzle..who was,as you can guess,asleep(My God!I think this dude has Trypanosomiasis or something..WORSE),Ade,the tallest in class..and THERESA!
What in the world..?
She winked and had this big grin that you normally see on politicians' faces.
I wanted to leave immediately.
Wait..
It's either I face Mr Abdullateef's wrath or Theresa's 'charm'.
Sighing,I walked to a far corner and sat.
Theresa got up too and sat in the seat before me.
Our library uses those type of tables that accomodate four people.Two facing two.
I settled down to read.
A piece of paper slid from under the partition to my cubicle.
I frowned.Looked at Theresa.She didn't look up.
I opened the note and read:
'Hi.I see you got caught in traffic too..'
I raised an eyebrow.
I half-expected something flirtatious.
Anyway,I wrote back:
'Yeah.'Twas pretty rough out there.
How're you?'
and passed it back through the same means by which it came.
I raised my head and watched Theresa for her reaction.
She acted shocked that I even replied.Then she smiled rather..uh,genuinely and read the note.
I received a reply in less than ten seconds:
'I'm very well.Thank you. Sleep well? I hope my phone call yesterday didn't upset you.'
I replied:
'Yeap.
Slept late.Woke up early.
Pretty much my life story.
And concerning your call,let's just say it was unexpected.'
She replied:
'Lol.. Ok.Been nice passing notes to you.
Do you mind me saying,but you don't look like you talk much.'

I paused.
Not that I was angry though.
On the contrary,I was impressed.
No one in class,not even Joe,had noticed this problem.
I have a problem expressing myself in speech.Most times,when I try,I end up saying the wrong things or searching for words.
That is one of the many reasons I keep a journal,I'm better in written text than in speech.
The only way I try to curb this is by talking EXTREMELY slowly,taking my time to search for and pronounce the words.
And Theresa had noticed.
I began to see Theresa in a new light.

Another note slipped through to me.
It read thus:
'Sorry if I hit a sore spot.'
The bell rang.
I quickly scribbled:
'It's not that,Tessy. Gotta go. I have Biology practicals next. Talk to you later.'
and gave it to 'Tessy' personally as I all but ran out of the library.Tessy was packing her books too.
'Hey man!'
I turned and saw the dude I wanted to 'verbally debase'.
But after the correspondence with Tessy(Heh-Heh..shut up!) in the library.I don't really care to do that anymore.
'Hi Bro..',I replied as we walked into the Biology lab for a practical on Adaptation for Survival.
We were gonna put two Croackers in two different tubs: one ocean water,and the other freshwater.
Poor fish!At least we ate them later,after roasting them in the Home Economics lab.
I didn't have the opportunity of talking to Tessy again at school.
My school's pretty weird for a Nigerian school.Students get to pick whatever subjects they want,from the Arts,Science,Technology,Humanities and Commercial subjects.But they must be 10.

I chose:
-Math(compulsory)
-English(compulsory)
-Biology
-Chemistry
-Physics
-Agric. Science
-Geography
-History
-Electrical Installation and Maintenance
-Literature-in-English

I wanna be a Forensic Medical Practioner and a Writer in the near future,if I live to see it..
Mom came to pick us up.She looked worn-out.She'd been so busy.
Apparently an inexperienced nurse had mixed up semen samples and Mom,as the Matron;had to oversee the whole process of correcting such a fatal mistake.
Just think about it..
Paternity issues,broken marriages,law suits and a whole lot of 'em just because of one error.
And you'd think a fertility clinic'd have little problems.

Studied.
Read ebooks.
Played Monopoly online with Joe..and Kid Snozzle!
Turns out the Kid is a gaming freak.
Mom and Martha prepared Boiled Cassava meal and Okra soup for dinner.
Ate it with relish.
Dad returned home.
Martha and I hung out in her room just talking about stuff.We're so close.We all used to share a room when we were kids,but Marvel preferred to sleep with Mom and Dad.
Martha and I cried ourselves to sleep every night when we were assigned separate rooms just before puberty began.
I told her about Theresa and turns out,Tessy got my number from Martha..

Joe,if you're reading this,I'm sorry I almost verbally debased you.

I called Tessy.
Me:Hey Tessy,howdy?
Tessy: (noisy background)Heyyy!I can't believe it!...
Tessy:You called!
Me: Lol.. You seem surprised.
Tessy: Do I?Anyway,what's up?
Me:Nothing much,you?
Tessy:I'm at the market.Getting stuff for supper.
Me: Ok.So do I call you back?
Tessy: Please do,dear.
Me: OK. See ya!
Tessy:Bye Marty..

*click.

Wait a minute..
Tessy and Marty.
I hate to admit it,but they rhyme so well.
So I went to bed tonight with Tessy on my mind..

queenitee:
Awwwn, I love this

Keep following and don't forget to invite others!

ayorinbolableszy:
nice one dear...keep it coming,am here with my popcorn nd coke....oya let me sit

Thank you for the kind words.

A new entry,m'hommies.


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souloho19, talk2saintify, sirblero, queenitee, ayorinbolableszy

Thank you all for following.

20-Sept


Today,for me,started with a very weird feeling in my chest region..
Mild pain,but throbbing.
As usual,I don't raise alarm until whatever ailment I have supercedes three days without abating.
Don't blame me.My mom's a nurse,remember?
Believe me,growing up,I'd taken more drugs than twenty cancer patients in an oncology ward.
No joke.
Even as I write this,I'm popping Ascorbic acid,ferrous sulphate,neurobion,Calcium,Vitamin D3,Yeast tablets and a Multivitamin capsule into my mouth.
Always take 'em after every meal.Vitamin supplements.
To grow into a big,strong healthy man.

As usual,I was awakened by my alarm clock at 0400.
(Yeah..Yeah..)
I say my morning prayers and do some morning study before I get ready for school.
Midway into the prayer,my phone beeped.A message.
I ignored it and continued.

Guess who woke up early and prepared breakfast..
MARVEL!
I looked at him in,er..a weird mix of shock and suspicion.
''Is it someone's birthday?'',I asked an equally bemused Martha.
Martha shrugged.
Marvel grunted.
''Hey bro.,I just feel like it..'',he said simply.''Besides,while you two were still cavorting in Dreamland,Mom and Dad are both gone.''
Alarmed,I made to ask a question..
''Did they leave some money..for our transport fare?''
Marvel's face lost its colour.
Bro. looked like a trapped animal.
''Ah!Totally forgot..''

We ate hurriedly in silence.The disappointment evident in our faces.
A long walk to school..
A really long walk..
I don't know how we did it,but we got to school quite early(for people who trekked);arriving a whooping quarter-of-an-hour before the Morning General Assembly.

''Good morning,students.I am here with an important announcement that concerns the Final year students..''
That was..(you coulda' guessed) Mr Abdullateef.
And from the smug grin he bore,I got the willies.
''..Ergo,the SS3(Senior Secondary 3) students would stay behind for two hours every Monday-Friday,for compulsory after-school lessons in Mathematics and English Language.One hour apiece..''
An angry murmur washed the assembly,originating from the SS3 Students.
The teachers had a hell of a time restoring order.
I couldn't much recall what happened next and how the assembly ended.
All that went through my mind was:
'Two more hours..4pm..1600..'

Theresa appeared quite morose in class.Joe was pensive.
Kid Snozzle didn't sleep today..not even a tiny wink.
Everyone in class appeared to be in a semi-conscious state.
No one seemed to have overcome the shock gotten in the Assembly Hall.
Me?
As weird as it may sound,all that was going through my mind was:'No more delicious lunch made by Mom or Martha..'

Midway through the 7th period,Joe nudged me.
''Martin,what's going on with Theresa?''
I looked at him.Puzzled.
''I dunno.Why asking me?''
Joe stole a glance at Theresa's lithe form.My eyes followed his gaze.
She was bent over on her desk,head-bent.She seemed asleep.
''It's nothing really..'',Joe replied;his eyes still on Theresa.''..except that she's been stealing glances at you and wearing this I'm-a-widow-who-just-lost-her-husband look.''
I grunted.
''I dunno,man.Best not to get involved.Girls can be difficult to understand sometimes.''
Joe nodded in agreement.
''Yeah.Particularly when they're at that time of the month.One moment happy,the other sad.''
I punched him in the arm.''Yeah..Yeah.A plethora of emotions.Hey!I did Biology too..''
Joe and I shared a little laugh.
''But maybe you're linked with her troubles..'',Joe added.
I shrugged.
''Fine.I'll go talk to her later,OK?''
Joe made an I-don't-care facial gesture.
''I guess no more football for me.I used to play every evening with the other boys in my street..''
And so the topic was changed.

School closed at the normal time.The new after-school arrangement began officially the next week.
Everyone seemed to have regained some cheer.The aura of the class was filled with jokes,wisecracks and happy banter.
I hurried to catch up with Theresa who had left the class almost immediately the bell was rung.
I caught her by the stairs.
''Tessy!'',I yelled.''Tessy,wait up..''
She half-turned and saw me.She turned away,defiant.
My run had now become a trot at this time,noticing her animosity.
''Hey Tessy.How are you?'',I said as I caught up with her.
''I'm fine.'',she said.

No '..thank you.And you?';I thought.

''Uhm..is anything bothering you?You don't look happy.'',I said instead.
She muttered something vehemently.
I raised an eyebrow.
''Look..er,Martin.Can we talk later?I'm not in a good mood now.''
And with that,she walked away..never looking back.
I brushed it off and went to join Joe who was doing a high-five with Kid Snozzle.
''Welcome back from your honeymoon..''That was Joe.''We can see the bride is pissed at her Lord.''
And he laughed at his own joke.
''OK,bro..see ya'.We're playing Monopoly,right?OK,bro.Bye.'',he dismissed Kid Snozzle.
''All right,man.Tell me what really happened..'',he said as we walked to the gate to join Martha,Marvel and Timothy(I was to learn that Timothy was a friend of Marvel's that lived a few streets away from our's).
On the walk to the gate,I relayed everything to Joe.Joe was thoughtful throughout.
''You were right,bro.'',he said."Women are difficult to understand.''
''Maybe IT IS that time of the-''

I stopped him with a not-so-gentle nudge in the guts.
''PS: Loudmouth,MARTHA'S RIGHT BEHIND US.'',I whispered vehemently.

Joe looked sheepishly away at his shoes.
A phone rang.
Joe fished it out of his pocket.
''Hello Mommy..No,I've left the school already..But..OK,I'll stay at Martin's place then..''
I cocked an eyebrow.
''..Yeah,Martin..my friend from school that visited while you were away..OK..Yeah,it's OK with him..''
Joe looked at me.I shrugged 'OK'.
''..OK,Mom..Yeah..Bye.''
Joe sighed.
''Mom and Dad are going to a function.House locked.They took the keys.
They'll be back around eight.Guess I'll be hanging with you.Sorry for the short notice.''
I grunted.
''There was no notice.Notice?''
Joe looked amused.
''Ya beginning to learn puns?''
I nudged 'im.

We all walked home admist a lotta mundane convo.
Martha prepared a simple lunch of fried plantain and omelette,letting Joe testify of her culinary skills.
That's it!
A rush of blood to the head..
I got Martha alone and told her what's up with Theresa.Martha offered to call her later..
I guess they'll have a Woman-to-Woman chat or something.

Joe left at eight thirty-six.We'd been hanging out in my room,just talking.His folks stopped by our place to pick 'im up.
Joe looks just like his mother.Although a bit taller.
My parents were back then so it was a flurry of Hellos and Nice to meet yous.
Martha sneaked into my room later.
''I've spoken to Theresa.She was all emotional on the phone.She says you're 'INSENSITIVE'.''
Now,that was funny.
''Insensitive?'',I choked down a laugh.''How?''
''She didn't say.''
I folded my arms on my chest and shrugged.
''Mart-Mart,you gotta give her time.Girls can be..er,difficult to decipher sometimes.''

No kidding,I thought.
Oh!Martha calls me Mart-Mart or Supermart(Don't laugh!).She started calling me Mart-Mart as a toddler and Supermart as a young girl(after watching Superman).

I shrugged again.
Martha smiled and left.

I pick YOU up.My diary and begin to write..
Where's my phone?
Haven't seen it since morning..when it beeped.
12 missed calls!
All from THERESA!
4 in the morning..
The rest while Joe was here.
Another rush of blood to the head..
Now,I get it..
Insensitive..
Damn!My phone was on Silent.
I didn't even take it with me to school.

I hope she understands when I explain to her tomorrow..

Another new entry,m'hommies.


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Mynd44, anochuko01, sureteeboy, rosy4u, Darla, Amefricaa, Vivipop, folakemigeh, IamLucy, Henitan24, dominique, DanseMacabre, Lleigh, SurestG, Creeza, Kayceenaz, Chumzypinky, Ayoomodaddy, uzolexis, KimberlyWes, aobmedia2017, duch12, marianneada, marenx, Divepen1,

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Thank you all for following.

I follow still...really loving this...it reminds me of the highschool and 'Karen' baby sitters books I used to read those days...ride on bruv

Hi lemuel, sorry i arrived late. I'll just check it out.

nyc update following dis thread all d way..keep it cumin

This write up is fantastic. its almost like a story that has its setting abroad if not for some naija elements lol. keep it up, i look forward to new updates

25-Sept.

Wed.


Great!
Another Wednesday.
Pfft.
Pronounced /wenzdei/,Wikipedia tells me.
I hate Wednesdays.
Oh,not for the obvious reasons(weekday,middle of the week,school day);but well,for the OBVIOUS reasons.We're having Mr Abdullateef's class today.Remember him?The sanctimonious,surly,ephebophobic one..Yeah,that's him,the one that Joe put in his place.The one that..
OK.You get the point.
I didn't want to go brush my teeth.And definitely didn't want to have a bath.
Imagine the relief when I get to the bathroom door,knock and hear Marvel's answering grunt from the other side.
Hehe..
My lil' bro always spends so much time on the 'royal porcelain seat' doing his business.I once asked him why,he said it always took some time for him to get comfortable enough to 'let it out'.
Whatever that means.

Our parents were at the dining table,when I finally got dressed and came downstairs,having breakfast.I joined the happy throng.
Toast,oats,black coffe(for Dad),cocoa,honey and milk(for the rest o' the fam),margarine or cheese,and an egg each.
Balanced diet.I know,right?
Mom doesn't approve of Dad's coffee though.
Marvel had three cups of cocoa.He loves the stuff.He overate though.He loves toast and margarine so much.
He had trouble getting up to go.
Goodluck to him then.We were walking to school this morning(we'd all agreed to do this on Tuesdays,Wednesdays and Fridays,to save some money off our T. fares)
Burp!
Oops..
Guess I ate too much too.
Goodluck to me too.

School was..meh.
Joe was his usual self,thinking up some new puns and letting me hear the sentences in which he'd made use of them.
Uhmm..
I know you're probably wondering where Theresa(that's right.No more 'Tessy') is.
The answer is..
I don't know myself.
She didn't turn up for English and now,in Physics,she's nowhere to be..er,seen.
I'd promised myself I'd make one last valiant attempt to get to her,then I'd lay off.
What d'you think?


After classes today,Joe walks up to me.
'Hey man,wanna join a study group?'
I'm bushed.
'What study group?'
Joe smiles.'MY reading group.You,me,Tobi(a guy from our class),Kid Snozzle,Victor(another classmate),Stanley-'

'Wait a minute',I cut in,'that's not a study group,that's a study crowd!'
Joe snickered.
'C'mon man,we need your brains.'
'Sorry bro.,there's just too many people.I'm not sure I'd fit in and I'm not sure it'd work for me..'

'All righty then.'Joe said,but his eyes were gloomy.
I felt kinda bad for him,but I find it difficult studying in crowds.
He'll understand.Hopefully.

Martha didn't walk home with us.She'd gone with a friend/classmate to visit another friend/classmate who'd fallen ill.
Marvel and I began the walk.Bro. was a little quiet.
OK.He didn't say anything at all to all my jokes and stuff.Just nodded.
Knowing Marvel,I shut up and waited for him.

'Bro.,d'you think I'm...'
He trailed off.
I didn't let him.

'Do I think you're what?'
'Well..annoying?Like do I bother you?'
OK,now this was weird.I was always the 'emotional','sensitive' one..not carefree,happy-go-lucky Marvel.
I guess it's time for the big brother speech.

'Who told you that?'
I asked,genuinely concerned.
Marvel was silent.We walked on.

A chicken crossed the road.

'We were having PHE today and somehow the topic of annoying behaviour came up and my classmates unanimously,well..most of them anyway,cited me as a typical case of annoying.'
I was beside myself with empathy.
What the..!
Marvel was the kindest person I knew.How dare they treat him in such an unkind manner.
Looking him over for the umpteenth time,I noticed how much damage it was doing to his self-worth.
Not knowing exactly what to say,I sighed.
'Listen up,Marv...'


PLEASE SCROLL DOWN

Contd

Marvel looked at me.

Actually at my lips,like he wanted to somehow see the words as they came out.
I knew a lot depended on what I said next.

'Do not let people's opinions of what or who they think you are,get to you.Appreciate the good ones and consider the negative to see if there are home truths in them:if there are,work on them.You'll come out stronger.'

Marvel gave me a blank stare.
Ahh..I'm not good at this.Where's Martha when you need her?
Not letting Marvel see through my calm,composed exterior;I pressed on.
'What exactly did they claim was annoying about you?'

'The way I joke,the way I behave in class,my general demeanour..Japheth even called me 'childish'. 'Marvel reeled off,checking them with this fingers.
'Who's Janet?'
'A friend.It's Japheth.'

My bad.Been thinking too much about girls lately.
This was going rather badly.

'Do you think you're childish,bro.?'
I asked.
'I don't know..'
He trailed off again.

Aawwkkwwaarrdd!!!
I decided to shut up.I'm have a trouble expressing myself in words,remember?
Maybe I'd write Marvel a note detailing what I meant to say later.
We walked home with no more words exchanged.
So far,it was the longest walk home from school.

Mom was home.She'd prepared a hearty late lunch.But neither of us was interested.
Naturally,she was worried.How I was able to wave it off successfully,I do not know.
I don't even know what I said.But Mom let us off the hook.
'Her boys are up at it again,Teenagers!';she must've thought.

No homework today.I type out a note detailing what happened with Marvel to Martha.She'll handle it better than I did.
Hopefully.
I slipped the note under her door.
No dinner.Feeling down.Marvel's been at the computer all evening.
Poor bro.
OK.
I'm gonna do something I normally do when I'm having a bad day..

zzZ.


Please leave a comment to let me know you like this story..

A new post,folks..


Mynd44, anochuko01, sureteeboy, rosy4u, Darla, Amefricaa, Vivipop, folakemigeh, IamLucy, Henitan24, dominique, DanseMacabre, Divepen1, Lleigh, Creeza, Kayceenaz, Chumzypinky, Ayoomodaddy, uzolexis, KimberlyWest, aobmedia2017, duch12, marianneada, marenx,

My special ones:

souloho19, talk2saintify, SurestG, sirblero, queenitee, ayorinbolableszy, uchihaclassiq,

LemuelIrabor:


My special ones:

souloho19, talk2saintify, SurestG, sirblero, queenitee, ayorinbolableszy, uchihaclassiq,

i just checked it out dear. Thumbs up

LemuelIrabor:
A new entry,m'hommies.


CC:

Mynd44, anochuko01, sureteeboy, rosy4u, Darla, Amefricaa, Vivipop, folakemigeh, IamLucy, Henitan24, dominique, DanseMacabre, Lleigh, SurestG, Creeza, Kayceenaz, Chumzypinky, Ayoomodaddy, uzolexis, KimberlyWes, aobmedia2017, duch12, marianneada, marenx, Divepen1,

My special ones:

souloho19, talk2saintify, sirblero, queenitee, ayorinbolableszy

Thank you all for following.

It's a pleasure

My special ones:

souloho19, talk2saintify, SurestG, sirblero, queenitee, ayorinbolableszy, uchihaclassiq, [/quote]
thanks bro nyc update u d bombMy special ones:

souloho19, talk2saintify, SurestG, sirblero, queenitee, ayorinbolableszy, uchihaclassiq, [/quote]
thanks bro nyc update u d bombMy special ones:

souloho19, talk2saintify, SurestG, sirblero, queenitee, ayorinbolableszy, uchihaclassiq, [/quote]
thanks bro nyc update u d bomb

Saturday,28 Sept.

Guess who got assigned to market duty today. Yes, ME. I mean, not Martha but ME.
You shoulda' seen how I vehemently argued with Mom's sudden decision.

“You'll be going to the university soon.You have to know how to bargain prices so you won't be cheated.”

She was right, you know. DARN!Why are mothers always right?
I wish she'd just wrong. For once. Just once.

So 10AM finds me at the (dreaded,for me) Ikeja local market. It didn't help that it'd rained the previous night. Everywhere was so muddy. I regretted wearing my white-soled sneakers already.
   Haggling with a wizened old man who sold meat was distressing enough, but the corpulent woman with tribal marks and a hare-lip whom I bought tomatoes from made my day 50 shades darker.Why couldn't Mom just let me go to a supermarket?
    I survived market duty though. Or, as I always say, I WON'T BE WRITING THIS.
   Weekends!Pfft.

Can't wait for Monday.
(I never thought I'd say that)

Here we go again,guys..


Mynd44, anochuko01, sureteeboy, rosy4u, Darla, Amefricaa, Vivipop, folakemigeh, IamLucy, Henitan24, dominique, DanseMacabre, Divepen1, Lleigh, Creeza, Kayceenaz, Chumzypinky, Ayoomodaddy, uzolexis, KimberlyWest, aobmedia2017, duch12, marianneada, marenx,

My special ones:

souloho19, talk2saintify, SurestG, sirblero, queenitee, ayorinbolableszy, uchihaclassiq,

waiting 4 more update bro