* * * * * * * *

The horn of James’ car blared in front of Henrietta’s hostel in 17th street EDPA. He had called her on his way from Ekosodin to dress up, they were going out. Selections of Nigerian hip hop songs were sounding inside his Honda Eod; he was not a fan of foreign acts. Ordinarily, James would move his head to and fro beaming, with just his right hand on the steering, enjoying the groove, but not today.

He sat inside waiting for her, whistling softly. After what seemed like five minutes, the gate of the hostel opened and Henrietta came outside with a cloudy face, not particularly thrilled by the emergency date. She lumbered down to the car as though the stilettoes she wore were built with a bag of cement each.

She finally got to the car, after what seemed like a third missionary journey, opened it and settled inside. James noticed her mood and consequently turned down the volume of the car stereo.

“Na wetin dis time around?”, he asked nonchalantly.
“Nothing, can we just move?” She replied flatly.
“Okay! If you say so.”

He turned the ignition and zoomed the car off.

James’ Honda cruised past Uselu Lagos Road and was heading towards the Ring Road axis of the city. Henrietta looked at James surprised; they had just past their usual spot, Mat Ice.

“Where are we going to?” She queried.
“Kada Fried!” James replied, not looking at her.
“Hmm! Okay!” She said, expressing her doubt.

“Whatever” James told himself and throttled ahead. He was soon at Ring Road and diverted to his left. He drove past Bob Izua Bus Park and soon had his car on Sapele Road. After driving for some kilometers, he slowed down, turned to his left and climbed a kerb moving through a side walk into the opened gate of Kada Fried Chicken and moved into a parking lot.

He turned off the ignition and alighted as well as Henrietta did. If it were her ex, she would have waited some minutes for him to walk to her door and open it. Samuel was a gentleman, James on the other hand was never known for the slightest display of chivalry. So, she came down immediately.

They both walked to the fore of the eatery for its entrance gate was at its side. They climbed the short stairs with side railings and they were soon inside. Surprisingly, there weren’t much inside. James and Henrietta settled on a seating arrangement to the left of the entrance door. James smiled casually trying to suppress the friction between them and asked,

“What would you like?” he asked rather coolly.
“Anything would do.” She said hesitantly.

James shrugged, stood up and went over to the counter. He got there and the waiter on duty was getting something from the fridge.

“Hello”, he said flatly.
“Hi” the waiter said, still busy, with her back to James. “Give me a minute please.”
“Alright!”

James faced down, brought out his phone from his front pocket, unlocked it and wanted to open Whats app. He navigated to the application and was about to open it when the waiter interjected, “Alright Sir... what do you want?” She asked politely.

James raised his head to make his order when something flashy almost blinded his eyes. He could have sworn he saw a rainbow for the waiter had her face designed with colours. She looked like she had been made up by an epileptic makeup artist who suddenly had a seizure during the process and blotted her face with a tint of colours. Coupled with her Medusa-like face, she looked like a well decorated rhesus monkey.

pls jst a question 4 nkpume. <nna i bu home based ka isi esi bata?> dz story z fantastic, cocastic, spritistic, beeristic nd maltistic,......"bika puta here kpaputa ya ka osi e....

Anugod:


Chiefpriest............chiefpriest of who sef? Is it dat ur smal god dat is givin u talkpower? No mata how u claim 2b a lion, a lion canot kil an eagle, rather I wil b d one 2pluck out ur eyes. U 4get that the smallest are the mightiest bah? No push me 2begin manifest oo
*cuts him a warning eye*

***makin incantation 4 turnin som1 into deaf nd dumb*** anugoooddd i comand u speak nd hear no moreeeeee.....hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha d stuborn fly...hmmm

still here..

Laughing loud. Dos qualities ar much. Niwaiz nyc write-up.
Waitin patiently 4 d next update.

You are doing sooooo good.
https://www.nairaland.com/1501086/teenage-love-naivety-part-1

Fantabulous .............bt its too short to start d weekend wit.... Still waiting wit my fingers crossed. Thumbs up bro

hwfr naw mr iko??

Dchiefpriest: ***makin incantation 4 turnin som1 into deaf nd dumb*** anugoooddd i comand u speak nd hear no moreeeeee.....hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha d stuborn fly...hmmm

Dis chiefpriest,u chop liver abi? I go do u backfire medicine oooo. I warn u one last time.


Nkpume! Nkpume! Nkpume! Dnt let me transfa d anger of dis yeye chiefpriest on u o. If u dnt show on dis thread nd update b4 evnin, i wil change u in2 a chicken oo. A word is enof 4d w*** bt nt 4d f***

Chairman...come o,com update abeg!

Pls let me know when you are through with this ur story so that i can read it from d begining again. Am tired of waiting for update

Iko, would you stop already with the onomatopoeiac representation of the sounds in ur story?

First it was the siren wails you actually wrote down! Something like 'pa pum pa pum pa pum'

Okay, that wasn't it exactly right?, but you did represent the siren wail in words.

And now, the 'pow' representing a hit!

Maybe next would be 'pim Pim' representing the honk of a car?

When this is not 'Captain America cartoon'

Oh well, when i see them, i always smile and think it silly.


And that's my 2cent

James swallowed hard twisting his lips in the process, trying to suppress a rising laughter. The waiter looked stunned. She was wondering why the customer was acting bizarre. James read through her looks and knew she would pray for the ground to open its mouth and swallow her, if she as much as knew the predicament her face was in. it occurred to James that she must have hurriedly made herself up after the one she resumed the morning with must have worn out, and without a mirror that is. Girls and mobile cosmetics, he thought and chuckled inside.

They ate in silence. James had ordered a plate of fried rice and chicken for Henrietta and a plate of chicken and chips for himself. He ate through, munching the crispy chips in gusto like an Enugu man who had Okpa’ in his hands, oblivious of Henrietta who literally moved her spoon to and fro on the plate, managing to take in a handful of spoons intermittently. She couldn’t have taken more than four.

James was a slow eater. He never rushed a meal, doing that was an invitation to a series of biting heart burns. So, he took his time to savour each mouthful. After eating for what seemed like eight minutes, he picked up a cup, turned some quantity of red wine into it and drank. He smacked his lips while dropping the cup.

He looked up and observed Henrietta for a second and noticed although with food in her mouth, she was very distant. He cleared his throat and that drew her attention as she looked up with puffed cheeks. He exhaled and began,

“Erm…you were saying the other time that…”
Henrietta shot him a sneer and he paused looking at her. He watched her swallow, sip from her cup of red wine, dropped the cup and placed her arms on the table, the right one supporting her chin in a complete Nigerian listening mien.

He shrugged and continued,
“You were telling me over the phone…”
“That I am pregnant” she cut in coldly. “And you gave me the IDon’t Give a F**k attitude”
“I was just busy then” He said, uninterested in her accusation.
“Yeah, right.” She said flatly. “Not as if it’s new”
James ignored her tacit accusation once more.
“So what do you intend doing?” he asked, rather carelessly.
“What sort of question is that?” She snapped.
“Look here,” He said calmly, but meaning every word. “If you are trying to start one of your funny scenes, I will just pick up my key and drive away”, he demonstrated his intention for effect. “You are big enough to find your way home.”

She felt insulted. “James I just told you I am pregnant for you and you turn the torrents on me?”
“Remove it then”
“Erm..i don’t underst….Wait! Remove the…WHAT!...JAMES! Oh no! You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I aint bluffing baby! You agree to my terms or I take a bounce this minute. So whats it gon be?”

She sat fixed on the chair, almost without a pulse, staring at James. Her eyes began to well then the tears started trickling down. Her mind became a life puzzle. She racked her brain trying to fix answers here and there. How had she let herself into such mess, all for love?

“Listen girl, shut those goddamn tears of yours. Embarrass me one more time and you will be footing the bills yourself”, he spat out furiously.
She sniffed hard, wiped off the tears with her hands and said,
“Can we leave this place?” She inquired dully.

* * * * * * * *

They drove back home in silence. The silence was so thick inside the car; a blunt knife could slice through. As he drove along, James stole furtive glances to his right, wondering what could be going on inside of Henrietta. He broke the silence.

“So what do you say?”. That jolted her to reality.
“What?” she asked confused.
“About removing the baby”
“Mtcheew” She hissed, gritting her teeth very hard. “Just take me home.”

James sighed and continued driving.

It was twilight when he pulled up in front of Henrietta’s hostel. The sun casted down a dim golden yellow hue and everywhere looked golden. Henrietta came down and walked straight into the compound, not a word to James. He looked at her walking figure and shook his head, taking in a deep breath at the end and releasing it slowly. He turned on his ignition and drove off.

He stopped by the roadside, on his way home, to get some fruits, chief among them being two big balls of water melon and a bunch of banana. James was a lover of fruits. They ameliorated his incessant heartburns.

He got home at about 7pm and drove straight into his carport and pulled up, came out with the merchandise he got and started for the step. He climbed the doorstep tiredly and opened the door.

He saw no one in the sitting room and thought they must be in the dungeon, probably dealing with Michael. He called out but got no response. He raised his eye brows, shrugged and walked tiredly to the dungeon. As he got close, he heard no sound. Strange, he thought to himself. He opened the door and saw Razz and Sleek on the floor and gasped in shock as his eyeballs bulged.

The dungeon was in disarray. The chair was broken and a rod was lying on the floor, very close to Razz’s face. The tray of food Michael had eaten was turned upside that, the spoon flung to the far right. Speaking of Michael, he was nowhere to be found. Oh no! he shrieked, fearing what that spelt. His eyes rummaged the room searching for a hint, just one hint. He needed a clue to know what had transpired. Just then, he saw a white paper at the entrance of the dungeon. He had been so anxious he didn’t notice.

He padded back to the doorpost fearing the worst. He got there and bent slowly, trepidation etched on his strong features. He picked up the white folded paper and stood straight, large balls of tears dotting his face. He looked at the gory sight in front of him one last time for a hint. He got none and resigned himself to fate. The fate the white folded paper held.

He sighed and opened. Finely calligraphed boldly on the paper, were five words that sent cold shivers down his spine.

TWO CAN PLAY THE GAME!!!

I aint gonna comment yet...jst waitin 4 more updates.thanks Iko.

felipemadero: I aint gonna comment yet...jst waitin 4 more updates.thanks Iko.

Oga, you don comment already. Lol.
PS sorry for the delay, something happened yday.

Mr Iko the ps2 player...

Always thrilling...

J0nyb0y: Mr Iko the ps2 player...

Always thrilling...

Thanks Jony.

And about the ps2, they call me Konami.

hmmmm interestin....

Dchiefpriest: hmmmm interestin....

Tankyu Dibia karaka.

Nkpume Iko:
Thanks Jony.

And about the ps2, they call me Konami.

Uw
btw Happy Sunday.. When would 2day update b comming up?
.
On the ps2,... I rest my case..

Dchiefpriest: hmmmm interestin....

u dis chiefpriest, wish villa u kum 4rm sef..

In which order are the stars arranged? Which is the 1st star and hw are we gonna get to the last star? Seems as someone said the title is not captivating and more so as far as i've read i dont see any collaboration btw the title and the story

kingphilip: In which order are the stars arranged? Which is the 1st star and hw are we gonna get to the last star? Seems as someone said the title is not captivating and more so as far as i've read i dont see any collaboration btw the title and the story

As they say, Patience is a virtue. There mustn't be a conspicuous correspondence between the title and the work, such that the title is staring you in the face from the work, must there?
Anyway, as i admitted to the poster you referenced, its a mistake am just not willing to change, at least so i don't mess up everything. Do bear with me.
PS Thanks for drawing my attention to it once more.

* * * * * * * *

James squinted at Razz and Sleek, his face finely sculptured in rage, like those emotions were deftly infused by Pablo Picasso himself. “I am asking you guys for the last time. What happened?” He thundered. “Where is Michael?” He added viciously.

They kept mute; like they had done the last time he asked the same question. They were too weak and in shock to talk so they sat gazing at him morosely. James shook his head in exasperation.

He had resuscitated his cronies with all the emergency skills he could muster. It had taken a longer time to resuscitate Sleek than it had taken for Razz. James had no idea Sleek had been rammed from behind. He had brought them to the sitting room and made them sit on the couch while he pulled a stool from its position and placed it in front of them and sat on the stool such that his burgundy eye balls were directly locking with theirs.

“Boss”, Razz started finally, exhaled and continued. “The thing ehn…” He shook his head. “…e tire person”
“Guy just yarn wetin shele and stop beating about the bush”. Patience had far eluded him.

“Okay! Boss” All the while, Sleek was looking slightly above James’s head like a baby who was seeing fairies. His eyes were glowing and a little smile was forming on his lips. James ignored what he saw as a display of idiocy, perhaps the aftermath of the shock, he thought. He looked imploringly at Razz, beckoning him to continue.

“After you drive comot, the guy kon begin dey fight us…”
“Wait wait wait” James cut in, “You mean say that small boy kon begin they fight two grabbies like una?” He was truly astounded. “But wait, I told you guys to tie him up, didn’t I?”
“Na there the wahala for start sef.” Razz spewed. James was looking at him as he spoke, trying to find the answers that lay within his roving eyes. There was a correspondence between the movements of the eyes and the rhythm of words. Once the movements of your eyes correspond not with the rhythm of your words, you were lying. James did his observation and realized Razz was doling out the truth, albeit a little pepped up.

After narrating the whole experience to James for about four minutes, he made his deductions and a conclusion was drawn, ELLIOT. He had underrated him, but once beaten, twice shy. He straightened up on the stool and smirked. Deep down, in the depths of his heart where pride sat, he felt hurt. He shook his head and smirked. Someone had just touched the tail of the viper and a dam of venom was about to overflow its banks. Someone was about to be venom-flooded.

He stood up abruptly and scurried off to his room. He got inside and went for the drawers beneath his standing mirror. He opened it and ferreted through the pile of books inside till his hands got to the base of the drawers and touched what he sought. He brought out his hands which held tightly to a shinning metal wrapped in a white handkerchief.

Bravo!!! Just a perfect tonic to start a new day wit.... Thx 4 making my night

radientstar: Bravo!!! Just a perfect tonic to start a new day wit.... Thx 4 making my night

wetin u stil de do outside by 2am now

radientstar: Bravo!!! Just a perfect tonic to start a new day wit.... Thx 4 making my night

My pleasure you enjoyed it.

kingphilip:
wetin u stil de do outside by 2am now

She dey do wetin you dey do outside by 4:37am.See Big Show calling Mark Henry fat.

Jst getin interestin.

D suspense is killing... Nyz one. But, Nkpume, shey u see 4 front page say my skul don resume n we go soon write exams ba? Finish dis story make I fit concentrate read wella now. Na wa 4 u o.

Grace Ezeh: D suspense is killing... Nyz one. But, Nkpume, shey u see 4 front page say my skul don resume n we go soon write exams ba? Finish dis story make I fit concentrate read wella now. Na wa 4 u o.

I guess i missed the front page thread. Which school is that?

And yes, The Last Star will soon end.