Finally, I summoned the courage to open this thread.
This is my very first story, so I'm pleading for support from everyone who reads this. Please your comments, thoughts and constructive criticism would be appreciated.
Do note that I am not a student of literature, so please kindly correct any errors in my use of punctuations, words and sentence constructions.
Moreover, the updates of this story might not be very long as I will be making use of my Nokia phone (with 5000 words typing capacity).
Thanks
xoxo!

All rights reserved. No part of this story maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author.
©Stefikal 2013.
Contact:-
email: stefikal19@gmail.com
twitter: @stephanykul
blog: stefikalinspires.

-1-


Femi drove back home, he was excited. He had been praying to see this day for months and finally it was here.

The dark clouds in the sky were a proof that it was going to be a stormy night. He was definitely going to enjoy his sleep as well.

The only thing killing his joy at the moment was the terrible traffic delaying him, he had spent close to two hours on the road and yet he was far from his destination. That was what came with the hustle and bustle of Lagos.

He was so lost in thought that he did not notice the bread seller by his window.

"Oga, buy sweet butter bread." He turned to his window to see the young man exposing his coloured teeth with a grin. The bread was well packaged, he was sure it would taste great. He did not have anything to eat at home anyways.

"How much?" he asked.
"₦200, Oga truth to God the bread sweet well well," the bread seller replied.

Before Femi could reply, the bread seller continued "How many you go buy?"
Femi chuckled, what was it with business people. Na everything I for buy? He nearly replied but just said, "give me one."

That moment, the car in front of Femi's moved, Femi heaved a sigh of relief. At last he would be moving from one spot to the next.

The bread seller however kept running after Femi's car, he only stopped when the moving vehicles came to a halt.

"Oga, na the bread be this." He replied, he wasn't even panting. Femi assumed he had been in this job for long, the guy was not even sweating. No signs of the fact that he actually got to run a distance.

"Take, bring change," Femi replied and gave him a ₦500 note. It was when he gave him the note he realised his mistake, he should have collected the change before paying the guy.
What if he ran with his money? He gave the guy who was wasting time a serious look.

"Guy, bring the change now, wetin?" He said in a harsh tone, the guy was wasting unnecessary time.

"Oga, no vex." The bread seller replied while dipping his hand into his left pocket, he brought out a crumpled ₦200 note and added it to two ₦50 notes in his hand.

"Na him be this, thank you Oga," he said and waved at Femi.

Femi wasn't impressed, what was the guy expecting? That he would ask him to keep the change? He hissed.



---------------


It was almost 6pm, so much for expecting to get home before 4pm. Just as he was about to take the lane that led to his street, his phone beeped.

He had a message from Titi.

*Congrats ooooo, call me

He smiled, he would just have to get home before making that call.

*grabs popcorn and drinkin water* let d story begin stephie

Great stuff steph, let's see more and d nigerian setting is cool but you have 2 consider readers outside nigeria who don't understand pidgin. But its rily rily cool. Awesome work!

zizman: *grabs popcorn and drinkin water* let d story begin stephie

*gives him a can of chilled pepsi*...use dz 1 step down jaweee

Olar_B: Great stuff steph, let's see more and d nigerian setting is cool but you have 2 consider readers outside nigeria who don't understand pidgin. But its rily rily cool. Awesome work!

tnks Olar,i apreciate u taking out time 2 comment. On d pidgin stuff,i'll try 2 reduce it in future updates...It jst had 2 cum out here,it wuld be weird if d breadseller spoke clean english...For those who dont undastnd pidgin,bear with me...u can ask questions on stuffs u dnt undastnd.
I don dey talk too much ooo,tnks @Olar n Zizman...
@other viewers,try and encourage ur gal now

Beautiful rendition dear, I could definitely picture all that... You'll go places.

duquis93: Beautiful rendition dear, I could definitely picture all that... You'll go places.

tnks duquis

-2-


Femi unlocked the door to his flat, he turned on the light and took a good look at his sitting room. He walked towards his couch and sat on it, he couldn't even remember the last time he had sat in his sitting room.

The only places he made use of in a while were his room, the bathroom, the toilet, the kitchen and occasionally his study.

He had not frequented the study in a while, what was the point back then? He had gone through hell in the past eight months, he was going to get his life back on track, not that he had one before.

He took out his phone from his pocket and dialed Titi's number, she didn't pick, he assumed she was busy. Titi wasn't the kind of person who slept early even though she was heavily pregnant, she still kept late nights.

Titi was his elder sister, she was 28 years of age whereas he was 26. The bond he shared with her was greater than what he shared with his other three siblings, his parents and even his cousins. She was his best friend and everyone at home knew this, his mother even joked telling both of them that they were meant to be twins.

He would have to call her later. His first assignment would be to clean up his apartment before dinner and a good night rest could follow. He mused, "It's definitely going to be a good night."

Just as he was about to stand, his phone rang. It was Titi.
"Hello, fine girl with the round tummy." He teased
Titi laughed and replied, "Aburo, for your mind now, you dey enjoy your freedom, bah?"
"As in, you don't know how much."
"Let me officially say congrats again"
"Titi, thank you. If you had not gotten him that job, he would still be terrorising my life here."
"You are welcome dear"
"Thank you, for real"

Titi coughed, "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. I caught a cold today but I've seen the doctor already"
"Ok, take things easy oh, how is your sweetheart and my nephews,
?" he asked whilst laughing.

"Ehn? Nephews?" Titi laughed and continued, "Abeg oh, its a girl I'm expecting, so you are suppose to ask after my husband, my son and my daughter."

"Ok Boss, correction taken. How is everyone?"
"Everybody is fine, hopefully I should be due for delivery in two weeks. Promise to put me in prayers."
"Of course, no wahala." He replied and was about to pause before quickly adding, "how about maami, when would she arrive Ilorin?"

"This friday, she should come and pamper me small."
"Well, you sure do need it." He said and they both laughed. They continued to talk about different things until Titi explained she had to go to bed.
He teased her and wondered why she wanted to sleep this early. It was probably the cold and the pregnancy.

After ending the call, he decided he had to clean up. Despite the fact that he was tired after helping Gbenga pack his stuff and the long drive he had experienced today, he did not appreciate a dirty environment.
He would just have to do this once and for all.

Forty five minutes later, he had a quick bath and was heating the kettle to make tea when he heard a clap of thunder.

It sure was going to be a chilly night.

Nice one steph, hope u'll not drop pharmacy for literature sha o.pity Keji

stefikal:

*gives him a can of chilled pepsi*...use dz 1 step down jaweee

Thanx jare....no mind me usin drinkin water instead of chilled can drink...na water near me pass wen I began readin your story
Now d pepsi don finish abeg. Send anoda one diz tym na malt I want

Ayetobi92: Nice one steph, hope u'll not drop pharmacy for literature sha o.pity Keji

lolzzz, pharmacy it still is oooo...na ASUU make me start 2 dey write jawee...abt Keji...she gats 2 undastnd...tnks 4 taking out time 2 comment

Nice stuff.... keep it up *naija's youngest nobel laureate in literature*

joor oo...Stephan J....i dey fil u oooo..more ink to ur pen....kip it rolling dear.........

@DDonOflife and humblebloke... U guyz hv made my day...i wasn't happy wn i saw dt d no of views were increasing...bt yet dere wasnt a single comment...eseun ooo
i'll update soon..ba3 tinz

-3-

There was no sound of hip-hop or sex-crazed song this morning, something must be wrong, he thought. Whatever happened to Gbenga being his worst nightmare.

Femi took a look at his wristwatch which was under his pillow 7:05am. It had been a while he woke this late, he stood and was about to go have his bath for church when he recalled that he had promised Titi to put her in prayers.

He smiled and shook his head, Titi had done it on purpose, she knew he hardly said his prayers and she had made him promise so he had no choice than to keep to his side of the bargain. He knelt down by his bedside and said a quick prayer especially for Titi, he asked God for safe delivery on her behalf, he didn't want his sister going through caesarean section again. When he was done, he headed towards the bathroom and showered.


On his way to church, his mind travelled back to the months he had shared his flat with Gbenga. Gbenga was his cousin, despite the fact that they were age mates and grew up together, they led different lifestyles.

Two years ago, Femi had moved into his apartment alone when he became the sales director in one of the biggest publishing houses in Lagos. His life had been simple, he went to work, partying with few friends he made at work, flings, family re-union and what have you.

However, his freedom and peace had vanished when eight months ago, his mother had called him and pleaded with him to allow Gbenga as his flat-mate.

She had gone on to remind him how Gbenga was 'omo oku orun.' Gbenga had moved in with him but it had ended up being a decision he regretted. Even though Gbenga worked as a marketer in a company in Surulere where they lived, the guy never paid his part of the rentage as agreed.


To worsen matters, he was a player who didn't play his ganes outside the flat. The apartment was always untidy, Gbenga played loud disturbing music on his stereo every night. The music never gave Femi a good night rest.

They had even made a roster for cleaning the flat, of which Gbenga never stuck to. The few times he attempted to clean was nothing to write home about as Femi would see paper and nylon wraps under the settee, there were also empty cans of beer in drawers and other strategic corners.

Femi who hardly got the chance to sleep well at night resorted to working late at work. His co-worker Sandra kept him company most times, Sandra was the only girl with which he had a good rapport at work. The other girls were either gossip-merchants, attention-seekers or both.

He associated more with the guys even though his friendship with them had strained. Speaking of Sandra, he had not spoken to her since saturday morning when he drove Gbenga to his new apartment at Igbesa.

All thanks to Titi, Gbenga had gotten a better job offer and had moved out.
"Ouch," Femi screamed. He had hit his leg on some silly metal lying on the pavement. He preferred to walk to the church on sundays, board a keke-napep at the cost of ₦30 rather than face the wahala of traffic.

He bent to feel his legs through his shoes, the pain he felt was evident but it wasn't that bad. He proceeded to the bus park while walking with a slight limp.

While he sat beside the driver, he made a mental note to call Sandra after church service. He secretly prayed she was Single and Searching.

*Nkpume Iko is here now*

Nkpume Iko: *Nkpume Iko is here now*

welcome on board

takin a seat too,.. Fellow learned colleague,

hope afta d strike d pharm piple wnt mke u stop

OmolodMilkman93: takin a seat too,.. Fellow learned colleague,

hope afta d strike d pharm piple wnt mke u stop

welkm dear, hopefully i'll manage my time...read d next episode on my blog

stefikal:

welkm dear, hopefully i'll manage my time...read d next episode on my blog

And no hint whatsoever to inform us about the update on you blog?
SMH

Nkpume Iko:
And no hint whatsoever to inform us about the update on you blog?
SMH

ayam so so sorry 4 dt, visit www.stefikalinspires.

Following

Hmm..

miss.terious:
Following

tnks dear

-4-

Femi punched the calculator angrily, there had to be a mistake somewhere. He checked the files for the fifth time that day but this time he took his time, it was then he realised that the sales report belonging to one of the marketers was missing. How could he have missed that, he wondered.

He picked up his office phone and dialled his secretary's number.
“Halima, the sales reports you sent over are incomplete. Do you still have any on your desk?”.
“No sir,” Halima replied, her english was polished but for the noticeable thickness of her hausa accent.
“That was all I received from the marketing department Sir.”

“If that’s the case, make a call to the marketing manager, they have to sort this mess out.”
“Yes sir.”
He ended the call and was about to tidy his desk when his phone rang. It was Halima. Had she found the missing report on her desk? Why would she be calling almost immediately?

“Yes Halima?”
“Sir, I want to know if you want to have lunch in your office or if you’d rather head out for lunch break.”

Femi took a glance at the wall clock in his office,fifteen more minutes and it would be lunch break.
“I will be going out for lunch, thanks Halima.”
“Okay sir”

Femi tidied up his desk , the marketing department had better find it, he didn’t want the management placing a query on him. He wondered who he knew in Marketing, Sandra was in the marketing department. As he thought of Sandra, he couldn’t help but smile. He liked the girl, maybe he would ask her out to lunch and take her out on subsequent dates.

Being a bachelor wasn’t fascinating anymore. What if Sandra was the one for him? His elder brother Tope was married with kids, Titi was married too, even Kayode who was just twenty three had brought his fiance home. His cousins Nifemi and Dare aged twenty nine and 22 respectively were married. The only single members of the family were Gbenga, Damilola the last child of his parents and himself.

There was every possibility that Dami had a boyfriend, she was a beautiful girl and 19 for crying out loud, he wanted out of bachelorhood. He did not want to be in the same classification with Gbenga, the guy’s life was totally reckless.

He picked his phone and tried to call sandra, the computerised voice informed him that the number dialled was busy, he would spare a few minutes before calling again.

——————

Sandra gulped the water from her glass cup, she was tired and needed a break. She took out her make-up kit from her bag and did some light magic on her face, she was in a good mood, who wouldn’t be?

She had just spoken to the love of her life and he was coming to take her out for lunch.
She had been dating Fola for the past one year and she was anticipating the day he would pop the question, she took out her purse and was smoothening her dress when her phone rang.

She smiled when she saw the caller, she had enjoyed their conversation yesterday, even though her instincts told her the guy wanted to be more than friends. She loved Fola but Femi was always going to be in the friend zone, she hoped her instincts were wrong, she did not want to lead the guy on for nothing.

She answered the call, “Hello, with whom I'm I speaking with?”

There was a pause, Sandra gave a broad grin, she was going to taunt him today, he had teased her yesterday while enjoying himself, the tables had turned.

Femi stared at his phone in his hands while the timer kept counting. Did she delete his contact? He spoke to her only yesterday, why would she delete his contact? He grinned as understanding dawned on him, if she was pulling a prank, he would play along and beat her to it.

“Hello,” he replied, “Please, I want to speak with Mr. Fine Girls Too Dey Form.”
Sandra nearly burst into laughter but put her self in check, ‘FineGirlsTooDeyForm’, she shook her head. Femi had caught her prank and was playing along.
“I’m sorry but I believe you dialed the wrong number.”

“Well I’m sorry to burst your bubble but this is the correct number.”
“And what makes you so sure about that?”
“I’m sure because the mister in question gave me this number and told me a beauty with an angelic voice would answer my call.”

“Really?” she asked feigning innocence.
“Yes, and the voice I hear now is even lovelier than I anticipated.”

Sandra giggled and was about to reply him when her other phone rang, Fola was calling which meant he was in the premises.

“Uhm, Femi oooo, you won’t kill me with your sweet tongue, I’m sorry but I have to go now.”

“Sandra, please hold on. I was wondering if you could have lunch with me” He spoke rather quickly.
Sandra heaved a sigh, she had confirmed her doubts, Femi wanted to be more than friends and that couldn’t be possible.

“Hello, are you still there?” Femi asked, he was confused as to why she was delaying her response.
“Yes I am and I’m sorry but I’ll pass, something important came up.”

“Hmmmm, okay then. But maybe next time.”
“Yeah, maybe.” she replied ensuring that she stressed the maybe.

*To be continued*

“Hello, are you still there?” Femi asked, he was confused about why she was delaying her response.

“Yes I am and I’m sorry but I’ll pass, something important came up.”

“Hmmm, ok then. But maybe next time.”
“Yeah, maybe,” she replied and made sure she stressed the maybe.

Fola was the man for her, the last thing she needed was complications. She packed up her stuffs into her bag and took the elevator downstairs.

----------------

Femi walked towards his window, maybe he should have just told Halima to order lunch. There was no point stressing the poor girl, he looked outside the window, the streets were busy as usual, from his window he could see the company’s parking lot.

He saw Sandra coming out of the company whilst heading towards the cars parked, he comforted himself with the fact that she probably had an important appointment.

------------------

Sandra got to the park and saw Fola standing by the car, she walked up to him , gave him a tight hug before kissing him softly on the lips.

She entered the car and he drove off, Sandra was totally oblivious of the eyes that had watched their public display of affection.

The pair of eyes was already shedding tears after watching the entire drama while the other pair that had watched from a window was downcast.

*strolls into thread, discovers d previous comment is mine, leaves sadly*

Hi Stef.....just stumbled 0n this mind qrippinq st0ry and i must c0nfess...y0u are really q00d..... I am n0w stuck nd addictted and w0uld be with u till the end.....0ne m0re thinq sweety,d0n't break my heart....always try t0 update frequently..#shal0m!

stefikal: *strolls into thread, discovers d previous comment is mine, leaves sadly*

Aww dont be sad.We are still following

@chuksy n Ms_spaqs: eseun pupo...
And evry1 who has taken time to drop a comment, God bless you plenty plenty...
For pple dt read and just pass, it aint fair oooo, your opinions count, if am doing it right, i need to know, if I need to put in more effort or if dere are some mistakes dt need to be corrected..

If you commend me, I'd be encouraged to update frequently.

P.s: i started typing yesternyt but my ba3 ran out, i'll update today by God's grace...

Much L♥√ﻉ