Author Praises Chidera Obiora Stories
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When I was in JSS 2 I fell in love with Angelina. I told her about my feelings. I told her how much I loved her and how she meant the universe to me. I told her I wanted her to be like bread and I will be her butter.

Angelina said she loved me too, but Tade, one of our classmates in B class, was already in love with her and she was already planning to say yes to him. So she asked me to go and talk things out with him first.

This broke my heart.

So I confronted Tade. I told him I loved Angelina and she loved me too. I told Tade to let me have her. But Tade requested that we went back to Angelina to give us a reply to our faces.

"It's her who can choose. If she chooses you over me, I will walk away. And if she chooses me over you, please walk away and find someone else. It's either she chooses you, or me." Tade spoke sternly.

We went back to Angelina and found her sitting among her friends. We told her why we had come to her. We told her we needed a direct reply from her urgently, and she needed to choose who she truly wanted.

"The truth is that I don't know who to choose." Angelina blurted. "I love you both. Praises and Tade, I love you both. But sadly, I cannot date you at the same time. I need just one guy. So this is what is going to happen. Show me you love me by doing something that will cost you pain. Do something brave for my sake; something daring, and I must be present to see that. The one who does the bravest thing wins my heart."

With that, Tade and I both left.

The next day, Angelina and her friends were walking behind us when Tade saw a police officer and called him.

"Hey, Oga police come here."

The policeman felt insulted. He called Tade and wired him a hefty slap. Tade didn't even move or shake one bit. He didn't even touch the slapped face. Tade stood bold and chewed his teeth. The girls saw this and screamed, "woww what a strong boy Tade is. He is bold."

When the policeman left, everyone hailed Tade.

"Big boy."

"Omoh you get liver o."

"Strong man"

"Bad baddo baddest."

I turned towards Angelina and saw in her eyes that she was already loving Tade for being so bold. She was now looking at him with the eyes of love.

So I decided to do mine. But I wanted mine to be three times what Tade had done.

One hot afternoon, just when the school bell had rung and the school had dismissed, I ran out to find an army of soldiers in a big truck parked in front of the school.

I was filled with excitement as I began to calculate the kind of love Angelina will have for me when I finished demonstrating my love for her by Insulting over 40 soldiers with guns who were seated in the truck. Even Tade would not dare such. It will be the bravest thing ever.

I waited patiently for Angelina and her friends to come out. When they were out and had seen me, I stretched my five fingers akimbo at the soldiers, who were innocently sitting in their truck.

"All of you people are mad. Una papa. Nonsense. Una no suck better breast milk. Yeye people." I cursed with all the anger and emotions in the world.

The soldiers stopped talking and glared at me in surprise. One even threw his sugar cane from the truck as he gaped at me in surprise.

Angelina and her friends froze at the spot. I noticed the school security man who was sitting outside and receiving fresh air, stood up and started running into the school compound for safety.

Some of the students who were standing beside me started shifting away from me with their school bags.

Soon I was left alone standing.

Everywhere became silent like a graveyard for like 10seconds. It was like the angel of God had passed.

Then a soldier man pointed at me with his gun.

"You insult me? My papa? You say we no suck better breast"

Fear gripped me.

I turned towards Angelina to see if she was looking at me with the eyes of love, but I discovered she was looking at me with the eyes of pity. Everyone carried their hands on their head as the first soldier dropped down from the kiosk and started walking towards me. The man was walking towards me with so much anger on his face. He kept his right fist clenched like a boxer as he approached me.

When he got closer, he landed a terrible blow on my face and immediately retweeted it with three hot biting slaps.

I heard Tade shout from amongst the crowd "Chai! Praises have die o."

Two other soldiers jumped down from the truck to support their soldier brother.

They brought along with them whips of different textures and sizes.

That was when I summoned strength and started running towards the school gate. The soldiers chased me behind, but my short legs carried me faster.

When the Innocent gateman saw me running towards him with soldiers chasing me behind, instead of him opening the gate for me to enter, baba became confused and started running toward the principal office.

"Baba please open the gate. Baba! Abeg" I pleaded like a man about to be killed.

The soldier men grabbed me and just as I was about to tell them I was sorry, one of them tweeted an injecting slap on my face.

The students started running.

School scattered.

One of the soldier men dragged me from the floor and held me tight by the neck. He started pulling me to the truck to meet the other army of soldiers.

That was when I started shouting and begging.

"Sir, please. I am very sorry sir. Piss is doing me. Piss o. Sir piss. I will piss for my body."

That day, I was beaten black and yellow. Because of the beating I took, Tade met me the next day at the hospital and told me face to face- man to man.

"Praises, I leave her for you. You are a senior man."

My name is Praises Chidera Obiora and I am the best at what I do.

© Praises Chidera Obiora

Disclaimer : this is not my story
I just want to share with nairalanders