****IRETI****


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Days dragged into weeks and finally it was test week. I had been partying all semester but I’d always made time for my books too. My relationship with my roommates had become strained and it had just been a miracle that the friendship wasn’t broken, well, not yet. Tee had stopped taking money from me and they barely touched my foodstuff, even Dunsin was acting up, well most of my time had either been in Dara's hostel or in Tayo's room so I didn't feel like I was losing, I mean, Dara and the other girls were just what I needed, even more than enough so I wasn’t bothered. I’d written five tests already in two days and I was optimistic of a good result, Cash and I had been close friends and he’d even asked me to date him but I told him I would think about it and that was three weeks ago, is that not the normal way a girl should act? Communication with Richard had dwindled because he was busier or something like that, Amaka still remains my bestie for life, a shoulder I could always lean on. She was really happy that I’d started to do ‘fun things’ with my life, she called me every other day to catch up on the latest gist. Okay, the essence of that recap is to introduce a new character in my life. His name is Peter Durojaiye; tall, handsome, smart, dark skinned (I didn’t say black o) nice dimples, boyish charm, beautiful eyes etcetera are not enough to describe the twenty year old part three political science student. We met at a club (not that I frequent clubs o), it was a girls’ night out and I’d been sitting alone at the bar with a glass of mineral water, he’d ordered the same thing and I’d found it amusing that a guy in a club wouldn’t take alcohol. I started the conversation and we exchanged numbers before I left with the girls. The night had been worth my while even though I’d been reluctant at first; Peter came along and saved me with his sing-song voice. He called me three days later just to ‘check on me’ and then again to ask if we could hang out. I had my life where I wanted it to be, I had also worked on my sassiness and already had a hang of it, my shyness had reduced from 70% to 20%, I now wore light makeup regularly and was already growing my low cut.
I leaned over the handrails to peer at the commotion in the quadrangle downstairs, Dunsin and Tomisin also rushed out of the room when the noise rose a notch. Hostel A was the largest of all the female hostels and so, something was always happening.
“That babe is a squatter o” Tomisin announced.
“I know her now, no be she just pack come that last week.” A girl from the room next door confirmed. The number of girls on the corridor was now steadily increasing and different discussions were ongoing. I concentrated on the girls who were throwing shades at themselves and couldn’t help but laugh. Finally, when the commotion was getting out of hand, the porters on duty intervened and finally separated the fighters with much effort which meant every onlooker could go back to their rooms. I went in and took a chair to the corridor for fresh air, my hostel, alone, had been out of power for four days now. As I sat, I saw Seunfunmi come towards me, lately, the girl had just found me interesting and always wanted to be around me. I smiled.
“Hello dear.”
“Hello.” She replied and sat on the floor beside me. I frowned.
“How can you sit like that, I’ve always told you that this corridor is very dirty but no o, you won’t listen.” I shook my head and she laughed.
“I sha have not died from all the sitting on the floor.” She replied and I rolled my eyes.
“So what’s up?” I asked.
“Nothing o, I’m just bored, that my floor is just too boring jare and Tayo is not around.”
“I see. Sanu.”
“Omo mola, you better start speaking Yoruba, every small is Hausa.” She hissed.
“Sorry ma. E pele, mo ma change to Yoruba very soon.” I replied.
“Na you sabi.”
“Whatever. So what do you want to do?” I asked.
“I don’t know, that’s why I came here just in case you need company.”
“Too bad, how many tests have you written so far?”
“Most of them, I have just two left, you nko.”
“I’ve written just five but I’m free for most of this week though so maybe we could work out something.” I said and touched her cheek.
“Mama the mama, I want to be like you o, the whole school is feverish with exam anxiety and you’re just chilling, well sha, first class no be beans.” I laughed heartily.
“I pray o.” was all I could say before Tomisin came out of the room. Seunfunmi greeted her and they talked for a few seconds.
“Ehehn, Ola, are you busy with your phone.”
“What do you want?” I asked without looking up from the phone.
“I want to call my sister ni, I don’t have credit.” I smiled, she was blackmailing me, typical of Tomisin though. I looked up at her, smiled wider and went into the room to take my ATM card.
“Dear Tomisin, you know my pin and rules so go and recharge you phone with nothing more than a thousand naira.” I said and handed her the card which she accepted and thanked me. I went back to my seat on the corridor and continued my chat with Seunfunmi.



TBC

****IRETI****


“Wait a minute young lady, I find it rather insulting that you’re flirting with my brother in my presence.”
“Madam, he’s your brother not your BF or hubby so what’s your wahala?” she said and stood.
“See, my brother is taken and I won’t tolerate any rubbish from you.”
“So am I sweetie, I mean, what’s wrong with us being friends with benefits.” She asked with a shrug of her shoulders. This girl is one crazy person, I concluded to myself.
“Well, as far as this girl is concerned, you still need to look farther because you ain’t got no friend with benefits in my brother.” I said pointing at myself while I spoke.
“Yeah, whatever.” She said with a wave of her right hand then she went to the bathroom. The church service was very interesting but the only thing that had put me off was the preacher’s consistent reference to tithes, first fruits and ‘generous’ offerings being the first Sunday of the year. Finally the torture was over and the Amazing voices of the Amazing grace chapel led us in thirty minutes of praises. After church we went straight to my paternal grandparents’ house for lunch then we went home. Amaka was to resume school the next day but she planned to go back to Abuja on Tuesday, shop for school on Wednesday, prepare and arrange her things on Thursday then travel back to Calabar on Friday. Mayokun and I had also planned to go back to school on Friday while my birthday was the next Tuesday.

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“No, it’s fine this way; I don’t want anything too loud, maybe next year.”
“Babe, you should make it big because that way, you’ll increase your status on campus even if it’s just in class and hostel.” I smiled. I had made up my mind, my party was going to be a small one, I wasn’t ready to be a full flagged bad girl just yet, I was still taking my time. Just two days left and I was sure I had all I wanted; a little booze, friends, music, food and that was all. Cash was going to be my date for the evening, I had politely refused his offer to bear the full cost of the party and in a bid to pacify and soothe him, I agreed that he could host us in his flat off campus.
The party went smoothly, my roommates, Tayo, a handful of class and hostel mates and of course my new found friends; were in attendance; it had lasted only four hours and by nine PM, we all found our way back to our hostels. Cash had tried to persuade me to spend the night with him but I refused because I just had a feeling that I’d be biting more than I could chew. The next morning, I decided to attend only my last class which was by three PM lecture. I had slept in Dara’s hostel with the other girls; we had a late breakfast and just whiled away time by talking about random things and just teasing eachother. We got to class a few minutes before three and most seats were occupied so we had to split ourselves in twos and threes. David stood in front of the class, trying to get our attention; when he couldn’t, he just wrote whatever he wanted to say on the board.
‘MAKINDE WOULD MOST LIKELY GIVE US AN OPEN TEST IN HIS NEXT CLASS, BE WARNED! A WORD IS ENOUGH FOR THE WISE’ he observed what he’d written for a while and then Riyike whispered something in his ear and they both laughed, most people in the class were oblivious of the announcement on the board when David cleaned the entire board, ‘too bad’ I whispered to myself. The lecturer came in with a broad smile, this was the same guy Dara and Turner had fought over some time ago.
“A very good afternoon to you all.” We all chorused an answer. I had hated the guy right from the first moment he had stepped into our class, yeah, he was good looking and had a way of looking at a girl that she wouldn’t want to refuse his advances but I hated him because he was dating Turner, rather had been sleeping with Turner for almost three months, and I was very sure that she wasn’t the only girl he was sleeping with.
“Now, I have gist for you guys, very juicy gist, some of you will love it while some will hate it but the hardworking ones among you would definitely feel challenged... now, as computer scientist that many of you claim to be, there is an open opportunity for you to really show what you have learnt so far not just within the confines of these lecture rooms but also on your own.
“Now, the school has entered a science and technology fair, a competition actually but we have been undecided about who to register, I said we because I am a member of the planning committee and…”
“Ogbeni go straight to the point o jare.” Someone cut in and the whole class erupted in laughter. The man smiled, why call him man, he was a boy as far as I was concerned, he had even said we could call him by name whenever we were sure that no senior lecturer was within earshot so we all called him Babs (short form of Babtunde).
“… I will conclude by saying that interested candidates should see me after class and I would also nominate some people right here and now…” he looked round for a while then produced a piece of neatly folded paper from his jeans pocket.
“… I made these choices based on the impressive CGPA of these guys, I believe they have so much potential and I would love to help them grow their talents.” Someone hissed during the brief pause.
“Here we go, Ikuforiji Olayinka, Iretiola Cole, David Okoh, Seyifunmi Peters and last but definitely not the least, Fajobi Micheal. Can all five of you rise?” this was the part I hated; the five names he’d called were the only first class students in the class. I hissed as I got to my feet.
“Why you con say make we apply again when you don already nominate all the first class finish.” Someone said and some giggled but Babs ignored and continued as though he’d not heard the rude remark.
“Now, you should see me after class today, immediately after class I mean.” He said and motioned for us to sit. He continued his lecture which was a continuation of where we’d stopped in the last class. After the lecture, Babs had a brief talk with five of us and told us to come up with a project that we could represent the school with. I didn’t bargain for this so I wasn’t ready for it. As soon as Babs left, I walked back to the class to look for Dunsin.
Days dragged into weeks and finally it was test week. I had been partying all semester but I’d always made time for my books. My relationship with my roommates had become strained and it had just been a miracle that the friendship wasn’t broken, well, just yet. Tee had stopped taking money from me and they barely touched my foodstuff, even Dunsin was acting up, well most of my time had either been in Dara's hostel or in Tayo's room so I didn't feel like I was losing.




TBC

****IRETI****

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I opened my eyes and I was back in that office, that same tastefully furnished office where I felt like the boss, I felt like I was in charge. I was expensively dressed this time with light makeup on. I sat on the boss’ chair and just stared, everything seemed to be floating, images just swam across but I had no control over them, I tried to focus on something, anything but it was really difficult, I shook my head vigorously just in case that would enable my concentration but it didn’t help. The moment Mr Cute entered the room, all I could see was him, his smile and that handsome face and I smiled too. He was clapping and I wondered why, I tried not to make assumptions since he could read my mind.
“Bravo!” he said “You are learning quite first.” I stood and curtsied.
“Thank you.”
“I am really proud of you, keep it up but these days, your relationship with the girls is a bit strained.” He added. I scratched my head thinking of the best explanation for my defence and he smiled.
“Well, I, it’s not that, I just…”
“It’s okay. You still feel too decent to do the things they do, I know, but it takes a conscious effort though.” He said and I nodded.
“My birthday is in three weeks.” I said with a smile.
“I know, what do you want to do.”
“I don’t know but I just might have a small party.”
“And who’s going to sponsor that, you do know that the girls don’t pay for their parties with their money.” I smiled.
“I know, I’ll tell my mum about it, she’ll definitely send me cash.”
“Okay. Sounds cool.” We had a short conversation about random things and Mr cute rose to leave. As soon as he stepped out of the room, everything became a blur again so I closed my eyes again. I opened it and found myself in that dark room where I’d seen Mr Cute laughing at the intruder, just that this time, my seat was moved back a bit and the light around the two men was dimmer. Somewhere in my subconscious, I knew I had to get out of that room because the last time I was here, I’d landed in the hospital. I tried to stand but my backside was glued to the seat. The only way I knew was to close my eyes with a desperate hope of being back to the world, the real world with real people where I never felt this nagging fear, well I felt it sometimes. Even though the dreams felt calm, I had a feeling it was going to lead me somewhere bad, really bad.

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“Ola!” someone yelled and my eyes fluttered open. I stared wide-eyed but still unseeing. The room felt hot, no, the room was not hot, my head was. I touched a hand to my temple and jumped at the temperature, it was abnormal, so I promptly rushed to the bathroom and turned on the cold water. I stood in the bath cubicle til I felt the haziness fade out. Meanwhile Hauwa stood by the bathroom door watching, helplessly, as I desperately wanted the heat out of my head. I walked back to the room and felt a sudden cold.
“Ola, are you alright? You’re shivering.” She sounded alarmed so I managed a smile just to reassure her. Amaka came in with Ayo just then.
“My God!” he exclaimed “… You can’t be sick on Christmas day now…” he muttered to himself, but we all heard anyway. “… I have to get you to a clinic.” He declared and ordered Amaka to help me change clothes. I was close to tears, why was I giving everybody so much wahala today of all days. Ayo drove me to our family clinic where some tests were run and I was told that ‘the sudden change of temperature caused the fever’ in the doctor’s words. Ayo was glad and within two hours, we were back home. Being a Sunday, everyone was getting ready for church when we got back home. Ayo and I had our baths and we all climbed into the family car, a space bus with dad as our driver. After the Christmas service, I was feeling a lot better. Christmas day was fun; Ayo had invited his girlfriend over for lunch and officially introduced her to the family. The girl was really pretty and dad had commended Ayo openly for ‘leaving the market with the best bargain’ (in his words); after lunch, we had all just gisted and teased eachother and then we had dinner and sang carols before we all retired to bed. The next three days saw us visiting family and friends and then it was time for Hauwa to leave, she always celebrated New Year with her family in Kaduna.
New Year’s day, I was so excited because my birthday was fast approaching, I’d spoken to my parents about the possibility of having a party to celebrate my eighteenth year on earth and, just as I expected, they’d complied and promised to send me cash. I sat up in bed with Amaka still heavily asleep beside me. Someone knocked once and let himself in, it could only be Ayo.
“Wake up jare.” He said as he shook Amaka awake.
“Happy New Year.” I said.
“Same to you madam.” Amaka yawned and stretched lazily then smiled at Ayo.
“You look handsome today.” she said and Ayo smiled.
“Thank you.” He replied simply.
“Your girl is lucky though. Lucky I’m not based in Lagos because I am her rival.”
“Thank God and please get used to it my dear, I’m taken.” Ayo said and pulled the tip of her nose playfully then gave her a peck. That was new, I knew Amaka had always had a crush on my brother from when I’d introduced them about six years ago but I’d never seen them this intimate. I shook my head twice to be double sure I was not hallucinating.
“Wait a minute, did you just do what I think you did?” I asked no one in particular and both of them laughed.
“We’ve gone farther than this before, until this Temi of a girl came along.” Amaka said as she pulled Ayo to sit beside her on the bed.
“This is absurd, you’re flirting with my brother, do you realise he’s six years older than you, no than we are?”
“Yeah, when it comes to love, age is just a number shebi Ayo.”
“Abeg…” Ayo said, now back on his feet, “… enough of all this talk, I only came here to inform you girls that were leaving for church in ninety minutes, after breakfast though. Amaka, move on and get over me, I know you have a boyfriend.” He added and smiled out of the room.



TBC

****IRETI****


I gathered that both girls were final year students and were arguing over a lecturer before the fight; to me, that was the height of stupidity because I just could not fathom how anyone in their right senses would get brutal over one useless lecturer who on the long run had no future plans for them, all he was after was their body and when that was boring to him, he’d definitely move to the next available victim, they’d be lucky if he stayed till they graduated. I hissed and left Dunsin at the scene, with other girls who were arguing over who was right and who wasn’t, and went straight to my new room, I barely had my meals in my room again but I still played my part though, but it was locked. A key was always hidden in a small crack between the door frame and the wall so I let myself in. it was my turn to cook and I got down to business as soon as I entered. The day dragged on ever so slowly and I found myself sleeping a little earlier than I normally would.

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“When are you going back to school?” Amaka asked.
“The week after new year” I replied
“Okay, Hauwa would be here by noon tomorrow, should we go with the driver?”
“Let’s stay here so we can put things in order.”
“Okay, sounds brilliant to me.” Amaka replied and continued ticking off some itens in her notepad.
“Twelve people are enough now.” She said, more to herself than to me.
“Yeah, are you thinking of inviting more people, it’s just a get-together for our inner circle.” I said indifferently and she laughed.
“Inner circle, you say, I love the sound of that.”
“How else should I have described it?” I asked and smiled too.
“It’s fine. The girls will be here tonight though and we’re doing the décor of that empty room downstairs once they’ve all arrived.” She announced and I nodded. Amaka loved things like this, Hauwa had only been away for a year plus and she, Amaka, had insisted we hosted a welcome party for her. In my mind, I had just pictured myself, Amaka an Hauwa and maybe two or three of our classmates in Abuja but I was wrong madam had her own plans which I had to comply with. The room was silent awhile; Amaka was still cross-checking her to-do list while I was chatting with Richard.
“… So we would just go ahead with that, what’s your take?”
“Ehn, I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
“So you mean I’ve been blabbing all this while.” She said with a frown.
“I said I’m sorry.” She snatched the phone from my hand and read through the chat.
“And who is this Richard that has your attention?” she said as she read.
“Amaka, he’s a friend, don’t start getting ideas in your head.” I replied smiling.
“My God! You like this boy.” She exclaimed and screamed.
“Stop saying rubbish joor.” She did her happy dance and jumped on me.
“Go away my friend. This one is old school, I have a new boo plus Richard isn’t even in Nigeria.” I knew I had her attention now.
“Go on” she urged
“Well, there’s a new guy, his name is Cash, he’s not made a move yet but we have an understanding.”
“My baby is learning fast o…” she said and gave me a high five. “… You like this one though, it’s so obvious.”
“Yeah, but he’s so far away now.”
“Whatever. But you know you can always call on me whenever you have boy trouble, I’m your wonder woman and I’ll always come to your rescue anytime.” She added and I rolled my eyes.
“So what were you saying?”
“I was talking about the balloons, I bought just a dozen, and I need you to design those cardboards so that when the girls come, they’ll just help hang them.” She said, I nodded and we both got to work; while I designed the cardboards with different ‘welcome home signs’, she blew up the balloons and wrote somethings on it. It was just six PM and the first set of girls had just arrived. We worked till ten PM and had a late dinner.
The next day was Christmas’ eve and my mum had made me promise to be in Lagos for Christmas, not that I’d miss the opportunity to bond with my family for anything though, but I’d also made Amaka and Hauwa promise to go to Lagos with me. The five boys arrived together some time before ten AM and we were ready. The plan was for the twelve surprise friends would hide while Amaka and I made Hauwa feel comfortable then they would all come out of hiding and then we’d have a little party meanwhile, Amaka’s mum had booked night flights to Lagos for three of us. By eleven-thirty, Amaka told her driver to pick Hauwa at the airport. A little over an hour later, Hauwa catwalked in majestically in her usual manner, she had put on visible weight in the right places and I was so excited to see her, we both ran to hug her while she was laughing.
“Babe, it’s so good to see you after all this while.” I said as we disengaged
“I’m happy to see you girls too.” She said.
“My, I’m getting jealous o, you’ve added weight here and there, UK is good o.” Amaka remarked, while pointing at her breasts and then here buttocks. We talked for another ten minutes and the show began. We had pretended to be taking her upstairs and had stopped right in front of the room we’d prepared and then the others had taken her by surprise with different cardboards, my handwork by the way, welcoming her back to Nigeria. There was food, drinks in abundance, no alcohol though, and music too. We had so much fun but the day had to come to an end since our flight was leaving by eight PM, the last flight to Lagos for that day. We helped Hauwa pack a small bag of what she’d need and we left.



TBC

Bollie29:

Hope you are better now.

Yeah, thanks a lot.

****IRETI****

I threw the key at her and followed her to her room because I was not ready for 'madam peacemaker' Dunsin to ask me questions or even try to make me apologise to Tomisin. Tayo and I chatted for a while then I received a call from ID, thanking me for attending her party and that she would like me to be close friends with her. To say I was happy with what I’d heard is an understatement, I was super excited and it was obvious because Tayo literally asked me to stop grinning like a fool. I left her room and out of the hostel to have an early dinner. Tomisin was back in the room when I got to my room, much as I tried to avoid her, she had a plan and was waiting for the right time to strike. Unfortunately for me, I fell into her trap. I lay on my bed chatting with Cash and some course mates, and I had to ask Tomisin to pass me something.
“Tee, please pass me that note.” I said and pointed at the book I was referring to and she did, I muttered a thank you and continued chatting.
“So are you ready to talk, at least the hostel is awake now.” Tomisin said some seconds later but I ignored her.
“For crying out loud, you left here without telling us your destination and then you come back drunk…” she said louder, this time.
“Oh! So it was obvious that I was drunk yet you were foolishly questioning me.” I answered without looking at her.
“Granted, I was foolish but now, thank God, you have your senses back even though it’s not complete yet, just tell me where you went all night.” I ignored and continued with the phone. Tomisin sprang to her feet and snatched the phone from my hand, it happened so fast.
“Are you out of your mind?” I screamed.
“No! You are the one who has lost her mind.” she replied. Meanwhile Dunsin who had been watching quietly jumped down from her bed and stood between us.
“Please, you guys should not fight now, please.” She pleaded. I wasn’t ready to get into a fight, not that I could fight anyway.
“Tell her to give me back my phone.” I said quietly, trying, with so much effort, to contain my anger. Tomisin threw the phone on my bed and shook her head. I hissed and lay on the bed.
“Just take a look at yourself, a privileged child like you moving with bad friends, this is just your third semester and you’re coming home drunk. Everything I am saying for your own good though, I know one day you’ll remember this day, I just hope and pray it won’t be too late then.” She said and went back to sit on her bed. I hissed loudly.
“Thank you o.” I said with sarcasm.

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‘Not bad’ I thought to myself as I stared at my result on the notice board. My GPA had increased from four point three to four point seven-one and my CGPA was now four point five. ‘Now, I can take a chill pill for a semester’ I said to myself as I walked back to my hostel. I needed to share the news with Richard and of course, his CGPA was higher than mine with zero point two points. Dunsin had a good result too, it fell in the range of second class upper. I stopped briefly to text everyone I could think of my result, including my aunt in Port Harcourt. Now, the fight or rather the rift between Tomisin and I only lasted three days before I apologised but I still didn’t give her full details about where I went, I only told her that I was at a friend’s place and played a game which resulted in my drinking alcohol when I couldn’t meet up, well she also apologised for being rude. When I got to the hostel, I went straight to Tayo’s room. Before I continue, let me tell you how my ‘date’ with Cash went; we had gone to see a movie and then had a late lunch after. During the lunch, he went on and on about how he liked me in a special way because he thought I was different from the other girls. He told me about his girlfriend and how she was always demanding for things from him, he also confided in me that he would breakup with her soon but he was waiting for the right time. He asked about my boyfriend and I’d told him I was single. After lunch, we walked back to school just so we could have more time to gist. Now back to my story; Tayo was not back from class yet, I knew her timetable offhand though, but I decided to wait. After the argument, I’d partially moved to Tayo’s room, she had just one roommate who was a part one student of mass communication. The girl was really nice and she got along with Tayo and I well. I was not ready to start explaining my movement to anybody, Dunsin and I still went to class together though.
I lay on Seunfunmi’s bed (Tayo’s roomie) while she got ready to prepare dinner.
“Ajebo…” she said and I looked up (that was the nickname she and Tayo had coined for me) “… I want to make Eba with that Egusi from yesterday o, you go chop?” she asked.
“Yeah, anything is fine but wait o, is there meat in it?”
“No o, just the crumbs of smoked fish, you know we bought the meat from a food seller.” She replied.
“Ah! Let’s goan buy more meat then, you know I can’t eat without meat.” I answered and Seun laughed.
“My dear, this is school, you’re supposed to make sacrifices, all this one you’re saying is rubbish, you better learn and you’re now in year two.” I laughed when she was done.
“Yes madam, I’ll manage to eat it.”
“No o, I don’t want trouble o, buy the meat but you must buy for me and TY too.” I laughed again. Seun left the room for the kitchen and I decided to go through my notes for the day. I anticipated Christmas, my friend Hauwa who was studying in the UK would be around, even though my school had only given us Christmas, boxing, new year’s eve and new year days as holidays, I’d made up my mind to spend two straight weeks at home moreover, my eighteenth birthday was coming up in January and I was super excited. After dinner, I decided to sleep in my room that night, being a Thursday, because I had a seven AM lecture the next day and Dunsin was definitely going to wake me early. My roommates were playing ludo when I got there, I mumbled a greeting and promptly proceeded to take a shower before I went to bed.
“Congrats on you result.” Tomisin said after about forty minutes and I smiled my thanks.
“How was yours?” I asked.
“Okay, I applying for another scholarship against next session.” She replied.
“Go for it girl, I know you can do it.” I replied and winked at her.
“Yeah, thanks. The only person that needs to work harder now is Dunsin.” She replied and we both turned our attention to her.
“I think she’s put in a lot of effort for a person learning at her pace.” I chipped in.
“No, I won’t accept that, everybody has the capacity to be better, if this is her best, I know if she puts in more effort, she’d definitely do better this semester, I don’t believe anybody is a slow learner.” She said. The chat continued for another half hour before we all said goodnights and dozed off.
The next morning, Dunsin and I got to class quite early and we had a little chat about how she could improve her GP this semester. After the two-hour class, our next class was for ten AM, an engineering elective we’d both chosen and that was all for the day. Since Dunsin and I became roommates, Tomisin had succeeded in talking some sense into her head and she had reduced, drastically, the number of times she forced me to go shopping to which I was glad. We took a shuttle back to the hostel because I felt really lazy to walk. Back in the hostel, there was chaos at the gate, some girls had been in a bloody fight and the DSA had already been involved; either of two things could happen, the girls could be suspended/expelled or the hostel could be locked indefinitely. Either way, it wouldn’t affect me one bit.



TBC

Morning all, my sincere apologies for the delay, I've been down with malaria.
An update by 10:30.
Thanks for you tolerance,
Ayomide loves you.

****IRETI****


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“Where have you been?” Tomisin yelled at me as soon I stepped into the room. I ignored her and went straight to my bed, I was having a hangover, my head was banging, I was sleepy and above all, I was in no mood to talk let alone argue.
“Have you suddenly gone deaf?” she asked again. I shot her a death stare and hissed. I took off my shoes and slumped on the bed.
“Tomisin, leave her, maybe she went for a vigil.” Dunsin said.
“So they said people shouldn’t take their phones to church again or that you shouldn’t inform your roommates before leaving the room.” I was pissed now, the noise was getting unbearably too much for me to handle. I sat up and stared Tomisin straight in the face.
“Why are you shouting? Do you want to wake the whole hostel? Or didn’t you check your time? It’s too early for this your nagging, I need to sleep and if you want to keep shouting, maybe I should just leave.” I said and started packing my blanket and pillow.
“Ah! Ola don’t go anywhere, she won’t shout again.” Dunsin pleaded but my mind was made, I’d get all the sleep I needed in Tayo’s room (a part three computer science student I met recently, during hostel allocation.)
“Let her go now. Nonsense, I’m only saying this because I love you ni.” Tomisin said and hissed. I left the room, for crying out loud, it was just a few minutes past seven. I hissed and knocked on Tayo’s door, her roommate opened and let me in with a smile, Tayo was up and getting ready for class. I slumped on her bed and murmured a greeting.
“Babe, looks like you haven’t slept for a week.” Tayo remarked. The pain I felt now was too much.
“Finally, someone with eyes” I replied dozing already. I heard Tayo laugh before leaving the room. I slept like a baby without disturbance for a solid seven hours and when I woke up, I still felt a slight pain in my head and was really hungry. I sat up on Tayo’s bed and noticed I was the only one in the room, I tried to recollect the events of the night before but my mind was blank, the last I remembered was taking shots of vodka and missing my step after and then Cash was carrying upstairs and that was it, I must have blacked out then. I shook my head vigorously in an attempt to clear it and felt worse after. ‘bleep’ I muttered to myself. I stood, picked my blanket and pillow, locked the door with Tayo’s key (it was on the table) and went straight to my room, what I needed now was a cold shower and a good meal. Cold shower; I was sure of but meal; not too sure I’d get that in my room. I turned the door handle and was surprised it was open; I got in to meet Dunsin reading on her bunk.

“Good afternoon.” She muttered.
“Hi” I replied indifferently and went about my business. Sadly, the tap water was warm from the afternoon sun but it still had a little effect on my hazy brain. I changed and left the hostel, without saying a word to Dunsin, and went to a food canteen just around the hostel. After eating, I was feeling a bit better but I still needed a pain reliever so I went straight to the school clinic where I was given paracetamol and one other drug like that sha. Now, if you ask me, I had fun last night, I felt alive, I mean truly alive, I felt like I was born again and I wanted I wished I could live last night all over again, ‘this is just the beginning’ I said to myself as I walked back to the hostel; did I tell you I gave Cash my number? Well, I did and I also told him I found his name rather awkward and he’d replied that he loved being unique. My phone rang and my first instinct was to reject the call because I don’t answer calls from unknown numbers but then, it could be Cash calling, I thought as I answered the call.

“Hello beautiful”
“Hi”
“How are you?”
“Very well, thank you. Please who am I speaking with?”
“Oh! I didn’t give you my number yesterday, it’s Cash.” He said simply and I smiled.
“Oh! Hi Cash.”
“I hope your hangover didn’t last too long.” He laughed.
“On the contrary, it did, I only just woke up some time ago. I suck with alcohol; I shouldn’t have drank so much.”
“Yeah, that’s what you get for being such a good girl.” He said and I laughed.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Well, I just called to check on you, I called earlier but your phone was off.”
“Yeah, I needed my sleep badly.”
“I figured. Thanks though, I had fun with you last night.”
“I should thank you but you’re welcome anyway.”
“Okay, this is awkward, I want to know if you’d be free sometime this week, just to hang out and get to know eachother though.” I smiled inwardly, I just might have a potential boyfriend and my hands, I thought.
“Uh, yeah, I should have time but I’ll let you know when.”
“Okay cool. See you soon then, bye.”
“Yeah, maybe. Bye” he hung up. Truth is, I’ve never had a real boyfriend, I’ve only crushed on a number of guys, Richard inclusive, but I’ve never had a serious thing. Once, I dated I secondary school but it was just for a while, about two months, and it was over but hey, I’d be eighteen in a bit, dating a guy now is not really a bad idea though. I got to the hostel and met Tayo and Dunsin gisting in my room.
“Welcome.” Dunsin said.

“You, why did you lock the door?” Tayo asked.
“Would you have preferred I left it open and then all those our seniors in this hostel will visit and pack all those your beloved belongings. Remind me not to lock the door next time.” I said with sarcasm and Tayo threw my pillow at me.
“Sha gimme my key.” She replied and I threw the key at her.




TBC

***IRETI****

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“I don tire for this school, shebi they said our new course adviser is one Ogunleye, wetin this Agunbade still they do now?” Turner lamented.
“No be Agunbade, it’s Agunbiade.” Dara replied.
“Na you sabi…” Turner answered before she turned to face me. “… Better person, how are you jare?”
“I’m good, never been better.”
“It’s good that you are our friend at you know book not like all these dead heads wey we get.” She said tilting her head in Dara’s direction for reference.
“You better mind the way you talk o, me and you no be mate.” Dara retorted. True to her words, Dara was the oldest of the six girls; she was twenty-one already while the rest ranged between seventeen and nineteen.
“I call your name? Abeg Ola help me reason am na, I mention name?” I smiled, not wanting to get involved in their petty fight. Dara hissed and murmured something that sounded like ‘I don’t blame you’ under her breath then she walked away. Turner hissed loudly too.
“Yeye girl”
“Why are you girls arguing?”
“Don’t mind the idiot jare, she’s claiming to be older but body dey pepper am like say she be pikin. Abeg, shey na my fault say I fine pass am or say na me better guys dey follow yan, I don tell am, if she no maintain, I go show am say I be wafi.” That was quite an outburst I didn’t expect so I just smiled in response.
“You know when all these idiots go show, me I get my own runs o.”
“I have no idea.” She hissed again and continued tapping at her phone. Turner was clearly the prettiest of the girls and she always flaunted it. Sometimes she wouldn’t wear makeup just so the other girls could see that she didn’t need makeup to be beautiful. We both sat in silence waiting for Erica and Onome to show up because we were running late for ID’s birthday bash. After waiting for about twenty minutes, a car honked near us and Turner sprang to her feet and settled herself in the front passenger seat. She discussed with the driver, a guy, briefly, gave him a kiss and stepped out of the car. I notice her shove some naira notes in her bag as she waved at the driver and I smiled; she depended on a guy to pay her bills. She sat by me once more;
“That’s the guy that caused my fight with that useless Dara.”
“I see”
“He’s one of those young lecturers in engineering.”
“Lecturer ke, I thought he was a student.” She laughed.
“Person wey don marry, don even born sef, a baby girl and she’s super cute just like her dad.”
“I see…” I said with a fake smile. “… He doesn’t look married to me let alone being a father” I added, how could she be sleeping with another woman’s husband and someone’s father and still have the guts to mark remarks about his family, what a shameless girl.
“Aren’t you tired of waiting for these girls? Make we dey go our own jare.” She said and stood and I followed suit. We walked to the school gate where eighteen-year old Turner hailed a taxi. The drive to the hotel lasted about thirty minutes. We climbed out of the car and I felt a rush of excitement pass through me, I had never gone out of the school premises on my own, well I mean to attend a party in a hotel, even though Dara’s party was held at a night club. The night was still very young so most of the guests had not arrived. We went straight to the room ID was lodged in and met all the other four girls there. Turner clapped her hands thrice and hissed.
“See these idiots o, so if we no comot for that place, naso we for miss ID party meanwhile these fools don reach here.”
“Turner, you too like to insult, where you keep your phone before, we’ve been calling you.” Erica defended. Turner produced her phone from her handbag.
“Abegi, no be phone be this, where missed call dey?” she asked
“Wollup! It’s okay, Turner and Ola please don’t be angry, let’s all take pictures.” ID said. Vivian brought out her selfie stick and the shoot began. After a while, someone knocked the door and Erica opened to let in a very handsome young man who hugged us all one after the other then he spoke In low tones to ID and excused himself, I fell in love with his manly cologne but I had to control myself. The guy was the one sponsoring the party; I found out later that he was a final year mass communication student whose father was a senator in Ekiti state. According to ID, she was dating him, sleeping with him, in my opinion, for the money. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am friends with these girls just because I want to do fun things, I would go out with them but that does not mean I would prostitute myself like they were doing. In my honest opinion, the most decent of them is Onome because she had just one boyfriend even though she moved with them; she’d not been influenced by their lifestyle of having multiple guys just because of money. When it was eight PM, we all moved to the hotel’s bar where the party was supposed to hold, to have ‘a few’ drinks. I don’t drink alcohol so I ordered a soft drink and they all teased me. Kunle, ID’s boyfriend joined us later with six of his friends and we were matched with eachother for the night. I was matched with a slim, tall, dark fellow with lovely dentition and a cute face too, he introduced himself simply as ‘cash’ which I thought was a funny nickname. By nine-thirty PM, guests had started arriving since the party was to kick-off by ten.
It was a WOW night, I’d never had that much fun in one night, cash had been a wonderful companion too. The party was not over until six AM but ID and her boyfriend had retired to their room some minutes after four AM, by five, I was drunk, for the first time in my life, because I had participated in the truth or dare game and I was asked for drink up two full glasses of pure vodka if I couldn’t strip myself to my undies, my decency would never allow me to do such so I took the alcohol instead. Cash was kind enough to carry me up to his room in the hotel my semi-conscious state and lay me on his bed.


TBC

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Thanks everyone for the comments.
Thanks Eniqurl, I'll definitely work on your suggestion.
God bless you all, Ayomide loves you

****IRETI****

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Registration for the new semester was in full swing, students were everywhere, going from one department to the other, registering courses and all sorts, no wonder they called it the ‘October rush’. I sat with about ten other students, in my departments’ lobby, waiting for my course adviser, I wanted to be sure the new electives I was registering would help my GP and for him to sign my course registration form, isn’t that what a course adviser is for? Some minutes later, the man walked in and went straight to his office clad in a blue guinea dasiki and a ‘hausa’ cap, the kind typical of men from the northern part of Nigeria. The students began to murmur, trying to decide who would go in first. I ignored them and went straight to the office, knocked twice and let myself in.
“Did I ask you to come in?” professor Agunbiade asked with a frown.
“No sir, I only came in when you did not respond sir.” I replied.
“Young lady, as you can see, I just came in so get out and come back later.”
“But sir, we’ve been waiting for a long time sir.”
“Okay, they sent you to come first and you, foolishly without thinking, agreed, they want you to be the scapegoat abi.” This was not what I bargained, I thought the man would just attend to me and let me go if I showed no sign of leaving.
“I’m sorry sir.” I said and took two steps backwards.
“Will you leave my office now or do I have to take down your matric number?” I left the office immediately and went back to my seat in the lobby. A girl walked up to me;
“Is Agunbiade you went to see?” she asked and I nodded in the affirmative.
“What did he now say?”
“Simply put, he ordered me out of his office.”
“Ah! Which day will this man answer somebody now ehn, I just need him to sign my course registration form nikan ni o.” she hissed and went back to her seat. I pulled out my phone from my jeans pocket and as usual, I started going through the internet. Now let me give a quick recap of my holiday. I went go-carting with my brother and his friends that day and by Wednesday, as Vivian had promised, I was sitting in a classy bar sipping a cocktail while Vivian had a glass of vodka mixed with fruit juice. We had gisted on random things and she had promised to introduce me to a ‘click’ (in her words) as soon as we resumed school. Of course, Amaka had been pissed when I went, without her, to see Vivian and I had apologised profusely, not because I was sorry but I just didn’t want Amaka in one of her ‘moods’, I wasn’t ready to spoil the fun I’d had during the day. The rest of the holiday went on as usual with mom being around for most of it. Olamide had resumed school a week after I arrived Lagos, Ayo too was around for a while and dad had called regularly. For a moment, I felt good, happy to be with my family even if it was just for a while, most especially mom, we connected on a whole new level and I realised that with my strong head and stubborn mind, I really love my mom. My phone rang, an international number, ‘it has to be Richard’ I thought to myself. I swiped my phone screen to answer the call but I didn’t say anything.
“Ola, are you there?” I smiled on recognition, Richard’s voice was unique, I would know it if a million voices were recorded and I was asked to fish out his.
“Hi” I said.
“Hi, you didn’t want to answer me before?”
“Yes. Why should I answer you? After all this while not even a text, too bad.” He chuckled.
“I’m so sorry dear, I’ve up and about, dad got me a summer job at a department store and it’s been very hectic but fun though…”
“I see, so there was time for fun but no time for me?” I said sarcastically, cutting off his sentence.
“Okay, fault accepted, I’m so sorry, it will not happen again.”
“Yeah, whatever”
“So I’m forgiven, aren’t I?”
“Maybe.” I said and laughed.
“So how is school?”
“Hectic, I’m presently at the department waiting for that silly old man appointed as our course adviser.” Richard laughed.
“My dear, the walls have ears, do be careful so you don’t get in trouble with that drab old man.” We both laughed.
“I truly, have missed your voice.” Richard declared and I smiled.
“My voice and not me”
“Do you always have to be like this?” he asked
“I asked a simple question but its fine, missed you small sha.” The conversation dragged on for another five or more minutes and I ended the call because Agunbiade had finally come out of his office to address us, he told us to take numbers an come in accordingly. Half of my day was spent at the department. I had no worries concerning my hostel accommodation; my mom had pulled a few strings and had gotten me a three-man room with Tomisin and Dunsin as my roommates. We were still in hostel A but now in room three-oh-five. As soon as I was done, I went straight to the hostel, lay on the bed and slept off. I woke up about two hours later, my roommates were around and were gisting. I sat up on the bed (they left the single bed for me out of courtesy, because my mom had gotten the hostel for us and even paid their own hostel fees.) and murmured a greeting.
“Your food is in your flask o.” Dunsin announced.
“Thanks, what did you cook?”
“Spaghetti and stew”
“Okay” I stood and walked to the table to pick the food and literally devoured it, I had no idea I was so hungry until I saw the food.
“Madam, don’t choke o, this one that you’re rushing food like this.” Tomisin remarked.
“I am very hungry.” I checked the time; it was just a few minutes past nine PM.
“Ehehn, I’m going home tomorrow, I’ll be back on Saturday.” Dunsin said and I nodded. According to the school calendar, course registration and payment of fees were supposed to close by Friday but we all knew that all fingers are not equal and so unofficially, the date was always extended. Of course I had paid my fees, my mum and dad had transferred fifty thousand naira each to my account, Ayo too had added an additional twenty thousand ‘just in case’ in his words. They knew the money was way too much to settle my school fees and other miscellaneous spends since mum had settled the hostel fees already but they sent it anyway and that did not include my monthly allowance.
Growing up, money had never been a problem, if mom and dad wer proving difficult, Ayo was there, or Uncle Bosun, aunt Yetunde and if the worst happened, aunt Bisi would never let me down. Now the money just felt too much because even while I was on holiday, my allowance was steady and I didn’t even spend up to tenth of it. My bank account is quite heavy for a student but that was not the issue, my problem was not knowing what to do with so much money, but trust Dunsin to always come to my rescue by suggesting we buy more clothes, shoes and accessories, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, infact, I’m happy that I can put a smile on her face. Let me also mention that Tomisin won a scholarship to the tune of two hundred thousand naira and she had opted for cash. She’d paid her forty thousand naira school fees, paid her sister’s school fees with seventy thousand naira, bought her dad’s drugs and paid his hospital bills with about fifty thousand, bought foodstuff and some other thing for herself and of course, being the church girl that she is, she’d paid her tithe and the money was finished. I already promised to share my allowance with her so her dad could focus more on her sister’s welfare, she’d agreed and told her dad who called me almost immediately to thank me.


TBC

****IRETI****

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“She needs to rest, the fever has eaten deep into her, thank God you brought her here when you did, she could have died.”
“But she seemed okay when she came yesterday morning.”
“Yes. But we should be thankful people were around when she fainted, it could have been worse.”
“Thanks a lot doctor Amadi.”
“You’re welcome madam. She should be awake soon, the anaesthesia dose I gave takes about three hours to wear off.”
“Okay, thanks again.” I heard the doctor’s footsteps and then the door opened and was shut almost immediately. I lay very still with my eyes closed. This was embarrassing, why did I have to fall sick here. The mosquitoes in that hostel are to blame. I felt Mrs Igwe’s hand on my forehead, it was cold, I jerked my head from under her palm and opened my eyes; they were very heavy. Amaka was perched at the foot of the bed. She jumped to her feet as soon as I opened my eyes.
“Ola, can you hear me?” she asked.
“Don’t shout my friend.” Her mum retorted.
“Sorry. Ola, are you awake?” she whispered this time.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” I managed a smile.
“You’re not okay my dear, you have a terrible fever and malaria, hopefully you’ll be discharged tomorrow.” I closed my eyes and sighed. Mothers sha, what was the big deal about malaria that she wanted to keep me admitted in the hospital. I opened my eyes again.
“Can I get a glass of water?” I asked no one in particular and Amaka rushed to pour me a glass while her mum helped me sit propped on two pillows. There was a needle in my left hand passing the content of a drip into my bloodstream. I collected the cold glass with shaky hands and sipped a little. Damn! Everything was cold. I handed the glass back to Amaka and muttered a ‘thank you’.
“Did you call my mum?” I asked Mrs Igwe.
“No, would you rather I called her now or after you’ve been discharged?”
“Oh! When I’m discharged would be better.”
“I called your boyfriend, Richard, but his number was off.” Amaka said and smiled.
“Which boyfriend, you better mind yourself.” Mrs Igwe laughed and excused herself from the room.
“Is he not your bf, or do you think my mum will complain?”
“It’s not about your mum, it’s about your wrong information, Richard and I are just friends and nothing more.”
“Okay o, I’ll pretend to believe you.” Amaka changed the subject to something lighter and general. We gisted for a while and she made me feel so much better. I had been admitted in one of the special rooms in the Igwe’s private clinic. The room was en-suite and larger than the normal ones. A nurse brought my dinner later and Mrs Igwe literally forced the food down my throat. The doctor came to check me and gave me another dose of sleeping pills after so many injections. I did not wake up until the next morning.
Amaka and her mum helped me into the vehicle, my whole body felt heavy like I was a bag of wet sand. The doctor had explained that I was reacting to the sleeping pills. We got home to meet Stella preparing lunch. The doctor had advised I ate light when in actual fact, I had no appetite for food. The day went by ever so slowly and this greatly annoyed me. The next day, Wednesday, I called my mum to inform her about my health, she sounded worried but somehow, I didn’t care if she was, I only told her because Mrs Igwe had instructed me to. By Friday, I was my normal self, too bad I hadn’t been strong enough to do all the exciting things Amaka had lined up. My flight was booked for Sunday afternoon and Amaka promised to be in Lagos by Monday evening.
I got back to Lagos to find Olamide and two classmates at home, mum had gone for a party, Ayo out of the country, dad was in Edo state, aunt Mercy and Priscilla had gone to the market.
“Welcome home…” Olamide said as he hugged me. “… mum said you were not feeling too well.” He added.
“Yes, but I’m fine now, thanks.”
“Cool.”
“How have you been enjoying your holiday?” I asked
“It’s been fun so far, come and meet my friends upstairs.” And he half dragged me to his room where two boys sat on the floor playing a video game.
“This is Korede, we call him Kore…” he said pointing at the taller of the two boys “… and this is Bayode, Bayo for short. Boys this is my one and only sister, Ireti.”
“Hi” they chorused without even looking up.
“Hi, I see you guys are busy so I’ll just be in my room.” I replied and made to leave the room.
“Are you going to be busy tomorrow?” Olami asked.
“No. Why?”
“Well, we’re going to get arena so I just want to know if you’ll come.” I laughed.
“Of course I’ll come; I wouldn’t miss go-carting for anything.” Olami smiled and gave me a high-five before I left the room. I went back to my room and slumped on the bed. My life was getting too boring, same old routine repeated every day, I had friends but they just seemed to do fun things without me. ‘I need to create my own fun’ I thought. Hanging out with Vivian and the other girls was not such a bad idea. I dialled Vivian’s number and she picked on third ring.
“Hi babe”
“Hi” I answered.
“This one you remember me today, am I safe.” I forced a laugh.
“Of course you are. I was just wondering if you are in Lagos.”
“No o, I’m in Benin presently, a friend of mine is celebrating her birthday tonight, na to turn up o.”
“I see. Are the other girls there too?”
“Yes na. You sound interested, sorry I didn’t inform you earlier.
“No biggie, we could hang out when you’re in Lagos.”
“I’ll be in Lagos by Tuesday, we can hang out then.”
“Cool.” I said.
“Yeah, enjoy your day ehn, bye.” She hung up. I did a little happy dance. At least I could have some fun. Now don’t get me wrong, my friends are fun but we do the same things over and over again, for example, with Amaka it was always shopping or shopping and even more shopping, she never got tired. My other friend Hauwa had left Nigeria, and then there’s Dunsin, my latest friend, hostel mate and course mate, with whom I went to class and studied and that was all, no real fun like partying, maybe drinking or just doing something crazy. I was actually tired of the good girl life; it had nothing to offer me anymore except loneliness. I made up my mind at that point to up my game and the only way I could think of doing it was to be friends with Vivian and her group, I don’t have to do everything they did to the last letter but with them, I could get the fun and happiness I craved.


TBC

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A big shoutout to those following, thanks for the patience, Ese gan ni (Thank you very much)
Too bad I don't know how to mention people...

****IRETI****

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I stepped out of the airport building, my uber driver was waiting for me just outside with my name written on a cardboard he was holding. I entered the car and drive to Amaka’s house began. Amaka was not home when I got there but her mom was, she told me Amaka had gone to get ‘some things’, which were most definitely new clothes and or shoes. I went upstairs to Amaka’s room, changed my clothes, lay on the bed and slept. About an hour later, an excited Amaka shook me awake.
“How can you come all the way from PH city to sleep on my bed?” she asked playfully as I yawned lazily.
“How was your flight?”
“It was okay. How has your holiday been?”
“Nice, been doing a lot of shopping.”
“I figured. May I voice a suggestion?” Amaka rolled her eyes and nodded a yes.
“Em, why don’t you give out all the old clothes to a charity home or something, it would better than throwing them away. I’m just saying though.” I shrugged my shoulders. I added the last part just so Amaka won’t get upset and start an argument.
“That’s a good suggestion but I don’t know any charity homes plus I don’t throw all of them away, I give them to Stella.” I smiled.
“So can I see what you bought?”
“Of course you can…” Amaka replied with a smile “… I even got you a shoe, see.” She added has she brought out a pair pink flat shoes.
“Wow! Its lovely!” I exclaimed and tried them on. She showed me every other thing she had bought and I obtained two dresses from her. I used obtained because she didn’t give me willingly so I collected it by force. We had a late lunch and then we settled to see a movie. Whenever I came to Abuja, I never had to go to a cinema except I just felt like. After the movie, we practiced chess for a while, had dinner and went to bed.

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“You should tell me things, why are you hiding things from me?”
“What do you mean?” Mr cute asked.
“You know exactly what I mean, shebi you can read my mind.” I said calmly. We were back in the living room and I was standing by a window this time.
“Okay, all I simply meant is; you should enjoy your youthfulness while it lasts, you’re not getting younger.” He replied with a smile and I did same. I believed him but somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew he was lying, deceiving me.
“Okay, since Vivian is a part of the family, what are we supposed to do together?” I asked just to change the subject. Actually, I wanted to dispel the thought before he could read it.
“You move with her and do all she tells you to do.” I smiled because he didn’t mention anything about my doubt but frowned almost immediately as his words sank in my head.
“But she’s wayward and I don’t like her, if I follow her steps, my GP will drop and I don’t want that.
“If I promise you a good result, will you do as I say?”
“It won’t be a problem.” I said. If I could enjoy life like Vivian and still have a good result at the end of each semester, I would be fine. Daisy was sha party girl and she has a two-one result.
“Any other questions?” he asked and I smiled. I was at a loss for words.
“No” I replied.
“Okay then, see you later.” He said, clapped his hands and everywhere went dark. I heard my name, it sounded so far away. I saw myself walking down a corridor, with each step I took, my name sounded louder. Finally, I got to a door and opened it.

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I opened my eyes and shut it immediately from the blinding daylight.
“What type of dream were you having?” I heard Amaka ask. I opened my eyes to look at her.
“What time is it?”
“It’s eleven already. What were you dreaming about? You just started shaking feverishly all of a sudden, I tried waking you and when that didn’t work, I started calling you till you woke up.”
“You were calling my name?” I asked, my thoughts were scattered, my head was hot, I was cold, something was not right. I tried to sit up but felt very weak. Amaka tried to help me; she withdrew her hand sharply when she touched me.
“You are burning!” she screamed.
“I’m fine.” I said.
“Thank God my mum is still around.” She said and dashed out of the room. I hissed, Amaka was just exaggerating, I told myself. I pushed back the duvet, swung my leg over the side of the bed and winced as my feet touched the cold, hard tiles. I stood, with effort, and had to lean on the wall for support. My head felt light.
‘I just need to pour a little water on my head and I’ll be fine.’ I said to myself so I walked in the direction of the bathroom. The floor got colder with each step but I managed to get to the bathroom, I leaned on the doorframe and that was as far as I could go, I was really tired from the ten-step walk to the bathroom door. My head started spinning; I was trying to focus on something, anything just so I wouldn’t lose my balance. Gradually, rapidly, I was losing my strength and I fell to the ground.

I stood in a dark room, the room was black dark. Suddenly, a light came on and I saw, at the far end of the room, the intruder still crying in his blood soaked clothes, Mr cute was laughing, hysterically, at him. The sight was funny, I was spectator, they couldn’t see me and even if they could, they chose to totally ignore me. Still, the blood kept pouring out of the intruder’s body and was still not dropping on the ground. Mr cute looked different now, his face was set harder, still in the same clothes, he had a long chain in his hand, and he was saying something that I couldn’t hear. Okay I could hear his voice roaring like the first time I heard him speak but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. A chair appeared by my side and I sat on hit not minding where it had come from. I continued to watch the scene trying to figure out what it meant, why was Mr cute holding the chain? Why was the intruder’s blood not forming a pool at his feet? Why was the intruder so calm when it was obvious that Mr cute was taunting him? So many ‘why’ questions that I didn’t have answers to. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes.



TBC

****IRETI****

Little Bode jumped at me as soon as I stepped in the sitting room.
“Iyeti!” he yelled (he can’t pronounce Ireti.)
“Bode boy, how are you?”
“Fine!” he replied excitedly. I only just realised that I missed three year old Bode and his nine year old twin sisters. I was closer to this family than to mine. Uncle Bosun and his wife aunt Bisi and of course their three wonderful kids; nine year old Eniola and Abisola (we all call them Eni and Abby for short) and my favourite, three year old Olabode.
“Where are your sisters?” I asked as I dropped the child and walked into the house with him.
“My mummy and them ha gone to make they hair.”
“Bode! Is that English of greek? Anyways, we’ll wait for them.”
“Are you staying here forevermore?”
“No, I’m leaving next week.” Bode made a face but cheered up when I showed him the goodies I got for him. I went straight to my room, took a shower and fell asleep immediately. I only woke up when the maid, Jessica, came to inform me of my aunt’s arrival. Aunt Bisi looked stunning she looked ten years younger than her thirty-five years; it was hard for anybody to believe she had three children. I hugged her tight; she had my mum all this while since I was sent school in Abuja.
“How are you my love?” she asked as she pulled me to sit beside her on the couch.
“I am very well ma, I’ve missed you so much.”
“We have missed you also, you didn’t even come around before you went back to school.” I smiled.
“I’m so sorry but you know mum na.”
“I know. How is school? Congrats on the success of your first year though.”
“Thanks. School is fine, indeed it has been wonderful.”
“I’m glad to hear that. So how is was your result?”
“It’s okay but not what I expected. Just four-point-three.”
“That is good my dear, I trust you’ve done a better job this time.” That’s aunt Bisi for you, always encouraging and optimistic, she never talked down on anybody and saw potential in everyone she came across.
“Thanks aunt. Where is Uncle Bosun.”
“He’s on an official trip to Delta state; he’s due back on Tuesday. When exactly are you leaving?”
“Seven days from now.”
“Great, he’ll be back by then.” We gisted for a while and then we had lunch time. After lunch, aunt Bisi went out to see friends and I had a swell time playing with the kids. Later that night after dinner, I thought of telling aunt Bisi about the dream but I was so scared, I knew she’d laugh it off and advise me to do same. The truth is, much as I wanted to laugh off the dream, I had a gnawing feeling at the back of my mind that there was more to it than I thought. I slept like a child that night and didn’t wake up until noon the next day; the family had gone to church and were back and I joined them for brunch. Aunt Bisi is a paediatrician and nutritionist and she was very particular of what she fed her family with. She always prepared the family meals except something important came up; she was strict with her water therapy; she’d always said that was the secret to her good skin. The day dragged on, Sundays her have always been quiet, the kids napped an hour after lunch, aunt Bisi and Jessica went to the market to stock the house for the week, when they came back, they got round to preparing dinner while I just watched TV and when I was bored, my phone became my companion. Monday morning came; I slept in again, my aunt and the children had already gone to work and school respectively. I called the only two friends I had in the area and thankfully, both of them were home from school so I visited.
“Ola!” Vivian screamed as I let myself into her room. We hugged eachother.
“It’s been so long since I last saw you…” She said and I nodded
“How is school?”
“School is a whole new experience, it has been great.”
“New experience ke, you’ve been a boarder since forever so what is new again?” she asked laughing.
“I know right but what I meant is the technique of teaching employed by some lecturers, it can be quite annoying.” Viv (that’s her pet name) rolled her eyes.
“Tell me about it, some don’t even come to class more than once in a semester.”
“Abi o, and they get paid for doing nothing.”
“Students really need to overcome the fear of these lecturers and start reporting them to the school authorities.” I laughed
“My dear, it’s not that easy plus I don’t think it is fear, it’s just your word against theirs, it would be so much better if you could present evidence though.” The gist continued for another hour before we went to see our other friend Emmanuella who was studying in the UK and would only be around for ten days. The day was fun with Emma and her siblings, we decided to have a girls’ day out the next day and I went home. My aunt and cousins were home and it was another round of playing and laughing, we had an early dinner and went to bed.


TBC

****IRETI****

*********************************************************************************************************

I woke with a start. I sat up on my bed, trying to figure out where I was. Ofcourse I was on my bed, in my room, in hostel A. I sighed. I thought the dream had stopped, thankfully it had not continued from the last time but the conversation was still the same. Who is the ‘she’ I wondered. There was light tonight, I checked the time on my phone, eight PM, which meant I had been sleeping since one PM, a solid seven hours and I had not eaten, not tasted anything, actually, not even water. I jumped down from my bed and realised I was alone in the room; the hostel was alive with girls who were excited, most likely, by what they were watching in the common room. I was the only one in the room, I walked to the door, opened it, walked to the corridor and realised I was really hungry when the aroma of different foods wafted through the air to my nostrils. A porter was doing her routine check, a group of girls were standing to my far right, gisting. The whole hostel was just too noisy. I never liked to be in the common room so I went back to my room and sat on Tomisin’s bed. What can I eat? I thought, Tomisin had not come back to the hostel the previous night and I had not seen her that day at all. I decided on a cereal. After eating, I decide to cook. I heard a knock, thank God I had not lit the stove, I blew out the match and threw it under the bed, the knock sounded again. I opened and two female porters stood staring at me suspiciously.
“What are you doing inside when all your mates are outside?” I feigned surprise.
“What is going on outside?” I asked.
“Nothing. Oya leave the road.” I stepped aside and allowed them in, they looked round for a while before leaving. I hissed but knew it would be unwise to cook in the room. I got everything I needed to cook rice and beans concussion and went down to the kitchen. When I was done, and got back to the room, Daisy was back.
“Hello roommate.” She said as I dropped the things in my hand. Okay a little flashback; my roommates and I have been in good terms for about a month now, Daisy had apologised to Tomisin and they had reconciled. We had even been cooking together since then.
“Welcome.”
“Thank God you’ve cooked.”
“FFO! So you can eat. You didn’t cook before you left the room so which food are you thanking God for?” I asked, in a failed attempt to sound angry.
“No vex, I rush comot for house this morning.”
“Whatever! Do you by chance know where Tee is?”
“Nope, I’ve not seen her since last night. Have you called her?”
“I’ll do that now.” I dialled tee’s number severally but she was not answering. I became worried and forgot my hunger. I called Samuel who informed me that he last saw her the previous afternoon and had not been able to reach her all day. I was worried because this was unlike tee; she always called whenever something came up. The next morning, Tee was still not answering her phone and by afternoon, the phone was off.
I sighed deeply as I took off my shoes before sitting on Tomisin’s bed. Almost forty-eight hours since I last saw her but I had a feeling that she was okay. Seven-fifteen PM. Daisy was not home yet, the hostel was quiet and boring; most people were not back from class yet, thank God Daisy had cooked before she left in the morning. I ate and lay on the bed, pressing my phone when it rang. The caller ID displayed Bunkie. I sat up immediately to answer the call.
“Tomi, where are you.”
“I’m fine, I know you guys are worried, I’ll tell you all about it when I get to the hostel. Please cook o.”
“Okay, when are you coming?”
“I’m on my way now.”
“Okay. Have you spoken to Samuel, he’s been calling me all day.” She chuckled.
“That boy can worry for Africa. I just got off the phone with him now.”
“Better. Sha come back quick.”
“Yes ma.” She ended the call. Almost an hour later, Tee got to the hostel, Daisy was back too and I had told her about the call. Tomisin had received a distress call asking her to come home immediately from her sister. When she got home, she had been directed to the hospital that same night where she found her sick father was already admitted. Her sister had been at a loss of what to do before when their dad had fainted earlier and had called Tee. Now, Tomisin had lost her mom when she was ten and her sister was eight, their dad had been jobless since he fell ill two months ago, tee, now more than ever was determined to come out with the best grade in her class so she could apply for a scholarship and ease her dad of the school fees burden.
“So, how is he now?” Daisy asked after Tomisin was done with her story.
“Better, that’s why I could leave home.”
“So why were you not answering your calls?” I asked.
“About that, the phone was in my bag throughout and I didn’t even have time for it gan.”
“Thank God you’re safe, I was worried sick.” I replied and hugged her.
“Bloody lesbian!” Daisy remarked, “No wonder we don’t know your boyfriend.” We all laughed and continued gisting till we went to bed. I was really glad that there was no more bad blood flowing in my room. Days turned to weeks and weeks into a month, the exam came and went just as quickly and we were all on our way home except for Daisy who had to complete and defend her project. My first year in the semester had been an eventful one and I loved it. I was excited that the holiday was two months long, my mum had agreed that I could stay a week each in Port Harcourt and Abuja before I came home. Ayo booked my flight and I left for Abuja the very next day after my last paper.



TBC

A LITTLE BACKGROUND HISTORY

***********************************************************************************************************

"I want to be a pilot when I grow up" little Dre told his mother while she was preparing the family's dinner. His mother had smiled and patted his head. "That is good my by, make sure you tell your dad to get you toy aeroplanes." Dre was delighted that his mom, of all people, was approving his having a new toy. He wandered off to his 'brother Ugo's' room. Now Dre is the only child of his parents and his dad had named him Dre because he felt the name was fancy. Being the only child of an illeterate business man and a semi-literate trader, Dre lived a very comfortable life. At this time, he was just five years old and was in nursery two. Dre's parents had brought Ugo from the village to come and live with them in Lagos and also help in taking care of Dre.

"Brother Ugo..." Dre screamed as he barged into the room "My mummy said, I can be a pilot and daddy will buy toy aeroplane for me."
"Nwoke, that is good. Oya comot hia go play because I wants to crean (clean) this loom (room)." Dre hissed, he wondered why Ugo was never excited for him.
"Loom ko loom ni." he left the room and went back to join his mother in the kitchen but she too did not have his time. Finally dinner was served, father was home and the family of three settled down to a meal of garri and white soup.

To say that Dre was over-pampered would be an understatement, he lived the life, even better than a king. He was always the envy of the class and his classmates but that did not get into his head as he loved to share his goodies with everybody.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Next person please...

****IRETI****

Someone blindfolded me and I smiled. It just had to be Richard.

“I know it’s you.” I said and he dropped his lean body on the seat next to mine.
“So you’ve been thinking about me, haven’t you?”
“You wish.”
“I need to tell you something but not here.”
“Okay, where?”
“We could walk to the hostel together and I’ll tell you.”
“We could.” I said and stood. I waved to get Dunsin’s attention but Richard pulled my hand down.
“I want to talk to you alone.”
“Okay but what is so important that you can’t tell Dunsin.”
“Let’s go now, shall we?” I shook my head and led the way out of the class. I had only come with my writing materials and ID card. After walking some distance from the class, I broke the silence that enveloped us.
“Oya, spill it, I’m listening.”
“Okay, I feel like a bad person right now for waiting this long before telling you this. Now the thing is I’m transferring to New York after this examination.” I froze in my tracks, unable to stomach my unbelief. Richard hugged me but I pushed him away. I felt cheated, slighted, ignored, betrayed. I trusted Richard and he kept this from me for such a long time.
“Say something.” He said quietly. What did he expect me to say, I felt like hitting him. I was pained.
“Congratulations.”
“Is that all? Please just say you hate me, it would make me feel better.” I laughed and he smiled too. That didn’t mean I felt better so I did the one thing I felt like doing, I kicked him.
“Ouch!” he yelled.
“I don’t hate you but that doesn’t mean, I forgive you.”
“Weird, isn’t it? But I had a feeling you were going to hit me.”
“Why are you just telling me when exams are just a month away.”
“I’m deeply sorry dear, but I had no intention of even telling anyone but you’re different, special in a way, you’re the only one in this entire school that knows. Please don’t tell Dunsin.” He held my hands in his, his eyes pleading.
“I won’t, I’m not a chatter box.” He hugged me again and I did same.
“Thank you.” He whispered. I wanted us to stand like that forever but Richard pulled back.
“I’ll really miss you” I said.
“You gotta miss me…” I punched his arm playfully. “… but I’ll miss you more. You’ve been more than a friend to me.” I rolled my eyes and held his hand.
“I should be on my way now, I’ve not had breakfast.” We both walked, hand in hand, back to the hostel. As soon as I got to my room, Ayo called.
“Little sis.”
“Big bro.”
“How are you doing today?”
“Good. You nko?”
“Oh! I’m good too. What about the boyfriend?” I laughed. Ayo had met Richard and Dunsin when he came to visit a week ago and Dunsin had introduced Richard as my boyfriend. All efforts to make Ayo believe otherwise had proved useless.
“He’s good, more handsome today than when you saw him.”
“Wow! That’s great, he wants you to fall in love with him all over again.” I chuckled. “How is your girlfriend?” I asked.
“She’s good, more beautiful than when I last saw her in her NYSC uniform.”
“When am I meeting her?”
“Very soon my dear, she’s hunting for a job now, when she’s settled in, we’ll come say hello to you.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
“I know, I always have good ideas.”
“Whatever”
“I just called to hear your girly voice, I spoke with Mayokun and Dele yesterday though.”
“Okay.”
“I have to go… oh! I’m travelling to SA tomorrow, I have meeting with dad and some business partners, we’re planning something big and if everything falls into place then Coles’ construction and consultancy will be on the lips of all and sundry.” I rolled my eyes, CCC had never interested me.
“Okay, goodluck with that.”
“I love you sweetheart.”
“Love you too.” Ayo dropped the call. I took off my clothes and climbed my bed and fell asleep immediately.


“That party would be fun.” I turned and saw Mr Cute smiling at me. We were not in his fancy flat anymore, it was an office, I stood behind the chair looking down at the Lagos traffic from the only window in the room until Mr cute had spoken.
“I want to attend.” I said.
“You should.” He replied and lowered himself on one of the two visitor seats.
“I feel like I have my life just where I want it to be.” I remarked, smiling.
“Enjoy it while it last.” The statement sounded simple but I swore I heard sarcasm in it, more like a wicked undertone. I took the seat beside him and stared deep into his eyes.
“Is she a part of the family?”
“Yes. There are many more but we’ll take one step at a time.” I smiled, satisfied with the answer. Now I was getting to know people like me. The ones Mr cute cared about and loved.
“Now, you should go back.”


TBC

Ayoomodaddy:
As they ran, Dre could help the feeling of fear fast rising in him but somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew he had to be strong or at least act strong because of his partner, a lady, who was now crying. They ran and ran until they reached a t-junction. The lady stopped abruptly unsure of which way to go. Dre was also confused but there was no time for confusion now.
'We can't stop like this.' Dre said and dragged the lady towards the right. A gun shot was heard nearby, Dre could swear he saw the bullet whizz past his head, maybe he was just imagining things. With a strenghth the runners had no idea that they possessed, they ran on and got to an uncompleted building. They both rushed inside for cover, so far there had been no shouts. They were not the only ones in the building, there was also another family there whose 3-year old daughter was sobbing. Dre knew it would be unwise for them to stay too long in that building so he decided to take things into his hands. The plan was to rest for twenty minutes, thank God he still had his wrist- watch on.


________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope I tried...

My thought is that Dre is an NYSC member serving somewhere in the North.

As they ran, Dre could help the feeling of fear fast rising in him but somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew he had to be strong or at least act strong because of his partner, a lady, who was now crying. They ran and ran until they reached a t-junction. The lady stopped abruptly unsure of which way to go. Dre was also confused but there was no time for confusion now.
'We can't stop like this.' Dre said and dragged the lady towards the right. A gun shot was heard nearby, Dre could swear he saw the bullet whizz past his head, maybe he was just imagining things. With a strenghth the runners had no idea that they possessed, they ran on and got to an uncompleted building. They both rushed inside for cover, so far there had been no shouts. They were not the only ones in the building, there was also another family there whose 3-year old daughter was sobbing. Dre knew it would be unwise for them to stay too long in that building so he decided to take things into his hands. The plan was to rest for twenty minutes, thank God he still had his wrist- watch on.


________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope I tried...

****IRETI****

***********************************************************************************************************

“Wow! Your room is nice; there are just two of you?”
“Well, it’s supposed to be a four-man room but my sister and I bought off the bed space.”
“I see, that’s cool, what level is your sister?”
“Two hundred.”
“Okay. My observation is that your sister and Daisy don’t seem to get along well.”
“Is that what Daisy told you? Don’t mind the both of them jare, that’s their wahala. What do I offer you now o?”
“I’m good.”
“I like you, especially the quality of clothes you wear. You have expensive clothes but you’re too simple for my liking, now that we are friends, I’ll teach how to slay in those clothes.” I laughed. Vivian was really funny, imagine her saying I dress ‘too simple for her liking’ as if I dress for approval.
“Well, thanks but I’m good with the way I dress.”
“Don’t say that o. okay even if you want to be simple, I’ll teach you how to wear make-up.”
“Vivian, honestly, I’m not here for this kind of talk, I just stopped by to say hello. I’d better be on my way now, see you around.” I stood, picked my bag and was almost at the door when Vivian spoke.
“Oya, wait na. See, I’m just saying this so that you’ll get more attention and command greater respect. Okay, just like you, I don’t have big boobs or buttocks but my dear with the right kind of packaging ehn, omo, you’ll go places.”
“No! Thanks.”
“Think about it, by the way, Dara’s birthday party is this weekend, I’d love to see you there.”
“Happy birthday to her.” I said and left the room. How could she just propose such a thing on our second personal meeting? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I don’t like make-up but my face gets itchy when it stays too long. About the party, I could attend, I hadn’t attended any parties on campus so far, not that I’m a party person but I just felt it would be fun to go, I made up my mind to ask Dunsin and Richard if they would also attend. I walked round the hostel awhile before went back to my own hostel. Hostel C was the GRA hostel, as students referred to it. It was actually a two-storey block of six staff flats that was renovated and converted to a female hostel when hostel’s A and B proved to be too small for the girls. Each flat had three rooms that housed three girls each and the sitting room, the biggest housed four girls. Vivian and her sister stayed in this room alone, they must have a lot of money because selling off bed spaces was more expensive than renting from the school itself. In actual fact, the hostel is actually the smallest in the whole school and it was believed that all the notorious girls on campus lived there. I went back to my hostel, it was already eight PM and I had a seven AM test the next day. Tomisin had cooked beans and plantain when I got there so I ate, took a shower and slept immediately. I woke up around six-thirty the next morning. ‘Christ!’ I exclaimed. I rushed my bath, wore the first pair of jeans and t-shirt I saw and for the first time, I wore slippers to class. I met Dunsin on the stairs and we raced to the test hall. When we got there, the lecturer had arrived and was giving everyone numbers and arranging them, we joined the queue with three other students behind us and that was it, the woman did not allow any other person into the hall. The test was supposed to last for thirty minutes and I was surprised that the woman was stalling until a blue saloon car arrived and three lecturers from the accountancy department came down, greeted the woman and proceeded to distribute printed questions while the woman watched. There were just two questions with fifteen minutes allotted to each, we started by seven-twenty AM which meant that by seven-fifty AM. The questions looked easy to the eye since each was not more than a line but it was tasking to the brain. I managed to answer one question and part of the other but I was still unsure of myself, I had a feeling that I had not done well. After the test, Vivian found me.
“Hey you.”
“Hey.” I replied simply, I was not ready to engage myself in any form of discussion; I just wanted to go back to the hostel, check my notes for correction and score myself.
“Shey na Ifeoma do you like this?”
“In a way, yes, I have to go now, see you in class.”
“Wait now. Are you attending the party, it’s on Saturday o.”
“Today is just Thursday, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay, give me your number.” I called out the eleven digits and made to leave. “Wait na, person dey pursue you? Anyways, I told the girls about you and they said you can hang out with us sometime.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“See you around then.” I scanned the class for Dunsin and found her with both hands on her head and I smiled. We had all underestimated this miss Ifeoma because she’s just an assistant lecturer. I walked to where she stood and literally dragged her out of the class because she probably just realised she had written rubbish in the test. We had another test by ten AM and I really had to revise just in case Seidu tried to pull the same stunt like Ifeoma. We got to the hostel just in time to meet Dunsin’s roommate, Zainab (we call her Zay) at the hostel gate, on her way to class.
“Hey girls, how was the test.” Dunsin hissed in reply and laughed.
“Not what we expected but we hope for the best.”
“In Shaa Allah, it will be an okay result. Got to run, almost late for class.” Now Zainab is an hijabi sister, very quiet, nice and decent. We went to my room to revise our next test. The test was quite easy, Seidu was the kind of lecturer that made you task your brain. His test was designed in a way that everybody was supposed to have a unique answer. I did my best and left the rest (shebi that’s how the saying goes.) after the test, I sat reminiscing, the semester had been really fast, now we had just a month before exams commenced, not that I was afraid or something but then I was really excited that Christmas was around the corner.


TBC

****IRETI****

Dunsin had left immediately after the first lecture because her mom had called that she was around, Richard was off talking with some people and I just sat alone, still going through my notes. I heard a hiss and looked up. It was Vivian, one of the ‘biggest girls’ in class, Vivian had a group of five other girls; Dara, Erica, Onome, Turner and Id, with whom she moved about. These girls were sassy, rude, party-goers; they were the life of the party. They were the female version of the back-seat-boys, they had no regard for anybody. They were the ‘hot’ dressers, flirts, in my own honest opinion; they were just rude and indecent girls. Vivian squatted to pack her books and I looked on, when she was done she stood and came to my side.
“Adjust.” I shifted to the next seat.
“Sorry, have you done that Seidu assignment?” I nodded a no.
“You, I’ve been watching you for a while now, don’t you talk?” I smiled
“What do you want me to say?”
“Which hostel do you stay?”
“Hostel A.”
“Ehehn, I have a cousin there o but I don’t really visit her since we go out together.”
“I see, what’s her room number? I just might know her.”
“Two-one-four-B.” she said simply. I was surprised; this cousin of hers had to be Daisy. “Are you serious?” she rolled her eyes.
“Well, that’s my room…” I continued “… and this cousin of yours should be my roommate, Daisy Okoro.”
“Yeah, no wonder Daisy always knows my timetable these days.”
“Small world, isn’t it?”
“Abi, you can come say hello to me one of these days, I live in hostel C, room one-oh one.”
“Maybe.”
“For now, I’m looking for somebody to dub that useless assignment from.” I laughed and announced that I was leaving, packed my things and walked back to the hostel. Thoughts of my family occupied my mind as I went; I wanted my family to be a happy one, I wanted my parents and siblings to be together even if it would be for just one week. I sighed deeply, even Ayo was now so busy with work, managing dad’s engineering firm, I envied my cousin even Amaka because her mom always made out time to be with her, however little and she spoke to her dad often before she finally relocated to Abuja. Being an only child, her mom spoiled her a lot with money, expensive gifts and the likes but they always created family time, much as I know, her dad was always free on Fridays, except something important came up, and her mom would sacrifice that one day in a week to be with her family, except she was out of the country. Same goes for aunt Yetunde who always had dinner with her daughters. Everything buoys down to SACRFICE. That was what my parent could never do, they were just so selfish, I thought mom was the more selfish one but now, dad is proving me wrong. I let myself into the room and met daisy undressing.
“Good afternoon” I greeted as I dumped my bag on Tomisin’s bed and proceeded to take off my shoes.
“Babe. You like you had a bad day.”
“On the contrary, I had a swell day, maybe I’m just anxious that our result will be released soon.” She smiled.
“You, of all people, shouldn’t be afraid of your result now, you have a first class student for a Bunkie and I know you read a lot so what’s the trouble?”
“You’re teasing me abi.” She laughed now.
“Actually, I’m stating the obvious.” And she went back to undressing.
“That aside, I met your cousin Vivian today.”
“Oh! So my secret is finally out, now she knows how I’ve been monitoring her.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“She’s really annoying these days. She doesn’t listen to me again, I want to know that her result.”
“You don’t think she’ll pass?”
“She’s copying me stupidly, she thinks I don’t read. I just hope she’s not sleeping around like that her stupid sister.” I kept quiet, what kind of family was theirs, three of them in the same school doing the same thing. The room relapsed into an uncomfortable silence and I decide to say hello to Dunsin. I had completely forgotten that her mom was around until I got there and met her mom. I greeted her and introduced myself. After sitting for about twenty minutes, her mom was ready to go and we all, Dunsin, her three roommates and I, saw her to the hostel gate till she got a shuttle to get her out of the school premises.
“Ola, I don’t like the way you greeted my mom.” Dunsin said when her roommates where out of earshot.
“How” I asked ignorantly.
“You did not kneel down, if I greeted your mom that way, would you like it?” I laughed. So I had done wrong by not kneeling to greet someone, who does that in this new age, I never knelt to greet anybody, not even my parents, the best I could do was to bow my head a little. I was in no mood for an argument or explanation.
“My bad, I’m sorry.”
“This is not a matter of being sorry, it is for next time.”
“Haba, are you angry?”
“No o, I’m just saying my own ni.” I gave her a side hug.
“Yi hankuri (I am sorry), I said in Hausa, don’t be angry with me ko.” She laughed. We went back to her room and I was glad that her mom had brought a cooler of freshly cooked vegetable soup. I rushed back to my room to take the bread I had bought the previous night and ate it with the soup.


TBC

****IRETI****

“Is it just me or as Daisy been sleeping in the hostel for the past three weeks.” I asked, not because I was curious but because I wanted to start a conversation with Tomisin. Daisy had been indoors for quite a while and she had not invited any friends over, Tomisin had been moody for about two days and she had refused to tell me the reason, well not just me, even Samuel, her boyfriend. Now back to the conversation;
“Abi, what do you expect, this is her final semester, she no wan fail na.”
“That’s a plausible reason.”
“I really admire her, despite the kind of friends she keeps, she still has a good CGPA.” I stared, wide-eyed and smiled.
“Admire, you say, with the way you guys behave like cat and mouse, who would have thought that you like her.”
“Ehehn, open your ears and listen well o, admire is different from like.”
“Whatever. So have found the best way to tell me what’s up?”
“It’s a personal matter, family something.”
“Okay, at least tell Samuel.” She laughed now and I smiled.
“How many times has he called you today or na whatsapp him send?”
“Does it matter, just pity the guy. You’re making shakara now because you know the guy is crazy about you.” She blushed now.
“Ola! Abeg lemme jare.”
“Okay o. At least you’re smiling. Now the main point of this discussion is that I am hungry.”
“See this yeye pikin o, you cannot cook abi.”
“Ehn, I’m tired.”
“Lazy ass.”
“Whatever.” I stood and went to my cupboard, took out a cup, spoon and cornflakes.
“It af good like that o, me too will take cornflakes, thanks for the good idea.” The rest of the day came quickly until I fell asleep.

*********************************************************************************************************

“So you said I’ll meet the rest of the family.”
“Yes, very soon and definitely not here.”
“Okay. When and where.”
“Ola! You ask too many questions. Okay, I’ll speed things up but first I’ll need to get you in the right situation.”
“And what kind of situation is that.” Mr cute touched a finger to my face and pulled my nose playfully.
“You’ll see, my dear angel.” He said and snapped his fingers.

*********************************************************************************************************

I snapped out of dream land, sweating profusely. How come the dream seemed so calm but I felt I’d just had a terrible nightmare. Sounds like a tautology but I had no other way to describe it. If only I had someone to share this with, but they’ll think I’m crazy to have a dream that always continued from where it stopped, however short. I sighed and jumped out of bed, my head was banging. I refused to believe that it was because of the dream, NO! It had to be because I did not eat any solid food last night. There was no light again. This was the third time in a row that we were sleeping in darkness, the school authorities had promised that the situation would be fixed on the first day and now, we’ve gone three days, most likely four more days would be added to our discomfort before anything is done. I stretched, checked the time on my phone.
“Dammit!” I hissed, fiercely. It was just two-thirty AM. I’m very sure I’ve not slept for up to four hours. I climbed my bed again and just sat. What kind of dream was this? I thought, the first episode was the worst so far and I was able to shake it off but the calmer ones have proved to be the most disturbing that I even had trouble sleeping. Somehow, I felt going back to sleep would be a waste of time but there was nothing I could occupy myself with at this time. I pulled out my phone and decided to surf the internet, watch a few comedy skits, sounded like a great idea but I was wrong, I ended up feeling worse, for no reason, I was afraid to be awake in the dark, even though Tomisin’s lamp was on, the feeling was so overwhelming that I felt like screaming till the whole hostel was awake. I lay quietly on the bed, afraid that something was coming for me, just like the way I felt that night when I’d gone to eat before joining Richard and Dunsin to read, I was afraid to even breathe, I hoped that I would not have a crisis at this time because that would be disaster. Finally, without notice, sleep came and lulled me into its sweet arms, soothed me and I was no longer afraid, I hung on to it tenaciously, afraid to let it go. I didn’t care about waking up tomorrow; all I wanted was to have an undisturbed sleep tonight, one without a dream and fear and Mr cute or even the intruder. A sound sleep was all I wanted, one with the assurance of my sanity, one with a confirmation that I was not paranoid. Sleep, what a rescuer, it saved me that night from the unknown personalities that wanted my life and I was glad, grateful for its timely interference.

*********************************************************************************************************

“Your first test would be coming up in our next class, tell a friend to tell a friend because there would be no make-up and be informed that once I enter the hall, nobody can come in.” The lecturer picked his things and left the class, immediately the class became rowdy. All attempts, by David, to get everyone quiet failed until a good Samaritan with a bass voice shouted the class to order.
“I have two important announcements, if you like listen, me I can’t shout. Baba Seidu wants his assignment to be submitted to him personally before two PM tomorrow, I mean one by one o and number two is that our new course adviser is Mr Ogunleye. I’ve said my own o, nobody should come and meet me again o because I can’t repeat myself, any question.”
“Na who be Ogunleye again.” Somebody asked, rudely.
“Go and ask at the department. Any other person?” David retorted.
“We that don’t know Seidu’s office nko.?” Another asked.
“Ask at the department, is that all.” David replied.
“Shebi lecture don finish for today.”
“Check your timetable. Me am going if you need any other thing, meet my assistant.” Immediately, the assistant class president shouted in her shrill voice.
“Nobody should coman meet me o, eti yin o di o (you all are not deaf.)” she carried her bag and followed David out of the class and everywhere was noisy again. So far, David had been able to overcome his initial shyness and timidity and now commanded respect among his coursemates. His assistant, Ariyike, was also to thank because she was saucy in a way, and was a typical Yoruba no-nonsense type of girl plus she always had his back. This semester seemed really fast. As I sat going over the notes for the day, David and Riyike came back to the class.
“Ehehn, last announcement for today is that our result would be out by Friday, so all the efiwe’s SAJ’s should get ready and all you that don’t have hope too, your destiny in this school will be pasted for all to see.” Riyike announced, laughing more from the reaction of the anxious students. Shouts of shut-up, get out, yeye girl, ode and the likes filled the air. Before I forget, SAJ simply means Senior Advocate of Jacking, commonly used as reference to people who were always found reading.



TBC

****IRETI****

“Are you going to sulk all day because you lost a game and won three, pathetic, if you ask me.” Amaka said
“What if I want to, am I sulking with your energy?”
“Sorry o.”
“This is crazy.” Dele said after a while and we all looked at him.
“What is?” Amaka asked.
“This right here, I’m the only male here, there’s four of you and just one of me”
“You be woman wrapper na, shey I no tell you before. It all started when my sister became your best friend.” Dupe said nonchalantly and we all laughed.
“Ehehn, that reminds me, we have a get-together at John’s crib.” Mayokun said to Dele who in turn nodded.
“Today is boring o.” Amaka announced.
“What do you suggest?” Mayokun replied
“Shopping.” Trust Amaka to always opt for shopping, she has actually infected me with the virus too.
“Okay but Ireti can call her brother now.” Dele chipped in.
“I could but let’s hope he’s not busy. Oh! Lest I forget, I’m going home tomorrow because my mum and Olamide are around.”
“And where does that leave me?” Amaka asked.
“We’re going together.” I replied. I called Ayo later and he promised to take us out later that evening. So far, my asthma has been of good behaviour, I’ve not had any attack this that day, almost a month ago, but then there is the question of this dream, was it a sign about something? ‘This is ridiculous’ I thought, it was just a silly dream, I was thinking too much and nothing more. I brought out my phone and occupied myself with it till Ayo came. The rest of the day was fun, Dele and my cousins said they’d visit Amaka and I before Dele went back to school. My dad called later that night after I had received an alert of fifteen thousand naira from him and when I asked, he said it was for the successful completion of my first semester in the university, mum also sent me ten thousand. I was tired when I got home and went straight to bed.
The next day, Sunday, my driver came to pick Amaka and I around eight AM while aunt Yetunde and her family got ready for church.
“Tell your mother to go to church o.” she’d said as we climbed into the KIA sportage 2012 SUV my dad had bought to be used by Olamide and I when needed. The drive was smooth, traffic free and we got home just as aunt Mercy and Priscilla came home from second mass, they are the only regular church goers.
“Good afternoon ma.” Amaka greeted my mum when we entered the sitting room
“My dear, how are you, how is Calabar.”
“Very fine ma, not as boring as I thought it would be.”
“Very good, how are your parents?”
“They are well, they send their regards.”
“How nice of them, you girls should settle down and join me for brunch.”
“Yes mummy.” I said for the first time since we got here. Brunch was rice and chicken stew. Our house was big but can’t be compared to Igwes’ residence. Our house had a parlour with a toilet for receiving guest, a sitting room, kitchen, dining room and three bedrooms downstairs with the remaining four bedrooms, a small family/ TV room and a kitchenette upstairs. My parents, siblings and I each had a room to ourselves while Aunt Mercy and Priscilla shared one of the rooms downstairs and other guests slept in the remaining two. There was also a small two bedroom flat that housed all the male staff. Now the Igwe’s also had seven bedrooms, visitor’s room, two kitchens but their boys quarters had three bedrooms and they even had a small swimming pool, a rooftop garden (artificial grass though), a mini theatre and arcade (we called it the movie room). I just love their house.
After brunch, Amaka and I took a walk around the estate, I did not have any friends there because most of my classmates from school either lived on the island or did not live in Lagos at all. After walking for thirty minutes, we went back home. My phone rang, Richard. I was delighted to see his call, we’d spoken only once since the holiday began.
“Hey you” he said.
“Hey, how are you doing.”
“Bad, this place is dead.”
“Where”
“Home. I mean Enugu.”
“Oh! Sorry ehn, we have just one more week.”
“Lord knows I won’t stay a day longer.”
“But your family is there, aren’t they.”
“ ‘Cause they are, I don’t know nobody here, I really want to live this country.”
“No matter where you go, you’ll always be Nigerian.”
“Yeah yeah, and I don’t have to stay here, do I?”
“Your choice. Called your yesterday.”
“Yeah, I was asleep.” I laughed. I never knew Richard to be an afternoon sleeper.
“And since when do you sleep in the afternoon?” I asked still laughing.
“Since I got here.”
“Okay, what of your brother?”
“He’s not coming home, you know he’s a senior now, so he needs maximum concentration.”
“Okay, good.” I heard a female voice, laced with a slight Igbo accent, call Richard.
“Dammit. I’ve got to go know, mum needs me.”
“Okay. Later.”
“Yeah, later. Don’t miss me too much. Bye.” I laughed and hung up. Amaka looked up from her phone.
“Who was that?”
“Richard.”
“That fine boy.”
“Yeah”
“You like him.” I really don’t know if it was a question.
“Yes, he’s my friend.”
“I mean you like-like him extra. Don’t lie to me.”
“No!”
“I think you should look at how flushed your cheeks her in the mirror.” I giggled.
“Maybe I like him, maybe I don’t, I’ll have to figure it out.”
“Whatever, Hauwa is coming to Nigeria this Christmas.”
“Wow! That’s great news, I miss her so much.”
“Yeah you do.” The chit chat continued for another one hour before we went to see a movie. Mum had been in her room since brunch, definitely she was working. After the movie, I checked the time on my phone and it read 15:25 and Olamide had not arrived. I asked aunt Mercy and she said she had called the driver and they were just a few minutes away from Lagos. The rest of the day dragged on and it was really boring. Olamide arrived with a classmate, tired so we did not have the time to talk. The last time we were together, I had learnt a lot about him, he is a really smart boy for his age, at ten, he knew a lot, not because he was in one of the best boarding schools in Ijebu-ode but because he is a naturally inquisitive child who would stop at nothing to get answers to his questions.Just like dad, he was diagnosed of short sightedness at a really young age of five. Olamide, simply put, is a go-getter, Ayo and I had had a little discussion about his performance at school and I was impressed, my ten year old brother was the best all-round student for his set, five times in a row and he had always been the best in maths and science since he started primary school. Apart from school work, the boy has a wide knowledge of gadgets, he had taught me things I could do with my phone, my own phone o. Funny enough, he was just as playful as he was smart, but in all, I’m really glad that he’s my brother.

*********************************************************************************************************

The holiday came and went just as quickly as it had come, though short, I had so much fun with my siblings, cousins, Amaka and Dele. Aunt Yetunde drove Mayokun and I back to school on a beautiful Monday, my roomies had not resumed and I was too lazy to clean the room alone so I went to stay with Mayokun. We went shopping for extra provision the next day and aunt Mercy brought two pots of stews, one for each, later in the day. Richard and Dunsin resumed on Wednesday while Tomisin resumed on Thursday. She was angry that I had not cleaned the room but as usual, I apologised and we were friends again. Daisy resumed a week later.


TBC


Please pardon my mistake in this post.

****IRETI****

“Are you going to sulk all day because you lost a game and won three, pathetic, if you ask me.” Amaka said
“What if I want to, am I sulking with your energy?”
“Sorry o.”
“This is crazy.” Dele said after a while and we all looked at him.
“What is?” Amaka asked.
“This right here, I’m the only male here, there’s four of you and just one of me”
“You be woman wrapper na, shey I no tell you before. It all started when my sister became your best friend.” Dupe said nonchalantly and we all laughed.
“Ehehn, that reminds me, we have a get-together at John’s crib.” Mayokun said to Dele who in turn nodded.
“Today is boring o.” Amaka announced.
“What do you suggest?” Mayokun replied
“Shopping.” Trust Amaka to always opt for shopping, she has actually infected me with the virus too.
“Okay but Ireti can call her brother now.” Dele chipped in.
“I could but let’s hope he’s not busy. Oh! Lest I forget, I’m going home tomorrow because my mum and Olamide are around.”
“And where does that leave me?” Amaka asked.
“We’re going together.” I replied. I called Ayo later and he promised to take us out later that evening. So far, my asthma has been of good behaviour, I’ve not had any attack this that day, almost a month ago, but then there is the question of this dream, was it a sign about something? ‘This is ridiculous’ I thought, it was just a silly dream, I was thinking too much and nothing more. I brought out my phone and occupied myself with it till Ayo came. The rest of the day was fun, Dele and my cousins said they’d visit Amaka and I before Dele went back to school. My dad called later that night after I had received an alert of fifteen thousand naira from him and when I asked, he said it was for the successful completion of my first semester in the university, mum also sent me ten thousand. I was tired when I got home and went straight to bed.
The next day, Sunday, my driver came to pick Amaka and I around eight AM while aunt Yetunde and her family got ready for church.
“Tell your mother to go to church o.” she’d said as we climbed into the KIA sportage 2012 SUV my dad had bought to be used by Olamide and I when needed. The drive was smooth, traffic free and we got home just as aunt Mercy and Priscilla came home from second mass, they are the only regular church goers.
“Good afternoon ma.” Amaka greeted my mum when we entered the sitting room
“My dear, how are you, how is Calabar.”
“Very fine ma, not as boring as I thought it would be.”
“Very good, how are your parents?”
“They are well, they send their regards.”
“How nice of them, you girls should settle down and join me for brunch.”
“Yes mummy.” I said for the first time since we got here. Brunch was rice and chicken stew. Our house was big but can’t be compared to Igwes’ residence. Our house had a parlour with a toilet for receiving guest, a sitting room, kitchen, dining room and three bedrooms downstairs with the remaining four bedrooms, a small family/ TV room and a kitchenette upstairs. My parents, siblings and I each had a room to ourselves while Aunt Mercy and Priscilla shared one of the rooms downstairs and other guests slept in the remaining two. There was also a small two bedroom flat that housed all the male staff. Now the Igwe’s also had seven bedrooms, visitor’s room, two kitchens but their boys quarters had three bedrooms and they even had a small swimming pool, a rooftop garden (artificial grass though), a mini theatre and arcade (we called it the movie room). I just love their house.
After brunch, Amaka and I took a walk around the estate, I did not have any friends there because most of my classmates from school either lived on the island or did not live in Lagos at all. After walking for thirty minutes, we went back home. My phone rang, Richard. I was delighted to see his call, we’d spoken only once since the holiday began.
“Hey you” he said.
“Hey, how are you doing.”
“Bad, this place is dead.”
“Where”
“Home. I mean Enugu.”
“Oh! Sorry ehn, we have just one more week.”
“Lord knows I won’t stay a day longer.”
“But your family is there, aren’t they.”
“ ‘Cause they are, I don’t know nobody here, I really want to live this country.”
“No matter where you go, you’ll always be Nigerian.”
“Yeah yeah, and I don’t have to stay here, do I?”
“Your choice. Called your yesterday.”
“Yeah, I was asleep.” I laughed. I never knew Richard to be an afternoon sleeper.
“And since when do you sleep in the afternoon?” I asked still laughing.
“Since I got here.”
“Okay, what of your brother?”
“He’s not coming home, you know he’s a senior now, so he needs maximum concentration.”
“Okay, good.” I heard a female voice, laced with a slight Igbo accent, call Richard.
“Dammit. I’ve got to go know, mum needs me.”
“Okay. Later.”
“Yeah, later. Don’t miss me too much. Bye.” I laughed and hung up. Amaka looked up from her phone.
“Who was that?”
“Richard.”
“That fine boy.”
“Yeah”
“You like him.” I really don’t know if it was a question.
“Yes, he’s my friend.”
“I mean you like-like him extra. Don’t lie to me.”
“No!”Just like dad, he was diagnosed of short sightedness at a really young age of five. Olamide, simply put, is a go-getter, Ayo and I had had a little discussion about his performance at school and I was impressed, my ten year old brother was the best all-round student for his set, five times in a row and he had always been the best in maths and science since he started primary school. Apart from school work, the boy has a wide knowledge of gadgets, he had taught me things I could do with my phone, my own phone o. Funny enough, he was just as playful as he was smart, but in all, I’m really glad that he’s my brother.

*********************************************************************************************************

The holiday came and went just as quickly as it had come, though short, I had so much fun with my siblings, cousins, Amaka and Dele. Aunt Yetunde drove Mayokun and I back to school on a beautiful Monday, my roomies had not resumed and I was too lazy to clean the room alone so I went to stay with Mayokun. We went shopping for extra provision the next day and aunt Mercy brought two pots of stews, one for each, later in the day. Richard and Dunsin resumed on Wednesday while Tomisin resumed on Thursday. She was angry that I had not cleaned the room but as usual, I apologised and we were friends again. Daisy resumed a week later.


TBC


“I think you should look at how flushed your cheeks her in the mirror.” I giggled.
“Maybe I like him, maybe I don’t, I’ll have to figure it out.”
“Whatever, Hauwa is coming to Nigeria this Christmas.”
“Wow! That’s great news, I miss her so much.”
“Yeah you do.” The chit chat continued for another one hour before we went to see a movie. Mum had been in her room since brunch, definitely she was working. After the movie, I checked the time on my phone and it read 15:25 and Olamide had not arrived. I asked aunt Mercy and she said she had called the driver and they were just a few minutes away from Lagos. The rest of the day dragged on and it was really boring. Olamide arrived with a classmate, tired so we did not have the time to talk. The last time we were together, I had learnt a lot about him, he is a really smart boy for his age, at ten, he knew a lot, not because he was in one of the best boarding schools in Ijebu-ode but because he is a naturally inquisitive child who would stop at nothing to get answers to his questions.

****IRETI****

The rest of the journey was filled with laughter as Mayokun and I told stories of our experience at school, Ayo also told us some stories too. We drove straight to aunt Yetunde’s house, where I would spend the holiday. Amaka had promised to be in Lagos the next day and I was anxiously awaiting her arrival, twenty weeks apart was a lot of time, the longest we’ve ever been away from ourselves. Dupe was home when we got there, her school was also on break and we all went to see a movie around six PM. We met aunt Yetunde at home on our return and trust when I say that I felt like I had a family for the first time in my life.

*********************************************************************************************************

After dragging me out of the intruder’s sight, Mr cute let me go, my head hit the ground hard and closed my eyes from the excruciating pain, I thought my life would end right there and then, lightning bolts flashed through my head and I saw the colours; red, blue and green. I opened my eyes, after a while, and found that we were in a lavishly furnished living room, , my eye caught the settee, I rushed to the couch and sank into its soft fur and I felt super comfortable. The feeling was amazing, excitement rushed through me and I closed my eyes to savour the feeling. How we got here, I did not know but I wanted to stay here forever. I opened my eyes realising that I did not even know Mr cutes’ real name, he smiled when I did so, his face looked handsome again and I was spellbound.
“I don’t know your name.” I said.
“You don’t need to, keep calling me Mr cute.” I was shocked, this guy could read minds.
“When did I call you Mr cute?” I asked, surprise clearly written all over my face.
“That’s what you’ve saying in your mind.”
“Hmmm. So you read minds.”
“Yes. I read the minds of those people that belong to me, like you, you’ll meet them physically very soon, just be patient.”
“Okay. But why was your voice so harsh the other time?”
“It had to be because I needed to save you from that intruder.”
“Okay but why did you drag me like that.”
“You ask too many questions. Go back to real life.” He said finally and I closed my eyes only to wake up in my room. I looked round, the beautiful couch was gone and I was lying on my bed in aunt Yetunde’s house. What kind of stupid dream is this? After three weeks, the useless dream continued from where it had stopped. I hissed and got out of bed. Amaka would arrive Lagos today but she would stay with her aunt for two days and we had the rest of the holiday to ourselves. I checked the time on my phone, eleven AM. ‘I slept in’ I whispered. I had my bath quickly and changed into a short pink gown. I left the room and went to the kitchen where I met my cousins and Dele gisting.
“Look who’s awake.” Mayokun announced.
“Hi everyone.” I said as I opened the refrigerator, scouting for what to munch on.
“Jonah.” Dele said simply.
“Excuse me young man, you better don’t annoy me.” Mayokun replied.
“It’s OK Mayokun, let him talk…” I said when I had found a pack of digestives. I poured myself a glass of juice (I don’t know if they always have these things or they deliberately stocked the house because of my sweet teeth) I joined them at the kitchen table, dropped my food and stared straight into Dele’s eyes, he leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest and smiled.
“So Dele, I know you don’t like me and I don’t care, it would be in your best interest to stay on your lane.” I bit into my biscuit and leaned back in my chair too.
“You think you’re saucy abi, well bring it on, I dey ground, you go meet me for house.” Dupe whistled.
“Mayokun, won’t you say anything, see the two of them spilling bad blood.” Dupe said and she and Mayokun burst into laughter.
“Shey na over reading they worry una two abi you’re just anxious of your result or maybe Ireti is looking for whom to vent her anger on because of the short holiday.”
“Well, tell your cousin to mind her tongue.” I laughed now. So this guy was serious when I had been joking all along. True, I know he doesn’t like me, not that I care, but everything I had said was a joke, just to see his reaction, I really don’t have the time and strength to keep malice with anybody when I have other important issues in my life.
“Yo! Nigger, I’m just kidding, but honestly, you should work on your temperament, geez, you should have seen your face when I spoke.”
“Whatever.” Dele said simply and left the kitchen.
“Chai! You people ehn, you won’t kill me with laugh.” Mayokun said.
“Nah, leave him, he’ll come round, I know his type.” I said finally. The rest of that Monday came and went slowly without a call from any of my parents. I wasn’t surprised, that was the usual practice. Wednesday morning came quickly, Amaka was driven to aunt Yetundes’ by her aunt who gave a ‘little something for the holiday’ (that’s what she said). We talked for about three hours before we decided to take a stroll around the neighbourhood.

*********************************************************************************************************

“Checkmate!” I screamed as I anticipated the possibility of winning Dele in the game of chess for the fourth time in row.
“Not so fast.” He said as he moved his bishop diagonally to take my queen.
“What! ...” I yelled “Is that legal?”
“Yes my dear, google it.”
“Okay o.” we continued the game for another half hour and just as I feared, Dele did not let me win this time. He had been a good teacher so far, by allowing me win three games. My phone rang and I frowned when I saw the caller ID.
“Hello.”
“Ireti, omo mi, how are you?” my mum asked.
“Very well, thanks for asking.”
“Ayo says you’re on holiday.” I laughed, so she did not know I was done with my exam, this woman just wants me to hate her more, I thought to myself, even though she had, I expected that she knew I was throught with my first semester.
“Are you there?”
“Yes, I'm just shocked. No, tongue-tied, I don’t even know what to say to you, today is Saturday and that means I’ve been in Lagos for a week now.”
“Ehehn, congratulations my dear, so when are you resuming your second semester?”
“Next Monday.”
“But you could have called to tell me now, so I can send some money to you.2
“True but I never know where you are. Remember that I have only your personal number.” She laughed and said something that sounded like ‘Ireti yi sha.’
“Olamide is also coming to Lagos tomorrow, would you like to come home.”
“Sure, only if you would promise to be around for the whole week.”
“I promise ma, I’m even crossing my heart.” I smiled.
“Okay, see you tomorrow then.”
“Bye dear, mummy loves you.”
“Daughter is not sure if she loves mummy back.” She laughed and hung up. Let me clear the air, I love my mum, I really do but the only strain in our relationship is that she has consistently failed to recognise the fact that I am a sensitive child and being the only girl-child, I guess I need more attention from her. All she does is work and make money, I wonder if she even has any friends. I prefer aunt Yetunde, because unlike my mum, she was religious about spending time with her daughters maybe because she’s a single mum but to me it doesn’t matter, all mothers should always have time for their children.

TBC

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear readers, thank you for your patience. Work has been somehow but I've worked out a routine.
I will drop two updates everyday except on Saturdays and Sunday.
Thanks a lot, Ayomide loves you all

****IRETI****

The hostel was really quiet when I got there; most girls were not back from their exam halls. I let myself into my room and met Daisy reading. I mumbled a greeting and went straight to my bookshelf just behind the door and pulled out my physics practical notebook and started going through it, still standing.
“How was your paper?” I heard after a while. I looked round the room to be sure of the speaker.
“Were you referring to me?” I asked just to be sure that Daisy was actually talking to me. She smiled before answering.
“Obviously, there’s just two of us here.” Why was she trying to be nice? I asked myself. I was really surprised that she asked though.
“I see.” Was all my surprise permitted me to say.
“So, how was it?” she asked again, still smiling.
“It was OK, thank you.”
“Good, when is your second paper?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. When is your first?”
“Wednesday.”
“May I ask your current CGP?”
“Sure, it falls within the range of second class upper.” Now, that was a big blow. I stared, wide-eyed, at her, I surely did not see that coming. Daisy Okoro was a party girl, she was very popular in the hostel. She was a big girl on campus, she went out with big boys, men rather, I, personally, did not think much of her. I could never reconcile her with a two-one. Even if she paid in cash or kind, it wouldn’t give her such GP, definitely the girl had brains and wasn’t partying foolishly.
“What?” she asked with a slight frown.
“Uh- em- n- no- nothing.” I stuttered, trying to compose myself.
“Oh, you didn’t expect my CGP to be that good, it’s OK.”
“No, not that, I, I’m just a little surprised.”
“No wahala, partying does not mean I don’t study, even though I’ve not been studying enough.” She stretched lazily on her bed.
“Please, you have a two-one and you have not been studying, come on, that’s a brilliant result for a person of your character.” She laughed.
“Correction, I said I’ve not been studying enough.” She replied, emphasising enough.
“El oh el, whatever.” I said. I had never spoken to Daisy like this before, we were either arguing or she was ranting. I had told her uncountable times that she had to work on her bad temper and trust, I had always been sorry because she always shouted me down. I could be bitchy when I chose to, but trust me when I say I am no match for Daisy. I climbed my bed and felt hungry all of a sudden. I racked my brain and mentally settled for cornflakes, I felt too lazy to cook. Some minutes after eating, Tomisin walked in, smiling.
“Good afternoon roomies.” She greeted.
“Hello, welcome.” I said
“It’s not even noon yet, let alone afternoon, English sha.” Daisy answered.
“My bad, thanks for the correction o madam dictionary oh sorry, senior Daisy.”
“You’re welcome. How was your exam? This one that you’re smiling, trust you slayed it.”
“Shoo! Since when do you care about my progress? Anyways, since you asked, it was fantastic, very sweet. Thanks for asking.”
“Yeah, I’ve always known you to be smart, truth is I don’t care.” Daisy replied with an evil smile. Tomisin hissed and turned to face me.
“Better pikin, how was your exam jare.” She asked as she went to her cupboard to check for food.
“Very good, thanks.”
“Ola! Why na? You did not cook.”
“I just came in not too long ago.”
“Ehehn, but you’ve taken cornflakes abi is that not your cup? No wahala na, me sef go just arrange something for myself but if you think I would cook today, you dey joke.”
Okay, before I go on, let me tell you a summarized version of Tomisin and Daisy’s history. First, they had both lived together in Tomisin’s first year because Daisy could not get accommodation and had had to squat with a friend, Tomisin’s bunkmate. According to Tomisin, she was the only sane one in the room while Daisy and her friends had been club girls, they drank, disobeyed hostel rules and worst of all, they picked up fights with her for no just cause. Trust Tomisin to talk back, but there were five of them and one of her. Now, their fight had started on a fateful day in the second semester when Daisy had worn Tomisin’s blouse and the new sandal she just bought to a club. It would have been good if Daisy had returned it immediately but instead she had travelled to Ibadan with some of her girls for a party and had taken the things with her. Tomisin, somehow, bottled up the anger and uncapped it when she returned four days later. It had been a huge fight that had them tearing each other’s clothes. Apparently, Daisy had called the clothes cheap and had thrown them at Tomisin. This act greatly infuriated her and she landed Daisy a dirty slap. Ofcourse, nobody likes to be slapped especially by a girl two years your junior in school and that was how the fight began, it ended when some gbeborun girls (according to Tomisin) had gone to call the porters. Surprisingly, they were not reported to the DSA, as they had threatened, but had only been warned, Tomisin added that she was sure Daisy had gone to bribe them. A semester later, the two fighters were now paired in the same room. Tomisin told me she did not want trouble and did her best to avoid Daisy to the barest minimum. Now, back to present day;
Tomisin made herself a bowl of cornflakes and went straight to bed. I know Tomisin and I knew sure she meant every word when she had said she wasn’t cooking today. I scanned our foodstuff and decided on beans. I revised my physics practical note as I cooked, the lecturer had said the exam would be conducted in three batches with one hour allotted to each batch since the school did not have enough facilities to take us all at once. When I was done cooking, I went to Dunsin’s room to sleep, the plan for Tomisin to taste the food and if there was anything wrong with it, I would not be on ground for her to tease me.


The semester had been wonderful, new friends and experiences, two wonderful roommates and ofcourse my gang members; Richard and Dunsin.
“This holiday is too short.” I whined as Ayo drove Mayokun and I home on a beautiful Saturday morning (a day after Mayojun’s last paper).
“Me I like it like that o.” Mayokun answered.
“I know you are a bookaholic now, why won’t you like it.”
“Dele is coming tomorrow.”
“Are you dating that boy?” Ayo asked.
“Chineke! No o, how would you think that, me and Dele dating ke, God forbid when there are fine fine boys in school. Ayo please don’t say that again o.” Ayo and I laughed.
“But you sha like him.” Ayo replied.
“Ehn na, am I supposed to hate him? He’s my bestie as in from way back in primary four.”
“The love is strong then.” Ayo teased.


TBC

****IRETI****

***********************************************************************************************************

I sat alone in the lecture theatre, reading. I didn’t notice when the cute guy in blue jeans, black shirt, sneakers and fez cap walked in. he sat right next to me. I looked up briefly, I felt like I knew him from way back, I was carried away by his handsome face, I stared at him and smiled shyly, he had the cutest smile I have ever seen, even better than Richard’s, I wondered what his voice would sound like. We didn’t say a word to eachother, we just stared and smiled but I felt we were having the best conversation ever, the chemistry between us was something else, I tried to recall where, when and how I met this handsome young man and then I became afraid, I feared he would hurt me somehow, I looked deep into his eyes and I as much as I trusted him, I was still afraid that something terrible would happen. Some minutes later, I felt a light tap on my shoulder, I wanted to look at the intruder but this cutie had me spell bound so I shrugged off the intruder’s hand and Mr cutes’ smile widened to a grin. I was happy, I felt like I had just won a million dollars just by making this cutie smile so wide. The intruder touched me, gently, again and the fear in me quadrupled, I felt Mr cute would do something drastic if I looked at this persistent intruder. Mr cute pulled me to himself, but my curiosity got the better of me and I turned to look at the intruder. He was dark-skinned, not too tall and had a horrible dress sense, how could he have worn white from head to toe, from the fez cap to the round-necked t-shirt, pants, sneakers and even the wrist-watch. I hissed immediately, Mr cute smiled and intruder looked down shyly. There was something calm about him but his presence made me uncomfortable and I was greatly irritated.
“What do you want?” I barked.
“I love you.” Was the simple reply I got, I was pissed, what effrontery, how dare he disrespect me in this manner. I clapped my hands thrice.
“Are you out of your mind? In fact, you are crazy. How can you love me when I don’t know you and I’m very sure you don’t know me too.”
“I- I- I know you a- and I- I want you to be a pa- pa- part of my family.” my whole being shook with anger, I wanted to slap some sense into this idiot’s head. Mr cute whispered that it was time to leave, I started packing my books but he was impatient, he stood and half dragged me up with him. At that instant, the intruder started crying.
“Please, don’t go with him.” I was confused, what kind of mumu person is this? I asked myself, I was not expecting him to cry, Mr cute hissed and ordered me out of the class by pointing to the exit, when I did not move, because I was held by a force greater than gravity, he pulled me by my hair, I screamed and he slapped me twice, I thought I’d pass out but somehow, and with a strength greater than mine, I was still standing. The intruder begged me with his eyes and all of a sudden, there was blood coming from his head, palms, feet and his side. He begged me to call for his help but I couldn’t speak. Just then, Mr cute laughed wickedly and said, in a voice I could never reconcile with his face.
“She’s mine!” he laughed again and dragged me out of the class with my hair, the pain was awful but I did not struggle and the blood continued, the intruder was soaked in his whole blood, strangely, the blood did not drop to the ground but every single white thing he wore had turned blood red. He was saying something I could not hear, I tried to read his lips but the pain I was feeling would not let me concentrate. I closed my eyes and resigned to fate.


I woke with a start. I was sweating profusely. I looked round the dark room trying to figure out where I was and realised I was in my room, I wondered why Tomisin had not left a lamp on. I searched for and found my phone under the pillow. It was just four-thirty AM. I looked round the room again, this time with my phone’s flashlight and hissed. It was just a dream, I smacked myself mentally, I should have known, I’m not that stupid to allow some idiot, no matter how handsome he is, to lay a finger on me and go scot free, NEVER! Iretiola Cole is not that type of girl. But it felt so real and my head was aching seriously.
I jumped out of bed and noticed Tomisin’s bed was empty. It was a Monday morning, the day I was writing my very first paper in the university, I needed a clear head. I was on my way to the bathroom when my phone rang. Richard.
“Hi morning.” He sounded excited.
“Morning.” I replied simply.
“Anxious?”
“Nope, you?”
“Hell no!”
“It’s obvious, you sound super excited.”
“Excited is an understatement, I want this over and done with, don’t you want that too?”
“Yeah, maybe, Dunsin will kill us if she hears this conversation.”
“Tell me what I don’t know, I’m optimistic of a good performance from her.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I just called to know if you’re awake and since you are, I’ll just leave you to get ready, we’ll talk later.”
“Okay, bye.”
"Tired of me already?" i laughed
"I guess i'll just call Dunsin instead, shouldn't I?"
"Oh yes, you should, goodluck with your CHM."
"Thanks, bye"
I had my bath quickly and half ran back to my room. Tomisin was getting dressed while Daisy from all indications wanted to cook. I left for the exam hall in company of Dunsin and Tomisin, we went with only our ID cards, worn around our necks, our course registration forms and our writing materials. Tomisin had advised against carrying bags or mobile phones or even wearing clothes with pockets just so we would not take any incriminating things to the hall. The paper was good, being a three-hour paper, I was done a liitle over an hour after I started but according to Tomisin's advice, I sat for another one hour, cross-checking my script, I was confident of what I had written. After submitting, I tried to linger around to wait for Dunsin but the security men on duty did not allow so I walked back to the hostel alone.


TBC

****IRETI****

We found a class to read and settled down, I was really hungry so I went to eat in one of the canteens on campus. As I walked back to the class, I was overcome by fear all of a sudden, a fear so sudden I didn’t know what I was afraid of, I felt that someone or something was watching me, I had a feeling something terrible was about to happen but to whom, when, how and why was what I could not figure out. I looked around me and realised that it was already dark, students were scattered around me with their bags, cardigans, socks, halos and what not. I met Dunsin sleeping and Richard busy with his phone, that was the usual practice, sleep or play till ten PM, read alone from ten till two AM and then we test ourselves till four or if something was not clear to someone, there would be a short tutorial. Sometimes, our course mates organise overnight tutorials. I laid my head on the desk and fell into a troubled sleep. Richard woke me around ten-thirty but I felt as though I had just closed my eyes when in actual fact, I had slept for, roughly, two hours. Reading that night turned out to be a waste of time because I found it really difficult to concentrate and I had no idea why so I decided to sleep till it was time to go back to the hostel after wasting my time for about four three hours.
Dunsin woke me some minutes past five AM; a group of our classmates had hijacked Richard for a tutorial. I yawned loudly and stretched lazily before I followed her out of the class. At the entrance, a girl was giving out flyers for a program organized by one of the campus fellowships, most likely her church. She handed me one and I declined while Dunsin accepted hers. On our way, Dunsin read out the content, it was an invitation to a special Sunday service, tagged ON EAGLE’S WINGS, where prayers for a successful examination will be said. Personally, I thought it was stupid and funny because they were, indirectly that is, encouraging people not to read by feeding them with baseless assumptions that ‘God is on the throne’. I laughed out loud and hard when she was done reading.
“Share the joke, what is so funny?” she asked.
“What you just read of course, it is hilarious, I must say, and I’m being very serious, these people are a joke…”
“Shut up jare. You shouldn’t talk like that; never say such about a church, ever! Aren’t you a Christian?”
“My dear, being a Christian does not mean I am stupid or that I should be fooled by programmes like this, all they want is more money in their offering bags plus, they are students, they need money to eat during the exam period, many of them cannot afford a meal anymore, take for example the girl that gave you that flyer, she looked so haggard and…”
“Eish! Ola, o to e, gbenu soun, o de beru Olorun for once (Ola, it is okay, keep quiet, fear God for once). May God forgive you and deliver you. Don’t you know we all need prayers to back up our reading?” I smiled.
“Yes. We need prayers but do I have to go for a special exam prayer for that?” I asked, not wanting to argue with Dunsin.
“Na you sabi, as for me, I’m attending sha.”
“Okay, goodluck with that.” I said finally. By now we were at the hostel gate and we parted ways. I let myself into the room and found Tomisin reading again, the girl just would not give in easily. I decided against my weaker judgement to have my bath before the hostel was awake with girls hurrying off to the library or to tutorials then I’d go back to sleep. I threw my bag on my bed, took off my clothes and tied my towel, picked my bucket and toilet bag and out to the bathroom. I rushed my bath and went back to my room, I changed into my favourite pink shorts and a white tank top, climbed my bed, retrieved my phone from the side pocket of my back pack and started checking my social media accounts.
“What are we eating this morning?” Tomisin asked after a while. I shrugged my shoulders indifferently, I was in no mood to talk, I just wanted to sleep.
“The soup I cooked yesterday made me purge o.” she continued, I found it hard to ignore her.
“What type of soup?”
“Na egusi o, but instead of ugwu, I used that Yoruba vegetable.” I laughed at Tomisin’s confession.
“You know how that vegie makes you purge. Let’s cook something else then.”
“Like what, me I don’t have any money o.”
“I’ll pay.”
“Why did you tell your aunt to stop bring soup sef?”
“She’s not my aunt, she’s hired help.” I never referred to aunt Mercy and Priscilla has maids or house helps because they had been with us for quite a long time and were treated like family but I still found it awkward to refer to them as an aunt, I just thought it was inappropriate.
"Whatever, if she was still bringing the soup, we'd save more money."
"I can call her this Sunday."
"Do what you like, I sha have to eat this morning." I flung my ATM card at her and laid on my side, hoping for sweet sleep but then, Richard's smiling face popped up in my subconcious, I smiled, it was a welcome distraction even though I had no idea where it had come from. I was still thinking of him when I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

TBC

**** IRETI ****

I decided to give myself a treat, shopping has always been my escape route from stress anytime, any day. I went back into my room and got dressed before I went to Dunsin’s room. Trust Dunsin, the shopping freak, to never let an opportunity pass her by, I was so sure she would go with me. I met her cooking when I got there and waited till she was done. We bought clothes and accessories and more make-up for Dunsin. Money has never been my problem because my parents send me fifteen thousand naira each, every month, aunt Yetunde and Ayo always give me cash whenever they come around, most of which I spent on impromptu shopping like this. My foodstuff is regular and calculated; on the first day of every month, aunt Mercy or Priscilla brought raw food and money to buy other provisions. So you see, the cash my parents send to me is a little too much for a 17 year old 100 level student.
We left the store some minutes past six PM. My phone rang just as we got to the hostel gate. Richard.
“Hi” I said
“Hi, are you busy?”
“Uh, not really, why?”
“I want to talk you .”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, I need to pack my bag first.”
“Actually, I need you to bring real food.”
“Ah! I’ve not cooked o.”
“Ask Dunsin, she should have, shouldn’t she?” I looked sideways at Dunsin.
“I’ll ask her.”
“Ok, please, take your time, there’s no rush.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks.” He hung up. Dunsin had already guessed who I had been talking and she started singing.
“… iyawo mi Aduke, ma toju e ayanfe mi…” I smiled and walked past her. I really don’t know why she thought Richard and I were dating, much as I know, she probably has a crush on him.
“Richard wants to eat o.”
“So, am I his girlfriend?”
“You know I can’t cook and besides, I have not cooked anything today.”
“Ok o. Ask your oyinbo boyfriend if he can eat palm-oil concoction o.” I laughed at her referral to Richard as oyinbo.
“Ok mummy, my oyinbo boyfriend will eat it.”
“Yeye girl, thanks for the clothes and most especially the lipstick. I’m ready when you are.” I smiled as I climbed the stairs and walked down the corridor to my room. Do I like Richard? I asked myself. Ofcourse I like him, who wouldn’t with his; tall lean features, not-too-dark complexion, very handsome face free of pimples and the likes, quiet, gentle, humble and caring nature, sense of humour, sweet laughter and most important of all (to me though), his intelligence. But honestly, I like Richard just as a friend and not in any special way, I mean, Richard is just fun to be with, anyone who got close to him would have no choice but to fall in love with him. Many times, people had teased us about our closeness in class and as usual, Richard always laughed it off but now, it was really getting to me. I dropped the shopping bag in a corner of the room, took my clothes and went to take a shower. I changed into one of my jogger pants and a tank top when I was done, I shoved my books into my blue back pack, wore a pair of black sandals and left the room, making sure I had my cardigan and halo. I met Dunsin on the staircase, coming to my room and we both went to Richard’s hostel. He was surprised to see us ready for the night’s reading. We went to our department and sat on a concrete bench in the quadrangle; Dunsin and I were busy with our phones while Richard was eating.
By seven PM, Richard was done.
“Ola” he called.
“Yeah… what’s up” I answered, not looking up from my phone.
“I’m scared.”
“Okay, about what?”
“Put the phone away, will you? Please.”
“Okay, then this thing must be serious.” I put the phone in my pants pocket.
“You heard what I said, didn’t you?” he asked in a low voice.
“I did but I don’t understand why you are scared.”
“I fear that I won’t make my papers, I feel like I’m being over confident, like I what I think a know is a mirage, a shadow or maybe some lecturers have marked my matric number and have made up their minds to fail me because I’ve been passing all this while, I don’t know, I just feel like I’m not fully prepared for this examination, I…” I smiled, I just could not imagine Richard I mean, a whole Richard, saying what I just heard, just then, Dunsin burst into laughter and clapped her hands thrice before she stood to face Richard.
“Oro omo Richard yi ti su mi…” she said in Yoruba meaning I am tired of this Richard. “… I mean, how can you be saying this kind of rubbish? Ok, if you’re talking like this, what should Ola say or even me gan (pause) okay, oti ye mi (I now understand) na over reading dey worry you, you don read sote you can’t wait for the exam to come and go abi which kain yeye talk be dis at this time of the day?...” she would have continued but I had to stop her.
“Hey, it’s Ok Dunsin, I’m sure that’s not what Richard meant and maybe his problem is actually over-reading.” Richard had been smiling all along and I wondered why.
“I was only joking my dear Dunsin, can’t you take a simple joke, something to ease the exam tension, c’mon, you need to chill girl.”
“Better.” Dunsin replied firmly.


I'm so sorry about the delay, I was out of data. Thanks a lot

****IRETI****

I felt someone shaking me. Oh God! Tomisin has come again o. I thought. I turned on my side to look at her.
“Sleepy joe, wake up jare. All the sleep you having been sleeping since yesterday is not enough abi.”
“Do you ever sleep? And what time did you come back yesterday?”
Why am I answering you sef, my friend carry those lazy bones of yours and gerrup jare. Yeye girl.” I made a face at her. She had a bottle of coke on the table. She sat on Daisy’s bed, pulled the table to herself and placed the LED lamp she had been holding on it. Sometimes, I wonder why Tomisin read at all, she knows so much already. Not only had she maintained a first class right from her first semester in Uni, she was the second best student in her class and was among number four among the overall best students in her set. The girl is just a genius, I envied her but she never let it get into her head or let it deter her from reading. The girl is just clear-headed, she had a goal and was determined to reach and even surpass it. She was so good that she tutored seniors who had carry-over courses in her department, isn’t that amazing. Her result had come as a shock to me when I had accompanied her to check it earlier in the semester. She is one of the six ladies in the two hundred level Architecture department, her current CGPA stands at an amazing 4.63 just 0.03 points lower than the best student in her class. According to her, that was only the beginning because her initial target had been to make a first class, which she has met, but now she would not relent until she had hit 4.70 points.
I reckoned Tomisin wanted the best for me, that’s why she always woke me whenever she was ready to read, she was never selfish with her knowledge and I learnt a lot from her. I sat up on my bed, checked the time on my watch before I jumped down.
“Did you eat the spaghetti I left for you?” I asked and she laughed.
“That small thing, I can count the strands on one finger. Thank God Samuel bought food for me.” I smiled. Tomisin had introduced me to Samuel two weeks after I resumed school. He is a final year student of civil engineering and Tomisin’s boyfriend. They had been dating for eight months now and were really fond of each other. The good thing is that they never let their relationship distract their academics.
“So you were out with Samuel?”
“No ma, please pick your books and read, na you never get G.P o.”
“Puh-lease, don’t tell me you’re blushing.”
“What did that Richard of a boy give you to drink, I think you are high.” She replied smiling sheepishly.
“Maybe I should get myself a boyfriend too so that I can smile like a mumu when his name is mentioned.”
“What will now happen to Richard o.”
“I’ll tell him I’ve upgraded.”
“Okay, goan get na, sha don’t let it affect your studies.”
“Yes mummy, and for the record, Richard and I are plain friends and study partners.” Tomisin rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, plain friends right, I get it…” I sat on her bed, checking my whatsapp messages and she threw a bottle of sprite at me.
“… Samuel bought that for you.”
“It has to be Samuel because I know you cannot, out of the blues, buy something for me, do thank him on my behalf.” I mocked.
“Thank God you know (pause) do you want to read or do I have to seize your phone first?” I smiled and put the phone away, picked my books from the foot of the bed and started reading, revising actually. We read for another three hours or thereabout before we both retired to bed around six-thirty AM, it is our lecture free week so we can sleep and wake up whenever we want to. I woke up at exactly quarter past nine and Tomisin was already out again, she was probably at the library. I got up and got ready for my bath, I was sure my breakfast was settled because Tomisin must surely eat before going to read. I was right, she cooked yam porridge garnished with a lot of smoked fish, no wonder Samuel couldn’t get enough of her, her cooking is just awesome and I am glad to be learning from a pro. After eating, I decided to browse the internet since I am not going to the library today. Around eleven-thirty, Dunsin came to my room with her books, I was not in the mood to read so I was glad when she climbed my bed and read quietly on her own. I don’t know when I fell asleep but I know Dunsin woke me around two-thirty to explain something in chemistry to her. After the short tutorial, Dunsin went back to her room and I was really hungry. Just as I finished eating my bread and butter, my phone rang. Mom. What does she want this time? I thought as I swiped my phone’s screen to answer the call.
“Hi! Mom.”
“Ireti, we are Yoruba, we greet elders saying hi.”
“Correction taken and please don’t call me Ireti, I am Ola.”
“Okay madam Ola, how are you? But you do know that Ireti is a fine name.” I rolled my eyes.
“I am well, very well indeed, thanks for asking three weeks after we last spoke.” She laughed.
“I’m sorry dear, work has been hectic. You know you can be a drama queen sometimes.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Work is always hectic.”
“I’m in Nigeria now.”
“Oh! Good for you.”
“Haba! Don’t sound like that now.”
“Okay, how do you want me to sound?” she sighed.
“Never mind, would you like to come home and spend some time with me?”
“Uh, that would have been a good idea last week.”
“How do you mean?”
“I don’t believe this mom, today is Thursday…”
“And?”
“… and I’m writing my first paper on Monday. I told you, I even sent you the exam time-table on whatsapp, when will you ever be sensitive to (pause) you know what, right now, I need all the concentration I can get from studying in school.”
“Okay, I really hope you’ll forgive me some day.”
“I’m sorry for raising my voice.”
“It’s okay. Have you heard from your dad?”
“Nope.”
“I’ll tell him to call you.”
“It’s not necessary, since he doesn’t think he should call, don’t bother him.” She laughed.
“Ireti! Sorry Ola! You ehn, has Ayo called?”
“These days, I’m beginning to feel that Ayo has been infected by the same virus that infected you and dad.”
“You know Ayo handles your dad’s business in Nigeria, that’s why he’s so busy.”
“I see, but can I ask you a quick question, what exactly does dad do because I honestly do not have an idea.”
“He’s originally an engineer, construction and consulting but now, he’s going into politics so he has the opportunity to win bigger contracts.”
“Wow! Nice portfolio.” I exclaimed sarcastically.
“Your dad is planning to retire soon though.”
“Wow! Great news, I’m so happy for him.” I was being sarcastic again, mom just chuckled.
“You know, our lives and family would be really boring without all this your drama. Anyways, I trust you’re fully prepared for Monday.”
“Sure, my education has been my family and so I cannot disappoint myself.”
“Okay, goodluck, I’ll come around on Sunday.”
“Okay, bye.” I hung up. I really don’t understand what spirit takes over me whenever I talk to my mom and she’s always so calm and collected, she never raised her voice. Maybe that was what always got me angry. Images began to float before my face, immediately, I knew an asthma attack was on the way but where on earth did I keep my inhaler; I got to feet and started searching for it before the pain began. For some reason, I don’t understand, I had not been taking my drugs regularly and I know the infection must be really bad now. Luckily, I found it in my cupboard just as I started to gasp for air. I crashed to the ground and closed my eyes and waited for three painful seconds as I continuously pumped the inhaler content into my mouth. Finally, it passed and I was safe again. I really need to take my medication regularly now because of the approaching examination. I needed to breathe in fresh air; I got to my feet slowly, walked to the balcony (still the corridor) and rested my head on the railings. It was already four PM and Richard would probably call about eight or nine, which was enough time for me to recover.


TBC

****IRETI****

After about an hour, Richard tapped me.
“I’m famished, aren’t you?” he whispered.
“I got us something to munch, they’re in my bag.”
“Sweet, let’s eat then.” We stood, Dunsin smiled and winked at me, she had always thought we were dating, I smiled back. We went outside the library and snacked in silence, both of us busy with our phones.
“You’re confident about your performance, aren’t you?” Richard said after a while, his phone, now, out of sight.
“Of course I am!”
“Good because we don’t need fear at this stage, do we?”
“No. That would be bad.”
“I’m glad to hear that. We’re not late for the tutorial yet, are we?”
“Nope, it starts by three.”
“Okay, we’d better get going.” He said tilting his head towards the reading hall. I returned my bag to its place on the shelf. At exactly two-thirty, all three of us signed out of the library for the day and walked towards the school gate, on way to one of course mate’s apartment for the tutorial. Personally, I don’t think Richard needs any tutoring because he knew so much already and many a time, he explained difficult topics Dunsin and I, the whole class sometimes, plus he has always been among the top three during tests. When we got to the school gate, we boarded a bus to our destination. The tutorial lasted for approximately four hours. Richard stayed behind, chatting with some guys while Dunsin and I left immediately. I met my roommate, Daisy, sleeping and I was surprised because the whole hostel was reading and she was lazing around when exams were just six days away. Daisy never really stayed in the hostel and whenever she was around, she was always complaining about one thing or the other. I went straight to Tomisin’s cupboard to check for food, there was none. I sihed loudly and sat on Tomisin’s bed thinking of what to eat and I decided on spaghetti since we had a little stew. In the meantime, I made myself a cup of cornflakes. I carried the stove and pot to the kitchen and went back for the spaghetti, oil, salt, matches and a novel I was reading in a small bowl. It was not news that a simple mistake or let me say carelessness could you a whole meal. Many times, people have had their pots of food and their stoves (in rare cases though) disappear mysteriously from the kitchen. I placed the stove on the concrete slab and lit it. I rinsed the pot at the tap and put in a little water and a few drops of oil before I placed it on the stove and covered it. When the water was hot, I broke the spaghetti into it and salt. I sat on one of the iron chairs in the kitchen and continued reading my novel. In fifteen minutes, my food was ready and I was proud of myself because I was learning how to cook really fast, kudos to Tomisin and Dunsin for being very good and patient and tolerant teachers. I carried the food upstairs first and then went back for the rest, I don’t trust my hostel girls when it comes to food, especially spaghetti.
I dished my food and just as I settled down to eat, Daisy woke up and yawned loudly, lazily. My first instinct was to greet her but I didn’t, she did not deserve my greeting and so I continued eating, not minding her until she hissed really loudly.
“What rubbish is this again? When will you girls learn that I don’t like to share my personal space ehn? How many times do I have to repeat myself? Abi are you girls so dumb ni?” she was facing me now while I stared blankly at her and continued eating.
“See the person I’m talking to.” She snapped her fingers in my face.
“Me? I did not hear my name.”
“So I have to mention your name before you know I’m talking to you, abi who else is in this room…” I shrugged my shoulders “… you know you are trying me in this room, especially you.” She said pointing at me. I smiled and continued eating. I was not trying to be disrespectful, the truth was that I was not ready for an argument, I was physically and mentally drained. She hissed again, picked her bucket and soap case and left the room. Someone knocked and pushed the door open, I smiled as Mayokun walked in with a small hand bag.
“Thank God o, is your spag remaining? I dey H gan.” She did not wait for me to answer her as she was already dishing her own food. She joined me on my bed after dropping her bag carelessly on the floor.
“I saw your roomie going to the bathroom now…” I nodded. “… she was frowning o.”
“Yeah, I know, she just likes wahala. She’s been here for three day now.”
“Abi, omolomo, she wants to coman read na.” I raised my eyebrows.
“It would have been better if she was actually reading. I’m one hundred percent sure she’s attending a party or a club.” Mayokun laughed her sweet laughter and I smiled.
“Ah! Ireti! You girls should give her the benefit of doubt once in a while na, I’m sure Tomisin would have said the same thing.”
“No. Tomisin would have said worse but then, fact is, she doesn’t deserve it. See, let’s forget about her. How was your day?”
“Very productive. This food is sweet o, you cooked it?”
“The spaghetti, you know I can’t cook stew.” Mayokun rolled her eyes.
“Have you tried to?”
“No.”
“So how sure are you that you can’t cook when you’ve never attempted to, try first.” We ate the rest of our meal in silence. Mayokun did the dishes before she left for her hostel. I took a quick shower and slept off as soon as I laid on my bed. The dayhad been eventful and productive too.

TBC
So sorry for the slow updates, I am yet to figure out a routine.

Bollie29:
Loving the story n more updates please

Thanks, updates a sorta slow because of work, but I'll work out a routine.

MhizDherbee:
Gr8 story! m jez sad dat i wuld haf 2 wait 4 d completion of d story... *sadface*

Um, this is a summarized version, I'm still working on the book and I want to publish it on paper back. Thanks