nice one

I decided to meet with one of her schoolmates,a girl named ayomide who had been in her class since she moved from kano.

We decided to meet on a saturday in a cafe in my area.

"So,tell me all you know about laila"I asked

"Well,"she started,"she's very quiet in class,immediately the bell goes she runs out of class."

"She runs out of class?Does that mean she doesnt stay for lessons?"

She laughed slightly,"She has never stayed for extra lessons for one day and if we ask her where she is going she ignores us so we've given up"

I was stunned,i couldnt believe what i was hearing,for the past four years,she always came late from school and i simply waved it off as she going for extra lessons.My mouth went dry

"When do your lessons end?"

"3:00 pm and extra lessons 5:30pm,"she looked at her time and said she had to leave before leaving she added

"Honestly i think something is wrong with her...i was close to her in js2 and she used to talk about you...she said she liked you but then all of a sudden she changed....she became withdrawn and quiet...you have to do something fanan,"she held my hand.

When she left,I felt dejected,something was wrong with laila and when she needed me most i abandoned her...I stood up to leave but my head was spinning...I couldnt just put a finger to it but i made up my mind to find answers to my questions sooner or later.

****************
Lessons finished early...since it was NECO we were preparing for most people were not serious with the classes.
I barely listened throughout the class,my mind was on only one thing.
The bell went for the end of class,I sprung out of my seat with force and as i was heading for the door...I heard my name


"fanan"I didnt need to turn to know who it was..it was Enitan.

"what?" the disgust on my face was evident as i turned to face her.

She started talking about how i rarely had time for our relationship,that i no longer called her or took her shopping...i sighed and checked the time...it was2:15,
lailas lessons ended 3pm

Enitan was wasting my time and i was barely listening to her...I thought fast.

"Dont you love me anymore?" I sighed as she asked the question and thanked God for saving me.

I turned to face her well "Enitan Adegoke, I don't love you....I'm sorry" Immediately i ran out of the class.

I got a cab quickly and drove to ikeja,I checked the time ,it was 2:30...I prayed there will be no traffic on the way.

We got to her school...I told the cab driver what i wanted to do,at first he frowned and shook his head..then i brought out some money and gave him,he smiled and nodded his head.

I checked the time it was 3:00 pm..i waited for her to come out. As i was waiting,a jeep sped past me and stopped few metres from the gate of the school..then laila came out and ran inside the jeep.

I got into the cab and told the driver to follow the jeep...as we were going i looked at the plate number of the car and my breath caught.

The number on the plate was familiar, too familiar.
My head was spinning again...my mouth was getting dry......why did Dad come to pick laila?

touchmeder:
Ure welcome. Is this ur 1st story? I know how I felt when I started writing. All d best!

yup it is....ive written some down but its the first im sharing...was inspired by Nl writers...

Laila had grown up to be very beautiful . Her hair was longer,and she was more curvy compared to when she first arrived.She was a class lower than me in school but she was very intelligent and smart .
I had never thought her to be the party type so i found it shocking that i saw her in the hotel.

My phone rang .....it was enitan ...i didnt pick.
I had left the party early because i wanted to confirm that laila was at home and i just couldnt concentrate on the party....but laila was not home ....i checked the time ...it was 9pm...my heart was beating fast....i was pacing in the sitting room ....i glanced at the wall clock .....10 pm

I ran to my parents bedroom to talk to mum ...but she was fast asleep....i looked at her and for the first time i realized that she looked older than her age...she looked stressed,sad,worried.
Tears filled my eyes because i didnt know what was going on.
I heard the door close and immediately ran down the stairs...It was laila .

She was in her uniform and looked at me with her sad eyes before going up the stairs .I noticed she limped as she walked .


I wanted to ask her what was wrong ....i wanted her to share her problems with me like the old times .
I missed the old laila.Few minutes later my dad came in.....He didnt say a word to me as he went up the stairs...i sighed i was used to it

I went to her room and placed my ears to the door ....I heard her sobbing.I felt sad for some reason and i vowed to get to the bottom of this.


Little did i know that what i was going to discover was bigger than what i expected.

touchmeder:
I just wanted to encourage you. This is a lovely story you are writing. Just try to work on the layout and spacing. If you can give a space between conversations twil b cool. It makes ur work clear n neater. Following

tnx will work on that

4 years passed and I became used to what was happening in the house.My parents were now like judes parents...always fighting...I rarely saw laila and i forgot about her.


"O boy! party dey dis nyt o!"Jude tapped me ..We were all done with our waec and had written jamb so Jude and I went for parties .It was very easy for me to sneak out of the house to go for parties .Mummy never noticed, dad never cared ....all i had to do was pay ibong some money .

Partying wasn't new to me anymore infact my classmates called me king of parties ...i had used and dumped many girls...slept with them .I had become something that my mum couldnt imagine but did anyone care for me?
"where d party dey now ? "
"white towers hotel"
"alright trust me I will be there "


I got home in the afternoon took a shower and slept...i woke up by 7pm ...and hurriedly dressed ....I checked lailas room . ...she wasnt there ...I sighed and checked my parents room ...my mum was praying and crying hysterically as she prayed .
This wasnt the first time...sometimes she would start in the middle of the night and Dad will leave the room and go to the guest room or sometimes he would take his car keys and zoom off to a club to drink...

I creeped past their bedroom and ran out of the house...I called Jude that i was ready and we went to the hotel ..


The hotel was huge and very beautiful .....a lot of important people came there to lodge .We got to the reception and i let Jude do the talking while i looked around.....i was admiring the infrastructure of the hotel when i caught sight of her ....I didnt see her for too long but the lady i saw definitely looked like laila....she was dressed in a short gown and went up the elevator...Although I didnt see her face i was sure it was laila...I was about to go after her when Jude held me and told me that the venue was downstairs...

I couldnt concentrate in the party i kept asking myself if it was laila over and over again...if it was really her then what was she looking for in the hotel?

It happened all of a sudden ,we just stopped talking .She stopped smiling and didnt look at me again .I wondered what was wrong....what i had done wrong.

"Mum have you noticed that laila doesnt talk again " i asked my mum after one of her daily devotions
"its puberty" was all she said before going to make breakfast.
I sighed...was it only me that noticed that something was wrong?



Very soon i rarely saw laila in the house ..she always came back late from school ,she always left early,infact apart from the fact that she always did her chores i wouldnt have known she still lived with us. I tried to talk to dad but as usual he waved me off. Even on weekends when i thought i would see her she was never around ,Mum said she went for extra lessons. Sunday was the only day that i could really see her..but that wasn't enough for me because no matter how much i tried to talk to her she avoided me..I wondered what kind of puberty she was going through.


The silence in the house became heavier ..Mum spent more time in church , Dad spent more time in clubs,laila was rarely around ....i could only wonder what was wrong.
I became lonely and decided to go back to my former friends Jude and Enitan who i had abandoned ....and they showed me the fun side of life.For a while i forgot laila .... forgot she existed . . i now wish i didnt .....I wish i could take back the hands of time to the day she first arrived ....I would have bundled her up and sent her back to kano at least she would have been safe ....safe from that monster...

I was feeling weird ..my tummy was hurting and i felt like vomiting .I ran upstairs to vomit , my mum followed me,when she saw i vomited she quickly cleaned me up and told me to never drink again .I nodded my head as she began to quote scriptures from the bible,i asked her how come they were back so early and she said they were done with what they went to do in kano so they decided to come a day earlier....i sighed....why did it have to be today....i looked towards the door of my room and saw her standing there looking at me like she was studying a book...i smiled at her and she smiled back ....that night instead of seeing enitan in my dreams i saw laila .

We quickly became friends,always playing together chasing each other... I forgot totally about enitan and jude....laila was all that was on my mind .

"fanan"she called me in her cute hausa accent
"yes laila"
"why dont you talk to your dad"
I looked up, i was surprised she asked ,even my mum has never asked why i dont talk to dad .
"nothing"i replied.
Then she told me stories of how her parents and younger brother had died in the bomb blast .She was so sad as she told me the story of her dad and mum.

Her mum had just given birth to her younger brother and they were coming from the hospital when the blast occured .She said she was supposed to follow her dad to the hospital but she couldnt because of schooll.
She told me how much she loved school and hoped to be a business woman .She told me different stories and i listened with rapt attention

Very soon i became fond of her and we were always together...Soon school resumed but we were not going to the same school ...she was going to a private school around my area in ikeja while i schooled in magodo .We saw less of each other but we were still close...until all of a sudden she stopped talking to me ....and the once cheerful laila became a shadow of herself

My head cleared when my eyes met that of my mum...she was clearly disappointed
I looked at her again my mind was spiralling ...wasnt she supposed to come tomorrow ...i thought i was imagining things until a hot slap landed on my face then i realized this was real .She pulled me out and i was so embarassed i could not look at her face....i looked around for my dad and saw him downstairs he was drinking beer and smiling at one of the scantily clad girls ...immediately he saw mum he stood up...i dont think mum saw what i saw

On the way back home mum kept talking and talking...i was barely listening until i heard " count yourself lucky that laila is around if not i would have whipped you silly"
That got my attention ...so the laila was around ...i wondered wat she looked like ...if she was fat or thin if she was tall or short ...if she was beautiful or ugly....i was lost in my thoughts until another hot slap landed on my face ...i looked at my mum i knew i was in trouble when she shouted "so you have been drinking ...you want to be like your father abi" this was the first time she mentioned dad's drinking problem ...i sighed this was just the beginning . We entered the compound ...and went inside...my mum shouted "laila come and meet fanan " I braced myself expecting to see an ugly short skinny girl but what i saw was the most beautiful girl i had ever seen ....

She was tall ,slim but not skinny , she had her head covered but i could still see her long braided hair her face was slim , her eyes were sharp her nose was a little bit pointed ...she was just beautiful
She looked at me with her sharp eyes and smiled it was not a happy smile but at least i could see her white neatly arranged teeth ..i was mesmerized by her beauty and didnt hear wen she sed " hi fanan " in a cute hausa accent until my mum slapped me to reality....i smiled at her too and shook her hand and she said my name is Laila

The week was boring ..my mum called from time to time to check on me but i didnt hear from my dad ..i was used to it.My dad and i have never been close i just didnt feel comfortable with him. Jude came over to my house most of the time and we played video games and talked about girls in my class
"enitan is comin for the party " jude said
Now that heightened my interest in the party .Enitan was a very beautiful girl in our class ,we were all in js3 together.I had liked her for some time now so i felt the party was a great way to heat things up
"is she reallycoming "i asked
"sure now guy..so play your cards well tomorow is the party"
The day of the party finally came i was so excited i had my bath twice before 6pm in the evening. I hurriedly put on my cloth and since judes house was in my area i did not need the car .I went to the gate,i hoped that ibong wouldnt ask me where i was going.
as i tried to open the gate he shouted
"Na who dey dere"
"na me ibong i wan go out "
"hmmm ...fanan where you dey go "
i hissed in frustration"none of your business o "
"but madam talk say make i no let u comot for house"
i sighed,took out two crisp 500 naira notes and gave him. immediately he ran and opened the gate i hissed and walked away briskly before he changed his mind.


I got to judes house by 6.45pm and the party had not started ..i greeted his two brothers chinedu and i.k before running upstairs to look for jude .
There was going to be two parties that day judes brother's party and jude's . Finally around 7.15 people started coming and very soon things got heated up and the party started.
Jude's brothers told us to use the children parlour for our party and we willfully obliged ...I was lost since this was my first party and didnt know wat to do..so i just sat on the sofa and watched my mates dancing. I was getting bored when i saw her ...Enitan...iimmediately i went to meet jude and pointed in her direction ...he laughed and said i should follow him .We went downstairs to his brothers party...i was stunned by what i saw most of the girls were half naked in minigowns and they were all dancing weirdly while some were making out.
Jude pulled me to the wine bar i asked him what he was doing he said i should relax ..he btought out a bottle poured out of it into a cup and asked me to drink it...i wanted to refuse because my mum will freak out if she knew i was taking beer ...but curiousity got the better of me and i took it .
It was bitter but i managed to take two glasses ...i was feeling weird ...we went back upstairs then i saw some of my mates making out ..i was irritated but i wasnt in the normal state of mind .
i saw enitan sitting on the sofa alone and all of a sudden i had courage to walk up to her ..
I didnt know where the courage came but i startef talking to her and before i knew it i kissed her ...i stopped because i thought she would slap me but she smiled so i continued until i felt a hot slap on my head....i turned angrily to see who it was ...i got the shock of my life

The day came when they were to go to kano ,my mum told me to be a good boy My dad didnt say a word .I watchef as ibong the gateman opened the gate and they drove out ...i heaved a sigh of relief . finally some freedom .

Jude was my best friend ,we both attended the same school and we were in the same class .Kude was not like me...he had elder brothers and sisters ,he was the last born so he was a more exposed than me and always bragged about the parties he followed his brotjers to.
"hey fanan" he shouted on the phone "will you like to come over to my house since your folks have gone"
One thing i hated was goin to judes house when his parents were around ...they were always fighting,insulting each other even when guests were present .
"are your parents around "i whispered
"of course they are"
"oh i see...mmmhm ..ill come on thursday then "
"ahan why...anyway its good like that ,theres a party here on friday night so come on friday "
I looked at the calendar today was saturday so my parents wont be back until next saturday
"ok jude ill come on friday ....ok... yh bye" i cut the phone...this was the first tym i would go for a party....i hoped i had not made a wrong decision

One night mum was talking angrily in hausa on the phone...i understood a little hausa so i understood what had happened ,my mum's childhood friend and her husband had died in a bomb attack by the islamic sect boko haram . My mum and dad were discussing iin their bed room ,i sat in the parlour watching spongebob squarepants on the tv.
My mum called "fanan!"
i ran to their room and replied "am here mum"
i was thirteen alredi but mum treats me like im eight..i hate it because other kids call me mama's boy. she sat me down and started stroking my hair ,she told me that she and my dad had to go to kano for a week.I asked why ,she said that she had to bring her best friends daughter who was not a victim of the crash to lagos . I told her i didn't welcome the idea of some one joining me ,i told her i wanted to be the only one but she shut me up and said she will discipline me i looked at my dad to see if he will support me but he looked away.
I wished my mum had listened that day then maybe laila would have been safe today

I stood outside the house lost in my thoughts ,when did it all go wrong ?Was it when she came six years ago?Was it when i found out?

*******************
I was the only child of my parents. Mum said that i came after six years of waiting on the lord ....although most parents will pamper such a child ,my mum was a disciplinarian ,she never allowed me to mix with the other kids in the neighbourhood she said they were bad influence .My dad on the other hand was a carefree man .while my mum spent hours in church my dad rarely visited any church..he rather parties and goes to clubs
My parents were very rich and we lived in a choice area in lagos...i was going to a good school and my life was almost perfect...well that was what i thought

hmmmm....anticipating this blockbuster...nice work dice

the story is just sad....pains me that its a real life story