E dakun, shoro niyen

Olasco93:
@ Popflair, i think all your enemies on NL just need a taste of Adaku's hot porridge and Ahanna & Obinna Chilled and Irresistable Gala respectively, before they will leave you for us ooo.

abi jawe....get the full story on dnbstories.com, am sure you will love it

Olasco93:
@ Popflair, i think all your enemies on NL just need a taste of Adaku's hot porridge and Ahanna & Obinna Chilled and Irresistable Gala respectively, before they will leave you for us ooo.

abi jawe....get the full story on dnbstories.com, am sure you will love it

MoltenMagma:

.

index F

MoltenMagma:

What the fvck is 'um sowie'? Is that Owerri language or Sierra Leonian Krio?

Speak anglais, comprende?? This text speak thing is so irritating.

its ur headache I guess, I don't know what ur problem is....free me abeg!

MoltenMagma:

Text speak is the bane of today's youth. If you must write then write in English we all understand.

What the fvck is this gibberish you just wrote?

I checked your profile just now....I won't say much sha but u don old pass dis +ne

dominique:


Even though you admitted that the story wasn't yours on your opening post, you should have acknowledged your source on that very first post. Plagiarism is a very serious offense and comes with severe legal implications especially in developed countries. Do not lift articles without quoting your source.

ok sir

henribj:
OP happy birthday.

thanks so much bro

styless:
OP, this is Daniel Nkado's story.
I read his blog and it is not fair that you are posting the story here without his consent.
This is his site: www.dnbstories.com

over sabi....ion apologies, ion knw wah ur bisness is sef...wen I was posting it did u tel me dis? Now wen e don reach ground u con dey open ur gutter filled mouth...aproko, na only u waka cum? U go tel me say u no read am...mumu

IamLEGEND1:
I'm more interested in knowing who was the amebo that ratted him out......

Ion even know woh, jes posting 4 story lovers, ion knw its gonna get to this

DanWrites:
Over the course of two weeks, I have received several emails reporting a particular nairalander - Popflair - for indiscriminately copying and posting stories from my site - www.dnbstories.com to Nairaland and other blogs

DNB Stories owns exclusive rights to all the stories posted on the site.

Only a top editor at DNB Stories can grant anyone permission to post our stories anywhere.

I've gone through Popflair's profile and my discovery was greatly disheartening.

He has copied several DNB copyrighted content to Nairaland, even stories we now sell as eBooks.

It was heartbreaking. It was painful.

I call on the mods of Nairaland to do the needful.

cc:
Ishilove
lalasticlala

Here is Popflair's profile - https://www.nairaland.com/popflair

I think I deserve that and am truly sowie....I never meant to hurt anyone, I just love your stories that why I shared it for story lovers just like me....I hope my apology meet u well!....um sowie once again

Last pictures

More

10. Venom, Spider-Man
Via moviespix.com
While Venom is somewhat of an anti-hero in the Spider-Man universe, even getting his own comic book series more than once, he is undoubtedly a villain when he is in close proximity to the wall-crawler. When the symbiote takes hold and locks its gaze on Spider-Man, Venom is unleashed in all his dark and grisly glory. Its battles with Spider-Man are always a thrilling experience, especially when Venom controlled Eddie Brock. It’s so disappointing that the slithering tongue of the hulking beast has yet to receive justice on the big screen, but perhaps the new Spider-Man series will rectify that. But I digress…it takes a special kind of badass to steal the show from such a legendary superhero like Spider-Man, but Venom is certainly that badass.
9. Liquid Snake, Metal Gear Solid
Via wallpaper222.com
Solid Snake is the main protagonist of the Metal Gear Solid series and he’s one cool cat…but he isn’t the coolest cat. That’s because his evil twin brother Liquid Snake swooped in and stole our hearts with his charming accent and devious and maniacal plans. I mean, the guy posed as Snake’s mentor via codec voice calls for the majority of the first game all as part of a genius plan to play his brother like a fiddle. His plans were detailed and devoid of traditional villain clichés, leaving the player in awe of his tactical and physical prowess. We mention his physical abilities because he and Snake exchange a number of fists in what is one of the most emotionally charged showdowns in the series.
8. Magneto, X-Men
Via moviepilot.com
Magneto has always been an intriguing character in comic books and on-screen. He blurs the line between hero and villain and he’s not a traditional anti-hero either. So how exactly do we label Magneto? Well, he’s Magneto. He’s in a class of his own. His troubled and tragic past led him on a path of self-worth, anger and triumph, ideals that frankly make him a relatable character. His lust for revenge is fueled by his desire to see the human race supplanted by mutants, who he perceives to be superior as the next step in evolution. While Magneto may draw uncomfortable comparisons to real life dictators, it’s difficult not to pander to his natural charm and conflicted emotions. What makes him such a special character is that you truly believe there’s indeed a beating heart somewhere underneath his red and purple attire.
7. Vergil, Devil May Cry
Via comicvine.com
Look, there aren’t many protagonists in gaming, let alone popular culture that can stand toe-to-toe with Dante. The white-haired, silver-tongued weapons specialist dazzles and entertains whenever he graces the screen. That’s why we’re not fooling around when we proclaim Vergil to be one of the most badass characters ever, never mind villains. He’s so popular among the Devil May Cry fandom that Capcom continue to include the spiky-haired twin brother in the series. Hell, Vergil even has his own game modes now. He’s a cool, mild-tempered, katana wielding, bullet slicing, and blue trench coat wearing badass. His role in Devil May Cry 3 remains an integral part in why that game is among the best video games ever made.
6. Albert Wesker, Resident Evil
Via da rklordbunnykins.
Resident Evil has spawned some pretty cool, albeit cheesy protagonists: Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Barry Burton, and Billy Coen. But where the series really shined was in creating one of the most memorable and well-received villains ever in gaming, Albert Wesker. He’s essentially the definition of cool: slicked hair, shades, and a commanding accent that matches his batshit crazy demeanour. And that’s why we love him. Once he enhances his speed and strength, he becomes even more likeable as an imposing and perpetual threat to the gang of protagonists (but mostly Chris)…until he eats a few rockets while bathing in a pool of lava. His death in the series remains one of the biggest tragedies in gaming.
5. Vegeta, Dragon Ball Z
Via dragonball.wikia.com
Vegeta may have transitioned from villain to anti-hero to hero, but he was still a villain at some point. He blew up planets and uttered such comical and famous lines like “It’s over nine thhoouussannddd!” in reference to protagonist Goku’s power level. Here’s the thing, I’ve never found Goku to be an interesting character, and I’m a Dragon Ball zealot. He’s a passable protagonist for a series that mainly focuses on high-octane fight scenes that span dozens of episodes, but he simply never compares to Vegeta on any level—which is ironic given the latter continuously attempts to emerge from the hero’s shadow. He’s one of the more interesting characters in anime period, so there’s no doubt he’s more likeable than any hero within the DBZ universe.
4. Agent Kruger, Elysium
Via forums.spacebattles.com
While Elysium didn’t receive glowing reviews from critics and fans, I still believe it’s an underappreciated film that lagged under the weight of director Neill Blomkamp’s debut film, District 9. The odds of him replicating that elite quality was slim, and he ultimately failed in that regard, but that doesn’t mean Elysium is a disappointment when analyzed on its own accord. In fact, one area Elysium undoubtedly trumps District 9 is its villain, Agent Kruger. For my money, he was one of the best villains to grace the silver screen since Heath Ledger’s Joker. Kruger was brutal, uncompromising and utterly terrifying. One scene in particular left me with goosebumps on account of Sharlto Copley’s performance.
3. Darth Vader, Star Wars
Via disney.co.uk
Anakin Skywalker’s transformation from heroic Jedi Knight to the villainous Darth Vader is one of, if not the most interesting plot points in the Star Wars saga. Say what you will about the prequel trilogy, but Anakin’s slow transition was encaptivating to behold—murdering younglings in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was especially gruesome and shocking. Before he became Darth Vader the antagonist always struggled in dealing with his emotions, putting himself and those close to him before anything else, including the greater good. It’s this complexity that makes Darth Vader more interesting and thus likeable than any other character in the series—yes, even Han Solo.
2. The Joker, The Dark Knight
Via asdaman.
It’s a difficult task dethroning The Dark Knight in his own movie, but low and behold Heath Ledgertook moviegoers by storm with a chilling, poignant performance as The Joker. The classic villain has always been admired by comic book readers, he’s Batman’s primary antagonist after all, but his portrayal in The Dark Knight film transcended even those high standards. And for that reason, and that reason alone, we found it difficult not to root for The Joker, despite his inhuman and abhorrent actions. And don’t get it twisted, we love Batman—who doesn’t?—but a strong villain can steal the show, and what happened in this film is perhaps the epitome of this truth.
1. Pennywise the Dancing Clown, It
Via moviespix.com
Whether you’re a fan of the book or film or both, Pennywise the Dancing Clown is bursting at the seams with classic quotes—“They float, they float, Georgie, and when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too.” Truth be told, I can barely recall the names of the protagonists in Stephen King’s It. And that’s because they take a backseat to the eccentric and maniacal clown as he murders his way through the town of Derry. The sheer lunacy of Pennywise is his greatest trait, as you never want to see him leave the screen. And when his eyes glow orange and his red stained teeth are exposed, you know you’re in for a scare.

I really love to but anytime I try to post the story I end up getting banned, this is so annoying and its the forth time this will happen....um so sowie
Dnbstories.com is the main site....try to understand guys, they gimme no choice and today is my bufdae.....one love!

Its not my own story....I got it 4rm a site, I said it from the beginning na

Um so sorry and I will definitely drop episode 1,2,3 arnd 12 or b4 dat actual time....ese oooo (thanks ooo)

I was banned unfairly from this thread for two days without knowing the actual reason and come to think of it, am the op for this thread for crying out loud

Swissheart:
......almost everything I know...except that the op has refused to show up.

lol, the truth is I am always checking dis thread buh wah delays the post is few comments

End of Book One

SIXTEEN
Ahanna counted the money again, wetting his fingers more often this time.
Finally he was done again. He turned to Obinna, eyes overwhelmed with joy. ‘Nwanne, hundred and fifty thousand!’
Obinna nodded, smiling with his lower lip slipped into his mouth. He can’t remember the last time he saw Ahanna that happy, and for that he felt greatly pleased himself.
Ahanna grabbed him suddenly in a forceful hug. ‘Hundred and fifty thousand, Nwanne!’
Obinna hugged him back and at the same time praying Ahanna hadn’t broken any of his bones.
***
The broker took them to the house the evening of the next day. They liked the room and the landlord and his young wife seemed a nice couple too.
They called them omo Igbo playfully and told them the person that had just moved out of the room they were seeking to occupy had been an Igbo too.
‘A very quiet boy,’ the landlord’s young wife said. ‘Oni wa tutu.’
The boys were excited.
The broker, Baba Duplex as he was fondly called, gave them the account number to pay the rent into.
That night Obinna could not sleep. Excitement wouldn’t let him. He couldn’t wait for them to move back to the enclosed shelter of a room. To own a stove and once again eat food he cooked himself.
To get away from the cold and the furious mosquitoes and the black spots they’d left all around his skin.
He longed to once again start writing to Ada. He would mention to her about their new success, but not the hard life that had come before it.
He prayed the mosquito spots disappeared before they saw each other again.
Finally it was 4 a.m. and the other flyover boys had started rising. Taking buckets to dark corners beside shops to have a bath.
After he’s had his own bath, he walked to the spot where he’d buried the money.
Even as he dug, he noticed something seemed different with the soil, but in his excitement easily ignored it.
When he finally brought out the tin, it felt lighter.
He opened it.
It was empty.
For many seconds he thought it was a dream and waited to wake up.
The minutes dragged and he was still there, kneeling and holding an empty tin.
He ran his palm over his face.
It was real.
Their entire savings were gone.
For the first time ever, he lost control and lay flat on the soil and started to cry.
Ahanna and some other boys rushed to him, thinking a scorpion or some other insect might have stung him.
‘Nwanne, what is it?’ Ahanna kept asking.
‘What is it na? Tell me!’
He kept on crying, rolling this way and that on the dirt.
Finally he pointed to the empty Milo tin beside him and Ahanna froze.
He turned away quietly and walked to the edge of road and sat.
That evening, he dressed up in his new clothes, the one he'd worn to church only three days ago, first time he went to church since their mishap at Oshodi.
Obinna asked him where he was headed, if he should dress up and follow him too, but he said no, that he was only going to meet a mighty man.
'Which man?' Obinna asked him.
'The man who had been so partial to me,’ Ahanna replied. ‘Had it not been him, we wouldn't have suffered this much at all, Nwanne.'
Obinna did not understand. 'If you are talking about Chief, forget it,’ he told him. ‘He is a scam.’
'I'm not talking about Chief.'
He watched Ahanna walk away, both hands in his pockets, his steps relaxed, like one on a visit to see his girlfriend.
He didn't return that evening and Obinna went to bed hungry, sad and worried.
That night, he didn’t fight the mosquitoes. He left himself for them to feed. It appeared he was completely oblivious of their presence even. Not even the tiny, nerve-twitching sounds they were making got him to move.
It was only in the morning that he saw the headline on The Punch front page – 'Youth Jumps in Train Track at Oshodi'
He'd shaken his head and turned away, consoling himself with the thought that there was someone out there they were better than.
But then the image—the crumpled figure of what had been a young man—flashed through his senses again, the patches of white from what must have been a white shirt the victim wore.
He turned quickly to the vendor and jerked the paper out of his hand.
He straightened it out and peered at the picture. He managed to make out the red dragon drawn on the white shirt.
Ahanna!
A great pound hit his chest. Sudden warmth spread round his brain and everywhere grew misty.
The vendor jerked back his paper from him, murmured something and went his way.
Obinna stood there, motionless, just staring into the air.
For many minutes his head remained blank.
A yellow bus passed him; the conductor was screaming 'O-sh-oo-di!’
He turned.
The bus stopped for a passenger to come down. He pressed his eyelids tight to let out tears he didn’t know had formed.
He wiped at his face quickly and ran towards the bus. The bus was already moving when he flew into it.
The conductor screamed at him to be sure he had change. 'Hold your change o! 500 - 1000, no change o!'
Inside the bus, the conductor held out his hand to him. ‘Owo da nbe!’
Obinna didn’t turn to him. His blank eyes were positioned stiffly ahead.
The conductor tapped him. ‘Owo e da!’
He turned to the dark-skinned man and a great stream of tears flowed down his cheeks instead.
The conductor drew back. ‘Ah, kilo fa ekun?I said give me your money and you are crying for me? Na your tears I wan chop ni? Pay me jor!’
That was when the fat woman sitting beside him turned to look at him. She quickly opened her purse and gave the conductor N50.
But she didn’t ask Obinna why he was crying.
The bus stopped at Oshodi and he came down.
He walked to the train track, scanned round but saw no body.
Officials have come to dispose Ahanna’s body.
He kept on looking, checking, and then suddenly it hit him again whose body he was looking to find.
It was Nwanne’s body.
His eyes filled up again and he went and sat on the train rails. People stared at him. But he didn't mind.
He waited and waited, the sun biting away at his skin, tears and sweat warring on his face, but no train came for him.
A man passing yelled at him in Yoruba. He heard 'were ni' and he knew what it was.
Mad man.
He wished now he was.
The tale continues...

henribj:
OP can we have more, pls?

2moro please

Sunexy:


Lolzz...xo u tink uv won cus of ur tiny grammars..lmao

wareva....u asked for it, ogbeni ion av ur tym

Hazardd:
Who told you girls don't like sex..

Op, whenever you smoke weed try an adhere from nairaland for a while.. Next patient pls

I don't take weed neither do I take alcohol nd it is crystal clear dat stuffs like dat is always scheduled by ur milk brain, penisetum popurrium....castrated cow, son of a million fada, oloshi, onye beribe....u don enter am 2day (make we ride on na) mumu...u met d wrong guy

At school, Adaku’s relationship with Felix blossomed.
It was now obvious to the other students, and the lecturers too, that they were in theakadagroup; the students who regularly used the library, bought all hand-outs and read all night.
The students who sat in the front during lectures, never missed any and whose hands always go up whenever a lecturer asked a question. The students who aid other students with their assignments and everyone struggled to sit nearby during exams.
Theakadas.
Though Adaku was not like the typicalakadasthat usually segregate themselves from the rest of the class. She played and joked with everyone and only got serious when she needed to be.
Of course, as a Zoo student, there was no way you could survive without being any zoological in behaviour.
Even Felix has come to learn this. He was now course rep and without the jokes and frequent plays, the other male students would have meted out a good dose of frustration to him.
He’d told Ada that he’d chosen Zoology just to get at his dad, who thought because he was a successful medical doctor and owned a chain of clinics in major cities across the country, that all his kids must study medicine.
‘So you chose to be the odd one out,’ Adaku had said after hearing his story, appearing neither surprised nor impressed.
That had made him curious.
He seemed now to enjoy everything about his department though: his crazy course mates, the jovial lecturers, their newly-completed laboratory near Admin Block and one particular loud boy called Okwe who could form a joke out of anything.
But most especially was his relationship with Adaku Onochie, his reading mate.
And this evening that he was finally coming to visit her in her lodge in Temp-Site, they might as well do more than reading.
He’d like them to.
FIFTEEN
A knock came on the door.
Adaku thought it was Debby. She probably had smelt her Jollof rice too, like she did her Okro soup the other day.
Surprise came on her face when she opened the door and it was Felix.
‘How did you locate my room?’ she asked.
He smiled and slapped the wall above him. ‘Block D, Room 8.’
Adaku returned the smile. ‘Come in.’
He entered, his eyes scanning the room.
Adaku suddenly felt him different. He appeared suddenly larger, taller, older, in many ways different from the way he looked at school.
Maybe it was because he wasn’t carrying his signature backpack now.
She pulled a chair for him and he sat. They talked about school while she finished with the food.
Some minutes after, she dropped a plate of steaming, red-coloured rice and fish on the table before him. He complained that the food was too big and she only gave him a face.
As he ate, she left the room to Debby and Candy’s room to borrow a chair.
Debby asked her why she needed an extra chair.
‘I have a visitor,’ Ada replied, lifting the chair.
‘Oh, one of your girls from church came?’ Candy asked, her eyes not leaving her new Sagem My X-2 cell phone
At the door, Adaku turned to her. ‘No, a good friend of mine from school came. And he is a guy.’
The two girls exchanged surprised glances as Ada disappeared out of the room.
Back in her room, she came to join Felix on the table with her own plate of rice.
‘Why give me this tall heap and dish out so little for yourself?’ Felix said to her.
‘I cooked the food, remember?’ Adaku said.
‘Oh, you’ve had a smoke’s fill, I get it.’
She smiled. She particularly enjoyed his wit. After the food, he said he wanted to stretch out on the bed.
He did while she cleared the table.
When she was done, she came back to her seat at the table.
The silence dragged.
Felix tapped the mattress, beside his upright knee. ‘I think you’d feel more comfortable on the bed and I know you think so too, don’t you?’
Adaku smiled and asked him about their coming trip to Ibadan instead.
A NAZS conference was coming up at the University of Ibadan and both of them have been selected to represent their department.
‘Do you look forward to it?’ she asked him.
‘Not really,’ he said, sitting up, now with his back to the pillow. ‘Have you been to Ibadan before?’ he asked her.
She shook her head. ‘No. You?’
‘I was born there.’
She seemed slightly surprised at first, and then she remembered she’d heard him say Yoruba words before. With another course mate of theirs, Muyiwa, who was Yoruba.
‘Come and sit on the bed,’ he said, pulling back to rest his back to the wall.
She stood and went to sit at the edge of the bed.
He stared at her.
For the first time Adaku felt uncomfortable under his gaze.
He pulled out of the bed and took her hand.
He rubbed it. Her skin was soft and smooth. ‘I like you, Ada,’ he said, his voice deeper than it usually were, meaning the words.
She took back her hand quickly as if his fingers had stung her. ‘You can’t like me, Felix,’ she said.
‘Why?’ He appeared surprised at first, but the next second his lips curved in a small smile, getting her curious. ‘I know, right,’ he said. ‘You are a badass, an unrepentant Marxist no son of a rich man should come close to, but I still like you.’
She was looking at him, saying nothing.
He took her hand again. He was moving in to kiss her when she pushed him back, gently. ‘You don’t get it, Felix. You can’t like me because I am a married woman.’
He set curious eyes on her for some seconds and then started to laugh. ‘You, a married woman, how possible!’
She stood. ‘How far is Lagos from Ibadan?’ she asked him instead.
‘Not so far, why do you want to know?’
‘Because that’s where my husband is.’
Every iota of amusement cleared from Felix’s face at once!

FOURTEEN
He counted the money again. It was N5000.
He reached into his bag again. At the same corner he found the money, he saw a piece of paper.
He spread it out and read it slowly.
Two sentences:
From Ore. I’m sorry.
He did not understand. He did not know what she was sorry for.
For touching him at night and taking his erect penis into her mouth?
He wasn’t really angry about that.
He liked her. Just not enough to cheat on his wife with her.
He told Ahanna about the money.
For once he didn’t make joke.
He told him what they needed to do. They have to start something with it. No matter how small.
But what can they really start with just N5000.
Obinna quickly provided the answer.
Ahanna liked the idea. He smiled, shook his hand and called him Bill Gates.
They bought a large bowl from a nearby plastics’ store.
Then Obinna followed the other Lacasera boys to the large store where they got their supplies from, and Ahanna to a big provisions’ store to get a carton of Gala.
Obinna bought ice cubes and poured over his Lacasera bottles now arranged in the new bowl. Ahanna tore open part of the Gala carton.
With that they entered the street and sales began.
It was tough at the beginning.
When the sun had risen far overhead, its stinging rays felt like fire on their skin.
They lost their voices screaming out to buyers.
Other more experienced Gala and Lacasera boys scowled at them and called them names.
They told Ahanna he was too old, and often made jokes that his Gala has expired. So he had to spend extra time convincing the intending buyer that the boys were only making joke.
But Obinna was expert at selling.
He did not scream too much. He knew he needed not to. With his cute smile and subtle eye movements he can have you feeling thirsty for his Lacasera when you are actually not.
They sold more when the traffic was heavy, with impatient drivers honking and cursing at one another.
‘Cold Lacasera?’ Obinna would say, presenting a bottle of amber-coloured liquid. He would smile at the person, his eyes slightly hooded, as though there was something in his Lacasera that he was sure the person needed to be whole again.
Mostly, the person would cast a curious a glance, and most times they’d call him and buy, including the drivers, but never their conductors who seem to share a strong affinity with water in transparent sachets.
He sold more at Barracks Bus Stop, so he went there often.
***
Some months passed and they had made a tenfold of the money they started with.
Ahanna trusted him with the money. He was scared another Okechukwu might come along someday and use juju or whatever it was they used on him before again, because he yet couldn’t believe he had fallen so stupidly for their prank at that time. With his over four years of staying in Lagos.
Obinna kept the money well.
Not even Ahanna knew where he kept it.
One Sunday afternoon, as he moved along the stiff traffic, the window of a black BMW rolled down and a beckoning hand appeared from it.
He ran to the clean car with his bowl of cold Lacasera and now Coke and Fanta and Pepsi—he’d gotten a bigger bowl too.
A dark man asked him to give the kids at the back what they wanted.
There were three kids and they all wanted Coke.
But he had only two left.
‘You can go, we’ll call another,’ the man said.
He took the two bottles he had and thrust into the kids’ hands.
Then he ran, flung his fingers into the bowl of a nearby trader to collect one more and threw out a N100 note at him.
The man paid him and he thanked him with a smile.
Probably it was the smile that made the man give him a second look.
He didn’t notice though; he was folding his money underneath the others and was soon off to another customer. A lady in a bus wanted bottled water.
The traffic has started moving now and he was surprised car honks still filled the air.
He turned and saw that the man’s car was not moving and the cars behind him were about to devour him with their honks and curses.
He ran back to the man’s car and discovered the vehicle’s engine could not come on. In his manner of being in control at all times he quickly dropped his bowl on the car roof and signalled to the man to open his bonnet.
The man, dark with shaved head, nodded— that prompt nod of desperation.
He rushed to the front of the car and lifted the shiny black sheet of metal. He did a few checks, his fingers moving swiftly across the many wired components.
A few seconds and he signalled to the man again.
The man turned the ignition, but nothing happened.
He ran to the back and pushed the car to a start.
The man revved up his engine and moved.
Carrying back his bowl, he saw an extended hand wave at him from the car and nodded.
But then he looked again and saw the car was stopping, the man’s hand still waving. He ran back to the car.
‘Thank you very much,’ the man said.
‘It’s nothing, Sir.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Obinna, Sir.’
‘Ok. My name is Ade.’ He turned to pick something from his glove box.
Obinna was surprised the man hadn’t used a title to address himself. A man in a car as big as that should have something attached to his name at least—Chief, Dr, Engr. or even the dry and ordinary Mr.
‘Here is my card,’ the man said, extending it.
He took the card. ‘Thank you, Sir.’
‘Give me a call whenever you need anything, ok?’
He nodded. ‘Thank you, Sir.’
He told Ahanna about it late at night and he only hissed and told him it was very common for big men to give out their cards whenever a poor man helped them.
That it meant nothing and the man won’t probably remember his name when he calls him.
Obinna shook his head in disbelief but still kept the card.
In the morning, he put it inside the inner pocket of his bag.

THIRTEEN
The boy, Felix Uzonna, was a quiet boy.
He was nothing like the other Zoo boys that scream and run about the class, telling jokes and calling each other animal names.
There was an ugly boy everyone calledMandrillus leucophaeus. A short round girl called a sea cow and a tiny talky one called a mole rat.
There was also a small aggressive girl called a jackal and a very short boy calledCricetomys gambianus.
Whatever you do or say in class instantly lands you with a Zoo name!
The Zoology lectures were different too. Often, the lecturers joined the students in the jokes and name calling so that classes easily turned noisy, and fun.
Adaku often joined in the jokes too. Not all UNIZIK students might have thought so, but she considered her department the most enjoyable in the entire school.
Because Felix had stood out with his quietness and transparent reading glasses, Ada was quick to notice him.
This attraction was spurred only by curiosity. A Zoo boy that behaved nothing like a Zoo boy.
She’d sat with him in the same seat at the induction meeting. That was her first encounter with him.
She had said hi as he shifted for her to sit and he returned it.
But it was when the class went frenzy after the lecturer announced that all new students would wear red to the induction that Adaku turned to really look at the boy.
While the other boys laughed and made jokes about the unusualness of the color red for such an event, Felix’s eyes, framed by his transparent glasses, remained on the open text book in his front: Integrated Principles of Zoology.
It didn’t surprise Ada so much that he seemed to be the only one that had bought the big textbook.
When she’d asked Mary what textbooks she would advise they buy, Mary had hissed in unconcern and said, ‘Which textbook? My dear, the most important thing is the hand-outs and past questions. They are all you need to pass.’
Because her father had already given her money for the books, she went to the bookshop near Royal Sound and bought Advanced Biology.
‘What do you think?’ she asked Felix.
The boy glanced at her. ‘What about?’
‘Wearing red to the induction.’
‘The lecturer said it signifies blood hence life.’
‘So you are okay with it?’
‘I’m more concerned about the significance.’
‘I don’t get.’
‘If I’m asked to represent life with a color, red is the last thing I’d use.’
Adaku’s lips remained open longer than she intended. ‘What color would you rather use? Green?’
‘Green is envy, red is passion. I’ll use blue.’
Adaku’s face twisted slightly in surprise. ‘Blue?’
‘Yes. Blue.’
Her eyes remained on him for some time. ‘What is your name?’
‘Felix. Yours?’
‘Ada.’
‘Ada, are you an ada?’
‘Yes.’ She somehow liked the sound of that, might be the way he’d said it. He spoke English like a Professor who an evil witch somehow magically turned back into a student.
‘Nice to meet you, Ada,’ Felix said.
‘Same here.’
He closed his textbook and stood. ‘Let me get to the library.’
Adaku nodded. Her eyes remained on him till he disappeared out of the class.
***
Back in the hostel, she was peeling yam in the tiny space in her room that was designated for cooking when she heard a knock on the door. ‘Who is that?’
‘It’s me!’
She opened the door and it was Debby.
‘Please give me two packs of Indomie,’ she said. ‘I will buy and give you back when Mama Onyinye opens.’
Ada stared at her. She wondered if it was hunger that had made her eyes look swollen. ‘Have you been sleeping?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Did you go to school at all?’
‘No. Please give me the Indomie first.’
She opened her cupboard and brought out two yellow noodle packs. ‘I’m making yam porridge,’ she said, extending the packs.
‘Wow, cool!’ Debby took the packs hurriedly from her. ‘Let me hold my stomach with the Indomie first.’
As she hurried out of the room, Adaku wondered if classy girls ate Indomie too.
And what was the stupid story about Mama Onyinye’s shop not being open. Even if one came out by midnight, that woman would still be in her shop ready to sell.
***
That same night she was reading—flipping through the pages of her Advanced Biology, searching for interesting coloured pictures— when a knock came on the door.
‘Come in!’
The door whined and went back, letting in Candy and Debby.
Surprisingly, she did not feel the slight discomfort she usually felt when they come into her room. She found herself nearly pleased they’d come.
They sat on the bed and she dished out the porridge she’d prepared on separate plates for them.
Candy requested for a fork instead of the spoon she brought the food with.
Ada watched the way she held the fork upright, taking the yam in tiny bits, as though it was something more sophisticated than yam she was eating. The slow movement of the fork, her sluggish chewing, all did not show she was eating yam, ordinary yam porridge.
‘Babe, you really can cook o,’ Debby said, her voice low from chewing.
Adaku smiled. At least, unlike Candy, she ate normally, with spoon and life.
She did not like that she’d called her babe though. The name made her feel different, as though she’d become like them, the girls who regularly missed lectures, wore bum shorts to the road and kept numerous boyfriends.
Candy dropped her plate; more than half the food was still on it. She took the sachet of water in a plate nearby and drank from it.
She drank so little, as though it hadn’t been yam she ate. ‘Ada, we have found a name for you,’ she said, casually, like Ada had known all along that they’d been searching for a name for her.
‘A name?’ Ada said, slight confusion and one other emotion on her face.
‘Yes, something befitting of our class.’
‘I don’t understand.’
Debby dropped her own plate and said, ‘Ada, I think you will like the name’, and then, ‘Thanks for the food’.
‘Which name? My name is Ada.’
‘You can keep Ada for your village people,’ Candy said. ‘From now on, your name is Berry.’
Adaku burst into laughter.
Surprise came over the two girls.
The laughter lowered and then she restarted it again.
Finally she halted, clutching her chest. ‘Wait, did you just say my new name is Berry? Berry, isn’t that the name of a fruit?’
Candy crossed her legs. ‘The fruitier the better, my dear.’
‘Don’t you like the name?’ Debby asked.
‘Please, if the problem is English, I have an English baptismal name.’
Candy rolled her eyes. ‘Which is?’
‘Agatha.’
Now it was the girls’ turn to laugh and they really did.
Then Candy suddenly got rid of her smiles and turned serious in the face. ‘From now on your name is Berry, take it or leave it.'
Adaku wondered if that was an order.
‘Now let’s move on to your mode of dressing,’ Candy went on.
Adaku looked over herself. ‘What about the way I dress?’
‘Nothing is wrong with it,’ Debby said. ‘But, Ada—’
‘Berry!’ Candy screamed.
‘Yes, Berry, dear,’ Debby corrected. ‘You need improvement. Your dresses are all so loose and long and full of space.’
‘I like the way I dress,’ Ada said.
‘We know you do, but society don’t,’ Debby said, tone now advisory.
‘Who is society?’
‘Ada, this is higher institution.’
‘So?’
‘What is wrong with this girl sef?’ Candy said. She uncrossed and crossed back her legs.
Adaku wondered if she was now angry, if it was now time to hold her by her thin shoulders and push her out of her room.