ENVY 5

Hey goes, this chapter brings to mind many vices done by students while on campus. You may relate to it personally or know a couple of people who fit into the character but the main thing is to enjoy and learn from the story. Let's continue...

The light penetrating through the blinds woke him up, he was on a strange bed, one very different from the kinds he was used to, the foam was so flat and it was supported by springs that tend to make an irritating screeching sound any time he moved -where are mine?- was his first thought, then he noticed her, she was stretched beside him, as naked as he was, then he remembered, even though he seemed to be having a hangover from alcohol and mind blowing sex, he could still remember what happened the night before.
  He had arrived New Buka the previous evening and after parking walked into
Mukoyo bar. No sooner had he entered than the patrons that were already seated and nursing different bottles stood up to hail him "Pago baba" "one in a million" "we don dey expect you since last week, why you no quick resume? Abi you wan carry MOZ 101over ni"
"Make una no vex jare, I dey tidy up some things for lag with my palle"
"Omo baba Olowo, hope say palle do beta?" Asked Kalu
"He gaz do beta noni, he proved stubborn as always but mum came in and he capitulated"
"You almost missed MOZ 101, just a week to go, you know lectures start fully next week and everyone's hands will  be full once again"
"Not my own hands Kalu, I can have my fun and still make good grades, and I can get any MOZ babe I want anytime in the semester, even during exams, so my own MOZ 101 is not a two-week course, it runs throughout the session"
"You too dey make mouth Pago, Anyways since you are a week late, most of the "sweetest" and "freshest" fishes would have been caught. You'll just have to make do with the ones left"
"Trust me, I can get any fish I want whether caught or not, I can go to any man's net and take any fish that catches my eye"
"You had better not come close to my net or I'll emasculate you" Kalu laughed
"I'm starting with yours bro" Pago said smiling
They both always enjoy bantering with each other,
"Jude" Pago called out to the barman "serve everyone on my account, give them whatever they want, and you can serve yourself too while you are at it" everyone hailed Pago again as he took a sit at Kalu's table.
"Where is Siji? I thought you both planned to come together today"
"Yea, but he didn't show up on time, so I bailed out, he should be on his way, he would meet us here"
"Patience isn't one of your virtues friend"
"The last time I checked, I didn't have any virtues" Kalu laughed out loud at that.
"Jude, where is Cynthia na? I haven't seen her since I came"
"Madam went to town to get some supplies"
"Hope she is coming back soon"
"Yes sir" Jude smiled conspiratorially
It's no longer secret that Pago and madam were getting it on
Pago ordered for his first bottle and a plate of pepper soup while thinking of Cynthia. He could feel this familiar stirring in his groin. Mehn! He had missed Cynthia a lot, it had been more than 3 months, not that he was celibate throughout the long break but none of those butty girls in lag and Malta could measure up to Cynthia in skills. Cynthia after several unsuccessful attempts at JAMB, had decided that she wasn't meant to further her education, hence she began managing Mukoyo bar for her elder sister who had several other businesses and hence was too busy to manage it. At 24 she was 5 years older than Pago but one wouldn't know, she had a baby face and a small compact body with the right curves. Pago had been lusting after her from the first time he saw her, he started visiting Mukoyo regularly because of her, he would visit the bar and splurge, then Leave her and sometimes Jude with exorbitant tips, they soon became friends and in no time he had her where he wanted her, and she willingly obliged. The rules were clear from the outset, no emotional attachments, just to have fun and fun they did have throughout his first year. Now he was in his sophomore and he couldn't wait to continue where they paused. He sipped his bottle gently while he discussed soccer with the other patrons, he didn't like decorating the table with too many bottles, he preferred ordering them one after the other.
Cynthia sauntered in about an hour later, he could tell from her reaction that she wasn't expecting to see him. Their eyes locked for a while and despite the hunger he saw in her eyes, she ignored him completely. She greeted the patrons generally gave some instructions to Jude and went into the room behind the bartender's cubicle. Pago was fuming. Why did she not  acknowledge him?
The patrons were arguing about soccer so none of them including Kalu was looking at him when he stood up and followed her into the room.

The room looked familiar still, it was the evenings so the room was partially lit. It served both as her office and her room. Though she had an apartment in town, she hardly used it, she spent most of her time on campus. At the far right corner was a table and a chair, then a mini wardrobe at the other end, just behind the chair and table was a hostel sized spring bunk single bed, merely looking at the bed brings sweet memories to Pago's mind. Cynthia still ignoring him sat down on the chair and examined herself in the mirror hanging on the wall just above the table.
"What kinda game are you playing?" He said while he moved to stand behind her chair and regarded her in the mirror
She gave him a sweet plastic smile "Oh! I am playing a game abi? You tell me what kinda game I'm playing cos I don't know"
"You know what I mean Cynthia"
"Really? Is it because I am not jumping up and singing because Mr. magical fingers has decided to make contact again after 3 months of complete silence" she hissed
-so that is the issue-
"I thought we agreed that our relationship would not be hampered by unnecessary emotions?"
"Don't lecture me about emotions Pago, I'm not being emotional here, I don't want anything special from you but a simple "hello, how are you doing, just checking on you" wouldn't hurt you, just to make me feel that I'm at least valued"
He can't just understand the female specie, she is being emotional yet she claims she isn't
"There was no way to contact you, you have no phone yet"
"My sister does, I told you you can always leave a message with her and she will pass it across. I even loaded her phone just to call but your line was unavailable"
"I wasn't in the country, the family went to Malta, and you know I don't like calling your sis....."
"Malta? Wherever that is? You these rich people sef"
He smiled at her as he dropped his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, she bent her head backwards to look him in the eye
"Malta is somewhere on the planet my dear, in Europe actually"
"How many oyinbo girls did you sleep with in Malta"
"You wouldn't believe me if I said I didn't sleep with any, so why bother asking?
She smiled up at him "Just for the fun of it Mr. Magical fingers"
"And the magical fingers have missed you so much"
Hmmm... "I have missed them too" she held his gaze in the mirror as he continued kneading her shoulders
He bent and whispered huskily into her ears "I have missed you so much baby" then he took her earlobe into his mouth and sucked it, she drew in a deep breath "keep still" he said when she made to stand up "lemme pleasure you while you look at yourself in the mirror" his deft hands moved from her shoulders down to her boobs and he caressed them through the silky top she wore. She stood up, turned raised her lips to meet his while she pushed him towards the bed.

ENVY 4

“Abokina, yaya ne? I no know say rain I don stop?”
Siji jerked with a start, the man was smiling down at him, exposing his goro stained teeth.
“Oh! Sorry aboki, I just say make I use your chair siddon small as rain dey fall”
“ba masala abokina, no frovlem, but rain I don stop and night I don dey do, zan fara aiki”
“ok, thank you” Siji stepped out of the shade.
The rain had not exactly stopped but it had reduced to drizzles. He backed his bag and crossed the highway, got a bus in front of the school gate “e mu shanji 5 naira yin dani ooo, mio fe wahala” bellowed the driver. Siji checked his wristwatch as they drove down road 1, it was 4:30pm already, he must have been under that shade for an hour or so. The driver refused to go to the halls of residence so Siji had to drop at the first bus stop and walked down to Awo hall. It was a long walk but it was better than giving one of those okada men 20 naira. Or should he even go to New buka first, he thought as he walked down the tarred road. Pago and the boys would be there, he was tired but a little fun wouldn’t hurt, would it? He was so deep in thought that he didn’t see the Mercede-Benz until it was too late. The vehicle ran into the ditch in the middle of the road and splashed the water on Siji, within a few seconds he was drenched, he looked up angrily to at least curse at the oblivious driver but what he saw froze the words on his tongue. Looking back at him from the rear glass was the most beautiful girl he had ever set his eyes on; she was looking at him in horror, then apologetically, the way she was looking at him made his heart to melt, his anger was forgotten in a jiffy. He couldn’t help but smiled at her, and she smiled back, then they both started laughing. She had the most beautiful smile. She mouthed “sorry” as the vehicle turned the corner and he lost sight of her. He stood at the spot for what seemed like an eternity before he could continue walking again.
“well, that’s it Siji, the decision has been made for you, you can’t go to New buka like this, can you?”
he turned towards Awo while thinking about the pretty girl at the back of the Benz. She was a butty no doubt, just as Pago. He wasn't interested in the butty, he is a guy who knows his place but he just could not keep her off his mind as he trudged towards Awo.
                                                       ***

         The Benz pulled up in front of Mozambique hall and Ese and her mum came down.
"Are you sure about this dear?" Her mother asked again when she saw the  hall.
She nodded, even though she wasn't so sure .The sight before her was not attractive at all, it was a large compound with several long blocks, and it looked unkempt to her. The lawn was not well cut like the one in her high school. The line for spreading laundry was full and some clothes were spread on the grass to dry. They were directed to the porter's office by one of the security men stationed at the hall's entrance. The office was sparsely furnished with just a shelf filled with tattered books, a table and two chairs for visitors, a third chair which was across the table was occupied by a slim woman smiling and staring at them behind glasses that seemed too big for her face.
"Good afternoon madam, how may I help you?" She asked as she stood
"You must be the porter"
"Yes, I am, and you must be the mother of this pretty young lady. You are welcome to Mozambique hall, if you'll just hand me her papers I'll show you to her room and bed space"
"Wait a minute ma'am" said Ese's mum "I'm Barrister Osaruwense and my daughter here is Ese Osarunwense"
Ese rolled her eyes -trust my mum to flaunt her profession at any given opportunity- and like now it always had the desired effect, people easily felt intimidated when they hear "Barrister" Ese wondered what would happen when her mum became a SAN, it means people would shit in their pants whenever she introduced herself.
The porter regarded them with renewed respect
"Y....yo...you're wel...come ma'am" she stuttered
"Is this the only hall of residence there is? Are there no others? That are at least a little more fitting to live in?" The  Barrister asked
"Actually, there are three more halls for female students but they are a little different from this, except that they are storeys. And Mozambique Hall is specially reserved for freshmen female students just as Angola is reserved for freshmen male students" she collected Ese's papers from the barrister and compared it with a large register on her desk "you have been allocated bed space 5, lower bunk in room 7 block K" she rose up and made for the door "if you'd please follow me"
as they followed her Ese wondered - bed space 5?- does that mean she will be in a room with 4 other girls? She had always had a room to her self, she had thought she would just be sharing a room with at most a couple of girls. 5 is a crowd. Little did she know.......
As soon as the porter showed mother and daughter the space, she left them, Ambrose brought her things and they started unpacking.
"Are you sure you still want to go through with this? Her mother asked her again
Ese almost gave in but the I-told-you-so look on the barrister's face strengthened her resolve. Since other girls are surviving in this condition, she would, she thought to herself
Aloud she said "yes mum, I am sure, don't worry too much about me"
Her mum gave her the I-know-you-will-change-your-mind-soon smile and said "it's my duty to worry to much about you, you are my baby"
"I know mummy, but I'll be fine"
"Okay, if you insist, my very pretty yet very stubborn girl"
The barrister stayed for a couple of hours then reluctantly stood up to leave, it's a long way to Benin, and she didn't like traveling at night. Ese saw her mother to the car and waved teary eyed at the car as Ambrose drove off, she walked  back to her room cleaning her eyes
"Pele omo mummy, mummy's pet, you better soji yourself sharp sharp, o ti ri nkankan"
The voice startled her, the owner of the voice was a short and plain looking girl, she was with her friends and her friends were laughing at what she said,
Ese didn't understand Yoruba but she knew she was referring to her and she got the gist of what she said.
"Don't take Funke too seriously, she is just doing aro" one of the girls said as she walked up to her giving her a gap-toothed smile, she stretched out her hand "My  name is Tejumola but you can call me Teju for short" she smiled at Ese with big eyeballs that Ese almost lost herself in her eyes. Teju is what one would describe as voluptuous, she wasn't actually pretty but she was attractive, her bosoms were full and rounded and seem to be threatening to bust out of her tight fitting top, she also had great hips and an okay face. Though they were same height, Ese felt slightly intimidated by her. Ese was definitely prettier but when it came to the assets she ranked very low compared to Teju. Her boobs weren't small but she wasn't busty either and the curves on her hips were slight and not so pronounced. Ese could imagine the kind of effect Teju would draw from the opposite sex.
When it seemed as if the pretty girl she was talking to wasn't going to reveal her name, Teju asked "what's your name?"
"Sorry, pardon my manners, I kinda have a lot on my mind. I'm Ese, and please what did you mean by aro?"
All the girls laughed again "don't mind them" Teju said, laughing too "Aro is a Yoruba slang used on this campus, it really has no direct meaning in English. Let's just say it means to jest, kid, banter or act in a funny way and not expecting to be taken seriously. Aro is actually a psychiatric home in Ogun state"
"Oh! Now I get"
"Where are you from Ese, you aren't from around here, are you?
"No, I am from Benin"
"Oh!Omo Benin, I know you are a freshman, I'm a freshman too, but I have always visited Ife even while I was still in high school. I have a brother who is in his penultimate year and a sister who is a sophomore, so am used to happenings around, you are in block K right? I saw you and your mum coming out of it"
"Yes, room 7"
"Waoh! That's my room too, which space?"
"5"
"I am in 8"
"Jesus! Do you mean 8 people sleep in that room?"
"Actually, it's 12"
"Really? Oh! That's more than a crowd, how do you guys survive?"
"We just do, you will too, don't worry, it'd be fun I promise, what course were you admitted for?"
"Economics. You?"
"International Relations. Let's go to the room and I will help you settle in..." Both ladies hand in hand walked towards block K.

About the author.

Soji Adeola Ayanleke was born about 3 decades ago in Kano.
He studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, he speaks Yoruba and Hausa fluently and he is trying to learn Igbo and Spanish. His hobbies are reading, writing and playing some indoor games.

ENVY 3.

By the time Siji got to Ife, it was already raining heavily, he thought about dropping at the bus station in Lagere, but that would be an added stress, and since he was travelling light, he decided to drop at the campus gate, as soon as he was dropped, he dashed for the shade provided by the pedestrian bridge across the highway. It wasn’t much of a cover from the rain that seemed to be annoyed at him, but it was better than nothing. It was windy also, so he was still being hit by raindrops and he was getting soaked. There was no space for him to move inwards, at least to the middle of the shade. The space was occupied by a table with two chairs on it; they were obviously for the mallam who sold suya in front of the school. He would pack his stuffs there every night after closing for the day, and then come back for them every evening. Siji looked closely and found a space just behind the table, he climbed the table to get to the space, then he borrowed one of the mallam’s chairs and sat down, it was quite cozy yet big enough for him to move. Just beside him droplets of water were dropping from the leaking bridge. He got preoccupied by the droplets and started counting them as they drop, 1, 2,3… he notice there was a drop in every two seconds. ‘If we have one droplet in two seconds, how many droplets will there be in a day?’ he asked himself and started doing the math in his head, he loved calculations so much, little wonder he landed in engineering. He got his answer in no time and smiled to himself “I must be going nuts, I’m here seated under a bridge calculating raindrops” he said out loud. He stretched his hand to the catch the droplets “stop it, don’t you know that catching raindrops will turn you into a leper” it was Ma’ami ‘s voice in his ears and it was so audible as if she were there with him, such was the influence she had over him, she could always reach him, no matter the distance between them. Pago always made jest of him anytime he mentioned Ma’ami. No one would have thought him and Pago would be close buddies, saying they were different would be an understatement; they were complete opposites, the only things they had in common were their brilliance and looks. They had the same body structure and same height; one could always be mistaken for the other, especially if they were viewed from behind. Both of them never did believe they look alike as people around them claimed. When asked about how much they looked alike, Siji would answer with one of Ma’ami’s superstitions “We all came to this world in twos, my lookalike just happened to be in the same country as me” and when asked about how they could be this close despite the difference in character, he would simply say “Unlike charges attract, like charges repel, it’s the law of nature”. Their meeting was just a matter of time since they were in the same department, though the class was huge and one may not know all of one’s classmates by name.     
   Thinking back now, their meeting had been somewhat dramatic. It was at the Department of Mathematics, and they were at the MTH 101 tutorial class waiting for their tutorial master, a middle-aged Dr. who reads out maths instead of solving it.  And as usual he was late for the class. Siji was seated at one corner of the class reading a novel written by David Badalci, “Saving Faith” he was really trying to concentrate on what he was reading, but the noise from a group of students at the other end of the class was distracting him, they were talking about politics.
“No one would have thought Abacha would have died when he did” shouted one of them, a sturdy guy with round beautiful face
“and Abiola too” interjected another.
“Ya’ll know nothing” said the one that seemed to be the leader of the group “their deaths wasn’t a coincidence, it was all planned and executed by the West, they both have overstayed their usefulness to the oyinbos, so they were assassinated” “and you learnt about this from your dad I guess” said the sturdy dude”
”No, I was told by one of my dad’s business associate who is also into politics, you know, these men….. my dad’s friends I mean…. are like my friends too, they talk to me as though we were equals, I even knew about the plan to make Obasanjo the president right from the outset.” he boasted and everyone in the group looked at him as if he was some demigod and this spurred him on to continue “you see, Abiola was a kingmaker, he helped Shagari against Awolowo to be president, that was how powerful he was, but he seemed to forget the rule of the game so easily” he paused here looking at all of them as they in turn looked at him expectantly for him to tell them the rule that only him seemed to know, then he said “A kingmaker should never aspire to be a king. That would be his downfall” they all nodded seeming to agree with him “Abiola thought he could eat his cake and have it, but it’s not done in politics.” 
“Have his cake and eat it.”
The rude interruption was from somewhere outside the group and everyone in the group turned towards the voice. Siji cursed under his breath when about half a dozen eyes turned to look at him. He couldn’t fathom why he interrupted their discussion just because of a simple error in expression, an error that had become so widely accepted in his part of the world that only very few knew that it was an error. Maybe it was because he was pissed that they were disturbing his reading or maybe he just wanted to burst the boasting guy’s balloon. But one thing he was sure of, he hated the attention he had drawn to himself, other students were looking too, not just those in the group.
“Excuse me! What did you say?” it was the boaster,
-just keep quiet don’t reply him, it’d all pass- an inner voice said
“were you saying something? Do you have a contrary opinion? Please spit it out, don’t be a sissy”
-ok, the only way to get away from this is to meet it head-on-
“You don’t eat your cake and have it, you have your cake and eat it” everyone was looking at him with the what-the-hell-are-you-saying expression on their faces so he went further “I’m simply saying you got that expression wrong, it should be “have his cake and eat it” not the other way round”
the boaster busted out laughing ”wow! Can you hear yourself? Does that even make any sense to you?”
“it may not make any sense to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong, it is a common mistake that most Nigerians make, I just felt I should point it out  to you, no one is claiming to be an authority in the English language here”
“what school did you finish from?”
“Bariga Boys High School, but I don’t see how it has anything to do with our argument……..”
“A public school” interrupted the boaster  ”well, I may not be an “authority” as you put it, but I went to a very expensive school where English is taught well, not some public school in the middle of God-knows-where where Yoruba is used to teach mathematics, so I would have known before now if the expression were wrong”
Siji couldn’t stop himself from smiling
“in that case I think your English teacher back in school should be hanged for collecting huge sum of money for teaching you bad English, ……sorry bro, your papa was swindled”
Everyone listening busted out in laughter, and Siji knew he had went too far when the boaster’s eye turned red
”alright alright let’s just check it out in the dictionary, anyone with a dictionary here?” said Mr sturdy 
”it’s an engineering class dude, who needs a dictionary?” interjected the boaster
“Are you scared you may be wrong Pago?” Mr sturdy asked smiling
“get off it Kalu, I know I am right, I’m just saving you the stress by stating the obvious in case your thick brain hasn’t registered it”
“Oh! Someone is sounding pissed right now.” Kalu retorted
Just then the tutorial master walked in and there was a hush.
“Good afternoon students, let’s all take out our tutorial booklets, if you don’t have yours please excuse us” the Dr said without look up from the book in his hands. Siji watched Kalu carefully and almost unobtrusively walked out of the class. “how far have we gone with the tutorial, what page are we?”
“L'Hospital’s rule, page 23” someone said. “Alright then” replied the Dr as he shuffles the leaves of the book in his hand. When he got to the page he was looking for, he started reading without looking up
“when solving indeterminate limits using the rule of L'Hospital, you are to differentiate both the numerator and the denominator of the fraction. Some people confuse it with Quotient rule, but they are very different, for example, if we have the square of x minus 2 multiplied by the cube of x as our numerator and at the denominator we have……………” he continued reading as half the class dosed off for the remaining 30 minutes the tutorial would last, Siji placed his David Badalci in between his booklet and continued reading.
After the class, Siji met a smiling Kalu outside the class with a big Oxford Advance Learners dictionary in his hand. He smiled at Siji and said
“dude, you were right, Pago was wrong” “Where did you get the dico from?”
“Faj, I had to run to the hall while you guys were in there”
“Why didn’t you have the MTH 101 tutorial booklet? I saw you walked out of the class”
“Because I don’t need it, I don’t offer the course” 
“But…but … how come?”
“I am not even an Engineering student; I was just there for my guy Pago. Talking about the devil, here he is’’ Kalu said just as Pago and the others in the group walked towards them.
Holding the dictionary up he said aloud though with affection “Pago, I’m so glad someone could burst your bubble today. You were wrong about the cake eating expression. Isn’t it funny? The Almighty Adepago Adebantu was wrong for a change."
Pago took the dictionary from Kalu and looked at it, and then raised his head, smiled at Siji and said “I guess you are right, I’m sorry for what I said about your school”
Siji smiled back and said “I’m also sorry for what I said about your Father and English Teacher”
“Don’t worry; neither of them is in my good books at the moment. I am Adepago Adebantu but you call me Pago. What’s your name?” He offered his hand
“Adesiji Adebambi, you can call me Siji” then shook the offered hand while asking “the same Adebantu?”
“The very same” replied Kalu “He is the son of the popular business magnate. And I am Kalu Okafor, his close friend. Actually, my dad is his family’s doctor and to answer your earlier question fully, I am studying Medicine, and you can call me Kalu” he said, smiling.
“You talk too much Kalu” an obviously irritated Pago said.

About the author.

Soji Adeola Ayanleke was born about 3 decades ago in Kano.
He studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, he speaks Yoruba and Hausa fluently and he is trying to learn Igbo and Spanish. His hobbies are reading, writing and playing some indoor games.

ENVY 2.

 You should read episode one so you can really enjoy this one. Hey! you should tell your friends about this, you can't afford not too. Happy new week.

Let's Continue...

Pago drove down road 1, he enjoyed driving his new car. It was a BMW convertible, compensation from his mum for agreeing to school in Nigeria. No Adebantu schools in Nigeria, his elder brother Fela just graduated from John Hopkins in the States, while his elder sister Sike was presently in Britain, even little Teni would be going abroad, then why was his case different? It was the party. He didn’t regret the party. How would one regret experiencing such a party? But if he had known that it would cost him the chance of studying abroad he would have thought it twice before being part of it. What had started as an innocent soiree for the graduating class had escalated into an overnight party of orgy. He being one of the organizers, had planned it that way and everything would have been alright

had the Reverend’s daughter not come, and she didn’t only come, she had managed to get herself drunk, screwed and knocked up then claimed he was responsible. He could still remember it as if it happened yesterday.    

    He had gone to a  missionary school owned by a reverend where students were expected to be academically sound and morally upright. The students managed to have the former but they were lacking greatly in the latter. Pago was the Senior Prefect boy, a post he got by merit even though his dad happened to be the president of the PTA and a major benefactor of the school. Pago was a very brilliant student, and this somewhat made up for his many vices and since it was a school full of vices, Pago was the most logical choice for the post since he was the best among several “bads”. Charity, the Reverend’s pretty daughter was the Senior Prefect girl, she wasn’t exactly a saint but she still rated low on the vice scale. Pago had always wanted to get it on with her but she had always been outside his reach, despite how hard he tried. His opportunity had come during the party, that she came was even a surprise to him so he made up his mind not to lose this last opportunity because he might not see her ever again after the night. They had booked the topmost floor of a hotel on the island for the party; the floor had just a large hall with adjoining rooms. The party had started as an innocent soiree where awards were given to several students, Best dress, Neatest, Most handsome, Prettiest, Most social, Best couple etc, Pago had won Most Brilliant and Handsome while the Reverend’s daughter had won the Prettiest. After all the awards and preambles, what almost everyone has been waiting for began. Dance! Dance! Dance! There was a lot to drink and in no time most were drunk. Pago wasn’t that drunk but he was tipsy, he could see Charity, the Reverend's daughter  dancing with Johnny. He danced his way between them and Johnny backed out. At the end of everything, he couldn't say how many girls he was with that night but he was sure he had Charity, what he didn't know was how charitable Charity had been that night. 

    Everything went well for a couple of weeks. He hanged out with friends and they discussed the night. Like him, many of them couldn’t tell how many girls they screwed the night but they all agreed that it was a “party to beat”. Many of the guys claimed they had sex with Charity that night, so it came as a shock to him when his father called him into his study one evening to inform him that Charity is claiming that he had knocked her up. It all happened like a comedy, he could remember the Reverend threatening fire and brimstone and accusing him of defiling his "naive" and "innocent" daughter. Naive? Innocent? Defile? None of the words described Charity. She must have been deceiving her dad. There was nothing he could say to defend himself, because even though he wasn’t the only one that “tidied” her that night, he didn’t want his father to know how bad that party was. So he simply kept quiet and accepted his “responsibility”. Three months later he was told Charity had a miscarriage, but he didn’t believe it, it  must have been an abortion, the Reverend had a reputation to preserve. Pago nonetheless was glad that he was set free from the unnecessary entanglement, little did he know that it would still cost him. His dad, Chief Adebantu sent Charity abroad to school in order to appease the Reverend and claimed that he used the resources budgeted for Pago’s schooling abroad. The chief could have easily sponsored ten children abroad to school without it having any effect on his wealth; Pago was being punished for knocking up the Reverend’s daughter. He apologized; begged, sulked, used his mum, but his dad didn’t yield, so he was sent to school in a “Godforsaken” town. “It’s the best school in Nigeria, better than most foreign schools, you will enjoy it there” his mum said, trying to console him. Who gives a damn if it was better than Harvard? All he wanted was to leave the country, he had over-bragged to his friends. At last he had no choice but to succumb, his dad could be very stubborn and decisive, anyway he got a ride from the whole affair, he didn’t lose entirely.   Now that was a closed chapter in his life, he would do his penance by schooling in Nigeria but he sure was going to have fun doing that.

   The honking of the vehicles behind him roused him from his thoughts, the street light at the T-junction in front of the Student Union Building was blinking green, “Oh! Shit” he swore as he lifted his leg from the brake pedal and accelerated towards New Buka, the only place on campus where smoking and drinking was allowed. Time to shayee for the boys, too bad his buddy Siji wasn’t there…
You've got to patiently follow this story, we are still warming up, watch out for episode three.

About the author

 

Soji Adeola Ayanleke was born about 3 decades ago in Kano,

he studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile-Ife, he speaks Yoruba and Hausa Fluently and he is trying to learn Igbo and Spanish. His hobbies are reading, writing and playing some indoor games.

  

ENVY 1

SEPTEMBER 15, 2000

HARMATTAN.

“Ese why don’t you reconsider staying with Dr. Ben? You know you’ll be comfortable there, you will have a whole apartment to yourself at his boys quarters, I don’t want you sharing room with some total strangers, one can never trust anyone these days” her mother said again in what seemed as her last attempt to convince her. Her mother has really been on her nerve. That had been part of her parents’ plans all along even before she secured admission; they had everything thought out for her, typical of all rich parents with few kids to spoil. In her case it was just her and Richard who was currently studying abroad, she would have gone abroad too but her mother wanted one of her kids close. She didn't actually mind schooling in Nigeria, in fact she was looking forward to it, that was why she had refused to stay with the Dr. she intended to be as regular a student as she could be, that was one plan of her parents’ she wouldn’t agree too, she had allowed them pick the school and the course, she wouldn’t make them dictate how she was going to live her life in school. They were sited at the back of the Mercedes-Benz as Ambrose drove them from Benin to Ife, “Mummy don’t worry, I am going to be okay, I don’t want to live alone with Dr, Ben, I want to be a regular student, stay in the hostel, walk with other students to lecture halls, and compare notes and ideas with other students” her mother sighed “okay okay, but the Doctor’s offer still stands in case you change your mind” Ese couldn’t help but smile, it was not easy winning an argument with her mum, even her dad hardly did, her mum could be very persuasive, little wonder she was making it big in her law firm, there were even whispers of her being made a SAN soon. Ese kept herself busy by looking at the landscape as Ambrose sped towards Ife.

                                                                     ***

 Siji was having a bad day, it was just as if the gods were having fun with him. He had woken up very early that day just so he could meet up with Pago, they had planned to travel to school together, Pago had a car and Siji was to meet him at Ojota but the ill-fated danfo he took from home had a flat tire and it took almost forever for the driver and his conductor to fix it. Knowing Pago from experience, Siji was sure he would not meet Pago by the time he got to their point of rendezvous; he thought of calling him from the phone booth close by but he realized that he had used up his call card, very few people could afford mobile phones, few people like Pago, others like him own call cards, the rest have to depend on the postal service to reach loved ones. He heard that in Ghana even bus conductors had mobile phones; he couldn’t wait for the time when almost every Nigerian would own a mobile phone. Even calling Pago to wait for him wouldn’t work, patience wasn't one of Pago’s virtues, in fact when it comes to virtues Pago would always rate low, and who needs virtue anyway when one was an Adebantu. “Oya e wole.... enter enter” the conductor shouted and shook Siji out of his thoughts, everyone boarded the danfo for the second time that morning and the driver sped down Ikorodu road towards Ojota. When he got to Ojota he couldn’t stop himself from checking the spot where he was to meet Pago even though he knew it would be a wasted effort, and just as he suspected, the spot was empty. He entered the bus station and walked towards the bus that had a sign post saying “Lagos to Ilesa/Ife” on it, the bus that looked as though it needed some panel beating, was full but for two spaces left at the backseat, he would have preferred to seat at the front with the driver but both front seats were taken and he couldn’t wait for a next bus because the bus seemed to be the last one going to Ife for the day. He had no choice but to settle for the backseat, but he intended to seat beside the window and luckily the seat beside the window was unoccupied, God forbid he seats beside the fat woman with tribal marks designing her face, who was seated in the middle of the backseat. The last passenger will take the space between him and her, he hates sitting with overweight people while traveling, they always do cheat him off his space. He managed to squeeze his tall lanky frame into the backseat, he paid his fare and was just settling down when a fat and huge breasted woman in a shot sleeved buba appeared by the window “Ogbeni, se’o foju ni? Didn’t you see the polythene bag on that seat?” Siji was confused, the huge breasted woman was obviously talking to him and she wasn’t smiling “sun s’egbe lo’un before I vent my annoyance on you” she hissed. He wasn’t in any mood to take on a pissed woman so he hurriedly moved to sit beside the woman with the tribal marks, as he moved, his legs hit something on the floor, it was a polythene bag, obviously the pissed-off woman’s, he picked it and dropped it on her seat, the woman didn’t seem appeased by his act “awon oloriburuku, that’s how they behave, they drop one’s bag on the floor and claim one’s seat...” she continued in Yoruba as she got in the bus to claim her seat. A voluminous book was brought where all passengers filled in some required information just in case something bad happened on the journey, he had always being weary of filling such books, it’s as if one is praying for evil. He quelled the superstitious thought, collected the book, and filled his details, he wrote Ma’ami’s name and address as whom to be contacted in case something happened ‘Oh! Maami'  he thought of her and smiled fondly, one couldn’t be raised by her and not be superstitious, no matter how educated one may end up being.  He paid his fare after filling the book. When everyone was done filling the book, the bus took off. Siji was sandwiched between two fat women; the pissed-off one raised her left arm and placed it on the seat behind his head, exposing her very hairy armpit. He moved slightly away from her but he had little space to shift to because Madam tribal-mark dipped her hand into her bag and brought out a Nokia handset and faced him saying “omo mi dakun, help me search for Safaru on this phone and call him for me” Siji took the phone, called Safaru and gave it back to her just as it started ringing, “Safaru! Safaru! pemi pada I only wanted to flash you” she shouted into the phone and gave it back to Siji to help her cut the call. ‘Safaru must be a rich dude Siji thought to himself as he cut the call. Madam pissed-off was already snoring and his head kept hitting her heavy boobs anytime they ran into a pothole, she was obviously oblivious. Safaru called back and Madam tribal-mark shouted again “k’are omo da da, I want to report Salifa to you…”. -This day couldn’t get any worse- Siji thought, as the driver drove towards Ibadan. If only he knew.        

  Soji Adeola Ayanleke was born about 3 decades ago in Kano,

he studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile-Ife, he speaks Yoruba and Hausa Fluently and he is trying to learn Igbo and Spanish. His hobbies are reading, writing and playing some indoor games.

                                                                                                        

ENVY- Prologue.

NOVEMBER 1, 2012

Ese felt nostalgic as she drove the Audi convertible down road 1, though the road had been rechristened, it would always be road 1 to everyone. Seated beside her was Rose strapped to the seat belt. Rose couldn’t contain her excitement as they drove down the boulevard, “it’s really as beautiful as they say mum, I can’t believe this is going to be our new home, it’s quieter and cooler than Fifth Avenue” Ese wasn’t surprised at Rose’s enthusiasm. Rose had always been the cheery type; she made the best out of every situation she found herself, unlike her mum, Ese thought. She had gotten that from someone Ese wouldn’t want to think about now. The school hadn’t really changed but for some new buildings, she could see the bank buildings lined up in front of the sporting complex. The only bank in school while she was an undergrad had been WEMA bank. Now lined up opposite the sporting complex, across the road and fighting for space were Zenith, Access, GTB, UBA, FBN and Sterling banks, students could be seen around all these banks, it’s the beginning of a new session and everyone was rushing to pay their fees she surmised. As they saw the Senate building looming as a gigantic masterpiece in front of them she thought for the umpteenth time why she had allowed herself to be convinced into taking this job, with her qualification and all, she had better offers but she chose albeit reluctantly to come to this place, her Alma mater, this place that held sweet and bitter memories, this place that she had sworn never to set foot on. Here, where it all started.

This is going to be a very important and interesting journey you would not want to miss, watch out for the chapter one.

 Soji Adeola Ayanleke was born about 3 decades ago in Kano,

he studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile-Ife, he speaks Yoruba and Hausa Fluently and he is trying to learn Igbo and Spanish. His hobbies are reading, writing and playing some indoor games.