Siji read the pasted note on the notice board the second time
All the students having me as their supervisor should in their own interest endeavour to see me today.
Owonikoko Aberuagba.
★★★
Siji wondered why the professor had written the note as though his project students were much, as if it was not just two of them. He and Pago had dilly dallied and had not gone to see their supervisor as required. He had really wanted to go but he did not want to go alone, he needed Pago to be there too, they would need each other for support. But Pago had kept procrastinating. He sensed that Pago, like him was scared to see their supervisor even though he refused to admit it.
Siji checked the remaining airtime on his phone, it was 50 naira ---just enough to pass the information across--- he thought, then he dialed Pago's number.
Siji wondered why the professor had written the note as though his project students were much, as if it was not just two of them. He and Pago had dilly dallied and had not gone to see their supervisor as required. He had really wanted to go but he did not want to go alone, he needed Pago to be there too, they would need each other for support. But Pago had kept procrastinating. He sensed that Pago, like him was scared to see their supervisor even though he refused to admit it.
Siji checked the remaining airtime on his phone, it was 50 naira ---just enough to pass the information across--- he thought, then he dialed Pago's number.
★★★
"Ese just give me a chance and you'll never regret it. I promise."
She kept on walking, ignoring him. The only time he had given her respite was the semester that followed the death of his mother and it was just for the first few months.
"Ese say something." He prodded.
Now she regretted not taking a bike. She had decided to walk the distance from the academic area to her apartment instead of taking a bike. She had been walking lately as a form of exercise. Pago had slowed down by her side honking and asking her to come in, when she had kept on walking, he had driven slowly beside her but the road was narrow and he had been disturbing other motorists so he had to park by the road side and walk with her.
"Do you know I'm your friend's girlfriend?" She finally asked when she saw that her silence wasn't working this time.
"Ye.........yea.... I know you guys are involved somehow, but it's just in name right. It's not like you guys are doing anything or....or.....my point is he isn't treating you like a woman, as you should be treated."
"And how do you know that?"
"As you said, he is my friend. I know him well. Allow me to show you how a woman is treated."
"I'm not complaining to you, am I? I enjoy my relationship with Siji just fine and even if I don't, you will be the last person I'll come running to."
"You must be kidding" he said sounding surprised then he tried another line "even that aside, he isn't your class, I'm sure your parents don't know about him." he smiled confidently.
she was so infuriated but she kept her calm "I think it's time Siji heard about all these."
"So you plan to tell him? Please do. If you think your threat will scare me away, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Your telling him will only make me achieve my aim faster." He threatened.
She could not hold it anymore, she stopped walking, faced him and started to tell him just exactly what she thought of him and his threat, but his ringing phone interrupted her.
Pago picked the call and spoke into his phone
"Bawoni? How far?" He paused, then said
"Anything the matter?"
"Really? Wait make I call you back." then he cut the call.
To Ese he said "I gotta go now, but our discussion isn't over, see you later baby."
As Ese watched him walk to his car she silently thanked whoever had called him because the call had saved her from losing herself. If not for the call, she would have gone hysterical on him. She tried to calm herself down as she continued walking toward the quarters.
★★★
While Siji was wondering why Pago had cut the call so abruptly, his phone started ringing almost immediately.
"Ogbeni, why you cut the call? You with someone?"
"Yea, Stella, but she's gone" Pago replied without thinking "So what is it you were saying about Jasper wanting to see us?"
Yea, he pasted a note on the notice board. Where you dey?"
"I dey drive come from quarters, I am coming right away, wait for me abeg"
"Come quick please, the earlier the better"
"Cool down jare, it's better we see him together"
"Don't you think I know that? That's why I'm calling"
"Okay, I go reach department sharperly"
"Ese just give me a chance and you'll never regret it. I promise."
She kept on walking, ignoring him. The only time he had given her respite was the semester that followed the death of his mother and it was just for the first few months.
"Ese say something." He prodded.
Now she regretted not taking a bike. She had decided to walk the distance from the academic area to her apartment instead of taking a bike. She had been walking lately as a form of exercise. Pago had slowed down by her side honking and asking her to come in, when she had kept on walking, he had driven slowly beside her but the road was narrow and he had been disturbing other motorists so he had to park by the road side and walk with her.
"Do you know I'm your friend's girlfriend?" She finally asked when she saw that her silence wasn't working this time.
"Ye.........yea.... I know you guys are involved somehow, but it's just in name right. It's not like you guys are doing anything or....or.....my point is he isn't treating you like a woman, as you should be treated."
"And how do you know that?"
"As you said, he is my friend. I know him well. Allow me to show you how a woman is treated."
"I'm not complaining to you, am I? I enjoy my relationship with Siji just fine and even if I don't, you will be the last person I'll come running to."
"You must be kidding" he said sounding surprised then he tried another line "even that aside, he isn't your class, I'm sure your parents don't know about him." he smiled confidently.
she was so infuriated but she kept her calm "I think it's time Siji heard about all these."
"So you plan to tell him? Please do. If you think your threat will scare me away, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Your telling him will only make me achieve my aim faster." He threatened.
She could not hold it anymore, she stopped walking, faced him and started to tell him just exactly what she thought of him and his threat, but his ringing phone interrupted her.
Pago picked the call and spoke into his phone
"Bawoni? How far?" He paused, then said
"Anything the matter?"
"Really? Wait make I call you back." then he cut the call.
To Ese he said "I gotta go now, but our discussion isn't over, see you later baby."
As Ese watched him walk to his car she silently thanked whoever had called him because the call had saved her from losing herself. If not for the call, she would have gone hysterical on him. She tried to calm herself down as she continued walking toward the quarters.
★★★
While Siji was wondering why Pago had cut the call so abruptly, his phone started ringing almost immediately.
"Ogbeni, why you cut the call? You with someone?"
"Yea, Stella, but she's gone" Pago replied without thinking "So what is it you were saying about Jasper wanting to see us?"
Yea, he pasted a note on the notice board. Where you dey?"
"I dey drive come from quarters, I am coming right away, wait for me abeg"
"Come quick please, the earlier the better"
"Cool down jare, it's better we see him together"
"Don't you think I know that? That's why I'm calling"
"Okay, I go reach department sharperly"
★★★
"So if I had not pasted a note, you two wouldn't have come to see me?" He asked them. They looked quickly at each other as if they would find the answer to his question on each other's face, then looked back at him just as quick. He stared at them over his horn-rimmed glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose. Siji could not hold his gaze so he glanced round the office furtively, looking for anywhere or anything to look at but the eyes of the professor. It was Siji's first time in the office. It looked like what a typical professor's office would look like. Almost half of the wall was covered by shelves, on the shelves were lots of books, files and papers arranged not so neatly, some of the books looked dirty and Siji wondered when last the prof had opened them. The office table separating them from the prof was not any better, aside from the gigantic desktop computer monitor and an equally gigantic system unit that took half of the space on the table, there were also litters of papers and a stockpile of books on the table.
--do all professors go through a special course that teaches them to be untidy?-- Siji wondered, then immediately thought of what Ese would say to his thoughts. She would call it a fallacy of hasty generalization.
"Are you guys going to answer my question, or will you keep standing in my office and acting as dumb-asses?"
The professor's thick voice kicked Ese out of Siji's head to somewhere in his subconsciousness
"I......I......we.....we..." Pago began to stutter
"Actually sir, we planned to come see you later in the week." Siji said with more confidence than he felt
"Why later in the week?"
"Because we are still working on project topics to present to you"
"Enough with the 'we' 'we' Mr. Man, speak for yourself." Jasper said then turned to Pago "So you, what's your reason?"
"Same sir, we planned to come together and we are yet to find worthy project topics." Pago answered with a much stronger voice this time.
"And who told you two I accept project topics from students?"
"We thought it was the norm for student to...." Siji started to say
"F**k the norm Mr. We." interrupted the professor curtly. Both students were taken aback by his language.
He continued before they could recover
"I don't accept project topics from students, I give students what I want them to do, understood?" They both nodded their heads saying "yes sir." simultaneously.
"Good. Now that we are clear, who amongst you is Adebambi?"
"I'm sir." Siji answered
"Then you must be Adebantu?" He said looking at Pago
"Yes sir."
He opened the table drawer and took out two files "here is for Adebambi and here is for Adebantu." he said handing them each of the file.
"Read the papers in those files very well, each file treats a different topic from the other so I don't except you to work together, the files contain other people's work on the topics, how far they could go and their shortcomings. You guys are to improve on them. At the last page of each file I wrote down what I expect you both to achieve by the end of your project. I expect you to update me weekly on your progress. Any question?"
"No question sir" their reply was unanimous and automatic.
"Okay, you may go, we'll see in a week's time" as they turn to leave, he called out "And remember, especially you Mr. We, this is an 'I' thing, not a 'we' thing. Next time you talk to me, it should be in the first person singular sense, and both of you don't have to come and see me at a time, in fact, don't come here together again, understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Good, that will be all for now." he said and dismissed them with a wave of this hand.
"So if I had not pasted a note, you two wouldn't have come to see me?" He asked them. They looked quickly at each other as if they would find the answer to his question on each other's face, then looked back at him just as quick. He stared at them over his horn-rimmed glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose. Siji could not hold his gaze so he glanced round the office furtively, looking for anywhere or anything to look at but the eyes of the professor. It was Siji's first time in the office. It looked like what a typical professor's office would look like. Almost half of the wall was covered by shelves, on the shelves were lots of books, files and papers arranged not so neatly, some of the books looked dirty and Siji wondered when last the prof had opened them. The office table separating them from the prof was not any better, aside from the gigantic desktop computer monitor and an equally gigantic system unit that took half of the space on the table, there were also litters of papers and a stockpile of books on the table.
--do all professors go through a special course that teaches them to be untidy?-- Siji wondered, then immediately thought of what Ese would say to his thoughts. She would call it a fallacy of hasty generalization.
"Are you guys going to answer my question, or will you keep standing in my office and acting as dumb-asses?"
The professor's thick voice kicked Ese out of Siji's head to somewhere in his subconsciousness
"I......I......we.....we..." Pago began to stutter
"Actually sir, we planned to come see you later in the week." Siji said with more confidence than he felt
"Why later in the week?"
"Because we are still working on project topics to present to you"
"Enough with the 'we' 'we' Mr. Man, speak for yourself." Jasper said then turned to Pago "So you, what's your reason?"
"Same sir, we planned to come together and we are yet to find worthy project topics." Pago answered with a much stronger voice this time.
"And who told you two I accept project topics from students?"
"We thought it was the norm for student to...." Siji started to say
"F**k the norm Mr. We." interrupted the professor curtly. Both students were taken aback by his language.
He continued before they could recover
"I don't accept project topics from students, I give students what I want them to do, understood?" They both nodded their heads saying "yes sir." simultaneously.
"Good. Now that we are clear, who amongst you is Adebambi?"
"I'm sir." Siji answered
"Then you must be Adebantu?" He said looking at Pago
"Yes sir."
He opened the table drawer and took out two files "here is for Adebambi and here is for Adebantu." he said handing them each of the file.
"Read the papers in those files very well, each file treats a different topic from the other so I don't except you to work together, the files contain other people's work on the topics, how far they could go and their shortcomings. You guys are to improve on them. At the last page of each file I wrote down what I expect you both to achieve by the end of your project. I expect you to update me weekly on your progress. Any question?"
"No question sir" their reply was unanimous and automatic.
"Okay, you may go, we'll see in a week's time" as they turn to leave, he called out "And remember, especially you Mr. We, this is an 'I' thing, not a 'we' thing. Next time you talk to me, it should be in the first person singular sense, and both of you don't have to come and see me at a time, in fact, don't come here together again, understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Good, that will be all for now." he said and dismissed them with a wave of this hand.
Soji Adeola Ayanleke © 2015
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