Ibukun Olasehinde

Today at the airport, I sat with a soldier and my mind wandered to the many stories I’ve heard about them. Stories about them being ruthless, always angry and impatient and I was a bit scared. I sat rigidly in my chair with proper home-training so I don’t get one of their famous slaps. When his phone rang, I seized the opportunity to look him up. He was huge, almost a giant compared to my small stature. His face looked like he had a permanent frown on, he had an ugly scar that ran down from his forehead to his chin; like he was macheted and I flinched. When he spoke, his voice boomed all over the hall and he sounded angry. “I wonder if he has a wife or children,” I said quietly to myself. If he had a family, then I wonder how he relates to them when his uniform is hung. Immediately I heard him tell his caller goodbye, I composed myself again and kept a straight face like I was not just gawking at him. Then he spoke to me, Ha! What have I done now? I shivered and slowly turned at him. “do you know if Azman Airline has been announced?” He asked with a straight face and I feared I would get a slap if I gave him a wrong answer. I was lost in my assessment of his physique that I didn’t pay attention to flights announcement. It took me a while to compose a reply in my mind before spitting it out to him. “I have not been concentrating sir” I answered with a stutter and he gave me a disappointing look and if I could read his mind, he might have said, “see this dumb girl”. He didn’t say a word, not even a thank you, how rude! I rolled my eyes. He stood up from his seat and his full height intimidated me, the way he walked commanded respect, he walked with pride and I awkwardly wished he was my father. He would intimidate bullies for me. I was laughing at a meme I saw on Twitter when he got back, his hardened face murdered my laugh and I wore my straight face again and sat up like a statue. I wondered if it would kill him to smile, I was sure he had not laughed in years. I was still wondering many things about him when I saw a toddler stagger up to him and he caught her before she fell, she smiled at him with her cute four teeth and then he smiled back at her. Ha! I was flabbergasted and turned my neck a bit to look at him. He carried the toddler on his lap and when she wrapped her little finger around his thumb, I could see him melt. Children though, his scary face didn’t scare, I guess she saw his heart instead. When the toddler’s mother came a few minutes later, she rubbed the soldier’s head and said: “I hope you are not hungry?” And he smiled at her and nodded his head. “I’m fine honey,” he said and the whole moment felt like a dream to me. Alas! He was with his family, his beautiful wife, and cute daughter and he was the sweetest around them. My tense body relaxed, then I took my phone and even crossed my legs as I laughed out loud at the tweets on my timeline. Soldiers are humans after all and they have a heart.

What do they say about leaving your comfort zone again? My family got to Ibadan in 1996. We had relocated from Jos where I was born in 1993 so that explains why I don’t understand or speak Hausa like other members of the family. The first area we stayed in Ibadan was Mokola and we lived there for two years. The area was nothing to write about, it was dirty and rowdy and there were many typical yoruba indigenes. Our lives would have been worse if we didn’t leave that house, the environment was the type that saw teenage pregnancy as being okay and education was not important. They appreciated trades more and almost everyone there was selling something and many of the children hawked. We moved to Bodija, a more comfortable and peaceful area and we were happy. I had my primary school in Olabisi Nursery and primary school in Agbowo and my secondary school in a public school Immanuel College in Samonda. My dream was to leave Ibadan to another state for my University degree but as fate would have it, I was stuck in Ibadan once more and got admission into the University of Ibadan to study philosophy. But I was happy because the University is a well respected school in Nigeria and I felt intelligent to be given admission to study a even tough course. My dream of leaving Ibadan came alive again when it was time for me to go for the National Youth Service Corp; a one year compulsory program for Nigerian graduates to serve the country. I was to serve in Akwa Ibom State and I promised myself I was never going to redeploy but unfortunately for me, the stories I heard about the state especially the villages in the orientation camp scared me and I got the relocation form to be redeployed to Ondo State. I never filled in for Oyo State where I left. Fate won again and I was redeployed back to Ibadan not even Oyo town but Ibadan and in a local government close to my house. It was there I gave up my dream of leaving the city and started planning on how to get the best out of Ibadan. Aside from my occasional travels to my cousin’s house in Lagos State and the three weeks orientation camp in Akwa Ibom, I have never really left Ibadan. At home, I had almost everything at my disposal. My younger sister was always there to attend to me, all I did at home was to sleep, eat and lounge around. I was comfortable and it didn’t take long before I realized this was not the life I wanted. Life dawned on me after I completed my one year program of serving my country, I didn’t know what else to do. Job was not forthcoming and I didn’t have enough money to start a reasonable business. I could remember falling into depression, I was unhappy for months and would always pray to God for an angel to save me. I decided to go back to school for my masters degree even though I knew I was not ready for it at that time. But masters degree would hide me from the reality of life again and I would have my answers ready when anyone asked what I was doing with my life. I wrote the proficiency test and passed, I was a bit impressed with myself because I didn’t prepare for the test. “You still got it Ibk” I said to myself that evening grinning ear to ear even when I knew there was a thin possibility of me taking up that admission. I got a four months contract Job in Ibadan and the experience was interesting, I saw how the real world was and even though being independent comes with a lot of stress, I loved my job and was happy I could do things for myself. Since I had been in a competition with fate over my dream of leaving in Ibadan, after the contract Job, fate lost to me as I finally decided to leave my comfort zone of twenty-three years. I left Ibadan on the 4th of April with joy and mixed feelings, I had so many questions in my head that I couldn’t discuss with anyone. Questions like; what if my plans didn’t work? Will i be able to overcome the challenges that awaits me? How would i cope by myself in a strange city? Am i sure this is a good idea? Maybe I am destined to be in Ibadan. But I was stubborn and I stood my ground that nothing was going to stop me from leaving Ibadan and I embarked on the journey to the real world. A world where there was no mother to pamper me and allow me do whatever I want, a world where there was no younger sister I could order around to do my chores, a world where I could no longer hang out with friends anywhere and anytime I want. It was a world where I would be by myself and I wasn’t sure if I was ready or not. I got to Abuja and met my cousin at the airport waiting for me, he was so excited to see me and assured me I had no worries about where to stay that I could stay with him and if I was not comfortable he would take me to another place. My cousin boasted of having many places in Abuja I could stay and my mind was at rest. I smiled as I welcomed myself to the new life. We got to Mpape where my cousin stays in the night and I could hardly see the environment but the rowdiness and the smell of stress and hustles I could perceive reminded me of Ajegunle in Lagos State. When we got to his house, he looked at me with a big smile and said “welcome to my humble abode” and I forced a smile and thanked him. He asked if I was going to eat noodles and I said yes, immediately he left the room, I felt tears swelling up in my eyes and almost regretted leaving Ibadan. I thought about how I would cope in my cousin’s house. I would say the lifestyle in Mpape is for hustlers, an environment where all you need is just a place to rest your head after the day’s hustles, it was not an environment for hangouts or a place you could entertain visitors. The residents of Mpape are people whose only goal is survival from the way I perceived the environment. I woke up as early as 5am the next day to a clearer picture of Mpape and I almost cried, I would never get used to the environment and I was sure about that. Even though my top goal when leaving Ibadan was to come to Abuja to hustle for a better life, it was not this kind of hustle, I was not strong or built for that. I was sure my mother would cry if she knew I was going to stay in Mpape. I thought I could hear fate laughed at me when I was thinking about my survival in an environment of unbothered hustlers. But fate lost to me again when I moved to Kubwa, a better place that reminded me of the environment I was in Ibadan. I had so many conversations in my head in Kubwa and I also learned about life more. I thought about people who had no parents nor relatives and how they survived in a harsh country like Nigeria. Being away from home taught me to appreciate people more especially family that would always be there for you no matter what. I could give up and run back home and my mother would be there arms opened to welcome me. Being away from home made me see the world better and how people live. I appreciate even the smallest things like the water I drink, I remember buying a satchel of water for a thirsty girl in Kubwa market one hot afternoon as usual. The sun in Abuja could roast a corn. The young girl had been following me but I didn’t notice her because I was wearing my headphones and was concentrating on buying the fruits that brought me to the market. She stood in front of me when I was about paying for the fruits I bought and pleaded with her eyes as she slapped her hands together and said “ruwa” which means water in Hausa language. I bought a satchel of water and gave it to her, I would never forget how her eyes lit up when she collected the water from me and said “Nagode”. I watched as she walked away and gulped the water in seconds and I felt the water might not be enough for her. My heart ached as I walked back home that afternoon and I didn’t know when I started thanking God for the little things I take for granted. It has been 90 days since I left my comfort zone and even though I don’t have everything I planned or wished for yet, I am glad that I stood by the decision of leaving the city of Ibadan. The world is a big place and I believe we shouldn’t be confined in one part of it. There are so many places to see, explore and learn from. The quote that says when you see other people’s problems, you will pick yours and embrace it without complaints has no lies in it. I have come to be grateful for life, and especially good health. Good health is underrated in human life and we only appreciate it when we fall sick and overcome the sickness. There was a woman that flew with me, she was brought on a wheelchair, a very beautiful hausa woman in her early forties I guess. Her body looked numb and she was drooling. The young lady that brought her was with more than three handkerchiefs, wiping her mouth every seconds. I was lost in thought as I looked at her and felt sorry for her. She looked rich yet her money could not buy her a sound health. I was again grateful for good health and shook my head when I remembered many times I have lied about having malaria. Malaria might not be a big deal to us but it kills thousands of people everyday in other countries or states. Also, people who say there is no money or a good paying job in Nigeria has not been to some states in the country. Being in Ibadan, I would embrace a fifty thousand salary with happiness and gratitude because I have been limited to think it is like that everywhere too. Being outside Ibadan, I have heard people talk about earning more than a million every month as their salary, I could remember the first time someone told me a gate man could earn as much as two hundred thousand naira in Borno state. I almost screamed my lungs out, and then my orientation about money changed and I started believing there are legit salary jobs that could make a person be very comfortable in this country. I erased my mind off a hundred thousand naira salary and started dreaming of earning more. It’s been 90 days and I am still learning, hoping, dreaming and still growing. I have learned to live on my own, to be responsible for myself and I think as a human, that is the first aspect you should learn in life because one day you will be responsible for others, they would depend on you and you better be ready. This is only a snippet of my experience away from my comfort zone and I look forward to writing more after a year. I have also planned to learn Hausa and study the people and their lifestyle. For me, aside from insurgency, the north has to be the sweetest place to be.

‘There is nothing I can ever do to satisfy you!’ Folawe screamed with tears in her eyes at the man she said ‘yes I do’ to seven months ago. They used to be inseparable but now, seeing her has been like a plague to him. They met at their NYSC orientation camp in Rivers State. She was among the Red Cross Volunteer Group. Dolapo first noticed her on their Nysc swearing in when she was attending to weak and tired corp members and since that morning, he could not get his mind off her. Folawe was like a goddess in camp, with her compassionate big round eyes and her ever smiling face, she could heal the world with her smiles. The boys were on her trail, each fighting for her attention and if wishes were horses even those camp nerds would be riding alongside Folawe. Dolapo was the platoon two most popular corp member and although he was proud, everyone loved him, the girls threw themselves at him and the guys hailed him. He was good at everything, he played soccer, volleyball, played instruments and even contested for the MR NYSC pageantry and won. He wanted to talk to Folawe so bad but it irked him to see that all the men wanted her too so he decided to date her best friend whom he had no tolerance for because she talked too much. ‘Babe don’t you think you should invite Folawe to hang out with us in our corner here in mami one day? That girl looks like she needs a break from being a super hero’. Dolapo told Sandra one afternoon after their lecture and she frowned not only because she was jealous but because Dolapo sounded elated, she rolled her eyes and said she would invite Folawe, he smiled as he put his hand around her waist, an act he would never be caught doing. All through their walk to the mami market, Dolapo had his mind on Folawe, the girl of his dreams, he imagined her putting her tired head on his shoulders while telling him about the stress of being a Red cross volunteer. His thought was cut short when Sandra announced Folawe’s presence, for the first time in Dolapo’s life he was tongue-tied and couldn’t respond to her greetings. If angels walked on earth, he was sure Folawe would be their queen. Folawe sat beside her friend, coy and excruciating especially with Dolapo’s eyes hovering over her body. Fate seemed to have smiled on them when Sandra was called to the parade ground, she grumbled and tried convincing Folawe to follow her but Dolapo had to seize this moment and told Sandra to go that he would be here waiting for her. He kissed her forehead and absorbed her sanity, Sandra smiled sheepishly as she bounced to the parade ground loving that Dolapo seemed to be loving her recently. And there they exchanged contacts, laughing and talking like they were friends from birth. Folawe had never been that close with any man before and she was surprised by how much she could open up to Dolapo in a day. They exchanged their experiences on so many things and even discovered they had so many attributes in common. Dolapo broke up his relationship with Sandra and although he never asked Folawe to be his girlfriend, she was his best friend and they were inseparable their last two weeks in the orientation camp. Most girls were envious of Folawe and most boys thought she was stupid for picking Dolapo, a play boy, over them. After the orientation camp, they both got their place of primary assignment at the same school and their friendship grew even more. Folawe was the best thing that happened to Dolapo who had come from a broken home and was raised by his father whom he adored, his mother had left them when he was five to pursue her career in modeling and had become a sought after model in the United States. It has always been he and his father, and he had little or no knowledge of how to love the opposite sex. He once beat up a girl in church when he was ten and his father was worried for weeks about him growing up to be gay or disliking the opposite sex so he made sure to always get him out to play more with girls which never worked. All through his university days, Dolapo never had a girl friend, he had few flings and he always stopped at that, getting himself busy with other activities, either academics or sports. Folawe became the first woman in his life, a girl he could tear his heart out for, a girl that understood his silence. She was his closest friend and even his male friends were jealous of their closeness, he could no longer share with them anything about his life, Folawe was his everything and he never told her nor did he tell her he wanted her to be his forever. Folawe was in love with him and she wanted more but she couldn’t make the first move for she feared he would reject her. They played a lot and Dolapo was never serious. He once told her he would marry her after their one year program and she would blush, but he would scream at her again saying he couldn’t imagine him getting married to her that she was like a sister to him already, sometimes he even teased her about not getting him a girlfriend and Folawe would just smile or ignore him. She was convinced he didn’t see her more than their friendship and decided to yield to her friend’s advice of getting herself a boyfriend instead of waiting blindly for Dolapo who seemed never to see her as anything but his buddy. ‘About time I give Henry a chance, Dolapo cannot be wasting my time’. She smiled and texted Henry she was ready to go out with him to lunch. She was applying a red lipstick, the one Dolapo got for her when he entered. ‘Talk of the devil’. She exclaimed and gave him a punch on his right arm, Dolapo looked her up and frowned, she didn’t tell him about any occasion nor hangout with her friends so why was she dressed this fine and she even used the lipstick he got for her, she only used that lipstick on special occasions. ‘So where are you going to dressed like you are getting a grammy today’. Folawe laughed not because of the question but his cute straight face and his pouted lips whenever he was angry or worried. She told him she had a lunch date and she could see his mood changed. ‘Date lunch? Lunch date? With who? Where? When did you start all this, do you even know the kind of person the guy is? What if he was dangerous?’. His outburst surprised Folawe and she stopped laughing, she never expected him to be like this over her business and she frowned. ’Dolapo, calm down please, its just a date okay? I’m not even going to his house and why are you like this? You are not my boyfriend’ She told him and continued with her make up. Dolapo was infuriated and started sweating when he heard her call up a taxi. He could bear it no more, their friendship had to end today and he would swallow his fear to ask her to be his wife. He swallowed the lump in his throat and knelt down with his eyes closed and fist clenched while sweating profusely. ‘Fola, I’m sorry it took a lunch date for me to come out that I love you so much and it would kill me if you walked out that door to see another man, marry me Folawe, I cannot promise you the best life but I can promise you that you would have no regrets accepting me today, please do not say no’. Folawe was astonished as she looked at her favorite man in front of her, she could not believe her ears either, he had always loved her and she never knew. She knelt down with him and hugged him with tears running down her eyes. She loved him dearly and he loved her too, nothing else mattered as they kissed and laughed while wiping each other’s tears. They got married after their youth service program and it was a simple but a beautiful wedding that was graced with the people they love, family and few friends. ************** Their home had been a beautiful and happy one and they were always laughing. They did everything together and it wasn’t up to three months that Folawe got pregnant, she didn’t know she was pregnant, she had been treating malaria for a while and it was a colleague at work that told her she looked pregnant. She had gone to the hospital that day with fear, not because she would not love to be a mother but because she and Dolapo had never talked about having children, that should not be an issue right? She said to herself as she walked in the hospital that evening. The doctor congratulated her and told her she was eight weeks pregnant. She was happy as she drove home singing different children poems to herself. She waited patiently for her sweet husband to get back from work eagerly. He would be excited right? She placed her hand on her tummy as she grinned to herself. Dolapo got home quiet late that evening bringing with him a huge teddy bear, one they had seen together online some days ago and she loved. He loved surprising her with gifts especially ones she wished for. ’Helloooooo look who is joining the family!’ He shouted as he pushed the giant teddy bear in, Folawe screamed and hugged her husband chanting thank you and he shook his head. ‘Women and dumb stuffs’ he said and she pushed him away. Since they met, all he had made her do was laugh, she could not have asked for a better man, he was everything. ‘Dee, we are having a baby’ she told him so calm that he had to ask her to repeat herself. ‘We are having a baby Dee! I found out today, hence the malaria I have been treating’. Dolapo’s face went blank and his heart started beating so fast, he didn’t want children and he had planned to tell her soon but he always never had that right time to tell her. Seeing her face lit up with happiness broke his heart, it was all over her she wanted this child and he would break her heart if he told her they couldn’t keep it, but what about his own happiness? He thought, he would never be happy again, things would never be the same again, he wanted them to be together forever with nothing or no one coming between them. He could not bear to share her with anyone. ‘We cannot have this child, babe, and please do not argue with me, please book an appointment with the doctor tonight and I will go with you to the hospital tomorrow for evacuation’. He told her with a straight face and Folawe felt life left her, she looked at him and waited for him to say he was playing as usual. He removed his belt as he walked to their bedroom and It dawned on her he meant every word he said. She sat on the couch and started crying, he had never made her cry until now and this was more than being cheated on or lied to. He came out an hour later to dinner and when he noticed her swollen eyes, it broke his heart but he knew she would get over it so he let her be as he ate his dinner in silence. He made her breakfast the next morning, her favorite, three slices of bread and scrambled eggs with a cup of fresh milk. He admired her for a while, why would anyone want to ruin this perfect woman for him, he watched as she slept peacefully with strands of hair on her face. Then he imagined them having children that would run into their room to disturb her peaceful sleep, stressing her out and he grimaced, they were never having kids and that was final. He planted a big kiss on her forehead and woke her up gently. ‘Get up my chipmunk, food is ready’. She yawned and stretched her hands looking at the beautiful man in front of her, her husband. She had forgotten all he said last night and was convinced he was joking about it. She finished her food in minutes and Dolapo frowned. ‘Babe why rush your food like that?’ He asked her and she smiled shyly at him. ‘The baby I guess, I have a big appetite these days and I hope I don’t throw this delicious food up soon’. She laughed but Dolapo didn’t find it funny as he dressed up for work. ‘Get ready babe, we need to go the hospital to get this over with. Folawe almost fainted and almost didn’t believe her ears. ‘I am keeping our child Dee! What is wrong with you? We are married and God has blessed us by giving us a child, why would you want to get rid of him? I do not understand, I thought you were joking last night but now? No Dee, I am going to disobey you this time, I am keeping our child and that is final!’ Folawe barked back at him and he was taken aback, she had never raised her voice at him and he was worried and scared but he stood his ground. ‘Then I am sorry for us’. He said to her, cold and calm as he walked out on her. Since she has decided to keep the baby, she had become a stranger to Dolapo, he no longer looked at her or ate her meal. She became a total stranger to him and there were times she would see him weep in the bathroom. Dolapo’s life had changed and he knew it, he was sad and sometimes he would go to his father’s house for solace but would always come back the same. He missed his best friend and this child she was having was taking the best of her, she was four months pregnant and she always looked tired, she looked lean and pale and he hated seeing her like that. He came home one day to a beautiful dining table, the one that reminded him of their last valentine. Folawe had decorated the whole place and made roasted chicken and his favorite jollof rice with bacons beside it. His mouth watered and his eyes filled with love but he was not having this, she didn’t listen to him for them to evacuate the stranger she was carrying so he frowned and pushed her away when she tried hugging him. ‘There is nothing I can ever do to satisfy you!’ She screamed at him and started to cry, it broke his heart to hear her cry but he was determined to punish her as he walked away from her into the guest room. His room since two months ago. Folawe got home to a letter from Dolapo one evening that he would not be coming home that night and Folawe was worried, he had never slept out and she feared the distance between them was getting worse. She sighed and made herself a light dinner before going up to their bedroom to sleep. She locked the doors and called her mother to tell her Dolapo was not sleeping at home that night, as usual, her mother advised her to be patient that he would come around especially when he sees the baby, he would come to love him or her eventually. She thanked her mother and ended the call, she was about tucking herself in when she heard a crash downstairs, coming from the living room. She frowned because she locked the doors and she was not expecting their cleaners that day. She left her room and stood at the stairs feeling lazy to go down, she bent a bit to get a close look at what might have crashed. She felt someone was behind her and she stood up suddenly turning back, the intruder switched off the light and pushed her hard down the stairs, she screamed Dolapo’s name as she tumbled down and fainted. She woke up two days later in the hospital with a lump on her head, Dolapo was sitting beside her with tears in his eyes. She slowly opened her eyes and he screamed the doctor’s name to alert him of her consciousness. She was fine but she had lost her baby, she wept bitterly and Dolapo hugged her tight pleading and blaming himself for leaving her alone in the house. After the unfortunate incident, things got back to the way it used to be and the house was lit up with laughter and happiness again. Although Folawe was happy but was sad at the same time that her husband whom she loved with her life does not want them to have children. Being the best staff in her company, Folawe was given a promotion as a manger in one of the company’s branch in Abuja with triple of her salary, Dolapo was so proud and excited for her. She had always been hardworking and deserved that promotion but he was worried about the distance. They came to the conclusion that she would be coming home every weekend and Dolapo was fine with it. They managed the distance well for three months until one evening Folawe told him about her director asking to be in a relationship with her. She was expecting him to laugh it off but instead he told her to quit her job. She was angry and told him he was being irrational. They argued everyday for weeks about the termination of her job. She was so angry with him she decided not to go home one weekend and she could hear him breathe like a beast through the phone when she told him she would come home when he agreed for her to keep her job. She was having a drink in her sitting room with a male colleague that weekend with piles of work in front of them. Dolapo badged in and his face turned red when he saw the man with her, with no explanations he pounced on him and beat him to stupor while the man and Folawe cried and begged for his life. He left the man lifeless on the floor and turned to Folawe with blooded eyes. ‘Bitch! So this is the nonsense you do in Abuja that made you have the guts to tell me that you would not be coming home to your husband! To me! Are you mad?’ He screamed as he slapped her hard. Folawe was scared he would hurt her, she had never seen him like that before and she wished she never told him about the man disturbing her. ‘Did you call me a bitch?’ She stammered. He hissed and entered her room to pack her clothes. ‘We are going home today and you are never coming back here again, do not even try arguing with me you whore!’. He spat as he dragged her out with him not caring if she was hurt or not. Few days later, Dolapo was sober and he would not stop begging his wife to forgive him. Folawe would not eat nor drink and she was getting lean and sick, he brought her all the gifts he could think of but nothing seemed to cheer her up and it was breaking him. One night, he came home drunk to stupor and dragged his feet to their bedroom with tears in his eyes. He started with gibberish and Folawe couldn’t place his words until he mentioned how much he loved her and could not bear to share her with anyone or even think of sharing her with anyone that he pushed her down the stairs for her to lose their baby. Folawe screamed and slapped him hard, she was ready to forgive him for what he did to her in Abuja but not this one. She wanted him sane, so she dragged him to the bathroom and ran the shower on him. She left him there till the next morning and when he was fine enough to talk, she accused him of what he said. ‘You better don’t lie to me you devil, you wanted to kill me for bringing your child to the world Dolapo! Your child!’ She screamed and pulled her hair like a mad woman. Dolapo knelt down and begged for forgiveness but she would not listen. ’Folawe please, you cannot understand, I can’t live this life without you, I want it to be just me in your life and you in mine, you are everything to me and I cannot imagine sharing you with another person, please do not leave me. I never meant to hurt you, I would never hurt you’. He begged with tears in his eyes. ‘You are so pathetic and a devil, how did I not see this side of you? Can you hear yourself ? This is not love Dolapo, I am scared you are obsessed with me and its either you kill me or you kill yourself but before you do I am leaving and there is nothing you can do to stop me’. Folawe pushed him aside and started packing her bags. Dolapo stood up and pushed her on the bed and Folawe recognized those bloody eyes again and she was scared for her life. ‘You cannot leave me Folawe, we swore together forever and that is what will happen. Why are women so quick to leave? I showed you love, I gave you everything and you feel the best way to pay me back is by leaving me because of few mistakes? I am not a fool like my father, he let my mother go and she is out there being a whore, that cannot happen with me! Its either you stay with me or I kill us both!’ He spat as he held her down on the bed. Folawe was scared and could no longer see the man she loved but a monster on loose trying to kill her. She gathered her strength and pushed him away with all her might, he fell down and she rushed downstairs calling for help but he got to her fast enough and pulled her by her hair with a gun in his hand. Folawe was scared and tried dragging the gun out of his hand, the gun she never knew he had until now, they were struggling with the gun when her best friend Sandra rushed in. Folawe had dropped a message the night before when Dolapo made that confession of pushing her down the stairs. She texted her she was scared and had a feeling he would go worse. Sandra had flew in to Rivers State from Lagos that morning. She screamed as she saw Folawe dragging the gun with Dolapo, she was helpless, she could only scream and pray. There were two gunshots and the couple stood still facing each other with eyes wide opened. Sandra fell to the ground and screamed out of her lungs. The couple fell to the ground and Folawe held her husband to her chest as she wept. ‘Life was better with you’ Dolapo said as he smiled weakly and closed his eyes………

‘Allah! You are bleeding Halima! Shall I call mother?’ Mariam woke her elder sister with fear. She had been waking up earlier than her sister ever since their mother brought home a bed given to them by the government a week ago. Halima jumped up when she heard her sister mentioned blood for she hated the sight of blood and was wondering where the blood her sister saw was coming from. She got up to see blood dripping down her laps. She immediately knew what it was, because her friend Fatima had seen hers last week and had kept it a secret from her parents, especially her father. Halima shushed her younger sister and pleaded with her not to tell their parents about what she had seen or she would never see her again because she would be married off to Alhaji Garba; the old toothless richest man in their village, Damboa in Borno State. He had given their father a job in one of his farms and had paid for her bride price since she was five. Mariam’s head was full of morbid thoughts, she couldn’t imagine life at home without Halima and she promised to take her new found secret to her grave. Nobody would ever know Halima was bleeding from her vagina. Danjuma could not fathom the reason for his first daughter’s menstrual delay. Alhaji Garba wouldn’t stop asking him because Halima had grown to be a beautiful young girl at the age of fourteen and he was worried about her getting corrupted by the village boys she played with. Danjuma had married Halima’s mother when she was twelve years old and she had given him three children. Alhaji had given them their house when Saratu was pregnant with their first child, Selim, and they had promised to have him marry their first daughter as compensation. Does Halima have a problem? Danjuma thought, ‘enh! Allah ya kiyaye!’ He got up from where he was harvesting onions and began packing his farm clothes in his sack as he marched home. Saratu was eating outside when Danjuma got home, he frowned as he noticed Halima and Mariam’s absence. ‘Welcome my husband’ Saratu bowed to greet her husband and he answered her with a nod. He sat beside her as he picked the crumbs of fish in Saratu’s soup. ‘Saratu, do you think our Halima has a problem? You started menstruating at the age of twelve when I married you. Halima is fourteen now and she had not seen hers, what could be the problem?’ Saratu sighed and told her husband she had been worried too and was planning to take Halima to her friend who makes herbs. Danjuma was relieved to hear a solution to Halima’s problem. Halima got to her closest friend’s house and was surprised to see so many women outside, singing and clapping as they do whenever there was a wedding coming up. Her heart started beating fast and she prayed silently it wasn’t Fatima getting married for they both had dreams to leave Damboa one day to the city to study the white man’s book and language. She entered the room and found her friend being dressed by her married elder sisters and some elderly women of their family, Fatima’s hands and legs were painted in laali and her pierced nose with beautiful nose rings, her face was covered and she was surrounded by their other friends singing and clapping while she sat in the middle quiet and coy. Fatima noticed the perplexed look on Halima’s face and whispered in her mother’s ears if she could be left alone with her best friend for a while. Her mother agreed and gave the two girls privacy. The older women and Fatima’s other friends left the room singing while Halima briskly sat on the floor beside her. ‘You are getting married to that old animal? Fatim, Why?’ Fatima smiled and held her friend’s hands ‘Halima, mother told me it would be beautiful, she said I would have beautiful children and Alhaji will take care of me. I am going to be his last wife now, the other wives are old and he doesn’t want them anymore, so worry not about me my dear friend’ she smiled. Halima sighed sadly and looked around if no one was eavesdropping on them. ‘Fatima, I have seen blood, but I don’t want to tell mother or father. I don’t want to marry Garba’ she looked down sadly. Fatima smiled at her and told her not to be afraid of marriage and that Alhaji would wipe poverty away from her family. They hugged each other and Halima left home to prepare for her friend’s wedding. It was the last day of her menstrual flow and Halima was proud that she hid it well from her mother, as she was singing to herself and piling up her dirty clothes. Her mother came into her room and the first thing she noticed was a stained cloth. ‘Halimaaaaaa!’ She screamed and held her chest. Halima started panicking, she knelt down begging her mother to be quiet. Saratu couldn’t believe her daughter whom she was close to would keep such a big news from her. How was she able to take care of herself, Saratu wondered. Halima pleaded with her mother to keep her secret as she wasn’t ready to marry Alhaji, her mother nodded and left the room smiling to herself. Halima couldn’t help the tears running down from her eyes as she sat on the floor beating her chest. Her mother loved her but marriage was an achievement to her and she knew there was no way she would keep the secret. The journey to the nightmare she dreaded began. Halima’s wedding became talk of the village for weeks, it was a wedding that had the villagers eating and drinking for days. Alhaji had spent a fortune and didn’t mind, because Halima was the most beautiful of all his wives and he couldn’t wait to show her off to his friends. Halima cried all through the ceremony and Alhaji only smiled because he thought she was missing her parents, but one week passed and Halima was still crying in his house even when he had not laid with her. Alhaji grew out of patience one night and asked his first wife, an elderly woman in her sixties to bring Halima to his room that he was ready to lay with her. Halima was scared as she cried, the older wife hugged her like her child and told her not to be afraid of Alhaji that the man was old and weak and if she doesn’t struggle he would be gentle with her. The other two wives smirked as they laughed out loud mocking Halima as she dragged her feet to the lion’s den. Alhaji grinned as Halima entered his room fidgeting, he loved them scared, naive, young, ripe and beautiful. He loved it when they plead for mercy and screamed for him to take it gentle with them, he loved to see tears in their eyes as they gripped the sheets. He licked his lips as he pulled Halima to him and sat her on his laps, wiping her tears, ‘Halima, you are beautiful’ he told her as he fondled her small hard full left breast, he felt his manhood respond to the touch and he was happy. He grinned as he placed her gently on his bed, she didn’t move, she laid down there like a statue, eyes closed as she prayed in her heart to Allah for survival. Alhaji Garba pulled off his own clothes in haste and laid on her, her vagina was dry so he spat in his left palm and rubbed the saliva on her vagina. He gently thrusted his huge manhood in her and Halima winced, he didn’t want her to just make a small sound, he wanted her to scream but when he noticed she wouldn’t scream, so he held her waist down and thrusted in fully into her. She was so tight and small and he loved it but his excitement was not completed because she had decided not to scream. ‘Shout!’ He commanded her and Halima refused still closing her eyes, she would not give him all the pleasures she promised herself. Her whole body shook and she felt pains especially on her back and waist. She felt the urge to cry but she was determined to kill his ego that night so she kept mute still. ‘Kai shege!’ He shouted as he slapped her hard, ‘shout! Cry!’ He kept shouting while pounding on her fast and hard. Halima kept mute suffering and praying in silence, he strangled her and shouted while he deposited his seeds into her, he pushed her away and looked at her with disgust as he yelled at her to leave his room with the blood stained sheet. Halima held the sheet close to her chest as she staggered back to her little room crying softly and cursing her parents for this lifetime torture they had bestowed upon her. Months went by like the wind and Halima continued to endure her beastly husband, who would constantly rape her and beat her if she didn’t respond to him which she never did. One Saturday, Mariam had come running to Alhaji’s house crying and screaming Halima’s name. Halima rushed out of the house in fear of why Mariam had come calling out to her like that. She hoped any of her parents were not dead especially her mother that was banned by Alhaji from always coming to check up on her wellbeing. Saratu had been sad since the last time she saw her daughter, because her daughter was lean and her eyes were full of sorrow but she was married and there was nothing Saratu could do but to respect Alhaji and stay out of her daughter’s home. ‘Fatima! Fatima! Fatima is dead yayata’ Mariam told her sister while she fell to the ground weeping uncontrollably. Halima was in shock and she sat beside her sister on the floor beating her chest as she wept. Fatima had died at childbirth because her husband claimed the Nakowa hospital in Maiduguri was far to their village so he told his first wife to deliver Fatima which turned out to be the death of her. Halima literally gave up on life when Fatima died, even though they were both married, Halima still hoped a day would come when they would be free from the bondage called marriage and achieved their dreams of studying. ‘Allah Akbar! Halima! You are pregnant’, Alhaji Garba’s first wife exclaimed one morning, when she saw Halima throwing up at the back of the house. She was so happy for the child, she had been worried about Halima after six months of being married to their husband and not pregnant. She was scared she might be barren but now that Halima was pregnant, maybe Alhaji would take care of her and be gentle with how he had been treating her. ‘Pregnant?’ Halima asked the older woman with fear, she doesn’t want to be pregnant, she had prayed against getting pregnant since Fatima died. She thought she would die too so she started weeping, the older woman was confused, she thought Halima should be happy for the joy of every woman in marriage is for her to be fruitful. She hugged Halima and patted her back telling her everything would be alright and that she would take care of her and would talk to Alhaji on her behalf to have her mother around. Halima was seven months pregnant when the World Health Organization came to her village to enlighten the villagers on how to live a healthy life. Halima marveled at the way their team leader was talking, she was the most beautiful woman Halima had ever seen and the white man’s language flowed from her mouth with ease. When they were done talking to the villagers, Halima ran to the woman covering her face with her hijab in disguise from her husband. She told the woman she would like to study and speak like her. The woman smiled and introduced herself as Mrs Abacha and Halima was more thrilled to learn she was hausa too and had come from Kaduna state. Mrs Abacha looked at Halima sadly when she noticed she was heavily pregnant, she told Halima they had a health center few miles from their village and that she should plead with her husband to bring her there when it was time for her delivery. Halima nodded and ran back to her husband’s house happy being able to have a conversation with Mrs Abacha whom she was beginning to adore. Halima’s delivery started in the early morning and lasted for two days, she wept in pains as she begged Alhaji to take her to the health center, but he refused. He said she would be delivered at home like his other wives as he was not ready to spend unnecessary money on her. Halima was finally delivered of a still birth, her baby had died inside of her. It was a dark day for Halima, she wept uncontrollably and even her mother could not be consoled as she wept for her daughter’s misfortune. Weeks went by and Halima noticed she could no longer control her urination, she was constantly bed wetting and sometimes she would notice urine dripping down to her laps, she started to stink terribly and the other wives confined her to her room dropping her meal outside her door once a day. Alhaji had come home one night drunk to stupor, he requested Halima’s presence in his room and his first wife tried to warn him about Halima’s ailment but he would not listen as he kept screaming Halima’s name. Halima cleaned herself up and staggered to Alhaji’s room. He could smell the strong stench coming from her but he was too drunk to care, he dragged her to himself, pulling up her wrapper as he pulled out his manhood and turned her back to him, he carelessly pushed his manhood into her anus and for the first time Halima pleaded with him as she was weak from her uncontrollable urination and hunger. Alhaji turned deaf ears to her plea and pushed harder into her, she started urinating again and this time faeces came out of her too and she started to cry. When Alhaji noticed the excretion, he got irritated and pushed her hard while she suffered a blow on her forehead from the push. She got angry and was ready for any consequences her action would bring her, she stood up and pushed Alhaji. She took his pocket knife and stabbed him in his throat, he fell to the ground, his eyes and mouth wide opened as he took his last breathe. It was midnight and Halima knew the other wives would be fast asleep, she cleaned herself with one of Alhaji’s clothes and ran out of the house with tears rolling down her eyes to the health center that Mrs Abacha had described to her. She got to the health center and collapsed outside. Halima was diagnosed with fistula. Mrs Abacha had wept bitterly when she was treating Halima, her vagina had been damaged and her bladder had lost its control. Halima was in intensive care for months, but Mrs Abacha cared for the girl as her own child. When Halima got well, Mrs Abacha took her back with her to Abuja and enrolled her in a school. Halima became a bright and determined young woman and in no time she had learned so much in school and was excellent at Maths and Biology. Three years later, Halima was ready to visit her village. No one recognized her. She learnt about her mother’s death, who had died from shock when she heard about her daughter’s disappearance and how she killed Alhaji. There was a wedding ceremony at her house when she got there with Mrs Abacha. Her younger sister was getting married to an older man and she would rather die than to watch Mariam suffer like she did. She stopped the ceremony and took her sister from where she sat. ‘Yayata!’ Mariam burst into tears when she saw it was her sister. They hugged each other as they both wept bitterly. Halima sent away the people that came for the ceremony and rebuked her now old father, disappointed that her father could still give out Mariam in marriage after everything that happened to her in Alhaji Garba’s house, but it was a tradition so she ignored her father. She told her father Mrs Abacha and she was going to build a girls’ school to educate the girl child, her father had smiled weakly as he blessed his two daughters and thanked Mrs Abacha for saving Halima’s life. Mrs Abacha and Halima built the school and named it ‘Fatima Memorial School’ in honor of Halima’s best friend that died in childbirth due to ignorance. She smiled as she held Mariam’s hand and wrapped her other hand around Mrs Abacha’s waist as they all looked at the well-built school, she sighed and said ‘one day, the girl child shall have a voice of her own and she would be able to look her parents in the eyes and say NO to child marriage’.

If Katherine knew the morning she considered beautiful would turn out to be one of her worst days, she would not have gone to Tiamiyu’s house. He already told her never come to his house without first informing him. She woke up that morning feeling refreshed after a long warm bathe. She had just finished her monthly flow and was horny. It was that time of the month she and Tiamiyu considered their love making the best. She was prepared for him wearing his favorite lingerie and even used the perfume he bought for her last valentine. She smiled as she remembered how insane he gets when ever she used that fragrance. She wore a little black dress that revealed her large bossom and whistled as she admired herself in the mirror, she applied a light make up and left her apartment humming to herself. Katherine was a nice girl, a girl who always sacrificed her happiness for others, her best friend had complained about this attitude countless times but that was just her personality. She had given Tiamiyu so many chances to be a better man even though he seemed not to deserve any of them. Her best friend Naomi always wondered how she cope with a man like Tiamiyu, he was always seen with different ladies on daily basis and hardly had time for her. Naomi tried to hook her up with other men, but Katherine always found her way back to Tiamiyu. 'babe are you sure this is not obsession?’ Naomi had asked Katherine on one of the occasions when Katherine rejected a man Naomi hooked her up with. Katherine got to Tiamiyu’s compound about 10am, she smiled when she noticed the gate was not locked, it would make her surprise visit more interesting for she wouldn’t have to call him to open the gate for her. She adjusted her bra and showed more cleavage while she seductively entered Tiamiyu’s well-furnished sitting room, she noticed the sitting room was scattered and she could perceive a feminine fragrance that obviously wasn’t hers. Her beautiful smile disappeared as she removed her sandal heels and tiptoed upstairs to her man’s room. His door was locked so she had to knock expecting to see Tiamiyu’s ‘baby face’ but was shocked to her spine when a lady draped in towel opened the door. ‘Who are you?’ The lady asked her with a frown. Katherine got tongue-tied and couldn’t say anything. ‘Honey who is there? Is it the delivery man?’ Tiamiyu shouted from the bathroom and the lady answered him with a long hiss, Tiamiyu got out of the bathroom to see Katherine outside his bedroom door looking like a statue while tears dripped down her cheeks. ‘Kate why now? How many times have I told you to never come here without informing me? I’m sorry but you did this to yourself, you know the rules’, he told her as he pecked the lady on towel and entered the bathroom. Katherine didn’t say a word as she left Tiamiyu’s house with tears in her eyes and confused thoughts. She was too weak to walk to the junction where she would get a bike, instead she stood outside his gate and ordered a taxify. Luck was on her side and the taxify driver got to where she was in less than five minutes, she wiped her tears and entered the car. Her driver greeted her and she nodded in response. The driver noticed she was wiping her tears and he didn’t know if he should talk to her or just take her to her destination. He started the trip and played Bryson Tiller’s album, she bursted into tears when the album got to one of the tracks ‘Don’t’ ‘surely you deserve what you’ve been missing, looking at you I’m thinking he must be tripping, play this song for him don’t just listen’ the lyrics got to her and she couldn’t stop crying. The driver got so confused and had to cancel their trip. He offered her his handkerchief, she wiped her tears and apologized for her mood, the driver smiled and told her it was okay as he introduced himself as Alex, she nodded again and told him her name. Alex offered to drop her off at her place without restarting their trip. He stopped playing the album wondering what could make this beautiful glowing black woman cry. Could it be that a man made her mood this sour? Then woe unto that man, he thought. Katherine was quiet all through the drive to her place as she was embarrassed for crying in the presence of a total stranger. They got to her place, and she thanked him. She was about walking away when Alex politely asked if he could get her number to check up on her later. She gave him her number, and they shook hands while she gave him a weak smile. She entered her apartment and forgot all about her taxify driver; god damned his cute face; they are all the same, animals! She hissed aloud and burst into tears again remembering all Tiamiyu said to her. She sent a text message to her best friend that she needed a bottle of Captain Jack: her depression drink. Naomi got to her place an hour later with the face of ‘I told you so’ as she looked at her friend. As much as she felt like slapping sense into her head, she pitied her. Katherine love being loved and cared for, she was a sweet lover and a ‘Chihuahua’ when in love. She shook her head as she poured a full glass cup of Captain Jack drink for Katherine. She watched Katherine downed the drink without squinting her face. ‘Fool take it easy on yourself, I don’t know what happened but I’m sure it involves Tiamiyu and a woman again. If you die, know that he would play Barry Jay at your funeral, you know?! ‘Aye o leeeee’. Katherine smiled as she threw her purse at Naomi, she stood up and hugged her petite friend. Naomi grinned and hugged her back whispering ‘there are many golden cocks out there’. Katherine pushed her friend away and screamed ‘fuck you girl!’ They both laughed and sat on the floor drinking the alcohol in silence. Katherine phone rang and they both thought it was Tiamiyu. Naomi frowned against her friend answering the phone but Katherine wanted to hear whatever he had to say so she answered call, even though it was an unsaved number. ‘What do you want Tia?’ a calm baritone voice answered her ‘hey beautiful, this is Alex, your taxify driver, I just wanted to ask if you’re better now, those sweet cheeks do not deserve to be bathed with tears’. Katherine smiled as she apologized for her first phone impression. They talked on the phone for over thirty minutes while Katherine was laughing and pulling her hair. When she eventually dropped the call, Naomi had her mouth opened and asked who the caller was. ‘That was Alex, the taxify guy that brought me home, Naomi! Alex is fineeeee, but I don’t think I’m ready for anything mushy right now after what Tia did to me. Well, Alex just asked if we could be friends and that was when you heard me say yes twice. He sounded sweet you know! Naomi winked at her and didn’t say anything as she entered the kitchen to prepare noodles for them. Three weeks later Katherine and Alex’s friendship was the best thing that happened to Katherine in a long time. They talked on the phone for more than twelve times a day and Katherine had told Naomi they were just friends and that she was taking things slow. They talked about everything and there was nothing Alex wouldn’t tell Katherine and vice versa. He called her ‘sweet chips’ while she called him ‘sweet Xander’. One cold evening after the first rainfall of the year, Alex had called to inform Katherine he was coming to pick her up for a movie date and told her to wear a gown. Naomi had picked a sexy white turtled neck gown for her with a jacket to prevent the cold. Alex thought the gown was the most beautiful dress he had seen on her and wouldn’t stop staring at her on their way to the cinema. He licked his lips as he imagined pulling up her dress and bending her over. He stopped the car and told Katherine he was in love with her and would love to take their friendship to another level as he was ready to love her and be all that she wanted in a man. Katherine was happy and didn’t hesitate to say yes. They hugged each other in the car, lingered a bit before Alex pulled away from her slowly. Katherine drew him back to her as they kissed slowly holding each other’s face. Alex pushed his driver’s seat to the back and Katherine climbed on his laps as they continued kissing. Alex squeezed her big breasts as he thanked God in his mind for blessing him with such large mammary glands that filled his hands. Katherine felt the wetness between her legs and as much as she wanted him in her so bad she promised to take things slow between them and wanted their first time to be a special one. She broke the kiss, looked him in the eye with his face in her hands and his hands on her waist. ‘I love you Alex and I bless the day I ordered a taxify to come pick me up from my nightmare’. He smiled and said ‘and you are my taxify blessing, and I promise you a free long trip to happiness and laughter as long as we breathe’. Katherine laughed and told Alex that their story should be made into a TV series and be titled ‘How I fell in love with my taxify driver’. Alex frowned and said the title was rather too long that he would prefer ‘Love in times of taxify’. Katherine laughed as they both kissed again. ‘We will never meet up with the movie now’ Alex told her. Katherine shrugged as she drew her man close to herself kissing him passionately like her life depended on it. This was the beginning of their love story and she was ready to give her all, for Alex deserved it.

My name is Samuel but my friends and most people call me ‘smalls’ so if you are a student of Leadcity University in Nigeria and in the department of Chemistry, you should know me, not for all the best reasons, but just because of my clique. Let me tell you about my friends, Ken is an asshole but a very sweet kind of asshole to the girls, I wonder what they see in him but it’s none of my business. Ken’s father is a politician, an honorable in the house of assembly. He and Ken are like besties, they go out to drink and smoke together and when his father needs a babe, Ken is always there to provide his father one. One thing I love about Ken is his bluntness, he serves you straight with no sugarcoating. Its all 100 or nothing with Sir Ken. Then there is Bayo, the serial player. Bayo once scored two sisters and the first sister's best friend. You had to see World-star hiphop worthy fight that went down at the school Sickbay when Bayo fell sick few days to our first year exams. Bayo’s father is an engineer and his mother a party rider, there is no fashion magazine you will not see Bayo’s mother, she and Bayo’s baby sister Tinuke ( the girl of my wet dreams). One good thing about Bayo is he's got a very big heart, there is no mountain too high, he was just too much of a philanthropist. The last member of the pack is Ahmed, a very weird dude, as he doesn't seem to miss the five Muslim prayers even during exams. Ahmed is a walking chimney, he puffs smoke more than an exhaust pipe despite the fact that he's got asthma. His philosophy 'death comes when death wants to come’. Those are the three guys that made me, the most gentle of them all popular. I don’t party, smoke, drink and womanize even though people hardly believe all of that. The only girl I like is Tinuke, Bayo’s sister, whom seems like a no entry site except I got a death wish. Bayo does not joke with his pretty ass sister. ‘Howfar smalls, no go reason rubbish tonight, we deh go club and you deh follow us’ Ahmed winked at Ken, that one too winked back and I knew they were planning something!. In my mind I was just like ‘God help me, you have been helping me escape from these boys since our first year, don’t stop now’. Okay before you start calling me names, I come from a very religious family, my father is a pastor and my mother is a serious prayer warrior. My elder sisters are typical ‘SUs’, anyway enough about my family. I was still plotting on how I would escape these boys when Bayo entered the room with his sister, haba why now?! I wasn’t even dressed, I was on one of my ‘comfortable’ boxer shorts with the tiny holes in it. Hey! Ask your brother or your boyfriend, they have it too. Tinuke greeted all of us with fist bumps and sat on my bed concentrating on her phone, I watched her press her phone’s keypad and couldn’t help but grow a little envious of the phone, i should be the one she’s pressing and smiling at, I rolled my eyes. Ken brought me back to life when he threw a styrofoam cup at me while Ahmed coughed a bit as he couldn’t help mocking my helpless plight, oh well, Ahmed knows about my crush on Tinuke but he’s my gee and he would never snitch on me. ‘Ken howfar you now, why would you stone me with that messed up cup, guy I no like am’ i told Ken as I blushed slightly. Ken would have answered me but decided not to say anything in Bayo’s presence. All this while, Bayo was scattering his wardrobe for this new jean he just bought, when he finally found it, you could hear the relief from his voice as he told Ahmed to roll another blunt. ‘Smalls is coming to the club yeah?’ He asked Ken and Ahmed and they both chorused ‘straight up bro’ without my consent. Bayo called some girls to join them and I was about canceling on them when Tinuke announced her friends were coming also. In my head I was like ‘Tinuke is going? Meaning if I go I might get the chance to dance with her! Wtf bro! I’m all in!’. I grinned and shouted ‘guys! Find me what to wear then, I don’t have anything suitable for club here’ and they all chorused our slogan ‘straight up brooooo’ I saw Tinuke smiled as she looked at me before excusing to leave, she would join us later at the club, as she preferred driving with her friends. She pecked her brother and left the room while she smiled at me again, I swear I thought I saw her wink at me or was that my imagination? I don’t care, I am going to that club tonight and touching that girl anyhow. As the Upper Echelon members of the school, we made a grand entry, Bayo was all gucci, Ken was all versace and Ahmed killed his look with his crazy classy kaftan and me? I wore my ripped shorts and a gucci shirt Bayo just bought, I wonder his obsession with gucci. ‘Wtf’ I muttered under my breath, so this is where Ken calls home, I could feel my ears blocking, smoke everywhere but damn! I love these girls, most of them were half naked but I loved it, I could see nipples winking at me and ass so soft like amala! ‘cheeeeeeeeeee’ I whistled. Mama I’m sorry but your son is loving hell. I was still gaping at the babes when Tinuke entered with her best friends, Stella and Goldie. Shit! Its either this smoke kills me or Tinuke’s gown. She wore a see through gown and I could see her breasts, they are beautiful especially those hard pierced nipples, oh my I could feel junior bulging already and I didn’t even know how to control him this time but I’m grateful the lights are off and my stupid friends were far away from me. I was about walking over to Tinuke when Ken stopped me with a bottle of hennesy, ‘guuuuuy, u no fit enter club and no drink ooo, oya drink water and calm down’ I collected the bottle from him and tasted a sip, the drink burnt my throat down to my stomach and I thought I would throw up, Ken started laughing and controlled others on whatsapp to come experience my moment of shame, I frowned when I saw Ahmed and Bayo laughing like the fools they are. I hissed, ‘make all of you go hug transformer with your drink’ Bayo was about throwing a comment at me when he saw a booty pass, he whistled and followed her. Ahmed brought out his weed and said he was going out to smoke too, he punched me and shook his head ‘pussy’ he said and left. Ken came close to my ears and said ‘dude, Tinu is definitely coming for you tonight. You've got to play it cool, she might just be the one to take your cherry’ I started panicking and as much as I hated that Ken called me a virgin he was right, I wouldn’t know what to do with Tinuke. Ken smiled at her when she got to where I was and left us. She hugged me from the back and shit! I could feel my trouser about to burst from the big bulge. She smiled and said she was glad I came, we sat down and she gave me the drink in her hand jack daniel ha! This girl mustn’t know I don’t drink, I collected the drink and took a long one, she tried stopping me to take it slow but I didn’t stop, I wanted to prove to her I was not a novice. When I eventually gave her the bottle, she smiled at me and reached for her purse and brought out a blue pill and told me to swallow, already my eyes were seeing the devil dancing but no this was Tinuke beside me, the girl I would betray my friendship for just to be with her. Without asking her what the pill was, I collected it and swallowed, she clapped and pulled me up for us to dance, I was not in this world again so I just moved slowly while she started grinding my dick, she looked back at me and shouted ‘you naughty boy’ when she felt my hard cock on her round well shaped booty, I smiled back and the devil beside me told me to hold her waist, believe me, with the way I was feeling, I had up-to seven demons telling me what to do. She was grinding me so good I felt I was going to cum right there, I closed my eyes tight as the mumble club songs sepeteri made mad sense to me, the lyrics started having meanings and right there I loved slimcase. My second demon told me told me to grab her breasts and I did, she stopped grinding me and faced me, my heart began to beat so fast, she pushed me on the club chair and sat on me while she started kissing me. Omg! I was going to die that moment, that was my first kiss and I was loving it, I started fondling her breasts, she stopped kissing me and moaned in my ears, she unzipped my shorts and I stopped her looking around if anyone was looking at us, she laughed and said nobody cares what you do in a club, I was still not comfortable then she suggested we go to the toilet. On our way to the toilet, she told me to go ahead that she wanted to get a condom from her friend, ‘condom?’ I asked and she had this confused look on her face and asked ‘you don’t wanna fuck me?’ the word ‘fuck’ got my dick harder again and I nodded like a fool. The drink and pill I took had started dealing with me, everywhere was blurry but I still managed to get my self to the toilet. When I got to the toilet I heard moans and I peeped only to see two girls touching each other, I looked like a trophy in their eyes when they saw me as one of them pulled me in and begged for me to finger them, I don’t even know how to do that, I was about protesting against it when Tinuke entered, she frowned at the girls and slapped the one that held my shirt and took me out of the toilet to another, I was shocked the other girl didn’t hit her back but I figured those girls were high too. We entered the toilet and she pushed my back against the wall, without wasting time she unzipped my shorts and knelt down to suck my dick, ‘you are huge’ she said as she licked me up, honestly I thought I would die, Tinuke sucked life out of my dick and I wondered why I didn’t cum because even those times I masturbate I cum in less than 30 seconds but I guessed it was the pill she gave me. After sucking me to her satisfaction. She wore the condom on my dick, she had this urgent sexy look on and I loved it, she sat me down on the toilet sit and raised her gown up as he slid her black gstring to one side and sat on my dick. ‘Shit’! She exclaimed, she brought out her boobs and put one in my mouth, the last time I sucked a breast was when I was probably a year old, I didn’t know what to do with those boobs so I just did anything, I started licking the nipples and biting them softly, she was moaning loudly and riding me so fast, the rhythm of her hips was going to make me cum fast and it was as if she knew I would cum soon, she increased the pace too and we both came together as she hugged me tight while my body shook, I felt tears in my eyes as she laughed, pulled down her gown and left the toilet leaving me there naked and half dead! At this time, the pill and drink had taken over finally, I wore my shorts and dropped the condom on the floor as I started throwing up all over with my head banging like I was going to die. I struggled back to the club and people were still dancing crazily. I managed to sit as Ahmed came to me ‘nigga we have been looking for you’ I couldn’t bring myself to talk, my head was aching and my stomach was turning, I started sweating profusely. Ahmed was confused and started pulling me up but I couldn’t stand up, ‘Ken!’ I heard Ahmed screamed and everything went blank. I woke up the next morning in my bed with the boys staring at me while smoking their weed. ‘Smalls don wake o bastard’ Ken and Ahmed bursted into a mockery laugh as I frowned as if I was trying to remember their faces. I couldn’t remember all that happened last night as my head still ached. Ken winked at me and I remembered immediately I had lost my virginity in a club’s toilet with the most beautiful girl in my world but the bitch left me there to die, I frowned. Ahmed gave me a hot coffee and I was grateful for that. I hope my shit with Tinuke never got out, Bayo would never forgive me. I was still on my thoughts when my phone beeped, it was a message from Tinuke Hey smalls, wanna pop pills with me and do me nasty? I’m home alone’ I felt junior responding again but no! the devil cannot win this battle. I switched off my phone and I tried sleeping again. Bayo tapped me and said ‘howfar smalls, we deh club tonight, you deh go?’ The way I screamed no would always be a memory my niggas would never forget! Ken came to whisper ‘Tinuke would be there o’ in my ears and I hissed ‘fuck her’ as I covered my head with my pillow.

As I sat on the bench at the vendor’s waiting for my regular I saw her coming towards the vendor. I could hear her singing to herself and I couldn’t help but concentrate on her.

I was supposed to be happy! Mother and I just moved to Moscow in Russia. We got a fine house at Basmanny Lane but here I was on my first day in school, (The International School of Moscow) grumpy and reluctant. ‘I don’t belong here’ I murmured to myself as I looked down at my ugly shoe — the one my mother thought was classy and pretty. I wanted to move but it was like my feet were glued to the ground. I wanted to laugh at myself for feeling this way while remembering how I was Queen in my forme