Welcome to my Diary – Odion

Spread the love

I didn’t feel comfortable with the way the girl siting beside me was throwing side glances at me. Clearly this one is a premium material, the type that our senators carry to important events. These kind of girls are the ones enjoying the spoils of the oil war. It made me very nervous, it has been a long time since anything ever made me nervous, but hey, why won’t I be nervous?

As if it knew the next train of thoughts I was about to embark upon, my phone beeped, new message from Eva, My new chat buddy I met on novacupid. She wanted a video call. These oyibo girls sef, they always want to keep their eyes on you like you’re going to disappear if they let you out of their sight for once. I knew I could do the call right there, but with the feelings I was already getting from the girl beside me, I might end up disgracing myself. Speaking correct English in situations like this, is something I have not mastered yet.

Mind you, I am a graduate, and I am not the shy type, but once in a while I run into a girl that completely puts me on my toes. I have dated several girls, and definitely not new to this game.

I spent quite a lot of time chatting with Eva I didn’t notice that the sun had drawn its curtain. Traffic was gathering along the express as people hurried to get back to the people they left at home. I wondered if Derek would be home by now.  Abraka boys normally start their day at dusk, and Derek was the typical area boy. In our school days most people thought he was a cultist, but those of us very close to him knew he was not. Not everyone understood him, unless he wanted them to. He never cared whether you understood or nothing, he just did his thing. All of us of the same stock flocked together. We saw many good and tough times together. Days of partying and flexing. Days of reading and night classes.  And women..

The girl’s voice brought me back to the present, “I thought you said you’re stopping at Hausa market?”

I looked out the window, that was Hausa market.

“Yea, got lost in chats”, I laughed. “If phone doesn’t kill me, nothing else can”.

She smiled, revealing a very beautiful set of teeth, Our senators know good stuff, trust me.

“I am stopping at the next town”, she said more to herself.

“Oh I see, you from around here?”

“Yes, and you?”

“No, here for an interview”

“Oh I see. All the best”  She said disinterestedly.

“Thank you”

“I’m Jennifer by the way”

I rechecked my backpack just as the driver cleared by the roadside for Abraka passengers to alight.  What if I forgot something important? My heart skipped a bit a the thought. When my hands finally came out of the bag, I smiled in relief, I didn’t forget anything.

“I am Odion”

The girl kept watching me. Thank God I’m coming down here, it’s not me you’ll use your ashawo eyes to stare into stupidity.

I hurried down, into the embrace of the Abraka cool evening air, into a new part of the struggle for survival.

Then a bikeman rushed to me.

“Where you dey go?” a woman’s voice came from under the helmet.

For a moment I stared, to be sure that the voice actually came from the rider on the bike. It was a woman. Woman okada rider.

I didn’t have enough time to process that. I pointed at the direction to the new general hospital area.

“500 naira”

I could not remember how I did it, but that was the fastest Okada climbing I had ever done.

“Let’s go”

 

 

 

#Continues Next Week

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*