Love, Lust And Lost

8 years ago

Love, Lust And Lost

The place had looked really peaceful. Yes, it was calm in its real sense except the struggles of the students for buses. Many of them stood at both sides of the road. Lovers could be seen taking shades under the trees that form a boulevard on the road.

While some group of girls gathered to gossip – their male counterparts also formed groups discussing other things which related to football or game house

The place was stained with different colours of uniform, head shapes, complexions, heights and sizes. You could see many students schlepping with their bags dancing at their backs as a result of being overloaded or just too big for their body size. They danced to the tune of their slog.

The breeze brought some reassuring calmness with the wind that blew that moment, which led to some already weak and brownish or rustling leaves fall from trees while the ones on the ground circled and made some form of step-dance like a hurricane.

Bala and his colleague’s had set off very fast to the bus-stop to double-cross Izu. They had taken canes along. This Bala was really funny with his friends.

Canes to a fight he had someone of his height. If it were to be a boy of JSS1 he had held canes along to beat, it would have been well understood but he felt that pride, – Izu was a small boy and his Junior and he was going to just flog him – nothing more than flog him.

The head boy too was in their company. He had only took Baba 70 out to have him cut grass which he did with mere laughter at how funny the head boy was. He hoped they would cross path again and it had been set for this afternoon. He would see to it that the head boy’s f^ck up was treated.

At a point where student gathered, you would imagine what they had been so anxious about to be gathered as ants would do when they saw some scraps of snacks fall from someone on the floor.

It was only some Puff Puff seller. Those Puff Puff that looked and tasted as if they had add colouring to it. It was unlike the Puff Puff one saw – being fried on local streets in Lagos. These were housed in a glass showcase. Some were plain while others were split with eggs inside.

“Bros, 50naira own abeg”

“The one with egg na him I want na. Abeg change am for me!”

The seller who was dressed in somewhat rough and absurd way, with a knot-rounded-headgear on his head – picked at the Puffs with the two mouth fork with him, attending to the student.

Not very far off from him was an Ice-cream seller who had packed his wares well in a construction of cartons with white polythene formed in an indented square. Its length was far more than its breadth. His hand was busy pointing “shey this one?” And he would bring it out for the person who needed it.

These Ice-creams were the ones called `gbanjo’ by the Yorubas. Substandard Ice-cream or `cheap-ay’ (cheap-pay) as many called it or rather `Tasty-time’. They were those `blackcurrant’ or false orange inscription on their plain nylon.

They were those 10 10 naira Ice-creams. sU-Ck 5 times and its flavour and sweetness is gone. You would only be left with the ice block and your lips and tongue stained as if you had dug them in poster colour.

“Abo`ki, abeg open this thing make I chop suya” a guy said and started searching for the biggest meet hung in stick.

They were not all that suya we bought on normal suya joints. You could call them student-suya as they were just meat, onions and pepper hung in sticks and sold for 10naira and 20naira each base on worth.

Mariam had caught up with Fatimah but she had been ridiculed with laughter. She later embraced her friend and they talked at length – what Zainab might be up to. They only had to hope she would be fine. They were so much concerned about her, they felt they should sneak back but dismissed it due to the harsh sun and distance.

Immediately the breeze had brought the smell of roasted yam sold very close to the Shopping Mall Ikoyi, where students often patronise. The atmosphere seemed to changed abruptly. Its calmness and peacefulness seemed to have been struck by a streak of lightening.

Then the disaster was approaching in the air slowly, slowly and slowly. Till it came like a wildfire, destruction. It hushed in the air with its approaching torrent. Bringing some sort of smoky and peppery breeze.

Tyres screeched, students and passersby lost their bearing. People raced off to wherever they thought they might be safe.

Where would Fatimah and Mariam race to in this intending turmoil? If they had known, they would have left earlier or better still, remained in school but right now, what was left was how they would escape this, unhurt.

Followed, was the jumping down from the buses that they came with – area-boys, touts, danfo-drivers or whatever their names were.

Cutlass squeaked on the floor. Daggers were drawn out of their hides. Charms or jazz were whirled in the air and the chase had started.

“Eh le wan (pursue them)”

“Eh gun anybody danu (`chuck’ anybody)”

To Be Continued….