“S.O.P” principo the leader of school two echoed.
“Fearless and rugged among all and sundry” chorused the gathering of mean looking students.
School 2 today was really crowded. Students had come in numbers due to the importance the leader had placed on the meeting that would take place that day.
The smokes that flared were so indescribable. The atmosphere was ridiculous. Rounds and rounds of hot drinks had been introduced before the meeting commenced. S.K and local weeds were being properly grounded between two palms even when S.K didn’t require much stress as such.
Some people had wrapped theirs already and were just playing their tongue over a small leaflet space they had left unrolled. Some lit theirs and puff twice, then took the burning part towards their mouth like they would kiss it – they blew the fire so it could catch more and not die.
“Today as e dey be, I wan kpofo for one guy wey dey cast.”
“Kpofo am make we hear. As I dey here like this, I dey para. I wan down anybody we cast” one wretched looking guy said.
His face was too crump together and not appealing in anyway. More still, he drank hemp and gulped `shots on shots’ of ogogoro (local Gin). In his eyes, one could see he was in the pit. His eyeballs had sunk inward and his brow and fore skin shut out.
He didn’t have much difference from someone suffering from malnutrition except that his stomach wasn’t very big. The fat in them had been burnt by glass and glasses of ogogoro drink.
“My guy, na one David of a guy o,” Principo pronounced.
“Kpoia!!!” Exclaimed someone who had just released the smoke he had saved through the last puff of weed he took, from his nostril. He paused for a moment to the astonishment of others who rather shook their head.
“Detail am make I reason him matter,” he finally broke the silence.
“Na that boy for Wahab o” Principo changed his position. He took a funny walk forward, lifting his head into the sky like he would shoot the clouds. His mouth sq££zed and pointing forward. He stood tall among them. His gait was like that of a boss approaching the actor in a movie.
“Guy guy guy, waiii wai wai wait” Maxwell stammered. “Shey na na na na na ou ou ou our school dai dai david you de dey talk?” He finally got to the bus-stop he had been trying to get to for almost 2minutes.
“We no send am. Me personally no send am,” intoned a fierced looking Ibo boy. His eyes were complete red. It would make vampires afraid at night.
Maxwell went dead at that moment. He was the only Wahabian present in that gathering. One thing or the other raced through his mind and he felt he needed to defend David but when he realised he was alone in this great gathering – he decided silence was the best answer. He wasn’t part of the S.O.P, so what he was doing in their midst was of shock to many. It now dawned on the cult there was a novice amongst them.
Maxwell had only come to flex that evening not knowing this was a different gathering than the normal school 2 he was used to. He was still seated and he roamed his eyes around to confirm he wasn’t mistaken what he felt was happening. He was in the midst of many people he didn’t really recognise.
“Be like say obonte dey our cupboard.” Someone raised the topic and many others refrained.
“Eh Maxwell! Waka before I open eyes. I say make you change guard before huntmen ground you,” the leader shouted.
There had been a slang that had been said before the leader asked Maxwell to flee. It seemed as though they had said, if Maxwell was let to stay, he would inform David about their plans.
Maxwell walked out of the gathering and once, left for his house which wasn’t by anyway connected or linked towards the bus-stop where the fight was going on. He only needed to pass through the way buses came through when they were bringing students in the morning. The road didn’t lead to the bus-stop of departure for all students to find their route. It was another route the bus had to ply while students closed for a day.
His house was only Dolphin Estate so he just needed to trek backwards and he was home in less than 30minutes.
“As we were saying before the Obonte surfaced. Na David and him own don dey too much for this school 2.” Principo announced once again as Maxwell had left.
“Imagine that de`pke (Badagry people sometimes called). That Egun! No be even from Togo or Ghana o! That mumu `Coutonou’ guy.”
“As e dey be Principo. No need to long matter. Their inter house sport dey come up next 4 weeks, make we fall am that day” suggested one first class S.O.P member. He was among the top ranked in the whole complex.
They had tried all they could to model their cult group like other Universities and pronounced cult groups. They had their own top member of which Principo was the number 1 controlling the whole complex.
Much wasn’t known how their number 1 was often deposed and replaced by another ambitious member. But they made sure every school had at least a top member in the cult.
“Me dey reason say make we fall am this week,” another member put in his own opinion.
“But this week don already run out. Me supenkpoche with wetin Huntersguard pronounce,” a light in complexion Yoruba guy who could be mistaken for an Igbo/Ibo guy added his own quota to the discussion.
“I pronounce,” Principo shouted and the chatters of the group went dead.
“We react for the inter-house sport day. Make huntmen down that day and HuntsLord follow Obonchas troway salut.”
“You are rugged all and sundry me Principo king of the guard’s hunt.” All hailed the group in unison. The ground which they all gathered seemed to have thundered.
Then followed was the echo of S.O.P by a baritone voice from the crowd.
“Fearless and rugged among all and sundry,”
To Be Continued….
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