Must Read: Ade

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: Ade

Rotimi’s call to me brought me out of the
deep thought I was in. Food was out of the
question for us that night. Brainstorming
had a way of making you hungry yet you
wouldn’t feel it.



”How we go take do this thing?” Rotimi
asked a JAMB question for the umpteenth
time. He had been pacing the length and
breadth of our room since we entered from
Shola’s house. He was murmuring
incoherent words to himself, a habit he
exhibits when he is tensed and confused as
well as trying to fashion out solutions to
problems. In the middle of the murmuring,
he would talk aloud to anyone who is lucky
to be present with him. The words are
usually final statements or foolish questions.


So as he asked his questions, I just kept
silent in the corner where I sat brooding and
thinking. NEPA made things worse as there
was no power supply. We did not even
bother to put on any light hence the room
was as black as anything.
At around eight p.m, Rotimi’s phone rang. He
ran to pick it up and found out that it was
Bunmi. In the darkness, with the aid of the
light from his phone, I could see a frown on
his face as he fought with himself on
whether to pick the call or not. The phone
rang out. Just as he was about to drop it, it
rang again.


”Ol boy, pick am make we hear wetin she
wan talk.” I had said.


”If the thing go vex you, carry am gi’me
make I follow am yearn. You get am so?” I
said again.


By then, the call was coming in for the third
time. He picked it and said, ”Hello!” Rotimi
said into the speaker.


”Hello sir, how are you sir? Hope you and sir
Ade are okay? You got me worried. I came
home and waited till around six. I called your
lines and you two weren’t picking up. Sir,
you made me scared. What happened?” She
ranted on without waiting for and answer.
”Nothing extraordinary happened. We were
busy that was why we couldn’t pick your
calls. We were having a discussion you
would soon know about. When the time
comes you will know. Just be prepared and
relax. Okay?” Rotimi explained.


To be candid, his explanation to the girl
baffled me but I knew his mind was made
up. He would not sleep with Bunmi again for
anything in the world and that was why he
told her to look forward to the discussion.
”Okay sir. Since you are both after our
goodness, I shall wait and relay it to the
others. Thanks sir. Good night and sweet
dreams sir. Regards to Sir Ade.” Bunmi said
unaware that I had listened in on the call all
through. Rotimi had put it on speaker
immediately he picked it.
”Good night,” Rotimi said and ended the call.


He dropped the phone and resumed his
pacing. Soon, I was also lost in my own
thoughts.


After about an hour of brain wracking, hard
and stressed thinking, an idea occured to
me. It was to seek professional help from
one of our lecturers.


Dr. Tanimowo Olumide was a doctor of
Psychology. He had been our lecturer in our
third year. We became known to him
through our foolish acts in his class because
we had thought that his course was just an
addition to our total course units. It was a
borrowed course. He had taken to us and we
had become regulars in his office. He was
even on our reference list. How we had
forgotten about him till then escaped me.


Thank God we still remembered on time
before our 24 hours elapsed.


”Ol boy, come I don see solution. Na Dr.
Tanimowo we go tell. Him go get solution for
us.” I told Rotimi the outcome of my thought.
He was elated.


”Haba! Ade, see us o! We be serious mumu
o, see as we get hoe for house come dey use
our hands pack Sh*t. Ol boy, to talk say we
still greet am last week o. Boy, you be genius
o. I too like you. If you no be my friend eh, I
fit commit suicide o. Thank you padi mi. My
head don dull o. Na you dey always save us
from any Sh*t wey we enter. The next one na
me go solve am.” He ranted on elatedly.



I laughed as he made me remember
previous troubles we had both fallen into. In
secondary school, we were one week, one
trouble and in the university, we had gotten
into numerous troubles with either the
lecturers or our fellow students and even the
dare-devil cultists in our school. One way or
the other, we had always wriggled out of
them through inspiration from either of us.


But the funny thing was that the brain
behind the escape would credit it to the
other. Such was our ways.
With solution now in sight, we remembered
that the last meal we had was in the school
during the break. Hunger had sewn a
garment in our stomachs.

Just then NEPA brought back power and
everywhere was flooded with light. We
headed to the kitchen to take garri and
water before heading to the streets to get
Suya to accompany it on the night journey
we were about to send it.


We tackled our food and cleared up before
heading to bed peacefully after deciding to
place a call through to Dr. Tanomowo in
school the next day.


Meanwhile, all actions with the girls were
suspended till further notice.
Morning came and we went to school with
renewed vigour to tackle the day..