Must Read: Ade

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: Ade

After what seemed to me like ages and
amidst lots of banter between them, Rotimi
and Shola emerged from the kitchen
bearing the ‘special’ meal. It was vegetable
soup and pounded yam. She had used the
electric pounder and not the mortar and
pestle. Technology had indeed made life
easy.

We sat down and ate the food and I must
say, it was delicious. Shola was a good
cook. She forced me to eat much of the
food and I was grateful for it. Thirty
minutes later, we settled in front of the
television for the normal dose of news.


This time on NTA because I had told them I need
to sleep early. Thirty minutes into the news,
I dozed off and was woken by Shola who
guided me to the room where our things
were already placed. She was talking
animatedly on the phone to someone I
thought had to be her boyfriend. I cared
less; sleep took me as soon as I hit the bed.



My alarm woke me at its normal time. I got
up and wiped sleep out of my eyes
wondering where I was. Rotimi was
sprawled on the bed with his hands and
feet pole apart. I observed the room well
and remembered where I was. I got out of
the bed and in the process waking Rotimi
who said something inaudible and went
back to bed.


I had my bath and prepared for work.


I was saying my prayers when the door
opened after a light knock and Shola came
in beaming with smiles. She greeted me
and woke Rotimi who reluctantly got up
and dressed for work too.


I reminded them that it was a Thursday
and they told me that they had not
forgotten what would happen that day.


Shola went out and came back fully dressed
for work and with a light breakfast of
bread and tea. I attacked it with a lot of
gusto. I had gradually become myself after
all the events of the past two days. I was
begining to like Shola the more but I was
cautious, else, I embarrass myself. She was
not really the kind of picture we had prior
to knowing her fully. She was just a right
person with the wrong experiences. One of
life’s ironies!


We left home and headed for school
around seven a.m. Shola called Dr.
Tanimowo immediately we got to school
and apologised for our inability to call him
the previous day. She explained what
happened to me in brief and he requested
to talk to me. He joked over it and told me
to cheer up as a broken relationship is way
better than a broken marriage. I thanked
him and told him I had begun to go back to
my normal self. He added that he had
thought we would not call him and that he
had planned to surprise us by coming to
the school without calling us. Dr. Tanimowo
had arrived Lagos from the North where
our school was the previous day and had
gotten the direction and location of the
school from its official website.


We asked the hotel he was lodged in and
he told us the name. It was just twenty five
minutes drive from the school. Dr.
Tanimowo was preparing to come to the
school. We gave him directions again and
he said he would be there by nine thirty.

We ended the call when we heard the
pleasant recorded voice of the network
provider’s machine telling us that Shola’s
airtime is to finish in a minute.


The assembly came and went. The principal
re-iterated his statement the day before
and asked if the students were prepared.

They all answered in the affirmative.

He dispersed them after telling them to get
ready for date with Dr. Tanimowo.


At nine a.m, the Principal called us to his
office to inquire about the Dr’s arrival and
we told him that he was already on his
way. He took us to the place where would
be the Dr’s office for the two days and we
were satisfied with what we saw. The place
was well organised and befitting for a
counselling session. He said all other things
would be added at the Dr’s request.


We went back to the staffroom and he left for
his office. All through, I was nervous, so
was Rotimi, we were the center of
attraction.


The trio came to our office and asked their
questions again. We told them that their
lives would change after the encounter
with the Dr. They never understood what
we meant.


At nine thirty five, my phone rang, it was
the principal summoning the three of us to
his office. As we stepped out of the room,
th emergency bell rang. I knew it was time.


We headed to the office in our usual
fashion, Rotimi, Shola, Ade. In front of the
administrative block was a Toyota Camry
car which looked familiar. It was the Dr.
Tanimowo’s younger brother’s car that he
drives to our school then. I smiled and
tapped Rotimi who also noticed the car. We
explained to Shola wondering why Dr had
lodged in a hotel rather than staying with
his brother. His brother was a rich trader
who deal in textile and gold which he buys
from the north. Our oga is an enigma!


As we approached the office, we noticed
that all other offices were open and they all
seem to be captivated by the visitor they
had. We went in and we came face to face
with my lecturer who I had last seen two
years before then but who had not
changed much and had come to help, Dr.
Olumide Tanimowo…