At the eleventh hour - S01 E02

2 years ago

At the eleventh hour - S01 E02

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 2

At the Eleventh Hour…

It has been thirty minutes since he discovered Meenarh’s body in his room. Mike is now in the living room walking back and forth. The shock of what he has seen in his bedroom is driving him insane. His attention is diverted by the noise from the TV. He stretches his right hand like he is about to pick the remote control, changes his mind, bites his lower lip and then unplugs the TV. He still cannot concentrate; he sits on the couch, places his hands on his head and begins to sweat profusely. He stands up, facing the wall where the portrait of the Holy Mary is hung and starts talking like he is crying, but he is not.

Mike: “God, what have I done?” He shakes his head. “I didn’t touch this girl; I didn’t even have the chance to…I mean she was perfectly okay when I left her in my room. What kind of bad luck is this one now?”

Mike can no longer control himself; he reaches for his phone in his pocket to make a call to Kadir. At first the phone slips away from his hand, he picks the battery and puts the phone together immediately, then he dials…

Mike: “Bro-Kadir, where you dey? ”

Kadir: “How far Bro? I dey where I dey. This one wey you dey call me, you suppose don go far for the action by now. I dey envy you as I dey here so” he replied as he approaches the front desk in the hotel he and his best friend’s fiancé, Bella, have just been lodged.

Mike: “KkkKadir”, he breathes heavily. “Yawa don gas o. I’m in big trouble.”

Kadir: “Guy, I don’t understand you, hope say you never break the girl waist o. I hear say you no dey joke for bed”. He moves away from Bella and lowers his voice. “But seriously, what’s the problem?” he asks.

Mike: “Shees nnnot bbrreathing”, he stammers.

Kadir: “Who? Who is not breathing?’ He asks as he stylishly looks behind to see if Bella is watching.

Mike: “Its Meenarh!”

Kadir: “Guy chill, I don’t understand. Which Meenarh? She is not breathing as how? Wetin dey block her nose?”

Mike: “Meenarh! Your sister in-law”, he breathes heavily again. “I think she’s…she is…”

kadir: “She is what, Mike?”

Mike: “She is…dead!”

Kadir: “Subhanallah!!!”

The tone of Kadir’s voice calls the attention of the old couple sitting at the other end of the reception, Bella notices and disrupts the phone conversation as she quickly walks up to Kadir. The guests admire them, just the way a perfect couple is admired, not knowing that Bella is cheating on her fiancé with his best friend.

Bella: “Sweety?” She taps him on the shoulder from behind. “What is the problem?”

Kadir: “Oh you’re here?” He turns the phone off and grabs Bella by the waist. “Nothing honey, it’s Airtel and their wahala, don’t bother your pretty head over it. Let us go enjoy ourselves in the room”.

They get the keys from the receptionist. As they walk towards the elevator, Kadir allows Bella to walk in front of him, he giggles and stares closely at Bella’s winding buttocks. As they step into the elevator he becomes quiet and thinks deep about what Mike has told him, was it true or not, he can’t tell. What is he going to do to fix the situation? Should he tell Bella about it and destroy the relationship completely? These questions keep running through his mind. He knows he is not yet ready to bring Mike down, but he still thinks this is a great opportunity.

They are now in the penthouse of Vanern Residence, a hotel two Kilometers away from Mike’s home. Bella is in her favourite lingerie; she winks at him and then drags him to the bed.

Bella: “C’mmon, loosen that face a bit” she tries to kiss him on the lips but Kadir seems less interested. She tries a second time and then gives up. Kadir knows she is drunk, so he ignores her, lies on the bed and begins to fake a noisy snore.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Meanwhile, Mike is still in his house confused, with his phone in his hand, he re-dials Kadir’s number uncountable times but is still unable to reach him. He sits on the red carpet, pulls his shirt and rests his back on the couch. He begins to wonder why Kadir is yet to arrive and why his number is no longer reachable. “Has Kadir abandoned me?”.

He has always known Kadir to be the last person one can call in times of need; Mike was once beaten by some hoodlums in school. He had seen them following him on his way to his house, he thought it wise to call his best friend, Kadir to help him out, but Kadir had only arrived when his friend was unconscious. Kadir’s reason for not picking that call was that he had gotten so high that day that he didn’t even know the location of his phone, not to talk of hearing it ring.

“knock-knock-knock…!”

Mike is woken up by a continuous loud knock on his front door. He had fallen into a troubled sleep while waiting for Kadir to arrive. He wakes up, looks at the wall clock and realizes he has slept for a few hours. What the hell made him sleep in such a critical situation? He asks himself. The knock continues as Mike hurriedly wears his shirt…”It must be Kadir who has come to my aid”, he says

Mike: “Who is that?”

Uncle Karim: “Its Kay”

Mike: “Who?” he moves closer to the door.

Uncle Karim: “Uncle Kay, your boss at the office”

Mike: “Oh My God, I’m finished. What is Kadir’s brother doing in my house at this time of the day?” He whispers in despair.

As he decides whether to unlock the door or not, he begins to regret why he had answered the door in the first place. Of course, in the confusion, his dumb mind thought it was his friend Kadir at the door, he consoles himself, says a little prayer in his mind, makes sure his bedroom door is shut, checks around to make sure that everything is in its right place in the sitting room and then opens the door for Uncle Kay.