INDISPENSABLE

CHAPTER 2

I sat down quietly, staring straight at her. I couldn’t think straight, I just fixed my eyes on her, thinking about the unthinkable. I was brought back to life by the person sitting next to me.

“Hey dude, it’s your turn to introduce yourself.”

“Do I still need that?” I muttered silently.

I could see everyone looking at me. I wonder why they won’t just face the front and mind their business.

I stood up to say my name when David and his friend interrupted my speech.

“The Samaritan boy!” they barked.

The room echoed with tremendous laughter. I felt embarrassed, ‘cos I was more like a laughingstock. Finally, I felt there was no need for me to say my name.

“Bamboos,” I cursed.

At the end of the lecture, I was appointed as the new course rep by Ayokemi. She called me closer and requested my help with her books. I packed her books and followed her behind, and once in a while, my eyes met with her jingling butt. Sincerely speaking, the butt was great.

“Why are you called the Samaritan boy?” she asked surprisingly.

“Never mind those old fools, they refused to learn,” I muttered.

She smiled as she entered her supposed office.

“Miss Ayokemi, I think you’ll need my help here. This place is in a huge mess,” I said while surveying the room.

“I think I know the reason why you’re called the Samaritan boy,” she said with a smile.

“You know?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah… never mind. I really appreciate it. It’s nice of you,” she said.

I fetched a broom and a rag, alongside a bowl of water, and set to work. Her eyes were on me as I worked professionally like a dry cleaner. A lot of questions were running through my mind, but I couldn’t ask. Perhaps I was a little bit scared. When I first met her, she was a fish, and now she’s my lecturer. She looks too young to be a lecturer. If she’s older than I am, it will be by two or three years.

“It seems you’re new here, and also in this town,” I said with borrowed confidence. And it seems she had been expecting a conversation from me, but I had been foolishly silent.

“Yeah, how do you know?” she asked with a glimpse of joy.

“We’ve met, even before you became my lecturer,” I said jokingly.

“I got you surprised, right?” she said as she smiled at me.

“Yeah, I almost... I freaked out. I hope that won’t affect our friendship,” I said quickly, taking my eyes away after finishing the statement. I expected an answer, but none came. I guessed I was pushing too hard.

“You wouldn’t mind if I show you around the town and school? Perhaps we’ll get to know each other better,” I said, pushing even harder.

“I wouldn’t say no,” she answered.

And that was the greatest reply I certainly needed from her.

“I’ll give you a call,” I said as I exited her office.

“This will be great,” I thought loudly.

I walked back into the lecture hall to pick my things, but I found my bag gone.

“Are these guys playing pranks with me?” I soliloquized.

“Which guys?” I heard a female voice behind me, and I quickly recognized the voice.

“Agatha, are you with my bag?” I asked without turning my back.

“Who could have taken your bag if not me? Or what have you been up to?” I turned to see her placing my bag on her head. I laughed at her appearance ‘cos she looked more like a petty trader.

“Come, I’ll tell you all about it when we get home,” I said as I dragged her out with me.

Evening arrived sooner than I thought. After eating the delicious spaghetti Agatha prepared for me, I lay on the bed for a quick nap, but it turned out to be a long sleep. I woke up around 7 p.m.

I saw a note written by Agatha for me, calling me a sleeping bull. I guessed she left after realizing the kind of sleep I was engaged with.

I helped myself with the remaining spaghetti left in the pot. Mama taught me how to cook, but I failed miserably. Even to cook ordinary rice is a problem for me. The day hunger forced me to prepare concoction rice, believe me, it was a burnt offering.

I was enjoying the spaghetti and chatting with some fish on w******p. I remembered I collected Ayokemi’s number earlier in the day, so I wasted no time in calling her.

Me: Hello?

Ayokemi: Hello Jay.

Me: (Surprised) How did you know it’s me?

Ayokemi: I have Truecaller, and besides, I knew you would call.

Me: Oh. How was your day, ma?

Ayokemi: Stressful.

Me: Stressful?

Ayokemi: Yeah, kind of. Where I moved in, I did some cleaning and arrangements.

Me: Oh, you could have informed me.

Ayokemi: You called late.

Me: I’m sorry, I never knew.

Ayokemi: Thanks for today anyway.

Me: It’s nothing, ma. Around which area are you, ma?

Ayokemi: G.R.A.

Me: Just as I thought.

Ayokemi: You wouldn’t think otherwise.

Me: Can you still go out tonight, ma?

Ayokemi: I’d love to, but I’m tired.

Me: Another day, I guess?

Ayokemi: Yeah.

Me: Have a happy night rest, ma.

Ayokemi: And you too.

The door opened and my friends bounced in. I could tell from their dressing that they were up to something, probably an occasion or party.

“Jay baba, na here you dey?”

“No na, Togo. Where una dey go, dressed like president escorts?” I asked curiously.

They first pounced on the spaghetti I was eating. At least they still got a few spoons left to fight for.

“Jay, you cooked this?” Mayor asked surprisingly after discovering the sweetness of the food.

“Hell will loose if it’s me, my bestie did,” I said.

“I thought as much. Oya go change your cloth fast-fast, we got a party to attend,” Ope said.

I didn’t plan on going anywhere, but staying at home doing absolutely nothing would be boring. In less than two minutes, I was all done, and we all headed out. It’s quite unfortunate that none of us had a ride. Well, we thanked God for the Geo-leg.

We boarded a bike which conveyed us to the party. At the entrance, we were stopped by the security officials.

“Where are your partners?” one of them threw the question at us.

“Partners?” we echoed together.

“You guys must have a female partner before you can enter here, that’s the gate entry password.”

That came as a surprise to all of us. We stood there looking like zombies.

“So should we all turn and go back?” I asked the demoralized dudes.

“I’d suggest we stay here and fish,” Ben suggested.

We agreed to the suggestion and all positioned ourselves like highway policemen.

Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours. Not a single fish came our way. We were at the edge of giving up when we sighted the slay queens. They were like the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea. I tried counting them with my eyes, but I lost count. They were all moving like a herd of cattle, dressed in black.

“Who is in for threesomes?” I asked.

“Foursomes are better,” Ope replied.

“Fivesomes ain’t bad,” Mayor quickly added.

“I’ll go for sixsomes,” Ben completed.

We all laughed at Ben when he said sixsomes.

“Death is calling on you, bro,” Ope let out loudly.

“Can’t wait to eat your burial akara,” I added.

“Whatever, see you guys in the building, I’m off to fishing,” Ben said and moved away from us.

He approached the ladies, and we followed behind. We were some feet away from catching up when the unexpected happened. We heard a gunshot. Immediately, we stopped in our tracks. With our very eyes, we saw as fish turned into predators. We thought they were slay queens, of course they were, but slay queens with loaded AK-47s. Running was far from an option ‘cos they were very close to us. Right there in front of us, the security men were shot dead. They all advanced inside, leaving two behind to watch the door.

We were all trembling from head to toe. Although they didn’t seem to have our time, I knew they had us in mind. Any silly move and we were all dead.

We heard a distant gunshot, followed by some huge screaming, probably from some terrified ladies. My heart began racing fast. We had no idea what was happening, and the fear of getting shot by some bloody slay mamas paralyzed the four of us.

A lot of things began running through my mind. Perhaps we could talk to the two ladies outside, maybe they could let us go. After thinking for some time, I summoned up courage and spoke softly to Ben, but loud enough for the ladies to hear.

“Ben, do you still plan on having sixsomes with these ladies?” I asked, fixing my eyes on the two ladies. I observed their reaction when they heard my voice. It was quite unexplainable.

“Are you kidding me? This is no time to joke. I’d give up anything just to have my ass safe,” Ben replied.

Just as he finished the statement, the door opened and the rest of the ladies bounced out.

“Why are these guys still alive?” said the one whom I supposed to be the leader.

“They’re just a bunch of fools. Imagine one of them thinking about having sixsomes,” one of the ladies retorted.

“Fools indeed. Let’s go,” she commanded and took the lead while others followed behind.

After they vanished from our sight, we took to our knees. I had never had a close call like that in my life. I ran like a hen being chased by a c**k. I got home, locked myself in, and began saying some prayers. Ben and the rest must have also found their way to their respective abodes. They ran as if they were in a temple run.

No one had any idea what happened in the building, but whatever it was, I knew it wasn’t a good one.

The following day, I couldn’t go out for lecture, probably still terrified by the bloodthirsty incident. I locked myself in, switched off my mobile, and hid beneath a blanket. Cowardice isn’t for the brave, but I lost my braveness when I was a foot away from death.

I heard numerous knocks on my door, but I wouldn’t open. Who knew if the devil was still after us?

I heard another knock, but I remained silent.

“Jay, I know you’re in there. Open this door now before I break it down.”

That came from Agatha. I knew her capability; if I delayed any seconds, she might break the door down. At least if I couldn’t trust anyone, I could trust my bestie. I opened the door, and she entered.

“What’s the problem? Are you sick? Why locking yourself in?” she threw the questions immediately she stepped in.

I don’t fancy lies, so I told her everything. Even if I wanted to lie to someone, it wouldn’t be her. She would easily detect it. Saying the truth was all I had.

“It’s okay baby boo. I heard about it also. The news is everywhere. I thank God that you’re alive, that’s what really matters. What about your friends, have you heard from them?” she asked.

“No, but they’ll be fine,” I replied.

I felt some slight pains in my stomach. I knew it was Mr. Hunger’s way of saying, ‘hello dude, no food yet?’

Thank God Agatha was around. I begged her to prepare me breakfast. After a lot of excuses, she agreed.

The following day at school, I was heading to the library when I was summoned by Ayokemi. I changed my direction and headed to her office.

“You weren’t in school yesterday. I searched all over for you, and your lines were also off,” she said.

An electric wave of joy ran through my veins. If that was coming from her, that meant she cared. I stood there smiling at her, not knowing what to say. I couldn’t possibly tell her the truth, and I had bad luck with lies.

“I was... something came up and... it’s gone. You look great today, ma’am,” I said, trying to evade her questions. And I think that worked because I caught her with a blushing smile. One thing I discovered about ladies, if you appreciate them, they will appreciate it, (derived from some laws in physics.)

“Can I take you out tonight, ma’am?” I asked with a charming voice.

“If it’s fine by your girlfriends, then I’ll be waiting for you by 6 p.m.,” she replied.

“Funny. See you at 6, ma’am,” I said, then headed for the exit.

I bumped into Joy (the class guru) on my way out. Accidentally and unintentionally, my hand pressed her breast. She had no bra on, so I was able to feel the texture and the succulent softness of her breast.

“Wao!” I exclaimed.

She wore a surprised angry face, hissed, then pushed her way through me.

“I’m sorry, emmm... nice breast,” I said immediately after her. I think that got her more surprised. I could see her burning with anger.

“Son of a b***h!” she cursed.

I wouldn’t want to hear another, so I turned and found my way out.

I met with Ope and Agatha at the relaxation center. I guessed he was still trying his luck with her.

“Am I interrupting a date?” I asked jokingly.

“You just did,” Ope replied rapidly.

We laughed, then I sat in between them.

“Jay, I think it’s high time we start believing you,” Ope said.

I looked at both of them with uncertainty, wondering what might have brought about the statement.

“A news reached me today, which I later confirmed to be true... a body was found in the wood. A dead body. It came just as you predicted. She was found dead in the forest today by a hunter,” Ope said with his head bent down.

“The question in answer is that, how did you know she’s going to die?” Agatha asked.

I looked at the two of them, thinking of what to tell them. I wasn’t sure if they’d believe me, and I wasn’t ready to risk saying it out.

“Am I being interrogated or what?” I asked with a little anger.

“Calm bro, it’s not what you think. Ain’t we friends?” Ope said calmly.

“I’m sorry Jay, it’s not just your first time saying something like this. It’s weird and I’m worried,” she said.

I took my time before answering them. I’d been living my crazy life all alone. I didn’t know how it felt to share one of my greatest secrets with them.

“I do see things, far beyond the human world. Not everyone out there are human. Some are creatures from the underworld. When I was a child, I lived in their world. Some are very powerful, some are friendly, some are evil, some are victims, some are casualties. The girl whose body was found in the wood, she was lured by a creature, a creature of the wild forest. I knew she wouldn’t survive it... no one has.”

I watched as they both listened with their mouths opened in disbelief.

“It’s okay if you don’t believe me,” I said, then made to move.

“Sincerely speaking, I believe you. If you were lying, I’d have known,” Agatha said.

I observed as Ope surveyed his eyes around.

“So do you see anything now?” he asked.

I didn’t answer him, but after a lot of persuasion from both of them, I opened up.

“Right here in front of us... is a dead man.”

(Come see race.)

TBC..