The First Time

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

        The looming sight of a town at a distance and the shuffling of feet by the passengers was enough to tell Kelvin that the journey was at its end. It came as a huge relief to everyone. He could see the town’s roundabout which seems to serve as its central point. It was the pivotal point of the town with a tall upright signpost. An inscription “Jehova Rules,” was inscribed on the uppermost section of the signpost. This is followed by the name of the town “Ekwulobia” below the inscription. They were in bold letters and in clear view. The roundabout was the point at which the major roads leading into and out of it transverses. The major roads form a four diagonal line emerging from the roundabout. One of such roads was the one they were approaching from, which heads from Onitsha to Ekwulobia; vis-a-vis. The other end of it passes through Ekwulobia to Umunze through Ufuma. The second one, transverses through the town center to the capital city Awka through Nanka and other towns and cities.

     The bus finally got to a stop inside the motor park. He took his time to survey the surroundings. It was a beehive of commercial activity. He was on the queue of passengers alerting from the bus. Once with his feet on the wet brown earth. It must have rained because the muddy ground was sticky.  He felt his head hurt a little from the hard-knock he received on collision with his co-passenger. It was only a few seconds’ final reactions of his body to the torturous journey.     

     He made inquiries about the bus heading to Oko. He took another bus at the boarding station, this time a Mitsubishi bus heading towards Oko, the town where the main campus of the institution holds swell. A few minutes' drives brought him face-to-face with the main gate of the school building. Federal Polytechnic Oko was the name of the institution. A few inquiries lead him to the little-known community bank, Oko Community bank but now Microfinance bank. He was to buy the foundation pre-degree forms there. He filled all the necessary items required with his credentials attached with the form and submitted same to the admission office the same day. He had come prepared. Before long it was night. He closed his eyes on that fateful day to sleep in the house of a fellow Christian Brother. He told himself “My life has just begun for the better,” 

     Several weeks later, the admission list for the pre-degree program came out. He made the list of successful candidates in the faculty of engineering. He was excited to live home finally for the program proper. Kelvin made himself comfortable living in an environment where a promiscuous lifestyle was a trend among his fellow students. In fact, it was said to be a part of growing up; a better way to get to know each other well? In the language of some local parlance, Allow the school to go through you and allow yourself to go through the school. In the other words, join the bandwagon of whatever you see your fellow students are into without the moral questions. s*x was the most popular item in the list of most students. It means everything with the opposite s*x. He finds himself at odds with it. The new norm was not normal to him. He noted with dismay how challenged it seemed to try to resist the strong urge to join the foray.

     Most girls had regular boyfriends. It would sound ridiculous for a boy of his type to be without a steady girlfriend also. There are too many girls in number than the boys itching for the few available boys on campus. He also saw how ill-equipped and less emotionally independent the girls were. They relied more on their s****l and famine power to get the attention of their male colleagues. The girls were at war with each other. They tried to outplay each other to the available few boys. s*x seemed to be all that mattered in a boy-girl relationship. Why the mad rush on pre-marital s*x? He had pondered many times. Waiting for something makes the value worth more because what is worth having is worth waiting for? Isn’t s*x worth waiting for?

     The wrong orientation prevalent in the academic-social environment was not helping matters. It made things impossible for both sexes to find out exactly what they want out of such sensitive affairs. In Kelvin’s own view, it was the girls who in most cases seem to receive cruel treatments at the hands of the boys. The boys change them as with clothes. They were played, tossed, and discarded like tissue paper. Kelvin couldn't bear to hurt anyone. He couldn't bear to see himself having that scar at the back of his mind reminding him of a history of him hurting any girl.

     One thing was stake clear. Female students made the relationships be about them. Having a boyfriend you're sleeping with demands he spends on you. Take care of your needs. You become his liability instead of an asset. Your academic well-being becomes his responsibility. It was this liability syndrome that made lots of boys use and dump them.

     “Boys think of most girls as a book appeals to the reader. If the cover doesn’t appeal to the reader, they wouldn’t bother to read the content.” anonymous

     Forty-one students were the tally number of the students living in the lodge building where he is accommodated. Out of this number, twenty-five were female students. Sixteen were male students. The pre-degree students living in the said lodge were quite organized in doing things as a body. Each one was his brother’s keeper. Misunderstandings were easily sorted out with a sense of humor. The disagreeing colleagues are made to reconsider their differences for the greater good of the community. On the academic and social level, there was that prayerful ambition for success. Even after so many years gone by, Kelvin still relishes the pleasurable memories of the playful serenity prevalent in the lodge. The heartwarming feelings of the students that took up residence in it were exceptional.     

     There were many things that he had enjoyed during the brief eight to nine months period of the pre-degree program. Among these was the unforgettable serenity of the surroundings of the community the campus was located. In spite of the obvious lack of basic amenities such as public power supply which was never felt despite the presence of the necessary infrastructures. Portable safe drinking water was void. The only source of water had been the small stream which wasn’t all that safe for human consumption. Yet, that was the only source of water. When he first came to the area he soon took ill for typhoid fever. Not even the institution had the health facility to treat him. He had to travel back home to get treatment. Though there was an option of getting safe drinking water. To those who could afford it, bags of sachet of water were available for consumption. Some of these were produced in poor unhygienic environments. Yet, the students and other consumers are at the mercy of the sachet-water producers.     

    The scenic view was that of beautiful hills and wet valleys. It was yet another reason why he admired the area. On so many occasions, en route to the stream to fetch water Kelvin had to stop at a vantage point to admire the sights before him. Each time he descends the hill to the stream, he absorbs the breathtaking sight of the surrounding hills. The thick presence of bushlands slowly grows into a forest as far as the eye can see.     

    From that vantage point, one could see the outline of the sunbaked earth. The bush tracks stood out clearly from the forest walls of trees. This stood on each side of the hills and on the other side on which he stood. The roads and bush tracts all seemingly emanating from a point at the top of the hill on each side. They descended with that steep thrust towards the stream in the valley below. The buildings capped and graced the top of the hills. These ran across more than a mile behind the shade of trees.     

     Kelvin thought about how delightful, the possibility of having an aerial view of these beauties of the landscape—somewhere between the two hills also graced his thoughts. A picture of the memorable outcome will be indelible. He also imagined if he was the only person that admires the beauteous sight of nature. What an appreciative mind of the beauties endowed in those two hills. Any nature admirer from the other side of the hill would share his sentiments―beauty indeed they say is in the eyes of the beholder.

    Kelvin knew he had daydreamed while standing of buying the plot of lands just close to the spot where he usually stops on his way to fetch water. He had erected a building in his imaginative mind that will be overlooking the valley and the surrounding hills. Indeed, no one would ever be denied these facts; the longing of being part-and-parcel of such scenic views or rather having a claim to it.     

     To add to the beauty of the landscape were the fruit trees. They were planted along with every nuke and cranny of the community and the political state in particular. The whole area―the political state of Anambra State was prone to severe erosions. The menacing gullies threaten the existence of its people and the landscapes themselves.     

     The fruit trees were cashew nuts which combine as a cash crop as well as a check to the looming reality of erosion. The cashew nut tree was such that it occupied some fields of thousands of hectares of land. It may be right to say that the cashew tree had taken over the landscape of the community. The tree in itself is self-propagating. One planted seed is enough to turn a greater percentage of an area of land into a forest of trees of cashew nut in a few years. One could spend a whole day plucking and enjoying the juiciness of the fruits when in season.     

     At his lodge, especially in the main boys’ quarters where he lived. It was a regular routine that every of its member goes to the stream together. The stream was close to the lodge. Only a few walking distances away. And It takes only a few minutes, yet it takes close to an hour before they could make it back to their domicile lodge. Why? This is what usually should be on anyone’s lips―the answers are not farfetched too. Their endless adventure to cashew fruit plucking. After having their fill in the bushes, with sacks of nylon bags filled with cashew nuts fruits to justify the rounds of cashew hunting. They would take the nylon-filled bags of cashew fruits back to the lodge. A stomach filled with cashew fruits to many was their lunch. Those who were not able to go for the cashew hunting will share from the bush spoil.

     It was a thing of joy to relish such memories.