No Drink

The afternoon sun brought with it a scorching heat. Hot air flew in through the open windows. The day was bright and the sun was at its finest. Jack got up and looked around. Yawning and stretching, he looked at the two guys who lay at his feet. Still groggy from sleep, he moved to the bathroom to wash his face. Moving back into the room, he noticed that Kunle wasn't among the guys who had lain on the floor asleep. He quickly assumed he must have stepped out after waking up before them, but then, he began to get worried when Kunle didn't come back after thirty minutes. They had an appointment in a few hours' time and Jack was worried if Kunle wouldn't forget about it or be late. Taking out his cellphone, he dialed Kunle's number but it wasn't going through. He tried again and again but got the same reply. "The number your trying to call is switched off." Sighing in frustration, he decided to wake the others up. "Samuel! Kenneth! You guys should get up.Have you seen Kunle?" "No" Samuel and Kenneth replied in unison. "Don't be so tense Jack.I'm sure he's around the corner somewhere" Kenneth said reassuringly. "How are you so sure, Kenneth?You talk a lot," Samuel teased. "Shut up you two! Samuel check for him outside the yard, Kenneth,check for him around the yard and I'll check for him here",Jack ordered authoritatively. ********************* Doing just as they were instructed, they both stepped out with Kenneth heading for the compound's gate, while Samuel approached their neighbour who sat outside washing her clothes. "Hey Queen! How are you doing?" He asked as he walked towards her flashing an award-winning smile. "Hi Samuel. I'm fine and you?" She replied, returning his smile. "I'm fine too". "Uhmm..." He stuttered. "Have you seen Kunle today?" He asked, getting to the point. "No. Not at all", she answered, a look of worry clearly etched on her face. "Who are you looking for?"Esther, Queen's roommate, asked as she came in. "Hi Esther.Have you seen Kunle this morning?" "Yeah. I saw him leaving the house in a hurry this morning", she replied. "Are you sure about that?" Samuel asked, even though he had already gotten the reply he was looking for. "Yeah. Is there a problem?" Esther confirmed, asking to make sure there wasn't a problem. "Thanks. I gotta go" he said, running out, leaving them perplexed and utterly confused. Back at the house, Jack and Kenneth realize the bottle is missing. "He's gone" Samuel said, bursting in. "And the bottle too",Jack and Kenneth replied together. "He wouldn't have gone far". Samuel said, trying to reassure them as well as himself. "Yeah! We should go get him now", Kenneth said. ************************** "Chelsea!" "Yes mum!" "You know you have to do the laundry" "But mum!There's no electricity to power on the washing machine.I can't do that with my hands, you know?" "Oh! Come on dear! We ain't in America. We're in Nigeria. You have to cope..." She was cut short by a loud knock on the door. "I'll get the door" Chelsea said and headed for the door.Before she could reach the door,Nkechi had barged in. "Miss Oyinbo!" "Miss Kechi.Good morning" "Wetin you call me?" "Huhn?" "No worry" "So how you dey?" "Mum! What's Miss Kechi saying?" Chelsea asked, a perplexed look on her face. "How are you haba?" "Oh! I'm good. How are you?" "I dey.You wan wash clothes?" Nkechi asked in her local pidgin, overlooking the fact that Chelsea couldn't understand her. "Yeah sure" Chelsea's mum answered on her behalf. "No mum! I can't! My nails are going to break! Gosh!" Chelsea walked out angrily.As she was walking out,she spotted Chinonye. "Mum! Mum! Come and see this! You have to see this!" "What's that sweetheart?" Her mum, startled, came rushing to her side. "See the number of clothes Chanoy is washing with her hands." "Oh my God! That's too much! That's child a***e. I'm gonna call the cops", Chelsea's mum said, reaching for her phone. "Miss Oyinbo, what's the problem?"Nkechi asked, addressing Chelsea's mum. "And Chelsea, her name is Chinonye, not Chanoy"she said, this time addressing Chelsea. "Eehn.What's the problem?" "I got to call 911"Chelsea replied. ******************** "I swear, Kunle, if I get you I'll kill you"Jack cursed. "Take it easy. He'll come back" Esther reassured. Kenneth ran in, breathing hard. " Kunle! Kunle! He was at the motor park. He boarded a bus to Port Harcourt. "Then we're going there. Kenneth, Samuel and Jack quickly packed their things and headed for the park. Esther and the Queen stayed behind to gather more information on the whereabouts of Kunle. At the park, Samuel, Kenneth and Jack argued over who was going to pay the transport fare. "A ticket costs N1500, for the three of you, that's N4500" the sales man said, speaking with a funny accent. "Kenneth, give him the money", Jack said. " What money? Did you give me any money?" Kenneth argued. Turning around to face Samuel, he then asked him to pay instead. "If I slap you, you'll tell me whether you gave me any money to pay. Let Jack pay" "Yes," Kenneth agreed. "Oya Jack, pay the money" they both said , turning to face Jack. "The two of you are crazy fools. I asked you to pay and now you are asking me to pay? I can see both of you are out of your senses" As they argued, people behind them began to complain. The salesman, trying hard to control his anger, still putting on a polite smile, asked them to leave the line and try to find a way to get the money. Stepping out of the line, Kenneth said " I have a plan." ************************* "Chinonye!" "Uncle Kunle! Welcome! Daddy's not around. Mummy is at our new neighbor's house" Chinonye responded as she looked towards the house. Kunle, who heard Nkechi's voice, smiled and walked towards the house. "So you want to call the police? Go ahead and call." Nkechi said mockingly. "What's the emergency number for Nigeria?" "Mum, I saw a police station down the road." "Let's get going..." They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Let me check who's at the door. "Nkechi said as she walked briskly to the door. " Ah Kunle! Welcome! " "Aunty, good evening. Good evening ladies." Kunle greeted them as he stepped inside. "Miss Oyinbo, meet my brother in-law, Kunle, my husband's younger brother", Nkechi said, grinning from ear to ear. Akin, Kunle's elder brother, worked as a contract engineer and lived with his wife and daughter along Iwofe road, Port Harcourt. "Welcome dear. Have a seat. What would you like to drink?" Chelsea's mum asked,playing the polite hostess. *************** "So what's the plan, Kenneth?" Jack asked. "See those girls there?" Kenneth asked, pointing towards two girls who stood talking. "Yes, we can see them." "Who's handsome? Samuel, you will go over there and distract them while we get the bags. I'm sure there's more than N4500 in them." "Splendid idea" Samuel said, impressed. "What! It's not splendid at all!"Jack queried. "Jack, stop being a coward. Let's do as Kenneth said", Samuel argued back. "I see you guys want to put me into trouble. In fact, I'm going home." Jack said, walking out angrily. "Jack! Jack!" Kenneth called after him as he walked briskly to catch up with him. "Wait. You can talk to the ladies and we'll get the bags since your so scared of being caught" **************** "Kunle, here's your drink" Chelsea said as she put down the glass of orange drink on the table. "Thanks" he replied. "Kunle, this one you just came without informing us first, hope there's no problem?" Nkechi asked. "No, there's no problem or can't I come and visit my family anytime I want to now?" Kunle replied, throwing back a question at her. "No, don't take it that way. Come, let's go to the house. Miss Oyinbo, I dey come. Are you people still going to the police station?" "Of course we are" the white woman answered. **************** "Hey pretty ladies" "Hi" "I'm Jack and you are ?" "I'm Eunice and she's Grace." "Wow! Pretty names for pretty ladies. So are you guys waiting for a bus or someone?" "Actually, we're waiting for our dad. He's on his way here..." She stopped short when she realized her bag was missing. "Oh my God!" "What's that?" Jack asked, feigning innocence. "My bag is missing. " "Mine too", Grace exclaimed when she realized her bag was gone too. When Jack said nothing, they followed his eyes and realized that he was looking at some guys who were walking away as though he was trying to signal them. The girls then noticed that those guys were trying to cover up something. "Security! Security! Those guys took our bags" Eunice shouted when she finally figured out everything. They were given a hot chase by the security guards who eventually caught up with them and gave them the beating of their lives. "Chai Jack, I would have gone. Only my face is captivating enough to talk more of my words", Samuel said breathlessly. "Shut up! You people are not good thieves. You were not even wise enough to blend with the crowd. You people are losers." Jack cursed. "Ehn... We have seen you now. Were we not begging you to do it? You refused. Coward like you." Kenneth teased. They began fighting themselves out of frustration. THE GLOSSARY(As Promised) Wetin- What? Oyinbo- It's used to refer to whites(mostly Americans) How you dey?- How are you? I dey- I'm fine You wan wash clothes? - Do you want to wash clothes? Oya - Okay I dey come- I'm coming