SWEAT AND ROSES 4.0

They say when you take a deep dive in the sea, you will surely find something. It doesn’t state whether what you will find will be thrilling and fascinating, shocking or something you'll regret ever finding. I took a deep dive into immorality, even though it was fun and exciting while I was in the world. Right now, I wish I never took that dive. Am on my punishment, wondering when I will get the opportunity; even if it lasts just a minute, to pen down some of the memories that have managed to come through in my head. The week is almost running out and I have not set my eyes on Bobby. The pains and suffering are so much that I think I might just drop dead at any minute; but that is far from happening. It is really hell in here.
Finally, here is my chance to scribble for few seconds, that which I have been waiting all day to pen down.

Some months before my mother’s demise, I was in the living room, writing a letter that I intended getting across to Felicia, the girl down the street that I have been crushing on for a long time. I have tried everything but nothing seems to be working. I had summoned courage, walked up to her and told her how I felt, only for her to turn around and motion to her nine years old sister to come. The little girl stood by her elder sister, looked up at me like she already knew what was going to happen next.

“chichi, I want you to come and hear what this boy is saying so that you will tell me everything once I come back in the evening, okay?” Felicia said to her little sister.

“okay, sister” came the reply from the little rascal and with that, Felicia walked away swaying her loose hips like a flag caught in the wind.

“ehen! I am listening o”. I looked around, not sure who this little “chinch” was referring to. “Look, I don’t have the whole day. I will go inside o” so many thoughts came into my head in a split second; “just kick this thing away”, “no, don’t kick her, just pick her by the collar and fling her into the bush, nobody is looking”, “that is too harsh, just step on her head and walk away”. I felt so stupid looking down at this saucy mosquito before me; I turned around and walked away with the intention of trying a different method of approach to conquer Felicia.

“mtcheww, you are not even serious. Don’t come and look for Aunty Felicia again o” the little girl called after me.

Just when I was about going through the letter for the sixth time, my alcohol stinking father walked in with his little mistress that I am sure is nothing more than three years older than I am and asked me to get out and go play with my mates in his drunken baritone voice. I looked up at him with disgust on my face, folded the sheet of paper and dropped it into my pocket. My mum was sitting outside chatting with our little house help, so she must have seen the bastard walk in with a girl young enough to be her daughter. To delay means to get the fist pumps from my dad and I sure wasn’t in the mood to shed tears, not today, I have plans to woo Felicia. I stood up and walked out of the room with my eyes on my father’s that I wondered hours later, how I managed to get out without hitting my head against the doorpost.

I walked down the street towards Felicia’s compound, I waited for a long time, finally, a little boy walked towards the compound; he is Felicia’s neighbor. I called him and handed him the piece of paper with fifty naira note as incentive for the ‘Italian job’; smuggling a contraband of this level into a house guarded by top ‘security officials’; Felicia’s strict dad and mum, is not an easy one. It wasn’t until three days later when I was on my way to get a bottle of liquor for my dad that I saw Felicia standing by an old bus some meters away from her compound with Bobby. I could have sworn the bastard was laughing at me; sighting me from afar, he gets a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolds it and starts to read aloud. I couldn’t hear him at first, but when I got closer, I heard him clearly and I swear, those lines sounded familiar; the idiot is reading me my own letter aloud in the street; his friends and Felicia’s laughed at me like I was the joke of the century. I felt miserable; did the earth swallow me up on that very day? No it did not, though I prayed for it to.

A day after the embarrassing incident, I was walking past the barber’s shop; the most popular game joint in the neighborhood, when someone called me. I turned around to see Bobby come out of the game shop, he ran towards me and put his hand on my shoulder and we walked on as if we have been friends for a long time.

“Don’t take yesterday’s fuck up personal, okay? You can’t blame boys for laughing; you were so immaturely stupid...”

I did not know whether to say ‘thank you’ or beat this dude to a pulp.

“You are a fine boy, why are you falling your hand by asking a girl out the way our ancestors did?” he said with laughter in his voice. “No worry, Felicia pass you sha, she be my babe. But I fit give you chicks o, dem plenty. Just come tomorrow for game shop make you hang out with boys so you go sabi what’s up”. With that, he patted me on the shoulder and walked back to the shop.

That was how I started hanging out with Bobby in the barber’s shop. I would accompany him to meet with girls he was spinning and I must confess it was nothing to him. I tried using his methods several times but failed. Finally, I met Amarachi, a friend to one of Bobby’s girl friends. I liked her so much that I begged Bobby to help me talk to her. Bobby laughed at me and told me not to worry. After two meets with Amarachi, Bobby arranged a meet for me and her in his place the next day by two pm. Out of over excitement; I had rushed off to his house as early as twelve in the noon. I knew his father was hardly ever around, so no need to knock. I pushed my way through the door as I called out to Bobby. Damn! Struggling to get into her clothes with embarrassment on her face is Amarachi.

“Bobby?!” I called out in shock at my naked friend. Surprising enough, he had no look of remorse or embarrassment on his face, just disappointment.

“But I told you to come by two now!” he complained.

I couldn’t believe my ears. I stared at Amarachi with disgust as she stood there in the room, eyes down on the torn rug. There was nothing I could say, I just walked out of the room with tear stinging my eyes. I said I wasn’t going to cry, I tried. But halfway to my house, the tears came flooding.
The thoughts of what Bobby did to me with Amarachi wouldn’t stop playing in my head even as the phone kept ringing. I hated Bobby for his action and promised myself I was done with him; at least I thought so, but Bobby was to surprise me one week later and I couldn’t have forgiven him less. And lest I forget, that same week, ugochi, our little house help’s pregnancy was discovered. Who was responsible? Your guess is as good as mine. More on that next week, and until then, yours truthfully, Baron Chidalu.

Chidera Reginald.