EPISODE 7: MY DECISION
I was lucky not to miss any paper as I recovered quite quickly. The exams began on a hot note with lecturers having their best moments (“Laughing at students who had no clue about what they were writing”). My exams lasted for about two weeks. I had decided to lay low for the sake of my exams; I sure was determined to pay Otedo back. On the final day of my exams, I was moving towards my exam menu when someone grabbed me by the arm; “If I see you anywhere near my babe, that one wey I give you na demo, wetin I go do you, you no go live to tell the story”, he concluded and then left with the three guys with him; Otedo has certainly become a torment for me. On a good day, I knew I could give that guy the beatings of his life!. “Don’t worry nigga, I will give you what you are looking for after my exams” I thought within. It was a successful final exam and everyone was filled with excitement. I was glad and felt it was time to put my plans into action. I called Eric (one of Goshen’s roommates), and we agreed on where to meet. I had always known that Eric was in the game but never thought I would involve his services. He had promised to help me out but on the condition that I joined the “brotherhood” as he called it. The anger in me was still very fresh, I wasn’t even done nursing the injuries I sustained from the beatings; I was being warned to stay away from a girl who wasn’t interested in him anymore. “That guy must pay”, I kept saying to myself, not knowing what I was about to go through just to become a member. Eric called me later in the evening or should I say night and directed me on where to meet him. I was not able to find a cab that faithful night so I trekked for close to an hour before I finally met him. We then trekked further another long distance for over an hour before getting to a thick bush from which I could see a light like a camp fire or something shining from a little distance from where we were. When we finally got to the venue, I was shocked at the number of people I saw there. They played drums and shouted to the rhythm of the music in the dark like they were preparing for a war. After more than an hour of singing, the whole place fell into great silence for close to thirty minutes. Someone finally came to the centre of the gathering and ordered the recruits to come to the centre; each with their sponsors. I felt a little at ease when I saw that I wasn’t the only newbie in the gathering; in fact, we were quite many. Our sponsors were each given a red piece of cloth to use as a blindfold on us from which every other thing I will say now was what I felt and not see in the two hours for which I was blindfolded. Loud music filled the air once more and I can remember drinking something that tasted very strong and almost made me throw up. That was actually the least of my problems; my real problem came when our shirts were forcefully torn from our bodies and we were told to lie on our bellies. What I felt on my back from the next moment is all I can tell you about that night. This is because I woke up in the hospital with Goshen, as usual, sitting by my bedside. “Guy, the doctor said you were brought in here by a good Samaritan who found you lying by the road side almost dead. He said you were attacked by a group of bandits!” Goshen spoke. I hissed in pains as I know the real story behind the matter. “I told Eric to help me and he almost gets me killed”, I thought to myself. Everything seemed wrong and my anger level was increasing on my hospital bed. I wished I could just get up and strangle Eric, and then Otedo!; but they were all wishes and I had to get off my bed first before anything else. On my second day in the hospital, my phone rang and when I picked, I was instructed by an unfamiliar voice to get my parcel at “Area 24” the next day. Was this guy okay, I am in the hospital and someone is telling me to come and pick my parcel at what?...”Area 24”, this guy is sick! I thought to myself. “Sorry bro, wrong number!”, I retorted. “Dejuma!, go and pick your parcel!”, the voice shouted back. So this wasn’t a wrong number after all, but what and where is “Area 24”? I thought. Before I could ask any further questions, the caller hung up. Where the hell is this place and how can I get there? What is the package this guy is talking about? I am about to find out.
ATTENTION: Sincere apologies for the delay in posting, it was due to some unavoidable occurrences. Thank you. (The remaining episodes will be posted in my next update to make up for absence!!..Stay tuned!!!)