Chronicles Of Willy - Episode 5

 This is Episode 5. Let's see how Willy got out of the cell.


         The music in my ears was unpleasant; the buzz of mosquitoes. I got on my feet, sleeping in this condition is not in anyway conducive. Femi was sleeping comfortably. I am not surprised as he has been an Awo boy since part 1. I decided to sit close to Femi's leg and just look till morning. Leaning against the wall, I folded my knees to my face and put my head on it. " How far" I heard a voice call from behind me. It was one of the inmates, he was looking at me. He seemingly has been up all the while. "I dey alright" I replied. "Come here make we talk" he said, " This place dey okay" I said. " I no dey paga you joor " He retorted. I moved closer to him and he grabbed me by the ass. I made to run and he let go and laughed hysterically. "Ole oshi, siddon my guy, make we yarn". I sat with him but in my mind, I was cussing "Who be your guy? No wonder, na because we gather dey cell now". "Wetin you dey do for here?" He asked. "I'm here because the cops suspected my friend of internet fraud" I said. "Una be G boys?" He asked excitedly. "No we are not". "Dey mumu yourself there. Anyhow my name is Jidons" He said. His English was slightly accented but it was okay enough. I thought about lying about my name but I thought he might have heard it when I and Femi were talking, so I told him. It was to be that we'd talk all night.
         Jidons didn't tell me his real name. He however told me a whole lot about himself. He was an indigene of Ile-Ife and his father was a well respected man in the community. He always gave his dad trouble through his involvement in selling and reselling land and also in various fights around the community. It was rumoured that Jidons was responsible for the death of one Ife youth killed during a street carnival. He however confided in me that he didn't kill him. He told me about a lot of his escapades and at some point, I began to wonder why he was telling me all of it. I wasn't to wonder for so long. After about an hour of discussing, he stopped and said "I just like you, that is why I tell you all this thing o. I wish say I fit dey school like you but my head no fit carry book, so I am impressed that you are in school and you no commot". I sat there starstruck. It was not like I was a mighty scholar or anything and as such, his words touched me deeply. An awkward silence fell and then I asked "What brought you here this time?". He chuckled and said "I slap my Papa small wife, na him the man call police say make they come put me here for two days". I didn't bother asking what could have transpired between him and his stepmother. I was dozing off already when he asked "You be Chelsea fan?" "Yes I am". "Take my number abeg,zero-eight-zero-two-four-one-eight-two-zero-two-eight. Just dey call me make we dey watch ball together". I didn't hear his next words as I slumped into sleep.
         I woke up to the sound of the door being opened. The tall officer who arrested us, called out "Where those two boys?". We got on our feet and moved out. He gave us our belongings. Smiling maliciously, he asked, "Have you learnt your lesson?". We got out, the broad daylight almost blinding me. Femi and I didn't speak a word to each other. I had forgotten to bid Jidons farewell. It wasn't like I was looking forward to seeing him again. I had memorised his number anyways. The officers had taken the little change we had, so we had to trek from Moore to Mayfair junction. It was difficult walking because of my sore toes and I had to stop at intervals to rest. We begged for our bus fare from a guy, and headed straight into school. I got to my room in Faj and my roommates looked at me like they had just seen a ghost. Bartholomew and Jide embraced me and asked where I had been. "It's a long story" I said. "Lemme just rest first". I lay down on my bed. Bartholomew had wet it as usual but I didn't mind. I slept four straight hours despite the noise of my roommates. When I woke up, I cooked beans in my very special way.Gbadebo and Mr Julius were waiting with plates in their hands when my beans was ready and I had to give them. After eating, I decided to chill in the room, phone in hand and smile on my face. Jide was as usual playing Small Doctor's music; I didn't mind. I was even nodding my head to the beat. I was chatting with Mystic again; what a better way to relax after a night behind bars. She was more polite this time and soon enough, she gave me her number. Our chat moved to WhatsApp, and it was easier to communicate that way. Her name was Kikelomo Adeniyi. She was a student of International Relations, in her 2nd year; a member of RCF as well. She lived in Acquifer hall in Maintenance. Everything on point. I couldn't believe my luck. I also told her the little I could about myself; no, I didn't tell her I spent the last night in a cell. I was so cautious with the kind of questions I asked because I didn't want to ruin the whole thing. Soon, it was time for me to go out to read. We ended the chat and I asked if I could see her on Monday. She replied "Why not?" and my joy knew no bounds. We agreed 4pm would be okay, at sport complex; the land of yellow railings. My reading was so sweet that night with the thought of Monday constantly bringing joy to my heart. Monday would be Mystic day.



Do you think his first date would be a successful one or would he flop it? Share your thoughts.

See you next Friday.
 

Chronicles Of Willy - Episode 4

We at otwrites.blogspot. com are sorry for the break in transmission of the series. It was all in a bid to serve you better. The series is back so sit back and enjoy.

  My toes felt funny, rough like the soles in harmattan period. It rubbed roughly against my Ankara covercloth and I could feel its coarse surface. Something was up, I turned on my bed and tried to lift my leg up to view. "What an idiot I am". I sat upright and inspected my leg. I didn't play football the day before or hit my leg on a stone, so I didn't understand why my toes felt sore. The surface looked to have been peeled off, and patches of blood were visible here and there. I wondered what could be the cause. I tried to stand up, and then it registered. Faj rats!
     I had to wear a pair of sandals to class, my "rat-eaten" toes were too sore to be fitted into any shoes. Today, I declared a global war on rats in the guise of 9/11. Since it was a Friday, (two days after working in my uncle's office) it was okay to wear casuals which fitted with my sandals. My only class at 1pm didn't hold because the lecturer had to cut his hair; such nonchalance. I met Femi at the venue and we left together and went off campus to Mayfair. He wanted to get clothes from a guy named Shigo around the Ori Olokun roundabout.

We got to Mayfair junction and were about to enter the guy's shop when we were stopped by two Officers. I was confused at the time as to whether they were normal police officers or SARS operatives. " Where una dey go, wey una dress like this?" One of them asked; I was wearing a vintage shirt and shorts with a navy blue cap and sandals while Femi had on a jersey, jeans, a red cap and sandals. I was baffled as to what was up with our dressing so I wasn't even in the right frame to answer. Femi however did "We came here to get clothes" he said. " Gimme your phones!" his partner said. I obliged but I noticed some kind of hesitation in Femi, he fiddled with his phone for a while before handing it over. The officers asked us to unlock the phones and they went through it. I didn't have a lot on my phone so there was nothing for them to see. Femi's case was however different, his phone was full of many pictures taken of wild nights and different strange applications. The officers found a chat app "Bib" and went through Femi's chat with a white lady, both of them smiling like they hit the jackpot. " You be Runs boy abi?" One of them asked, Femi just kept looking. "Settle us" the other officer said. " I no get any money " Femi replied. "Oya, make una follow us go station then, una no get money just to settle us abi?, You go sleep cell today" the first officer said. " Excuse me sir, there's nothing on my own phone!" I tried to explain. "Shebi na una two be friend abi?, na two of you we dey carry go station. I stared at Femi, he smiled at me and signalled for me to be calm. I had always known he'd be into something of this nature but I was not so certain. Now that I was in this mess, I had to find my way out. " Officers, how much do you want?" I asked. "Bring just #50k" , the taller one between the two said. It seemed I did not hear right. I guess we just had to go with them.
   
     They put us in the back of their van and drove to their station at Moore. We got there and they put us behind the counter. Femi was relaxed and he told me, we'd come out by paying less if we stalled. I tried to believe him and we sat in silence for about an hour. The officers did not return our phones so there was absolutely nothing to do than read the station walls, that had posters like, "Police is your friend", " Bail is free", " Giant of Africa ". I smiled at the fact that none of all these was true. I mean, the police is nobody's friend, except politicians; bail is only for the rich; and Nigeria is a sleeping giant, if at all it is one, just the other day, a politician named ................ " Two of you, stand up." I heard a voice shout. I was jolted back to reality and I got to my feet quickly. The officer came towards us and told us to move to the cells. I looked at Femi, and he looked at me back, same hopeless look on his face. I wondered how we were going to get out. The officer shoved us inside the cell. There were four guys in the cell already, they were not looking quite friendly, so I and Femi decided to sit quietly. We made to sit but looking at how dirty the floor was, we decided it was best to stand.

"There's no money with me at all" Femi confessed. " I was actually going to get money from Shigo to sustain myself for the weekend, the chat with the woman was a long time ago. I got tired when it wasn't yielding any returns ", " I was hoping we would stall and the officers would eventually let us go when they saw there was no money with us, but I was wrong". " So, you don't have any money on you and none in the bank or anywhere? " I asked. "I'm afraid not Tade". I wouldn't have liked the idea, but part of me wished Femi was joking and he really was a G boy, and probably had money somewhere. Now that I knew he was not, I was relieved that my friend was not a fraudster, but there was still the troubling question. How do we get out??

How do they get out? Do you think Femi is lying or he is being sincere. Send in your comments