The Sting - Chapter 9

Chapter 9


Wale shook his head and smiled at her before walking over to Wunmi to give her a hug. He held her for some seconds and just soaked in the smell of her hair when he noticed the Tope was behind him with her hands at her waist. He drew away and sat down on the only chair in the room while Wunmi sat on his laps. He moved a strand of hair that came to her face and planted a kiss on her lips. He looked into her eyes and saw the look of worry on her face.

“Everything is going to be alright. I am on top of it to make sure it is under control”.

That did not make the worried look on her face leave as she was still in shock over what happened the night before and could not believe how close she was to being killed over an issue she knew nothing about, and the thought that Wale was not worried about it or that he was not even scared made her more worried. She had heard rumors of things like this happening but she had never witnessed it before. 

It was like a scene from a movie and she still could not believe she was in it, yet she was. She had tried to sleep the whole day off but she kept tossing and turning on the bed, startled by any sound she heard. Even though Wale had told her that the environment she lived was dominated by the Skulls, she could not help but be worried that something might happen. 

When he dropped them off the previous night, he said he wanted to go sort some things out with the other members of the fraternity and something told her that might be another fight even though he said he doubted it. She just wanted him to hold her all through the night and she would be sure he was safe in her arms. 

However, she knew who and what he was from the moment he asked her out. He never hid the fact that he belonged to a fraternity and she had come to love him irrespective of that. He had being good with her and gentle but the events of the night before shook her more than anything. Worse was that she couldn't discuss it with anyone. 

Tope her roommate too was scared but had always envied that Wunmi was dating a top guy and she was more excited about the events than scared. Perhaps because she had not witnessed it all as it went down.

Wunmi was brought back from her thought by Wale’s voice and she faked a smile.

“I am sure it is. So I hope this will not cause the school to be closed. I cannot stand going home for now”.

Wale had not thought of the possibility of that happening and he did not factor it into his arrangements but one thing was sure, the events happened outside school grounds so it was in the jurisdiction of the police just like a usual crime and so the school cannot be affected. 

He saw the smile on her face and he knew she faked it to make him think she is okay. He did not know what else to say or do as she had seen too much the night before and she was strong if he really thought about it. Most people would be shaken right now but here she was seated on his laps as if all she needed was for him to be with her.

He knew she wanted him to spend the night but he was too busy, he had to make sure the fight did not blow out and if it did he had to make sure the other members knew what they were up to and not caught by surprise. He was the most senior member to witness the fight which meant he also had to report to the top guns so they could assess the situation. 

He had no doubt that she loved him and he began to regret that he invited her to the party. He looked over to Tope who sat on the bed, fiddling with her phone trying to avoid and ignore them. She looked happy enough and he was not surprised. She did not see what really happened and she probably had Wunmi tell her but that could not be compared with the trauma Wunmi went through. His thoughts went to Sting, thinking how he had been the one who noticed him and became friends with him, introduced him to Skulls and almost had him killed. No doubt after the incident Sting is going to be promoted within the ranks of the fraternity. He showed incredible bravery no doubt and saved his life more than once.

“Hey, wake up!”

Wale looked up towards the voice and realized that Wunmi had been watching him.

 “You need to get more sleep”.

He smiled and nodded. “Well checking on you is more important that sleeping, I have to make sure you are alright plus I missed your voice, the smell of your hair and the feel of your skin. I love you babe and I am sorry you had to pass through that last night. I really am”.

“Hey don’t worry; I had a nice time at the party though before those thugs decided to crash it. So how is your friend? I trust he is okay”.

At this Tope joined the discussion. “Wale you still haven’t told me where you hid him ooo. I have to say my thank you to him personally”.

Now Wale was lost.

“Who are we talking about here?”

Tope almost did not allow him finish the question before answering.

“The charming guy we went to the party with last night. You introduced him to us as Sting and from the stories that Wunmi told me, he saved our lives”.

Wale allowed himself to smile a little, “Well he should be in his house right now. I called him when I was coming here and he said he was heading home to do some silly assignments. But he is okay and I will send your thanks. Now if you girls are not too busy, perhaps you can prepare something for me to eat. I am starving”.

“My food is reserved for Sting you can asked the doll sitting on your laps to prepare you food” with that she went back to her phone.

Wale looked and Wunmi as she gave him a kiss and headed into the small kitchen in their one room hostel.

Tope pretended to be busy with her phone but she was more preoccupied with other things. She had made Wunmi tell her what exactly happened in the hall over and over again and each time she heard the story, she felt jealous and curious. Jealous because she had never had anyone that was as caring as Wale, she had always thought Wunmi was the luckiest girl in school. She was curious because she had never heard of Sting before. She had met most of Wale’s friends but this new guy, who from the stories saved everyone, was strange and something in her pushed her towards him. A little voice inside her whispered she liked him but she dismissed him. It can’t happen, at least not with someone she barely knew.

Well she might not know him but what stops her from getting to know him better? Wale was here and he could give her his details and stuff, even if it is just to say thanks to him, she did not mind as long as her curiosity was satisfied.

She rolled and saw that Wale was already eating while Wunmi was sitting on the table, they were talking in hushed voices and she rolled her eyes.

“Hey Wale, can I use your phone for a second?”

Wale removed his phone from his pocket and tossed it at her and went back to eating while Wunmi frowned.

He looked up and saw her frowning. “Why are you frowning?”

Wunmi was not about to hide her discomfort at Tope’s request for his phone and the fact that he gave it to her did not make her comfortable.

“Don’t worry, she will return it soon” he added.

Tope caught the phone and was about going through the contacts when she discovered that it had been password protected. She looked up, upset.

“You should have told me you couldn't give me. What is the point in giving me your phone when I don’t know your password?”

Wale took his last spoonful from the plate. “You did not really think I would just give you my phone without knowing why, did you?” 

“Okay fine, I want Sting’s number; I want to say thanks since I don’t trust you to do it for me”.

Wale looked to Wunmi and she nodded. 

He collected the phone back, unlocked it and read out the number to Tope who saved it on her phone with all eagerness.


(Mynd is a final year student of Mechanical Engineering at one of Nigeria's universities. When he's not busy being a nerd he spends his time writing, playing basketball, listening to music and laughing! You can reach him on mynd44@gmail.com)

Reel Addiction!

I have been keeping an eye out for good Nigerian short films and I haven't been disappointed so far. I am impressed by how our film makers has grown, not just in content but production and picture quality.

Some of them include:

• Down and Out
• Blink
• 6.30pm
• Dara Ju
• Unspoken
• Enitan
• The Promise
• When Fishes Drown
• To serve with all our strength
• 4-1-9
• Quacks

If you haven't watched these films then you are doing yourself a huge disfavour!

Came across this promo video a few days back and I want to get me hands on the full film. Please, somebody help!!

FUNNY!

I saw this and couldn't stop laughing. What was the guy/dad thinking?!

50 Shades Of Surpise

I hated people who walked around with their face buried in the phones as they pinged/browsed or whatever it is they did while I shook my head at them feeling sorry for humanity. Guess what? I am one of them now :( HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? When I'm not on my laptop I'm on my phone Whatsapping, twittering, Facebooking, reading, yes, reading! I'm the worst form of hypocrite.

Notwithstanding the appalling person I have become I decided not to let it get me down and I said to myself one day, 'no more' (It sounded cooler when I was thinking it). So I looked around and found a book I have been ignoring for a while and decided to have a crack at it.

I finally got down to reading the book 50 Shades Of Grey and boy was I surprised! There was so much hype about the book when it came out but I refused to sucked in to the mass consumerism our culture has become (not that its a bad thing, I'm just being stubborn) and raised my nose in contempt concerning myself with *coughs* shopping. Many hyped materials don't always turn out to be that great, except for Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter and fried chicken, which is why I wasn't so pumped about the book in the first place. Hmmm, I enjoyed the book o.

Some of the things I learnt from the book was:

Staying a virgin counts as you might end up with a Christian Grey to explore your carnality.
Sex is amazing (duh!)
BDSM never looked more appealing
Girls can overthink everything
I didn't know the words 'oh my' could be overused
I'll kill any guy who makes me taste my period!
I was constantly reminded of church. Wish they used a different name :(
No means yes
Yes means yes
Pain is pleasure
The toughest guys can be brought down by the simplest things
Rich people have it all
Money can buy anything
Money can't buy everything
If a guy is good in bed, 50 percent of the time his girl will stick with him no matter what.
Love is subjective
The days of love first and sex second is over and in this case overrated.
Sometimes you have to leap before you look.

I think that's it...yeah I'm definitely picking up the remaining 2 books. It's a trilogy I think. Yay!

The Sting - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

His heart skipped a couple of beats when he saw the caller ID. He was in the midst of a little crowd and trying to answer the call right there did not seem like a good idea so he walked on a bit to get himself isolated. By the time he got there, his phone had stopped ringing and Sunday wished he had picked it and told Wale to hold on or call back.

He was about getting out of the bush and into the road when his phone rang again. This time he answered it immediately.

“Hello Bear, what’s good. Is anything wrong?”

There was a pause and Sunday looked at his phone wondering if the line was dead.

“Does anything have to be wrong before I call you bro?” was the reply from Wale.

“Well, I was just worried that’s all, nothing else. So what’s good?”

“Not much, I want to go see my girlfriend Wunmi. She is still shaken up about last night, you were shaken up too so I wanted to check up on you and if you like, we could go together”.

“I am fine thank you. I was just heading home too.

“Okay man, remain safe and if anything happens, give me a call, you know we watch out for one another”.

Sunday hung up and one thought lingered, that he had Bear watching his back. He made his way out of the bush and headed straight to where the shuttle buses were parked. He was glad that at least this time he did not have to wait long before getting a bus as the buses were all parked and waiting for passengers to enter.

He inquired about the routes as there is no specific parking space for a designation route and just when he was about entering the appropriate bus, he heard someone call his name, not just his name.

“Sting, how are you today?”

He froze from the inside as he felt his blood go cold. No one other than Bear calls him Sting, and the thought that another person will call him that in public was scary. He sat down in the bus and he tried to look at the person calling him and he did not see any face he recognized.

Someone in a red shirt came and sat down beside him and offered him a handshake while smiling but Sunday could not take the handshake and all he did was look at the person. He did not recognize him even though the person seemed to know him enough. His face started going white as he tried to say something but his throat was dry and no words came from his mouth.

Three other people entered the bus and sat behind him while the remaining seats were getting filled, all of them chatting amongst themselves but still Sunday could not relax. Different thoughts ran through his mind.

“What if the other people in the bus were in on this? What if they were there to kidnap him and torture him or worse? What if they were police or security operatives?”

The events of the previous night had left a lot of people dead and it is not inconceivable that a special security squad had been called in to investigate what happened.

He thought of calling Bear but his phone was in his pocket and getting to it might be hard.

The guy still had his hands stretched waiting for his hand to be shaken and he was looking at Sunday with suspicion in his eyes.

One of the three who sat at the back seat leaned forward.

“What’s wrong mate, don’t you remember us anymore?”

Sunday looked back the guy who spoke looked sort of familiar, he tried to place his face but it was difficult until the guy raised his right hand up to reveal a green wristband and suddenly, Sunday placed his face. He was one of those who dragged the body of the person he shot at his initiation.

“Now can I get my handshake? You are beginning to make me look bad”.

Relief came his way as he took their hands one after another and he apologized.

“I did not recognize you and I am just getting used to being called that, please I am sorry”.

“No problem” one of those behind said.

“So you stay off campus?”

Sunday answered nervously, “Yes I do, it is quieter there and less friends to disturb me in case I want to read”. They all agreed that it was a great reason.

The remaining spaces in the bus started to fill up and before long they were all caught up in a conversation that ranged from the road conditions to house rent in school to the weather. They all avoided speaking about the fraternity and Sunday picked that up and just went with it. All four of them got off the bus but not before they had exchanged number and real names. They got off and Sunday was glad. He was beginning to know more members and they did not seem like bad people, just ordinary people who liked ordinary things.

**************************

Bear did not like the sound of Sting’s voice that morning one bit. The boy had displayed bravery he had not seen in a long time the night before but his vice just sounded off. After the call to him that morning, he thought of driving to his house to go pick him up but he had more important things to do.

The night before had created a big mess that needed to be dealt with. Immediately, he dropped Sting, he had gone to see the top guys of the Skulls and brief them on the event. They had also met the Royals in a bid to see if the fighting was to continue or if they were willing to drop the fighting, after all they did not have an outstanding fight so the attack on them at the party was not called for.

He could not attend the meeting with Royals because he had to head a delegation to see the police commissioner that night so as to help the whole issues of keeping the policemen quiet and stop them from harassing any of their members. He also delegated some of the guys to tell every member to be ready for possible attacks from the Royals. It is always good to be prepared for any eventuality he thought to himself.

The meet with the Commissioner went well; he used to be a member of the Skulls while he was a student but in another university so what they asked for was easy. The Commissioner even asked if they wanted the police to arrest the Royals for the death of the slain individuals but Bear was not for that. The order from the top was for the issue to die down and that was what he did.

He got home in the early hours of the day and sank into his bed; he reached beneath it and put his gun there. He always slept with a gun under his bed ever since he became an active member and since the incident was far from over, he wanted to take no chances. He said a little prayer for the dead souls (Catholic by birth) and slept off almost immediately. He had woken up late in the day and made that call to Sting on visiting Wunmi.  He promised to come see Wunmi that day after classes and thought of killing 2 birds with one stone by checking on Sting.

The drive to Wunmi’s house was not one he liked, her house was on campus but the road leading there was bad and he hated having to take his car there. She on the other hand always wanted him to bring his car there so she could show off to her friends that her boyfriend drove a fancy car. Taking the car there also had its advantages though; he could always keep a gun in the car instead of carrying it around in his bag.

He pulled in front of her house and said hello to a couple of people idling in front. The hostel was dominated by Skull members and his greetings took a while. He walked to her door and knocked.

“Who is there?”, a voice he did not recognize replied from inside the house.

“It is Wale” He does not use Bear when he was alone with her as he liked keeping the two lives he lived separate.

He heard the door unlock from inside and Wunmi was standing at the door.

“Why did you come this late? I have been so worried about you. I thought something else happened” she muttered as she sank into him.

He saw Tope in the room too and she whispered a “Hi”.

He nodded in response and she looked behind him as though she was expecting someone else. Wale also looked back trying to see who she was looking at.

 “Well, where is he?”

Still confused Wale asked, “Where is who?”

“Well, my boyfriend and knight in shinny amour of course. Where is Sting?”

(Mynd is a final year student of Mechanical Engineering at one of Nigeria's universities. When he's not busy being a nerd he spends his time writing, playing basketball, listening to music and laughing! You can reach him on mynd44@gmail.com)

This Life

Life is worth living and fighting for. Most times. 

This year started with such a rush but now it looks slow, or is it moving so fast that it seems like its moving slow? I guess that's possible. 

Its not how long you've lived but how well. One of my greatest fears is dying without accomplishing my dreams and not doing what I enjoy. People say, 'Life is short, do what you want cos you might get hit by a bus tomorrow'. How many people will actually get hit by the bus after 'living the life'? They forget about what happens after. Forget that there might be consequences for their actions which they might be held accountable for.

The whole thing is about balance I think. Enjoy your life and stay true to yourself but do it with love and respect. Respect for yourself and others. Easier said than done? Well, I'm also figuring it out as I go.