(…continued…)
Mabel called Dr Obinna who told them he was around.
Then they left the house. As they got to the road, a keke that was carrying
three young men stopped in front of them.
Mabel and Cynthia moved back in haste, wanting to
run, and then they heard a familiar voice calling their names from the Keke.
They turned around. It was Anselem, their cousin with some of his friends. They
went back. He came down and walked towards them.
“Why were you running like
that?” he asked looking puzzled.
“My brother,” Mabel said,
breathing fast. “Things are happening these days o.”
“The way you people stopped
was frightening,” Cynthia added.
“I hope no one is giving you
girls trouble?”
“None that we cannot handle,”
Mabel said, looking at Cynthia to give her a ‘don’t-tell’ sign. Cynthia looked
away.
“You know I gat your back
right?” he said.
“Of course na. Just help us
deal with all these guys cat-calling us.”
“Haba. That one is normal for
ladies fine like you. If no guy cat-calls you, then you need to look at
yourself in the mirror because something is wrong. I cat-call fine ladies too.”
They laughed. They
exchanged pleasantries and asked after their family members.
“Let me be going,” he said
after they had talked for a while. “My guys are waiting for me.”
“You don’t want to come and
see us,” Mabel said as they walked with him back to the keke.
“My sister it’s not like
that,” he said. “Area tight o.”
“Eiyaa.”
“Just trying to hustle one or
two things. Man finish school, to get job na another wahala.”
“Too much long story these
days.”
“Even with MSc, e still hard.
One of my friends in that keke is a masters degree holder, yet we are all
hustling together to find something doing.”
“My brother, the situation is
tiring.”
“Na person wey know person dey
get job. Very soon, Cynthia go join us.”
“It is not my portion,”
Cynthia said.
“So what are you trying to do
now?” Mabel asked him.
“One or two businesses.”
“Hope they are not illegal?”
“Depending on what you call
illegal.”
“Hmm, Anse anse, take it easy
o.”
“Don’t worry yourself. I am a
church boy.”
“Tell uncle to help you get a
job na.”
“Don’t even go there. There is
nothing I have not done for that man. I wash his cars severally, run errands
for him, yet he keeps promising me.
“Nawa o.”
“I am also trying to leave
this country sef.”
“To where?”
“Europe.”
They got to the
keke and Anselem introduced his friends to them. They hitted on Mabel and
Cynthia.
“Leave them o,” Anselem told
his friends. “Una hand no reach them.”
He entered the
keke, and the keke drove off.
“Kai!” Mabel said and exhaled.
They burst into
laughter.
“See what fear can do,”
Cynthia said. “What if we had wounded where we were running nko?”
“Is well o.”
“We had better be going,”
Cynthia said, looking at her watch.
“Yes. So we will meet up.”
“And so you can do the
pregnancy test.”
Mabel stopped in
her tracks and gave Cynthia a feigning-stern look.
“Am kidding.”
They flagged down a keke, beat price and entered.
(…to be continued…)
-©2015.Chinedu Isaac
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