Humid day.

It was a sunny day. Very hot and humid. The harmattan had abruptly
stopped and most people including me roasted in the heat. People
were uncomfortable in whatever cloth they wore no matter how light the material was. Mine was worse as I always wore my nylon shirts.(nylon makes one feel hotter because it retains more heat from the sun) They were much cheaper and didn't require ironing.

And so, I suffered in the heat. My skin burned and my thighs itched from the scratch of my karki pant, as I took the long trek along Okpara avenue, from Ogbete Market to access bank head quarters to see if I  would be able to recorver my ten thousand  naira  which thei r ATM had swallowed.

The fair lady at the customer service told me they didn't have time for me.

''please come back next week,''
she said, immidiately looking away from me to attend to some other customer.

What could I do? I was just a poor youth Corper and they were Access bank. I stood there for five long minutes wondering why life could be so cruel.

How I wished that these people knew that I had only five hundred naira on me. That I placed all my hope for the week on that ten thousand naira, whìch my guy, Uchman who was  doing his housemanship at UNTH gave me out of his massive salary.  How I wished they knew that Adaora, the lanky damsel of a girl I h'd been chyking for 8month had her birthday coming up that same week and that I would lose out entirely on her if I failed to show up on her day. Offcourse by showing up I mean buying something worthwhile for her.

Anyway, I was soon startled by the
vicious ache in my stomach. i was  really hungry! I hadn't eaten since morning and it was already 3pm. I turned my back on the bank and left.

What a day it was.

The Igbo say 'ana asi na oria akaria,
ndi toro afo ana ada ibi'. That is 'we dey cry say sickness too plenty, people wey get swollen belle come begin dey get swollen scrotum add to the swollen belle.'

On my way back to the market to see If I could buy some garri with the last money I had, just as I was about to cross Chris Chemist round-about, a black Toyota Highlander sped past, its side mirror almost knocking off my left arm.

''your father there'', I cursed.

Anger everporated from my skin.

''Who the hell do you think you are?'' I yelled.

The car slowed down a bit but, did not stop. But, then it stoped just
after first bank and a hairy hand
beckoned me to come.

Imagine the insult!

'fuck you there', I muttered, hastening up inorder to get away from all the insult  of the Jeep man and vicous eyes of people whom I feared bored into me to see how small and broken I felt.

But, just then, my phone rang and it was Adaora. I was like ''Holy
father, do you really love me this much?''

My heart jumped up in ectasy. It was one of the very rare occasions she  called me; I did the calling and texting most of the time. I
savoured the ringing for awhile before I picked.

''hello sweety, how are you'', I greeted.

''hello, peter, where are you?'' her
voice was like music to my farmished ear. ''This was the time,'' I thought. I was
gonna start triping her right now.

So, with the most bossy voice, I answerd

''am at Shoprite, looking to pick up a
few things''.

She giggled. And then a
male voice flurttered in.

''Are you there, Adaora?'' I asked.

There was a pause. Then more giggling before she spoke again.

''Just turn right, am in the black Jeep''.

What the hell!
Had she just caught me lying?
What just happened?

Well, I had no option. I'd been caught lying. I crossed the road and walked  to the black Jeep, head bent, ashamed.
The window wound down and a head that belonged to no other but, Adaora- tall, curvey, dark and sexy Adaora, shot out and smiled at me, her teeth sparkling like diamonds, her eyes twinkling like stars. I was disarmed, my legs going limb.

''Where are you going?''  she asked. Her eyes going from my face which had poverty written all over it to my boots which told a story of weariness.

Hmm! I took a deep breath.

The guy in the driver's seat with whom I've been ''dragging'' her, looked at me and sighed arogantly before asking me to get in the car so they would drop me where ever I was going. I stared at him. This was the same illitrate playboy who had slapped Adaora and pushed her away at celebrity, on the first day I met her. I had walked over to her as she sat crying at the table she had been with him. She just took one look at me and stood up without even acknowleging my words of consolation. I only got her number because she had forgotten to pick up her phone which was on the table; I dialed my number with it before running after her with it. I was just being a good samaritan Youth corper, otondo.


After what seemed like eternity, I looked up at the quickly darkening cloud. It was already begining to rain. But, I wasn't worried about my cloth getting wet eventhough I hated it viciously. My soul was already drenched by internal rain and there was no need hidding from the physical rain.

''No, thank you,'' I said and as I walked away, to
Holy ghost cathedral I deleted her number.