EPISODE 1

An Encounter With The Devil.

There is this lodge located directly opposite our campus. Built mainly for students, it is well furnished and equipped with modern facilities. All students at least pray to get a room there. The building is so beautiful with serene environment. Alot of students who come from far distance appreciate the lodge because it has helped curtailed payment of transport fare (T Fare in campus slang) daily.

The lodge is nick named Base by the students. It is not compulsory to live in there as there are hostels in the school premises, so living in here is quite optional.

The vast and spacious building has students living all round it, when I first moved into my apartment, I was astonished at the number of faces I will see every day. It was as though all the faculties and departments have a representative in the building.

I wasn't so surprised when I met a United Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) candidates as well. We have lots of fun and interesting games too. In fact we made a family away from home as we did almost everything together. We had beautiful girls both those living in the hostel and visitors.

As the saying goes, in the midst of all maidens, there is always a queen Esther.

I mean there is this particular girl, who has captured my heart, she is so stunning, well endowed with magnificent beauty, her presences intoxicates me like someone on vodka. She is full ten out of ten, her well nurtured hips and bum, her full boobs, well arched nose that is pointed at the tip, her full lips, with a beautiful diastemas, her beautiful dimples terrorizing our optical views whenever she laughs, her ebony black skin and long straight legs, oh her beautiful and comely black eyes which teases any one looking at her.

To add to her beauty she is intelligent, extremely creative, decent and loves music. She has this melodious voice which resonates round the building when singing. I am actually loosing myself to this damsel. I wish I could just hold her in my arms and express my feelings to her and refusing to let her go again. But any time I want to take this step the idiot in me called fear will pull me back. My friends will come with their encouragement, they will be like,

"Ikemba that babe is a gentle dove, approach her or you will loose her to another dude." When they talk this way, their words will boost up the Morale in me but my father's advice will counter theirs as his advice will appear visible in my heart for me to see. So tasting with my tongue was the advice, like a freshly tapped wine, he will always say.

"Ikemba you are a son of a lion, so do not bring shame and reproach to this family. A wise man focuses on his dreams, not running after women. Focus on your studies, when you make it you will have all the women you wished to have."

I hold my father in high esteem for the love and sacrifice he has made for me, I don't want to disappoint him nor do I want to bring any shame to my family. I have promised him this and I am at the verge of fulfilling this.

One-day at school, I was quietly sitting under a mango tree, folding my arms across my middle, Feeling lonely and despondent. I decided to wander in my mind. I was even gesticulating, when all of a sudden Ibudu, came to me with smiles plastered on his face like a pregnant woman who just got a positive pregnancy test after being barren for twenty years.. Ibudu is one of the bad eggs on campus.

He was so influential, we won't say he was intelligent but when it comes to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Love Manipulation, he was a super star in that area, in fact he has obtained a Ph.D in the issues of women mechanics. As his name implied, Ibudu means "follower of good thing" which his friends sometimes tease as the reason this women follower-ship attributes.

Ibu was short and stout, well endowed with big stomach which he said symbolized wealth and dignity which his friends thought otherwise. He was from a very wealthy and influential background, due to this he squandered money, in fact he was a spend thrift, mostly on girls anyway.

He lived a nonchalant lifestyle. The guy got the money and that made him very popular in the school environment and a thing of gossip among girls. Rumors had it that he had impregnated so many girls which he will discard like used pads by women or finance for an abortion. This has been his way of life from a very tender age. His mother could be blamed for the notoriety of Ibu as she spoilt him with cash, her self acclaimed love has ended up destroying him rather than building a responsible son.

A week will not pass by without his mother visiting him on campus and on such visits, she made sure that all manner of provisions is stuck in a Ford SUV for him and still handed him a mouth watering amount of money.

His mother thought that she was caring for him, only if she knew how this "care" has destroyed him in fact she would have need a therapist to handle her heartbreak when she knows about how irredeemably scattered and spoilt was her son.

Ibudu as we all know has no iota of respect for any one, be it elders or his peers. He talks to any one who crossed his path like a god who owned the universe, he see no reason for respect, as he usually says.

"Respect is for beggars not for kings like himself." He is a tiger, no one dared him and go Scott free. He made sure that his enemies were duly punished by his mother.

She ensured that everyone included will get their fair share of the bitter cake. She does not joke or play with Ibudu mostly when it comes to matters that made him cry. Ibudu was her pet, her silver spoon in fact he was her golden egg that must not be broken.

"Ikemba, I have been searching for you all round campus and here you are sitting like a widower under a mango tree mourning her lost husband, what are you doing here sef?" when he saw that I did not answer his questions, he lowered himself beside me,

"Ikemba talk to me nah, what is wrong, are you okay?" he inquired.

"I...... I am ....fine, am just thinking," the words caught up on my throat, but came out as a murmur.

"Guy, guy come on! Talk to me, you and I know that you are not fine, talk to me, maybe I can be of help who knows? Anything for you, you are my guy," he pressed.

I don't know why, my number six said I should not trust this guy but my mind said otherwise, so I opened up to him. I told him about the babe I desperately needed to talk with but I could not find stamina and courage to do so, I wasn't even done when he started laughing like a drunkard, I was confused like I say anything funny? But he just replied no and beckoned me to continue I told him I was done. He replied,

"You see, you have nothing to be afraid or worry about since I have told you," he said I should relax and cheer up because it is not a problem at all. He dipped his hands into his backpack and brought out vodka and drank directly from the bottle and handed me the rest.

"Take this, it will boost your courage and make you bold to confront a lion if you want to. If you take this you will approach any thing under skirt in this campus, in fact you will be lord of the ladies." he boasted.

I stared at the bottle in his hands, I was flabbergasted. After what seemed like ages.

"No thank you," I said shaking my head like an agama lizard in a negative way. Remembering what my secondary school teacher said about alcohol, that it destroys the lungs, damages the body system and ends up killing the person at the end of it all.

I told Ibudu about the dangers of his alcoholic habits but he said that my fears only applied to an addict and not some one taking it just once in a while. I strongly disagreed with him which created a topic of argument between us.

To be continued.