School is resuming on monday and it's already Saturday. I really wish this holiday lasted a little while longer.
We have been eating a little bit of rich food lately and papa's entire outlook now wore a rather bright and lively one, He had insisted on buying my provisions for school.
"Ugo oya follow me lets go and carry those planks to papa's workshop" I called towards Ugo who protested and insisted he won't go.
"I will slap you ooo" I yelled at him taking a couple of steps forward.
"I don't want to go, mama said i should stay in the shop" He insisted.
Ugo would only prefer staying in mama's shop now that it has been paralleled by a much tedious task.
Vincent came over and offered to go with me, he was sweaty and was assaulting some bread he pulled out of his pocket.
I shrugged and agreed, as long as he was going to help with the planks then am ok with it.
I set out with Vincent carrying the long planks on our hands, he kept tearing out bread and stuffing into his mouth as we walked down towards papa's workshop.
As we got to papa's workshop papa was already waiting for us in front of his workshop, he wanted to use the planks for some major repairs around the workshop.
Papa gave us some coke and buns of which Vincent ate both mine and his all the while goofing about grinning out loud all the while pouring down the coke and buns.
"Johny did you see the provisions i bought?" Papa asked as he placed one of the planks on the sawing table.
"No papa"
"But i told your mother to show them to you, it's behind the bedroom door, i got you an extra-milk" Papa said smiling .
Vincent dropped the coke he was drinking
"Sky they bought more provisions for you" He sang out taking my head under his arm again which was unbearably sweaty.
"Vincent can you just leave me alone?" I blurted out pushing out his arms to catch my breathe.
"But what are you doing with cheap provisions na" Vincent said again .
papa looked at us shook his head and continued his sawing
"Vincent do you even know how to shut up in your life" i glared at vin who was reaching to grab the coke again.
"But you na big boy na, you don't need it"
"And why doesn't he need it? " papa asked dropping his saw and looking deeply at both of us.
"Papa Johny, sky is a big boy na. He roles with the G's of great Hall-B Ebuka and….."
"Vin you deh mad" i chipped in immediately cutting his gossip before it gets out of hand.. "so having friends means i don't need provisions anymore abi? " i smeared at him.
"eeeehn naa Hall-B na happening place na" he maintained..
"in fact we are going, papa don't mind this idiot he is high on cocacola" i threw at papa yanking vincent by the hand.
"but i have not finished the drink" he protested
I snatched the drink from his hand, poured the remaining content -which was not even enough to fill the mouth-on the ground and the yanked him out of the workshop literally.
Vincent complained all the way as we walked back home, he kept on ringing about the coke i poured away.
"sky where is my coke? "he would ask..
"Vincent there was nothing in that bottle after all it was my own bottle of coke you were drinking" i would reply quickening my pace to get me home faster.
"sky!!"
"sky!!! " he kept calling
"In God's name Vincent leave me alone!" i blared out in untamed anger.
"Is that not Victor?" He said pointing towards a road that ran into a lone street..
"Vincent enough of your nonsense jokes" i replied looking at the figure he was pointing out to be Victor.
He was clad in a brown shirt that looked quit cold and had a wheel barrow of yams he was selling to some women near a saloon.
A woman had one of the yams in her hands as they haggled over the price.
"Sky look well na, that's Victor" Vincent insisted.
"It looks like him but that's not him" i said again peering harder to make out more features from the Victor-suspect.
Vincent took me by the hand and we walked towards the Yam seller.
The image registered fully into my head and it was definitely Victor looking innocent and dirty.
"That's Victor oo" I blared at Vincent who now wore a grin of pride with that 'sheey i tell you' kind of look.
But how could this possibly not be a dream, the Victor i knew came from a well to do family or at least as he told us.
When we still schooled in Community secondary school, he was among the few that came to school with large amount for lunch and always had new stuffs.
He once said his father was a professor of mathematics and that was why he was exceptionally good and better than every other person in class at mathematics.
Still in McGonals the way he carried himself, the pride and outright arrogance he maintained still sold him off to me to come from a well to do family, can't imagine this guy has been living under my nose and i didn't even see it.
Omaba was just #20 ride on a bus back home if you decide to take a bus but if you walked it was less than 30minutes.
Victor looked up i could swear he saw us and he looked away immediately facing the woman who i made out to be unbearably a staunch haggler.
I looked at the cloth he wore, it has lost the usual richness that he depicted in his clothing and general life-style in school, i on my own had a white track trouser on and a new real-madrid jersey i bought to replace the one he tore and also a white Adidas slippers.
"Sky lets go and meet him" Vincent blew out trying to yank me towards Victoe again.
"No, lets go home" i replied making to go the other way..
"Lets go and see him joooor" Vincent insisted holding my hand tight as he tried to make me go towards Victor with him.
I could see Victor's eyes peeking at us through the corners of his eyes and then goes back to the woman he was haggling with.
"Vincent can't you see he is busy and probably needs no side chats?" i pointed out to vincent but as always Vincent will always do what Vincent wants and not what every other person thinks is right.
"That one na im problem" He blurted out and made towards Victor who went pale on seeing Vincent was approaching and me trailing slowly behind.
"Aaaah Vicki so na here you deh?" Vincent sang out on getting to Victor's position, he didn't carry that air of arrogance with him this time and his eyes have lost that sure spark but had a dim dreamy look.
I came to the spot and stood behind Vincent, Victor's face grew into an unwanted glare as he saw me.
"Aaaah Vin am fine oo" He said forcing out a smile, the gap in his dental formula showing so fully that i twitched on sighting it.
"Chai victor na this thing you deh sell?" Vincent intoned excitedly as usual, i was slightly pinching his back so he could drop the useless questions, Vincent will never learn how to talk to people.
"Aaaaah No ooo i went to my cousin's place and they sell this things so i decided to help them a bit and see how it is to sell them" Victor retorted still forcing out grins and avoiding looking at my side.
"Vin am going now" i said to Vincent and walked out towards home, both of them should finish what they have and i know Victor would have the mind that i will say what i saw in school but with Victor right there it could have been better for him if CNN and BCC were there instead.
The image of Victor in the old shirt kept re-occurring in my mind, the arrogance and wealth he always claim was just to in a bid to intimidate others or shield him from such intimidations or give him a psychological escape from his background.
My phone rang out immediately jolting me out of my thoughts about Victor.
A call from an unsaved number, picked it and spoke into the mouth piece.
"Hello"
"Hello sky" a feminine voice addressed from the other end.
"please who is this?" i asked in surprise at how the person got to know my name all the while trying to place who it might be.
"This is Anita" the voice blared out from the ear piece into my ear sending in more spark of confusion into me..
"Anita? please i don't really know anyone called Anita" i replied ..
"Sky it is your biology teacher, Aunty Anita" she retorted.
"Aunty, am sorry ma i didn't know. how did you get my number?" i asked in excitement.
"I got it from Ebuka your friend, why did you leave school without informing me sky?" She asked bluntly.
"Am so sorry ma i looked for you but couldn't find you so i left with my friends am sorry" i said .
"Alright have you missed me?" She blurted out from no where, took me off guard and my volition was in chaos over what to answer.
"Yes ma i do" i finally said feeling really awkward with myself.
"Well i missed my best student too, don't waste anytime in coming to see me when you get back to school" she said more like an order.
"I won't ma" i used that naive tone this time.
I was surprised and happy at the call, i wondered what she wants to see me for immediately i get back to school, either way any time spent with that goddess in front of me is worth it.
Should be heading back to school on sunday and not monday like i have initially planned.