. .
. .
The pounding of my heart beat was immediately amplified, it became loud enough for anyone around to hear. I stared at the marble tiled floor and kept pacing about my office. So this was this going to be the end for me? I pondered to myself
Bee Femi leleyi yoo pari (so Femi this is how you will end)
bẹ́ẹ̀ ni gbogbo ohun tí o ti retí, tí o sì ṣiṣẹ́ fún ni a óo gbà lọ́wọ́ rẹ (is this how everything you have hoped and worked for will be taken away from you?) I soliloquised with my hands folded in each other.
I couldn't decide not to go, if not it will be concluded that I'm guilty, I was left with no other choice than to appear before the disciplinary council. As sluggish as a tortoise I walked down to the council hall; counting each step I took.
I tried to spend forever on my way; but after wasting as much time as I could I finally arrived.
Opening the door lazily I could hear the indistinct chatter from the crowd. As I stepped into the hall I felt I was in between time and timelessness, no word could express the nervous agitation that had engulfed me.
I was directed by a protocol officer to a seat at the front.
"Good day, Mr. Femi Olamilekan" came the voice of Professor Maxwell
Oh my Goodness! Professor Maxwell? Were my eyes playing pranks on me or was this reality; I had only come in contact with him twice in my life and this was the second time.
Being the regional head of the Nursing And Midwifery Council of Nigeria – NMCN in the west region he could only be present when it involved very daring matters.
As I looked beside him I realized the presence of the Vice Chancellor; this was definitely going to be remembered as the worst day of my life. I could see my friend Jacob standing before the panel with fear written all over him.
"Good day sir" I quickly replied after noticing I had been keeping him waiting while I was deep in thoughts.
"Mr. Femi I am sure you know why you were asked to appear before us" came the voice of Dr. Ladipo.
Dr. Ladipo— a highly notable and respected man. He is a man of integrity; a no nonsense man who shunned corruption and hated bribery. It was for these qualities he was chosen to head the disciplinary council.
"Not exactly" I replied
"But you must have heard about the quicksand Mr. Jacob is sinking into?"
"Yes I have sir" I said trying to comport myself
"Reports reaching me is that you are a very close friend of his, is that true" he asked sternly.
"Not that close sir, we just happened to have known each other for a long time, that's all" I lied.
"But Mr. Jacob here says he has known you since secondary school, isn't that so"
"It is sir"
"So are you saying that with all these years of knowing each other there is no friendship shared between the both of you?"
"There is"
Why would Jacob tell them that he has known me for that long, he shouldn't fan flames to the fire that was already burning.
"Okay, but you discuss with each other, you call each other. I even got to know that you have a hangout joint where you meet most weekends; I'm I right?"
"Yes" I said softly.
"Currently, it has been proven that Mr. Jacob here has been using his position as a point of intimidation to any student who he could prey on their vulnerability. Consequently; sufficient punishment will be metted out to him to serve as a lesson to others partaking in such inhumane act."
"Meanwhile, Mr. Femi you were a very close friend to Mr. Jacob and it would sound unreasonable to say that you never for once knew that your friend had been carrying out such evil act. Therefore the board would like to know why you didn't report all these to higher authority rather you kept it to yourself and let innocent people suffer"
"Sir, I was never aware about it; I had no idea such a thing was going on. I was even stunned to hear all these; infact I never believed Mr. Jacob could do such a thing" I said sheepishly.
"Are you saying he never mentioned anything to you" the Vice Chancellor cut in with a doubtful look on his face.
"Yes sir, you can ask him"
I wished I could swallow the words that I just let out of my mouth; with the mess Jacob had gotten into would he allow himself go down alone. The fear that was beginning to leave me suddenly gripped me once more. This would be a real test of friendship for Jacob, I thought.
"Mr. Jacob is it true that your friend here never knew about all what you had been doing" Dr. Ladipo questioned.
I looked at Jacob and he looked at me, my eyes spoke a thousand words to him begging to say "yes."
"Well I can't lie to you my chairman" Jacob began. "Femi is a very good friend of mine yes I know that but I can't lie to cover him up."
Tears flooded my eyes just waiting for him to speak before I finally pour them out.
"If there was anything going on; Femi would be the first to know even before my wife. I can't do anything without his knowledge… but when it comes to the issue on ground, I didn't allow Femi know even an atom of it. I had to keep everything to myself to prevent any troubles from occuring" Jacob said very convincingly.
Wow! My joy knew no bounds; I knew Jacob wouldn't disappoint me. Once again he had proven our friendship.
With a huge sigh of relief I sat down back on my seat as the hearing continued. To my dismay Jacob was indeed used as a scape goat; the university immediately terminated his appointment with them as if it wasn't enough the NMCN also withdrew his operating license.
Not only did Mr. Jacob lose his job; he also lost what it takes to get another lecturing job due to the fact that he had lost his operating license and his image severely tarnished.
When the meeting finally came to an end I couldn't believe it. At some point, I thought I was been called because my own acts had also been exposed. I was ecstatic that I had just escaped what would have been my downfall; the euphoria I felt was just so immeasurable.
On the other hand Jacob had just lost everything he ever laboured for; it was a situation of mixed feelings for me. I was glad that nothing was revealed about me while I was also sad that Jacob just lost all he toiled for.
****
Fast forward to four days later
Jacob's wife had found out everything, she couldn't bear the burden and she packed her things and took her children to live somewhere else. Jacob was devastated and truly sorry for his actions but his wife couldn't continue living with him after all that had happened. Besides, he was of no need to her; a promiscuous man without a job, money and possibly a future.
I couldn't even imagine myself in his shoes, it was his own undoing and he had to pay dearly for it. A lot of rumours had being going round about him getting suic!dal. I needed to talk to my friend and give him some words of encouragement.
I dialed Jacob's number twice still there wasn't any response. I tried one more time and he finally picked.
"Hello my good friend, how are you" I asked.
"I'm fine; even though you know I'm not I just have to say it"
"I know it hasn't being easy, but you just have to endure"
"What is there to endure, ehnn Femi; you can only say that because you aren't in my shoes. Everyone has given up on me, my former colleagues, my friends and even my family, life itself has given up on me. I'm just like the walking dead; I'm alive but there is no life in me. Honestly speaking, I just want to die and leave this world of humiliation…"
"No! No! No! Don't say such a thing, as long as there is a will; there is a way. Jacob there is still hope for the living, you are alive so there is still hope for you. Infact, you know what; let's just meet at our usual place, we can talk better there than on the phone" I said.
With the statements Jacob made, it was crystal clear that suic!de was becoming an option for him.
****
I arrived the bar before Jacob and waited for more than fifteen minutes before he finally showed up. It took me some seconds to believe that the person standing before me was actually Jacob. He looked very pale and thin, I was surprised how fast depression could make someone emaciate. Within me I was pretty sure that his ribs would be very visible by now.
His eyes were sunken and his skin dry, Jacob whose appearance was once vibrant had now become an eyesore.
"How far" I said trying hard not to sound irritated.
"I'm managing"
"I thought you wouldn't be coming anymore"
"I had no other choice" Jacob replied coldly
"Please get us some drinks… the usual" I said to the bartender.
"So what is your next plan?" I asked
"I don't know what to do, where to start from and what to start, life has just rendered me useless" Jacob said soberly
"Jacob, you are not useless. Weren't you surviving before you got this job?" I asked rhetorically.
"Why don't you sell some of your property; maybe your car and continue the boutique business you were doing before you got employed"
"Hmm…you are quite right there" Jacob said.
"I was making enough profit then to take care of my family and now that I'm alone; I'll even have enough for myself."
I saw Jacob smile for the first time since he came in.
"This is a very brilliant idea…you know. If I can start that business then maybe my life could have meaning again" Jacob said.
This was the Jacob I knew, he had finally found light at the end of the tunnel and I was delighted that I was responsible for it.
Frank's POV
Not much has happened lately except for the issue my dad's friend Jacob was having with the university; I heard the man later lost his job and family. I just hoped that my dad had learnt a great lesson from what happened to his friend.
Meanwhile I had began to notice Esther's strange behavior newly. She would leave very early for her evening lessons and come back very late. There was something very fishy about her movement and I decided to find out from her.
It was still more than forty five minutes before the lesson usually starts and Esther was about leaving once again.
"Esther!" I called. She was already leaving the house when I called her.
"Are you going for lessons already?" I asked.
"Yes, where else would I go" she said
"But the time is just 3:15, and lesson starts by 4pm"
"I really don't know you're asking all these questions, I just want to get there on time"
"But it would take at most ten minutes to get there" I said but she didn't reply.
"Are you sure you're attending the lesson or there is somewhere else you have in mind to go to"
"What is it? Why are you questioning me like you're my father."
"Esther I've noticed how early you go to lessons these days and how late you return; I just wanted to tell you that if there's anything you want me to know you can open up. Your secrets are safe with me" I told her.
After some seconds, hesitantly she finally opened up to me. She told me about this guy named Chidi who was the only guy she had ever dated; how long they've known each other and the kind of love they shared. I wasn't surprised because my instincts told me she had something hidden under her sleeves.
But then; I had to warn her to be extracareful and very cautious so she doesn't get caught by my parents. It would be a big mess if they should find out.
Esther's POV
I was in a serious haste to go see Chidi and I had almost left the house when Frank's baritone voice brought me to a halt. What could he possibly want? I expected it to be one of his usual talk but to my surprise Frank started asking me a lot of questions. He had began suspecting my movement, he didn't let me go instead he continued pestering me to tell him where I was really going to.
After much consideration, I finally decided to let the cat out of the bag. I told him about my relationship with Chidi and how I had been going to see him. Frank didn't say any other thing he just advised me to be careful. Despite the fact that I was older than him; he kept trying to play the role of a senior brother in my life.
I left the house and went to Chidi's place. I had being going there since my aunt travelled; I couldn't even recall when last I attended lessons.
We watched a few romantic movies together, while he held me to his body. We talked, laughed and acted like couples do.
I spent more than three hours with him but it still seemed so short to me. It began to feel like the world spinned faster whenever we were together.
When I looked out the window, it was almost nightfall; I had to get going. I gave Chidi a deep wet kiss and hurried left his brother's apartment.
By the time I got to the house, it was already few minutes to seven. I was late as usual; I just hoped that uncle Femi was not yet back. He had been coming home late through out the week and that gave me the confidence that he won't be home by this time.
Femi's POV
After spending some time at the bar to cheer my friend up, I decided to come back home. The time spent wasn't wasted because I had finally given him a reason to continue living.
We had some drinks and something to eat; and I gave him some money to add in starting up his business.
¶
¶
I drove in as Musa hailed me in his usual chants.
"Zha boss man, oga for za top; anything for ya loyal boy," Musa said with his both hands in the air.
"Musa when will you stop this your everyday ranting" I said smiling as I gave him the two hundred naira note left with me.
"Nagode oga, nagode. More money for ya account" he said laughing hysterically.
I was just about entering inside when I noticed someone come in through the gate. I studied the figure very well and I noticed it was Esther.
"Where are you coming from by this time" I asked.
"I'm coming back from lessons" she answered.
"By this time?? Impossible!" I thundered.
"Where did you go to" I questioned but she just stood still like a maniking.
"Ohh… You don't want to answer. So you have started going out to see men right"
"I didn't go to see anybody o, I only went for my evening lessons" she finally spoke up.
"Evening lessons and you're coming back at night, you better be very careful or else I'll show you my other side. I don't…"
"Abeg it's enough" Esther cut me from completing my statement.
"What's all these sef, why are you screaming and shouting up and down. See you can't do me anything o; absolutely nothing, Let me just tell you now if you don't behave yourself and keep acting like this I'll just let your wife and everyone know how tried to r@pe me"
"Will you keep quiet" I fired "Don't you know the walls have ears"
"That's your business, just behave yourself and let me be. Mtchew" she hissed as she catwalked like a model into the house.
I was frozen at the spot in disbelief. Was this the same Esther I knew; what gave her the guts to threaten and talk to me like that. I had already forgotten about my escapades with her and amended my ways but this act she just pulled has awoken my dark side.
One thing was for sure, her days in this house are numbered.