Taye gazed out of the window looking vacantly at the darkness. He remained in that posture for a while ruminating on the journey so far. He's a person who often looks inwards to decide every new step to take.
Taye resolved that he had completely conquered Bose emotionally as they had become friends but feared he could lose her to any fast guy if he did not take his time. He particularly feared Jingolo, the talkative giant from Lagos. Taye was however convinced that if he played his cards right he could not lose the game at hand because confidence had been established. He searched his mind desperately for any suitable wooing procedure among the lot he bad heard from seniors at school after light-out. All the ones that came to his consciousness were unsuitable to resolve his present predicament. Then Taye remembered how Shanker, a class-mate of his narrated the system he had used to get a girl while
traveling together with her during a previous holiday. Looking at it now Taye saw the difference in Shanker's situation and the case at hand. Shanker had told him that he traveled in the driver's cabin of a truck with that girl and the driver of the vehicle was an illiterate, and Shaker exploited the handicap of the driver to speak to the girl throughout in Queen's English. Taye was not that lucky as he sat in the midst of fellow students and literate passengers. He surmised that the woman with tribal marks opposite him was the only ileterate person in the compartment. From discussions since the journey began which were had mainly in pidgin English and to some extent standard English, he knew he could not bamboozle anybody here with the English Language. Taye also considered the possibility that his listeners might turn deaf ears when they realised he was wooing Bose. He knew too well also that they would have some psychological effect on the girl, which might make her react in some negative way towards him. He sat there gazing into the darkness, praying silently for an opening and inspiration.
Most of the people in the coaches had dozed off before the train reached Offa Railway Station. Taye too would probably have slept if not for what he had on his mind. The time was a little past midnight and the train did not waste much time before it continued the journey. The only note-worthy thing that happened at Offa Station was the voice of a yam vendor shouting and cursing in Yoruba in the dead of the night after the moving train.
"Thief, my money. Thief, you've robbed me of my yam. God, the
omnipresent will catch you. Thief ....." she wailed and her voice gradually faded, drowned by the resonant hoot of the train and the repeated loud noise of the wheels on the rail track. Those who had not slept before reaching the station and those who were woken up by the stop-over soon drifted off shortly after the street-lights of Offa town disappeared behind the train. Silence reigned in the coaches once again.
Taye tapped Bose on the shoulder and began to pour his mind to her. "Bose dear, do you know that I have been thinking of nothing else but you. I've tried to sleep but couldn't. Your beautiful face is what I see in every direction I turned to. Honestly, this is the first time in my life this sort of thing has happened to me, but without being told, I know that I'm in LOVE with you. Yes, believe me Bose, I really do. I love you like I'd never loved before and 1 know you won't disappoint me. You won't let me suffer for giving my heart to you. So, Bose tell me, tell me dear, that you love me and you'II be mine, my one and only", Taye rambled on. When he paused obviously waiting for a reply, Bose merely took a searching look at him and shrugged.
Taye noticed that the calm expression on her face had given way to what looked like a frown. Her countenance now forbade further talking. Distracted, as he was, the boy notice that the frown made her look even more beautiful. With no response to his well-rehearsed lines, he was struck speechless. Something suddenly occurred to him and he brought down his traveling bag from the overhead rack. He searched inside for a while and brought out a 'True Romance' magazine and returned the bag. Taye pretended to be absorbed in the magazine whereas he was merely staring at the printed words and colour photographs. He could not calm down enough to think straight, not to talk of reading any story. He was shyly watching Bose and once or twice caught her eyeing his magazine.
Bose yawned and stretched, stepping on Taye's toes in the process.
"Sorry o!" She begged him mockingly, trying hard to suppress a giggle.
Taye nodded in response without taking his eyes off the magazine.
"Lonely traveler finds----"Taye heard Bose read aloud the headline of a story at the folded page of his magazine. He took another peep at Bose from the edge of the magazine and this time their eyes met. Taye held her eyes for some time and she smiled.
"I am not dumb. Only, I didn't think there's a reply to all you said bet, let e tell you". She paused. "I'm not interested...." she let the rest hung in the air.
"Finish up", Taye urged her.
"Silence will not pay us. Since you've now decided to reply, why not tell me all that's on your mind?".
"I know you don't mind me but I'm sure you are shy and at the same time scared of them". Taye said, waving in the direction of drooping heads all around them and he continued again.
"look my beautiful girl. Do u realise that this is our time? During this night while all of them are sleeping we can really know each other's feelings.
Bose dear, you are not a kid and let's not miss this golden opportunity. And Opportunity once lost, they say, can never be regained. Look at it from the simple point that as soon as we are at the next station our fellow passengers will be up and all ears again and any discussion, if at all, we have to be in whispers. And you know how hard it is to converse in whisper without your
discussions being drowned by this rickety - rackety noise of the train. You know what I'm saying is true. Bose dear, you are the most beautiful girl I have seen and I am greatly in LOVE with you. Please talk to me. Share the radiance in you with me. Let's be lovers. You won't regret it".
As if there was magic in those words, their relationship changed for the better from then on.
"Taye, bet you, you make me laugh. Who told you I'm not a kid? And who is afraid of them? She too waved in the direction of sleeping heads and they shared a conspiratory smile. "Oh! Nobody told me, but I know the weakness of most girls from that part of our great country".
Taye smiled broadly because he knew she was saying that Bose was a bush girl.
"What is our weakness? Tell me. I want to know?" She asked excitedly.
"You wanna know?"'. She nodded and answered "yes" repeatedly.
"Your weakness is the weakness of a typical African maiden who prefers to keep the love for her suitor a secret particularly at the outset just as you're doing now. But let me tell you that we are now in the computer...." Bose did not let him finish when she interrupted.
"There you go again, the young politician. Your mouth is sugar-coated",
The train slowed down and whistled. They both looked outside. The long train was negotiating a curve. The lights from the coaches clearly showed the bend. The immediate surrounding was dark but far away in the distance there appeared tiny lights like multicoloured stars in the sky.
"Those ones, the lights of Ilorin township", said someone in one of the coaches. The wind brought the words to Taye and Bose clearly.
"Do you hear that? Taye asked Bose. Y
"Yes, which means we'll soon get to Ilorin".
"Honestly, I must have slept if not for you. Your love has kept me awake".
"She cut in quickly.
"That's O.K The matter is closed!. The both laughed.
The train slowed down, hooted continuously as the tiny lights drew nearer and became larger and brighter. Gradually, silhouettes of houses became visible and the train whistled again loud and long. A larger section of the silent sprawling town was in darkness, no thanks to almighty NEPA. A rainbow of many colours spread out left and right of the rail line. The town was obviously asleep.
The train approached a level crossing, slowed down and immediately increased its speed upon crossing it. At the crossing, a few cars waited on both sides of the rail line. It was here that Jingolo, his friend, Bobby, and few others in the compartment shook off the sleep in their eyes. The level crossing obviously had no gate but a warning-bell was clanging as the long train crawled past. It was the bell which woke up majority of the passengers. Shortly after the level crossing, the train rode majestically into the crowded station. The platform was well lit.
Bose examined the level of water in her plastic container and found it low.
"Taye, I don't feel like getting down, Please, could you get some water for us." she requested, handing over the container to him.
"Your wish is my command," Taye accepted the container gladly.
"Let's go with him", Jingolo said and stood up, pulling Bobby with him.
Ilorin Station was just like the other stations from Ibadan-end, haven of rogues and pickpockets. And even as early as four a.m the shout of thief had rented the air.
"Tai, you are a lucky chap". Bobby hailed Taye when they were out of hearing of Bose. "Sure you ar ar ar are very lucky, lucky, that your girl is cool", he stammered
"Thank you", Taye said, all smiles.
They fetched the water, bought a big loaf of bread, some fried fish and returned to their seats.
When the train pulled out of the station, a general discussion started about the undesirable elements, which had turned the station into their den. While the boys had gone down, a teenage boy had come into their compartment, grabbed Taye's bag from the overhead, but for Bose, the thief would have taken it away. That incident actually started the discussion about rogues soon after Ilorin station.
In the midst of the spirited discussion the boys and the girl took turns to go to the toilet to brush their teeth and freshen up. When all had completed this early morning ritual, they shared the loaf of bread and fried fish bought at Ilorin.
Suddenly a cold hand gripped Taye's neck. He was frightened but when he looked up sharply at the owner of the hand his tension melted in a joyful shout.
"Santana!" and he began to hiccup, the morsel of bread had gone down the wrong channel in his throat.
"Meet Santana everybody", Taye said, standing up to introduce the new comer to his friends after he recovered from the hiccup.
"Santi, how now? Where from, where to, how do you know it's me?". Taye loaded him with queries.
"Cool it, friend", Santana cautioned.
"Long time, you have even grew beards. Ha-ha-ha. You are the last person I expect to meet", Taye continued to taunt his former classmate.
"Boy O', oh no! you are OTHELLO, the Black Moor", Santana began to talk and corrected himself. He hailed Taye again. "Othello, Othello, how now?"
The two old friends clung to each other and continued to chat happily about 'those days' while everybody in the coach was watching and listening to them.
"And where do you hang out in the train?" Taye asked Santana who had disentangled himself and was obviously ready to take his leave.
"The coach after the restaurant. this way" he replied, pointing in the direction he came from which is towards the tail of the train.
"You mean in the second class?" He nodded and smiled. "Where to now?" Taye asked again.
"I'm on a merry-go-round". Before Taye could open his mouth because he had another question ready for Santana, Santana added, "Othello, seeing you later", and he hopped away.
"That guy", meaning Santana, was real tough before he was expelled from our school", Taye said and turned to his friends to narrate a bizarre story about the guy.
Santana was the leader of a group called iso gang in the school. Another name of the group was NCNC. It all began during a second term holidays when final year students remained behind on the school compound for extension classes in preparation for the West African School Certificate Examinations. Although Santana was not a finalist then, in fact, he was only in class two, he remained behind on the compound with his seniors. While the stay of the class five students was legal, Santana's stay was illegal but to no one among the prefects had the gut to confront Santana. During the course of the extension classes, it was alleged that rations first became small, then irregular and the condition became so bad that for some days only two meals were served instead
of the normal three. Some of the students including Santana got together and formulated a master-plan to augment their low rations. Teachers' fowls
particularly those of the principal were to be the proverbial sacrificial lambs.
The operation-eat-chicken was executed by luring fowls with corns strategically scattered from chicken coops to a room in the hostel. As soon as the fowls trailed the corn into the room, where all windows had previously been shut, somebody hiding behind the door would slam the door and everybody would spring up to do justice, or was it injustice, by dipping the fowl's head into boiling water. This way, about a ozen fowls, ended up in the stomachs of Santana's group.
By and by, resident tutors began to suspect a decrease in the number of their fowls, and an investigation as to how fowls disappeared into thin air was launched. Santana's group was unearthed and those found to have hands in the
misdemeanour were punished. The school authority also proscribed extension classes because of what became to be called the iso affair. Branded the ring leader of the group, Santana was among those expelled. When the school resumed and Santana, the star footballer was absent, words quickly went around and the whole school knew the reason for his disappearance.
"Taye, you have not told us why the group was called iso gang or N.C.N.C?". one of the boys asked.
"Patience! You'll see as the tale unfolds.We know that in the first Republic, one political party has the logo of a Cock, not so?" Bose inquired.
"Ya "Taye said and began to explain to them the iso cognomen.
Santana and his gang used to arrange corns an organic matter, in straight 4 chains similar to isomers in organic chemistry". Taye submitted. They all shook their heads in unison.
"Just like a boy in our school popularly called Sea Rocker" Jingolo took off. Sea Rocker, he told his listeners, had attended three different schools before he came to the Academy College, Lagos. He came to repeat Form Three. Sea Rocker had been dismissed in all the schools for either smoking the forbidden weed, Indian hemp, or stealing. Being an excellent athlete, he only needed to show his numerous certificates won on the field and tracks to get a new school. Apart from his athletic prowess, Sea Rocker did not qualify to be called a
student because school rules and regulations meant practically nothing to him.
"And he spent only the athletic season with us", Jingolo concluded the story of Sea Rocker.
By the end of this second story of undesirables in school uniforms, Taye and his friends agreed that schools and colleges who placed too much premium on athletic skills in their admissions policy usually ended up recruiting criminals.
Bobby began to hum a tune. When all became interested, he taught them, eventhough it took some time as a result of the difficulty presented by his toed tongue. Imagine a stammering Choir Master.
" You don't know Nigeria,
If you haven't gone by train, Travel North and travel South, All the year, day and night,
It's the very best way to travel,
Comfortable, safe and sure".
"Is it your own composition? "Taye asked.
"No... N....Not at all, our Geography teacher said he g-g-g got the la.. lines from a book entitled, Lokotown.