The D-Day eventually came for Martin to travel back to Nsukka. This has always been the day he was waiting for. Prior to the night before he embarked on this journey, he dreamt about the kind of life he was going to experience in school.
"Every kid in my neighborhood would kill to be in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka"; he thought out loud to himself as he tied his shoestrings. Feeling satisfied with the state of his shoes, Martin stood up and walked towards the big window that was two-steps away from where was sitting.
"Boy, I sure do look hot and appetizing today!"; he said as he combed his bushy away, and then went on to apply some lotion to his face and a deodorant to his armpits.
He then stroked his jaw with his hands and realized that he forgot to shave his beards, at least the little strands of hair that grew beneath his jaw were on par with that of Rick Ross the rapper, so he thought.
As he was lost in his own little world of feeling fly, a voice rang out from below the garage where his father's SUV vehicles are packed.
"Martin, are you done yet?"; the bass voice asked.
"One second Daddy, I am on my way, hang on please"; Martin answered as he struggled to bring down his luggages to the garage where his father, sister and mother were all waiting for him.
"What were you doing up there son?"; Mrs Johnson asked as she wiped off the little tint of cream that was above her son's hair; "Again, why didn't you cut your hair as you instructed you to do weeks ago, you don't listen to instructions this boy"; she said as she gently pulled her son's hair.
"Ouch mum, that hurts"; Martin retorted back to his mother and swiftly shifted his head away from her hands so as to prevent her from causing further damage than she did to his hair.
"You make sure you cut this hair when you get to Nsukka"; Mr Johnson said, as he switched on the lid that opened the trunk of his SUV.
"I will Dad, I promise to send you a picture or a video of my freshly cut hair once I get to Nsukka"; Martin said as he placed his luggages in the trunk of the SUV and then went on to close it immediately he was done.
"You better do, else I will come there and whip your butt so hard with my belt"; Mr Johnson retorted back to his son who stared at him, bewildered.
Anyone who has come across Mr Johnson can bear witness to the fact that the man was a no-nonsense person. He didn't hesitate to use the belt on his kids whenever they misbehaved; and when parents around the neighborhood feel that their kids are a little bit difficult for them to discipline, they always see to it that they drag the kid to the house of Mr Johnson. , he was what some may call the "Disciplinarian of unruly kids".
"Do not be too difficult on him, he is no longer a kid, I am sure the boy has heard what you have said my love"; Mrs Johnson cut in; "And I believe he knows better than not to make you get angry, unnecessarily". She said,
Moving towards her son, she drew him close to her heart and began to offer him words of encouragement.
"Remember all that we discussed my son, focus on your books and see to it that you make I and your father proud at the end of the day"; she said with little droplets of tears streaming down her left eye; "Your Daddy is working hard day and night to make sure you have all the beautiful luxuries that comes with life, do not turn out to be like Marcus, our neighbor's kid".
Marcus was the runt of the litter around the neighborhood; a promising kid who got admission to one of the biggest colleges in the country but was eventually kicked out of school because he joined a dangerous secret cult and almost killed a professor who was trying to woo his girlfriend in school. Ever since he was expelled from college, he has been found in one problem or another, eventually he lost his life after he was shot and killed in plain sight by a local police officer after he tried to rob an elderly lady at gunpoint within an ATM kiosk.
"Nah Mama, I ain't gonna end up like him"; Martin said as he thought, for a brief moment, what living that kind of life would do to his parent's mental health.
Immediately, Mr Johnson switched on the engine of his SUV, punched his horn thus indicating to his son that it was time for them to head to the bus park where he will have to board a bus that would take him to Nsukka.
With tears in his eyes, Martin gave his little sister, Rebecca a tight hug and the young teen was just amused seeing her big brother cry.
"Dry your tears man, you're embarrassing me"; she said as she whipped out her handkerchief to clean the tears that were streaming down her brother's face; "You're not going to spend the rest of your life in the University you know?"; she continued; "Heck, I can even come and visit you every week and cook for you, haha"; she said amid laugher.
At this statement, the whole family had to join her in laughing because everyone knows how bad of a cook Rebecca is; and in order not to cause her to develop a low self-esteem, no one in the family has criticized her about her cooking.
"Thanks for the pep talk sis, I'll keep in touch with you as much as I can"; Martin said, and as he waved his hands to his mum and sister bidding them farewell, his father opened the passenger door for his son to enter and as they drove away from their compound; Martin turned around and saw his sister crying.
"I'll be back soon sis, don't worry"; he said under his breath and within the span of 10 minutes, they were already on the road leading to the popular Hope park in Onitsha.
Upon getting to the park, Mr Johnson had to make sure that his son's properties were well placed in the boot of the bus; and after paying for his son's transport fare, he accompanied his boy to the seat that was assigned to him and then said the following words to him.
"My son, you know very well that I did not have the same opportunity that you have today as it regards to education"; Mr Johnson said as he concentrated his focus on Martin who was already feeling uneasy as to how his father was staring at him cold-heartedly; "My childhood unlike yours was very tough…."
"You have told me this story countless times Daddy"; Martin cut in, not minding what his father might do to him for interrupting his speech; "So don't worry Papa, I am going to make you proud at the end of the day, who knows, I might even graduate as the best student in my sect in the University of Nigeria Nsukka at the end of the day"; he said, with his beaming gleefully with a very bright smile.
"Ok my son, I trust that you will keep your promise to me"; Mr Johnson said, and with that, he hugged his son, whipped out the sum of 20 thousand Naira from his pocket and handed it over to his son with the promise that once it's Monday, he will make sure that he sends more money to the boy's account.
When it now dawned on him that his time with Martin was over, he bid the boy farewell, entered his car and drove off.
Since Martin was the only one in the bus, he had to wait for the bus to be filled up before the long journey to Nsukka could begin. This was his first time being on a long road trip and he wants to make sure that he stays awake throughout the entirety of that journey.
As he was lost in his thoughts, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and as he turned to see who it was, it was one of his classmates from secondary school, Shannon.
Shannon wasn't exactly good looking but she was blessed with a built body that has massive curves. Back in high school she was the dream girl of every guy in school, at least the ones that wanted to sleep with her.
"Oh Marty baby!, is that you"; she said as she pinched the left cheek of Martin who was feeling embarrassed already; "Is anyone sitting beside you love?" She asked.
"No, I don't think so"; Martin answered as he shifted leftwards to see to it that Shannon had enough space for where she was gonna sit.
"Thank you so much Martin, you really are a darling": Shannon said and then entered the bus, eventually taking her place right beside Martin.
And within 30 minutes, the bus to Nsukka was filled up with passengers and the long journey to Nsukka began in earnest.