OBIANUJU
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©️ Princess Juliet
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Episode 1
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A promise to myself
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The weather was warmer , and the afternoon sun shone brightly pouring into the sitting room window……
I sat on the sofa beside my dad as I watched him count ten(10) from the wad of notes in his hand …
I scoffed silently, is he kidding me?
“Uju! he called , clearing his throat as he faced me
“Sir!” I answered, knitting my eyebrow together in a little frown
“Take this”. he said , handing me the money …..
“You should manage it for two weeks”. he added
I looked at the money and then back at him
“#10, 000! but daddy , this is too little” . I queried and he huffed, eyeing me coldly
“Little!with all the food stuffs and provisions I bought for you, you still have the mouth to say little”. he fired at me and then faced my mum who was seated on the couch directly opposite us
“Mama Uche! You nee-d to teach this daughter of yours how to manage or else … hmmm.. hmmmh… I won’t say more than that”. he half yelled as he got off the sofa , walking out of the house
I stamp my feet on the tiled floor, grumbling
“two weeks! does he want to starve to death! does he want to turn me to a beggar?
“St©p that Uju!”My mum warned as she glared at me
“What is wrong with you? Do you want to kill me before my time?”she continued and I rolled my eyes
There we go again!
“Obianuju!you really nee-d to be very careful”
“But mum it is not fair ,10,000 is not enough and you know it”
“Of course I do but you nee-d to calm down”. she said , opening her handbag and instantly the anger in me quenched and I smiled mischievously
“Mama the mama, any other mama is a counterfeit”. I hailed as she hissed
“n@ûghty girl! Sha take be be”. She said , moving closer to squee-ze in some “paper note” in my hands
I look down at the “paper note”, it was a thousand buck in five(5) places
5000! ma-king it a total of 15,000! with food stuffs and provisions! for two weeks !O boy! I can’t wait to be in school
“Manage that , I am sure your dad will s£nd you something before two weeks.” My mum as-sured
“Before nko, that man just like to suffer innocent soul”
“That man! he is your father remember?” she reminded as she walked towards the kitchen
“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”. I retorted, nodding in agreement
“Oya na ! I nee-d to go prepare dinner , go put your things together
“Alright mum”.i muttered as I stood up ; then climbe-d up the short stairs to my room ……
*
Entering the room , I found my younger siblings Chichi and Chidi laying on the big be-d ….
Chichi who was the elder of the two who copying a note from a big text book while Chidi was watching her quietly…..
Seeing me , Chidi smiled lightly as he sat up on the be-d
“Uju”. he called as I joined them , looking into Chichi’s note
“What are you doing?” I directed my question to Chichi
“Writing, isn’t it obvious”. She snapped at me and I gave her a light knock on her head
“oouch! why did you do that?” she queried , glaring at me as I scoffed
“I am not your mate , so get that into your little skull”
“Whatever!” She muttered and then continued with what she was doing
Rude br@t!
“You done with your homework?” I asked my Six Years old brother Chidi and he nodded , sighing
“I am tired of primary school, I want to sit for the common entrance examination”
I smiled lightly, I wasn’t surprised as he was a very bright kid …. well! we were all bright kids !!!
Oh! Lest I forget , let me introduce myself…..
I am Obianuju , a 17 years old newly admitted to study law in the Prestigious university Olabisi Onabanjo University, light skinned , black eyes, moderate weight , average height , curvy in the right places and to crown it all , beautiful….
My parents are very strict and religious ;thus my siblings and I grew up with a very strong spiritual pas-sion…..
I am fourth born out of six children , My eldest brother Uche is in Canada studying for his masters, second brother Arinze is a final year student in the same school ( Olabisi Onabanjo University), third brother Obiora is a third year student in a popular pri-vate university, covenant university to be precise , I am the fourth , the first girl ….., and I guess you have met my younger siblings Chichi and Chidi…..well! well! what else can I say?….. hmmmh…..I think that is enough for now…….
*
humming my favourite song ( broken vessel by hill song ) , I was arranging my clothes into a big travelling back when my phone suddenly rang
I reached for it and on checking the caller , it was my elder brother Arinze
I received it
“Rinzy!” I greeted first calling him by his nick name
“hi Uju! how are you? tell daddy say I don pay your fees and your house rent”. he said ma-king use of pidgin English
I scoffed silently
“And why can’t you tell him yourself?” I snapped at him
“That is because I am tired of listening to the old man sermon”. he retorted ma-king me roll my eyes
Old man! Is he for real?
“Anyways don’t forget to bring something for me , tell mummy I nee-d rice and garri( cas-sava flakes)”
“Okay ooo, I have heard”. I said and ended the call…..
What a foodie!
Just then , the door to the room creaked opened and my mum walked in holding a big book
“I can see you done packing up”. She observed, looking towards the four big bags in front of me
“Yes mum!” I answered , Zi-pping up a smaller bag as she sat on the be-d
“hope you didn’t forget anything”
“Nope”. I answered, popping the p and she sighed , placing the “big book” in front of me
I smiled lightly , it wasn’t a big book , it was a big bible….
“Mum!” I called softly
“Let this bible be your guard , don’t ever forget its teachings , you are a covenant child so don’t forget to…….
“act like one “, I completed and she nodded, cl@pping her hands lightly
“Good girl!”she remarked and then continued with her advice
“Studying should be your priority,avoid bad friends and company and never ever forget the family you c@m£ from
“Of course mum!” I muttered and with a light smile , she pu-ll-ed me closer and hvg me…..
“Obianuju, my baby”. She whispered softly and I let my whole b©dy go limp
Reason;I was gobsma-cked, I wasn’t used to the whole emotional stuff as my mum ha-rd ly call me baby then why now?
Is it because I am going to study in a far-away place? Or is it because I will be leaving the house tomorrow? whichever it is , I was confused ….
“Mum! I am hungry”. Chidi shouted from the sitting room and instantly, my mum pu-ll-ed out of the hvg
“I am coming”. She answered and then faced me
“Let’s go eat”
And with that , she stood up and walked out of the room…..
heaving a de-ep sign, i watched her go and then looked away , reaching for my diary …
I opened it , fli-pping throu-gh the pages until I got to the page where I wrote about my goals ..well! It wasn’t really a goal , it was a promise I made to myself …..
A promise to be focused! a promise to remain chaste till marriage! and a promise to keep my fire burning for God……….
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OBIANUJU
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Princess Juliet
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Episode 2
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A journey to school
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The voices in my head bec@m£ more insistent and what followed was a light tap on my shoulders
“Uju! wake up , it is alre-ady morning”
Slowly, I opened my eyes to see my mum staring down at me
“Mummy!” I called softly
“Kulie Osiso ( get up quic-kly)”. she repeated and I stretched, looking towards the closed window
The dawn was filled with the sound of birds and a c0ckcrow could be heard from miles away …….
I hissed silently, the day isn’t bright sef , why then did she disrupt my sleep?
“Did you just hiss? My friend, leave that be-d or else I will come baptise your b©dy with water”. She repeated for the third time but this around with a harsh voice that Chichi who was beside me stirred a little, mumbling in her sleep…
grudgingly, I dragged myself out of the be-d and went over to the bathroom…
I stepped into the bathtub and turning on the tap, I almost ran out
The water was damn cold!
“Ewoo! I can’t bath with this oooo” I mumbled, so I cleaned up only the “important p@rt” and when I say important p@rt , I mean my legs , my un-der arm, my face and most importantly my “un-der”….
I can’t come and kill myself!
When I was done , I reached for my towel wra-pping it around me and on returning to the room , I found Chidi and Chichi seated on the be-d talking in whispers
For real!Jeez! this two should be nicknamed “Aki and pawpaw”
Seeing me, they paused , sitting ap@rt as if they don’t each other
Funny kids!
” but can’t you just leave tomorrow?” Chichi started , folding her arms across her plain che-st
“Yes Uju, leave tomorrow pleaaase”. Chidi joined her , pleading and I was f0rç£d to laugh
“Like seriously, don’t tell me you guys are alre-ady missing me?” I retorted looking at Chidi and then at ChiChi
They both maintained a straight face and I sighed , joining them on the be-d
” I wish to stay but I can’t , lecture will commence tomorrow and I also nee-d to complete my verification”. I explained ….
“I know sis, Just that i am going to miss you”. Chidi said , blinking his eyes twice …
From the look on his face , I could tell he was about to cry
“Same with me”. Chichi bu-tted in as I smiled lightly.
“Oh dear! I will miss you both and ….. I paused when I heard a car drive into the compound ….
“Uju! hurry up , the taxi is alre-ady here”. My mom called from the sitting room and instantly, I got off the be-d and rushed to the window to take a peek ; and just like she said , it was the taxi -man we hired …..
“Chissos! chissos! the taxi is alre-ady here , plea-se help me with my luggages”. I instructed my siblings and to my surprise, they obeyed without any complaints , dragging two bags each as they walked out of the room
Good children!
Moving closer to the wooden wardrobe, I opened it and brou-ght out the neatly folded clothes .
A pink t©p , blue jean Sk-irt and a matching undies!
I towelled off as I hurriedly dressed up then put on my “baby shoes”, picked up handbag along with my phone and ran out of the room to the sitting room where I met my parent discussing..
“Good morning ma!Good morning sir ! I greeted
“Morning Princess! how was your night?” my dad asked and I blu-shed
I love it when he calls me Princess , no qualms sha as i am from a royal family …….
“It was fine sir!” I answered politely
Good!”call your younger ones , let’s have our morning devotion”
“Speak of the devil! my younger ones walked into the house , p@n-ting
“What is inside those bags that makes it so heavy? Is it rock?” Chichi asked in sarcasm
“Where are the bags?” I asked, ignoring her sneer
“Inside the taxi-boot”.Chidi answered, walking past me to the couch and I smiled lightly
“You guys have tried , thank you so much”
“Enough with the noise, Let us pray”. My dad hushed and immediately, we went down on our knees , saying “Amen! Amen! as our strict dad led the prayer ….
*
After a quic-k advice from my dad , I bade my siblings and then mum and I headed for the taxi …
“Safe Journey!” My dad called after me and I nodded without looking back , I was alre-ady missing home…
how I wish Dad could drive me to the car park himself but no , today is a Sunday and he has to be in church …well! Mum is with me and she is going to accompany me to the car park ……
Exchanging plea-santries with the driver, we hopped into the taxi and on starting the ignition, the driver drove off …….
*
*
The shouts of “Ijebu”, ” Ibadan”, Ago-Iwoye”, filled the air and I looked out of the window to see young men with ba-re che-st running around soliciting for pas-s£ngers ….
“Ago iwoye! Ijebu ode!”. they kept on shouting with their terrible voices
Alighting from the taxi , I went to the back of the car to joined my mom and the driver in bringing out my luggages from the car boot
Seeing us , one of the “young men” rushed to us
“Mama! Fine girl! Na who dey go?” he asked , clutching to one of my bags
“Na my pikin , she dey go Ago- iwoye”My mum answered as I stared blankly at him
it was my first time travelling in a public bus and everything seem strange to me ……
“Ago iwoye! the bus dey for there”. the man said , pointing to a white bus with green str!pes and then he shifted his gaze to me , darting his eyes all over me
“Mama!this your pikin fine ooo”. he said , l!çk!ng hisl-ips and I looked away in embarras-sment
“Chai! how I wish I get wife wey fine like this “. he added and I huffed , flaring up
“Can you plea-se lead us to the bus and st©p spilling trash, if you want a fine wife then marry one ”
“Han Han! Fine girl! I was just pla-ying with you ,why are you now taking it serious?….Walahi! Na yahoo guys go d@t£ you las las”. he retorted , b!tt!g his f!ngersand I rolled my eyes about to reply him but my mom was quic-k to interfere
“Uju! this is enough”. she scolded at me and then faced the man
“Don’t mind her! she is just being childish…. so erm .. can you help us with the luggages?”She asked changing the subject
And without saying a word , the man picked up two of the bag and headed for the bus…
“Crazy!” I cursed silently, dragging the two smaller bag as I followed behind him ….
*
There was only one seat left in the bus , it was a seat right close to the window so I climbe-d into the bus and sat down comfortably, placing my hand bag on my l@ps..
I looked out of the window just in time to see my mum pay the driver and when her gaze met mine, she walked up to the bus
“I have alre-ady paid your fare and your luggage fee”. she informed and I nodded slowly, staring into her cute face
Tear welled up in my eyes and I let them stream down my cheek
My mum! I was alre-ady missing her
“Oh dear!what is wrong? You alright? what is with the tears?” she asked in a rush
“Nothing!” I lied and she smiled knowingly
“You alre-ady missing me?”she asked and without waiting for my response, she continued
“I un-derstand you but this is not the time to shed tears , you got to be strong and focused so do me a favour and clean off those tears…
I nodded slowly as I wiped away the tears off my face
“Good!and also don’t forget all of my advice , always remember to put God first”. she reminded , taking a few step back as the driver started the ignition and I nodded slowly, trying so ha-rd not to cry again ..
“Bye mum!”I bade , waving at her and with a light smile, she waved back at me ……
heaving a sigh, I leaned back on the seat , closed my eyes as I pondered the question on how school life will be…….
*
*
The journey to “Ago iwoye” was a tiring one as we got st©pped countless of times by the police ,pas-sed throu-gh a very bad road and nearly got into an accident….
But God being so good , we sailed throu-gh…..
Finally! After a long drive, we got to Ago – iwoye and I brou-ght out my phone from my bag to dial my brother number ….
he picked up on the second ring
“Uju! Where are you now?” his voice rang throu-gh
“We just pas-sed by the hvge school gate but the car is still moving”.i answered
“Good! tell the driver you are alighting at Oru”
“Oru! Which one is that one again? I queried,I was alre-ady getting pissed with all of strange names
“Just tell the driver, that is where I stay and also where you will be staying”. he said and ended the call….
Phew! This is one hell of a journey!!
“Driver! I will alight at Oru”. I called out to the driver
“Alight! Ki le so?( what did you say)” . the driver asked, glancing over his shoulders
Oh right! he doesn’t un-derstand simple english
“Mo fe bo le ni Oru”I repeated using the language he will un-derstand, Yoru-ba and he nodded slowly
Aha! Aha! I know you might be wondering how an Igbo girl like me un-derstands Yoru-ba ..erm.. actually……I was born and bred in Lagos and to tell the truth, I have never been to my home town…..
Funny! Isn’t it? … well! I am not to be blamed!
*
” A ti wa Oru ( we are alre-ady at Oru)” the driver announced, snapping me out of my thoughts and that was when I noticed the bus was almost empty
Really! when did they all get off?
quic-kly, i got off the bus , dragging my luggages along with me
“Nawa oo! only you , four big bags!”the boy seated beside me remarked but I chose to ignore him
A boy that run his mouth like a girl , is that one a boy?
Standing in front of a filling station with the name “Be-happy”, I looked around me for my brother but he was no where in sight .
Arrgh! Is he kidding me? I mumbled, glancing at my wristwatch
It was 11:15am, Jeez! no wonder the sun is scorching, burning my skin with intense heat …..
I brou-ght out my phone and was about dialling my “annoying brother” number when a white Benz pu-ll-ed up in front of me
Who is this one again? I wondered, taking a step backward
“Hey! Pretty girl, how are you?” a thick baritone voice asked , winding down the window and my heart skipped a bit as I stared at the light skinned h0ttie seated in the car….
“I am Tobiloba and you are?”he asked with a killer smile and I looked away, ignoring him
How can a boy his age own such a expensive car?… or wait! Is he a yahoo guy?
“C’mon pretty, or are you shy?” he continued and I scoffed , facing him
“Just go away!” I barked expecting him to drive off but instead, he chuckled, alighted from his car turning around to stand in front of me….
“No pretty! I won’t go away , I un-derstand you still a fresher ; hop in let me give you a ride
ride kwa! See me see trouble oo, did they s£nd this one to me?
Opening my mouth, I was about giving him a piece of my mind when a “keke maruwa”( tricycle) pu-ll-ed up in front of me and my brother alighted from it ….
At last! I muttered , sighing in relief
“Uju! I am so sorry ……he paused when he noticed “Mr Benz”…
“Ahan! Tobi ! What are you doing here?” he asked ,looking at me and then back at him
Really! They know each other
“Rinzy! I dey admire fine babe , You know her ? or is she your babe?”he asked , furrowing his eyebrow and my brother scoffed
“Idiot! She is my sister”. he corrected and Tobi nodded , smiling
“Wow! Wow! You never told me your sister is this beautiful”
“Abeg! Abeg! no bring that one here , what are you doing here sef?” My brother questioned him
“Ehem .. actually .. I was trying to convince her to ride with me ”
“Really! Oya na Tobi money “. my brother hailed him and then faced me
“What are you waiting for?get into the car”. he instructed, picking the two big bags and then placed it gently in the back seat
I scoffed silently, he is really impossible!
Slinging my hand bag over my shoulder, I was about picking up the smaller bag when Tobi st©pped me with his voice
“I will do that!” he said , wi-nking at me and without waiting for my response, he picked up the bag and threw it into the back seat ; then he faced me
“Get in”. he mouthed at me and for a moment I was lost staring at his cute face …
No! Uju! This is so ungodly!
I quic-kly composed myself , got into the back seat and on following my brother’s direction , mr h0ttie drove off ….
*
Mopping the sweat from my brow, I listened to my brother and Tobi as they talked about School , projects, boring lectures and lecturers
Oh yeah! this explains how they know each other, they are course mates…. how amazing!
I was so tired so I leaned back on the seat trying to calm my nerves ….
“You bored?” Tobi asked, glancing at me throu-gh the rear mirror
“No!” I answered and he looked away , smiling
“But you still haven’t told me your name”
“her name is …. my brother tried to say but he cut him off
“She isn’t dumb , let her do the talking herself”
“Fine! Fine! my name is obian…. erm …….erm …just call me Juliet…. “. I answered, telling him my English name and he smiled lightly
“Juliet! a perfect name for a pretty girl, so can we be friends?”
“No!”my brother bu-tted in and he laughed softly
“Relax bro! I like your sis so don’t be scared , I am not Demilade who goes after any S-xy thing on Sk-irt”. he drawled and they both laughed
Demilade! who is he? I wondered
*
The car skidded to a halt in front of an uncompleted building, I call it uncompleted because it was yet to be painted
Is this my lodge? I wondered
And as it re-ading my thoughts, Arinze said
“This is your lodge , it is a girls h0tel”
I nodded slowly as I re-ad the wordings on the wall
“Pretty queens villa”
I alighted from the car , bringing out my load one by one and when I was done , Tobi nodded towards me
“I will catch up with you later!” he said and then zoomed off
I watched him go and smiled lightly, such a nice guy!
“Let us go!” Arinze said, carrying two of the bags as he climbe-d up a short step to the house
still smiling like an idiot, I picked up the remaining two and followed behind him .
we walked throu-gh a Long pas-sage to the last room ; then he brou-ght out a key from his pocket , opened the door and we both walked into the ……room
oh my gawd! I exclaimed softly, looking around
The room was so spacious and beautiful, I wasn’t expecting this at all….. I mean my dad s£nt him money to get me a be-d and a g@s but what I am seeing right now is so different from what I pictured in my mind …..
The room was fully rugged! the be-d was bigger than I had imagined! There was a re-ading table, lamp, fan , a wall- hanger and to crown it all , a small television along with a dvd….
“Is this really my room?” I thought aloud and Arinze laughed
“Of course it is! It is not even fine sef , I plan on getting you a bigger television”. he stated and I sh0t him a surprise look
Is he also into yahoo? I wondered
And as if hearing my thoughts, he said
“Don’t act all surprised, I run a tutorial for students in my dep@rtment
Oh! I nodded slowly, “is that what Tobi does also? I asked curiously and he smiled , ignoring my question
“You will be having a room mate”. he continued and instantly, my head grew wi-de in anger
“Roommate! Why? You should know I love being alone so why will I have a roommate?
” it is Faith”.he quic-kly added and my eyes grew wi-de in surprise
“Faith! You mean the as-sistant minister in the cell fellowsh!pback home?”I asked to be sure and he nodded
I laughed long and ha-rd
“St©p the joke jo , how can Faith be my room – mate? how can she be a fresher? .. I mean she is even older than you …..
he smiled lightly, “age doesn’t matter in education”. he stated and yes , he was right ….
“I will be leaving now , my hostel is the green building opposite yours
And with that , he left the room…
“Now I am all alone “. I muttered , coll@psing on the be-d ….
pu-lling off my shoes, I rolled excitedly on the big foam….
I am finally free from my parent clutches!
TBC
Who is Demilade? Let’s meet him in the next chapter.