CHAPTER SIX

“Many of them, who’ve been sexually active from High School, come here and meet a decent guy. Afterwards, they’ll cook up a story that they were molested at a younger age…”

“And then what?” I whispered impatiently.

“And according to them, that is the reason they aren’t virgins. The icing on the cake is joining a Christian fellowship or any other religious outfit on campus, and becoming holier than thou”.

“Jesus Christ”. My blood went cold as a younger lady appeared and cleared the empty malt beverage bottles, aluminium foils and plastic trays on our table.

“Does that mean that Bussy… no, it can’t be…”

“I’m not saying anything about your Bussy, but keep what I’ve said at the back of your mind. The girls here just wanna have fun at the expense of the guys. They are not ready to be with a poor, broke, or financially struggling student in the name of love. If you wanna love, my Crown Prince, please wait till you’re out of here”.

“Have you ever been in love before, Asha?”

“I have… and it was not so pleasant. On the second occasion, I didn’t even know the man was married. He wanted me to marry him and give him male children. Can you imagine?”

“That’s terrible”, I whispered and grimaced.

“Whenever Allah gives me a husband after graduation, so be it. But in this university, I’m not gonna look for, or fall in love with any one, not yet”.

“I’ve heard everything you said, but I still want you to know that Bussy is different, and I love her”.

Thank you so much for the refreshment, my Crown Prince. May your pocket never run dry”.

“Amen”, I responded with a smile. Afterwards, Asha left the restaurant and walked to the field opposite the Administrative Block, to get a bus, which would ferry her to the New Girls Hostel. Several patrons entered and exited the restaurant, while I thought about everything Asha had said. Bussy was not going to ‘disappoint’ me that I believed. The next moment, I pulled out my GSM mobile phone and called Bussy’s line. She didn’t pick her call, so I sent her a text message:

How’re you doing my love? I finished from lectures not long ago. I want you to know that you give me butterflies in my belly, Bussy,,, I love you.

I sent the text message and left the restaurant. It was some minutes to 4pm when I arrived my hostel. I undressed, had a quick shower and decided to get a little siesta. While my eyes slowly closed, I suddenly remembered the way Sime looked at me during our last lecture.

                                                                                                           

Barely a week later, I and several other course-mates filing out of our 300 Level lecture hall, after a mid-semester test. Several male and female students stood outside comparing their answers and wished they had written more. Some wished they had added one or more details in their respective answers. I personally did not have the luxury of doing such things because my time was very precious to me. I was soon heading to a nearby restaurant, not far from the College of Arts and Social Sciences, when I received a text message from Bussy:

Hi Pierre, I hope you day is going on well as planned. You know I love you, and I believe you love me too? I thought about the age difference between us and came to the conclusion that I cannot continue this affair with you.

I’m positive that you’ll understand.

Love

Bussy

I shut my eyes for a moment, and shook my head after reading the text message from Bussy. My stomach was growling, and I needed no one to tell me that I needed to eat some food immediately. It amused me whenever I remembered how ladies from the south-western Nigeria took the issue of love affairs and relationships to a weird level. They always and mostly believed that the man ‘must’ be older than the girl or lady. As a young Nigerian, who grew up in Europe, my sense of civilization, reasonableness, civility and adulthood seemed to be ‘different’. If age was an issue to Bussy, then it was safe to say she had no problem.

I sat down to devour a plate of garri and egusi (melon) soup moments later, and smiled at the way Bussy usually kissed me. She was a good and fast ‘learner’, I’d say. Thoughts of replacing Bussy slowly filtered into my mind. I shook such thoughts out of my head. No, it was never going to happen. I tried not to panic and made up my mind to see her that evening. The way I loved Bussy made me feel and believe that only God in heaven could  separate the both of us.

I knew several girls and ladies in my class weren’t happy with the way I ‘ignored’ them. They would’ve been wondering what was so special about Bussy in the first place. The ladies in my lass were well-endowed in terms of physique, but I wasn’t too fond of them. It was more ‘interesting’ when they began to discover my true identity. Several girls in my class wondered why I kept a low profile, and why I didn’t have a car of mine on campus. All types of thoughts flowed in and out of my mind, as I returned to my hostel. Eka’s counsel would’ve come in handy, but he had already graduated. Before observing my siesta one fateful afternoon after lectures, I called Bussy severally on my GSM mobile phone. I was surprised when she didn’t even respond with a text message.

Thereafter, while studying, after I woke up, I began to recollect Asha’s discussion, and knew I had to act with wisdom. If Bussy was who I believed her to be, then I had absolutely nothing to worry about. The next day, I made up my mind to go on a weekend fun trip with Bussy to Benin City. I considered lodging with her in a cheap hotel, going to a couple of restaurants and maybe passing through the Oba of Benin’s palace.

Hard as it was to believe, none of these plans ever materialized. Bussy suddenly became ‘elusive’. She stopped responding to my text messages and never answered my calls. I had typed extensive text messages to Bussy (which was delivered), some days earlier to tell her and re-assure her that the issue of age was not a problem, and she should not worry herself about it. When I got fed up with her behaviour, I tried stalking her around her hostel, around the huts and near the Crown Estate gate. Since she was now in 200 Level (though not as a medical student), her lectures now took place in the Temporary Site (T. S.).

I tried to imagine what could be the cause of her change in attitude towards me. I knew the age issue was not enough to make her change her sweet and transparent nature, to what it presently was. One fateful day, I ran into Felicia at the restaurant beside the entrance of New Girls Hostel. Felicia was uncomfortable and uneasy when we met. She found it difficult to sip the can of Fanta I had ordered for her, which was before her.

“What’s up, Felibaby?”

“I’m fine Pierre, how about you?”

“I thank God for everything. How about Tracy and Bussy? It’s been a while”.

“Tracy’s fine”.

“Why is your friend avoiding me, Felicia?”

“Who, Bussy?”

“Yes, Bussy…”

“I really do not know, but you can call her to ask her”.

“Call her?” Listen Felicia, I’ve called, texted, waited and tried everything, but all to no avail”.

“Maybe, she needs more time for her studies”.

 I relaxed on my seat and gazed at Felicia. She carefully avoided my eyes after her last statement. It was clear that the three girls had all conspired to execute a particular plan against me, which I had no idea of.

“I know and understand that Felicia, but she could’ve told me orally… and any other thing she was not comfortable with”.

  Listen Pierre… please do not think that I planned anything mischievous with your friend. You must understand that we three are currently in different blocks inside the New Girls Hostel, so we do not meet each other often”.

“You have no idea how I feel, Felicia. I mean, it’s not fair. If I’ve hurt her in any way, why can’t she tell me in person or send a text message. I haven’t offended her in any way, have I?”

“I wouldn’t know that, Pierre”.

“I took a deep breath, before my happy looking countenance turned into a serious one. Felicia noticed it and tried to use forever in sipping her can of Fanta.

“Is there another guy in the picture, Felicia?”

“Jesus, I wouldn’t know. Bussy doesn’t discuss her personal life with me. The last time we spoke was in the fellowship… on a Sunday, we admired our outfits, that’s all”.

“Well, if you manage to see her or run into Bussy, kindly tell her that we really need to see and talk”.   

I rose to my feet and headed for the rear door.

“Thanks for the drink”, Felicia’s soft voice echoed behind me. I hurried back to my hostel and forgot about Bussy for a while when my mum called me from Switzerland. Speaking with my mum made me forget about my worries. I didn’t know whether she was an actress before. One minute, she sounded like a loving nurse, the next moment, she was cracking jokes like a crazy comedian. We discussed about a lot of things, including my father’s businesses. We even talked about his kingdom which he was currently presiding over. My mum wasn’t happy over my decision not to attend my father’s weeklong birthday events and colloquium.

“So, my beloved Pierre… is there any girl in your life?”

I was stunned by the sudden question from my mother, and smiled.

“Exams will soon be around the corner mummy… I don’t have time for that”.

“But you know that you’re now a man… you are no longer my over-protected baby again”.

“I know that ma, but let me finish with school first, then we will talk about girls and girlfriends”.

“Is that what you think? In that case, I’ll patiently wait”.

“Girls are everywhere ma, please don’t stress yourself”.

“No Pierre, not just any girl. You are my son, the heir to the throne of Igala land, and a descendant of Idu, so it’s not just any girl you’ll be picking to make a wife… okay?”

“Got it ma… hope you practice yoga?”

“Yes, my darling, I still make out time for it. You should see your mama now Pierre honey, she is fit as a fiddle”.

We both laughed for a while and gossiped about her co-wives, who were far from being fit, due to their sizes. After we bid each other goodnight, I returned to my books.

Sometime later, I sat outside our lecture hall, while I and my remaining course mates waited for a particular lecturer to arrive. The weather was scorching and many law students had their jackets pulled off, and headed to a nearby stand to get chilled bottles of mineral water. Since I was a lone wolf in nature, I sat alone on the concrete steps leading to the lecture hall and watched the students. They walked back and forth, and I paid no attention to anyone in particular.

“Hello Pierre A-b-u-t-u. Hope I pronounced your name correctly?”

I turned to see who was talking to me, and immediately recognized the voice. It was Aurellia, one of my course mates from the south-southern part of Nigeria. She was a year older than me and belonged to a clique of girls who were always seen together Aurelia was a combination of big, fat and huge. She had a deep voice and a permanent frown upon her face. Even when she smiled, the frown was still visible. Sometimes, I tried to imagine how her baby and childhood pictures must’ve looked like.

“Can I sit beside you?”

“Sure, why not”.

“Do you think this lecturer is still going to come?”

“I don’t know, but let’s just wait till the period is over”.

“The class rep. is not saying anything, and the weather is-”

I believe you’ve gotten used to it by now?”

“How’s your friend…Bussy?”

“Oh, Bussy… she’s fine”.

 I noticed a thin smile on Aurelia’s face, and wondered what she could’ve been up to.

“Some of the girls in this school are funny…” Aurelia continued, as she brought out her large Blackberry mobile phone.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, you know, no matter how much you care for them, once you lack a car, they are bound to misbehave before they eventually leave you”.