I was raised in
a very strict home, boyfriends were not allowed while you were in High School,
so I never really dated anyone till I got into the University.
I had been
warned of the “Jambite’s rush”, this was the slogan then and it meant,
returning students (boys) coming all out to get the fresh ones (girls) before
they (the girls) would know who was whom.
It was a common
thing to get 5, 7, even a dozen guys asking you out in a single day.
There was this particular
Wednesday, and I must have had half a dozen “toasters” (guys asking me out on
dates)…at that point I was so angry and was being very snobbish because I
wasn’t having a good day.
I was supposed
to sign these course forms with a lecturer…it was a long queue and in the
middle of signing the forms, the lecturer got up and left without a word.
We thought he
took a break and would soon be back but after two hours of waiting, we realized
he had gone for the day.
I almost cried and just wanted to go home and pour water
on my head…I jumped on an “okada” (commercial motorcycle) in front of the school
gate and as the guy pulled out to leave, the motorcycle fell…my clothes were
all dirty, my top was torn, I had a cut on my left leg and I was so embarassed that I couldn't hold back the tears.
Some people came
over to help, some were laughing while some other guys were going to give the “okada”
rider a beating of his life.
I sat on the
curb and was just done...if only there was magic that could take me out of there.
It was a well-blended feeling of anger, sadness, frustration and
regret…my mum had warned me times without number, never to take commercial
motorcycles because they were unsafe but then, they were so quick, convenient
and they dropped you right in front of your hostel.
In the middle of
this, I noticed this guy as he pulled over right next to me and got out of his
car…he helped me up and got some sachets of “pure water” to wash my legs and also my
face. He told me not to worry about getting another “okada”…that he would
drop me off, anywhere I wanted to go.
“My name is Bayo…by the way”, he said,
as he opened the passenger side door of his car for me to get in.
“I’m Bidemi” I responded.
“It’s nice to meet you…the ‘not so’ nice
circumstance notwithstanding” There was this sincerity in
his eyes and I could tell he genuinely felt for me.
I wasn’t in a
chatty mood so I just smiled. He dropped me off at my hostel and told me to
take care of myself.
“See you around” he said as he drove
off.
I was still
sleeping later that evening when I heard a knock on my door…I got up, opened
the door and there was Bayo. He smiled and asked how I was doing.
“I think I’ll survive and pull through” I replied with a chuckle.
He was very articulate, eloquent and funny…I didn’t know he had spent four hours in my room. He told me he didn’t really own a car but was driving his dad’s car because the owner was out of town and didn’t want the car sitting in the garage for that long.
It was almost 12 midnight; we talked for another half an hour or thereabout before he drove away
“As soon as my old man returns, we’ll be floating okada together…but I promise not to let you fall again sha o, ever” That was the last thing he said as he left that night.
Something in me just wanted to see him again. He was different from those other annoying guys…he was real.
We went from there and we became very good friends. We would talk for hours…we had so much in common and he was such a sweet guy, down to earth and very confident.
We talked about our families; he told me how he had lost his mom while in Elementary school and how his dad refused to remarry and had been there for him all along. There were three of them, a sister and an elder brother…I could tell his dad was his hero.
He told me how he had learnt devotion, integrity, sacrifice and hard work from his dad.
How hard it was when he lost his mom and how his dad was a rock for all of them during those trying periods.
He was just so easy to talk to and he had a word of wisdom for every situation. He was such a smart guy…he was a 2nd year student of Geology and his dream was to work with an oil company in the future.
We never really defined our relationship at first but the feeling was mutual and we loved each other’s company.
He was very good in Mathematics and would organize tutorial classes for me and some of the girls in my hostel. They really liked him…I remember this girl in my hostel, Bimpe, she used to call him “a rare combination of good looks, exquisite fashion sense and brains”.
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