ONE BAD TURN (A Kito Story)

It happened some years ago. It’s a story I have been keeping to myself. But I feel like telling it now.

It was in 2012 at Abia State University, Uturu. I was running my second degree program; I’d already done my first degree at Ebonyi State University, and was working with a bank in Kaduna before applying for my second degree.

ABSU had two microfinance banks then, one inside the school and the other outside the school campus (Up-Gate). Because of the location of the school, there are no other banks around expect for Afri-bank, whose working hours were so sporadic, that almost every student had to use the school’s microfinance banks for all sorts of payments to the school. The day I intended to pay my school fees as a new student, it was to find the branch inside the school campus overflowing with customers. So, I decided to visit the bank at Up-Gate. But upon getting there, it was to find the situation even worse there.

Now, because I wasn’t an undergraduate, I knew how to carry myself. I walked pass the security guys at the gate who were there to control the students in a manner that made them not even think of asking me any questions. I was allowed to go inside the banking hall because they thought I was a staff member. The banking hall was a mess of human traffic. I walked up to the counter, to where a beautiful young woman, whose name I later got to find out was Ego, and smiled at her, introducing myself to her as a staff of Eco Bank, and that I was running my second degree and I would like to pay my school fees and make some other payments. She was very agreeable, saying she would attend to me once she was done with the person she was attending to.

Ten minutes later, I was done, and was making my way out of the banking hall when a very good looking guy approached me. He greeted me and said that he knows me.

I was, like: “Okay…but I don’t know you.”

He said he was my coursemate.

I said okay, but that I hadn’t noticed him anywhere in the department.

He went on to say that he saw what I did, and he pleaded with me to help him out, that he’d been trying to make his payments for the past four days, and that taking the cash to and from his lodge was a risk he was tired to taking.

I said okay. He handed me the money and I want back to Ego, who accepted the money without saying a word and took care of the payments.

And that was how I got acquainted with Nduka Asonye. This is his real name.

Lectures had started proper, and Nduka and I kept running into each other. We would exchange greetings and that would be it. I didn’t really notice him as someone I should be into, because I had a big crush on this other really good looking guy in my class.

And then, on this particular day, I asked my crush out to lunch and he agreed. We went to the school cafe, and while we were in there, eating, Nduka and one other guy I would soon get to know to be Eme (real name Kingsley Eme Okorie) walked into the café. Nduka saw me and led his friend to my table. We exchanged greetings and they sat with us to have their lunch. When we were all done, I took care of the bill – something I noticed surprised Nduka and Eme very much.

And so, after that day, Nduka started drawing closer to me, and before long, he and I were friends.

In the second semester of our second year, I was with Nduka one day when my mum called me to ask where my International Passport was. She wanted to submit it for a visa, as I was scheduled to go to China to help purchase some goods once I returned home from school for the semester holiday. After the call, I told Nduka about what was going on, and he was pleased for me. He also seemed surprised by the implication that I was from a well-to-do background and asked me some questions about my family, which I answered.

The following day, he invited me to his lodge, an invitation which I declined. I hadn’t ever been to see him since we became friends. I told him that I was not in the habit of visiting people, that I preferred to be visited. He said okay, that he would visit me sometime. While we were talking, Eme joined us. While I was friends with Nduka, I hadn’t warmed up to Eme, and Nduka observed this, asking me why I wasn’t friends with his best friend. He said that it was odd that I’d be good friends with him and not be friends with his best friend. I responded by saying we were all friends already, and I exchanged phone numbers with Eme.

I was supposed to travel home to Abuja on the Monday after our exams. During the weekend, Eme called me, saying he and Nduka would like to visit me. I said it was cool and gave them directions to my lodge. Around 11:30 AM, he called, saying that they were at my gate. I went outside to pick them, letting them into my home. That was Nduka’s first time in my place.

We ate the fried rice I cooked and drank the wine I had in my room. Back then, I used to bring lots of expensive wines to school from home. As we were drinking, Nduka started acting like he was high and tried to kiss me. This was very surprising to me, because in all the time we’d been friends, I had never mentioned anything about being gay to him. I was also pretty sure I’d never done anything to make him wonder about my sexuality. I wasn’t even into him.

While he misbehaved, his friend Eme was just laughing. Of course, I rebuffed his attempt to kiss me, majorly because I was uncomfortable by his presumption that it was something I would ever want. Then I told him to never try that again, asking him why he would think I’d want to do such a thing.

He responded by saying that ever since the first day he saw me in class, he’d been interested in me, and that was the reason why he approached me at the bank. I said that was cool, but that I was sorry to disappoint him – that I don’t do guys. He apologized and I said it was fine.

Around 5 PM, they were ready to leave and I accompanied them to the place where they took a bike home.

On Monday morning, Nduka came to my lodge; he said he wanted to see me off to the park. I told him not to worry, that my uncle had sent his driver to come pick me and drop me off at Enugu airport. My uncle was a lecturer in the school and Nduka knew him.

Then, he asked what I would get for him from China. I told him to tell me what he wants. He said he would like a phone. I said okay, that I would get him one.

As we were talking, my uncle’s driver arrived, and Nduka joined me in the car. He was going to Okigwe and would drop along the way. When we got to his stop, he hugged me and then tried to kiss me.

Again!

This infuriated me, especially because it was now in the presence of basically a stranger. What was wrong with this guy? I thought. I rebuked him sharply, and looking chagrinned, he stepped out of the car. As the driver pulled away, he asked me what kind of person my friend was who tries to kiss his fellow guy. I told him not to mind my friend, that he jokes a lot.

I was home in Abuja three hours later when Nduka called to ask how my flight was. Then he apologized for trying to kiss me in the car. Again, I accepted his apology, reminding him that I’d told him before that I don’t do such. This time however, I told him that even if I was interested in doing this, he would have to give me time to think about it and feel the same way for him that he apparently felt for me. To this, he said okay.

I never knew why I didn’t want to open up to him and be frank with him about my sexuality, considering he’d tried twice to kiss me. I guess Rainbow Jesus was actively trying to save me from the Devil.

Throughout that week, he and I kept on talking on the phone. Eme would also call sometimes and we would talk. I was to leave for China on Friday night. On Thursday, Eme called and asked if I could do him a favour. I said I would if it was something I could do. He said that he needed to go back home but that he didn’t have any money for transport – and could I please help him with twenty grand, that he would give it back to me in two weeks’ time. I told him I’d changed all the money I had to dollars and that he knows I’d be travelling the next day. However, I told him I would see what I could do. Later in the evening, I sent him seven grand, calling him to tell him that was all I could get from my mother. He thanked me and then requested that I also get him a phone from China.

Later that night, Nduka called me to express how unhappy he was that I sent money to Eme and didn’t send anything to him. I told him that Eme had asked for it. He said okay, that he was now asking. I told him I didn’t have any money to send to him. He began pouting and asked if I was in love with Eme, that he had seen me looking at him many times. I laughed and told him (for what was starting to look like the umpteenth time) that I don’t do guys, but that I don’t have any problem with him and Eme actually being boyfriends, that I was cool with that.

The next day, I travelled to China and we didn’t communicate with each other, because I was very busy with the business that took me there. Three weeks later, I was back to Nigeria, and Nduka was the first person to call me the moment I was back on my line. I was surprised by how he got to know that I was back, and he said that he’d been trying my line every day since I was away because he was missing me. I was flattered by this, and asked him if he was joking. He said no, that he loves me that much.

Even the hardest of hearts would start giving in at this point, and I had no immunity against this level of charm. I found myself saying to him that I’d been thinking about him too, but that I didn’t want to commit emotionally to him because I wasn’t sure if he and Eme were more than best friends. He assured me that he and Eme weren’t dating, and that he had his heart just for me.

Things changed between us after that day. We started talking a lot to each other, saying sweet things to each other and making declarations of love over the phone. We kept on with that for two weeks until school resumed.

I returned to school before Nduka (and Eme), and during our phone conversation, we’d agreed that they would come to school the day after my return to collect the phones I got for them, since according to them, their parents weren’t ready with the money they would need to resume school. But because Nduka stays in Umuahia and Eme in Aba, both of which aren’t far from school, it was agreed that they could drop by for the phones.

The next day, Nduka called to tell me that he wouldn’t be able to make it school, telling me to come to Umuahia instead. I reminded him that I don’t visit people, asking him who he would tell his parents that I am if I should come to his house. He said it wouldn’t be a problem at all, that he had friends over at his house all the time. I said okay, that I would think about it.

He kept on haranguing me to visit him, and anytime I made the decision to go, I would get this bad feeling that would make me change my mind. This kept on happening until a week passed.

This bad feeling would persist even when I did eventually go to Umuahia, and everything that happened happened because I didn’t pay attention to it.

TO BE CONTINUED

Written by Jack