WHILE WE WERE YET KIDS (Part 2)
To read WHILE WE WERE YET KIDS (Part 1), click HERE
*
The next morning could not come fast enough. So at the crack of dawn, we were awake and rearing to go. In the daylight, the ugliness and utter dilapidation of the environment in which we spent the night was stark.
One of the runs I came to see, a married guy, had called me the previous night, and I informed him of our relocation from Iyana Ipaja to Shomolu. He offered to come pick us up and drive us over to Shomolu.
So the morning saw us inside the perfumed, air-conditioned, plush-leathered Honda of the man I met for the first time that day, chattering and quickly recovering from our horrendous ordeal the night before, as he drove us to Shomolu. His wife was out of town, and he actually offered us accommodation in his place at Ikeja. But as appealing as that was, I wasn’t ready to curtail the freedom this trip to Lagos was offering. I’d go to stay in his place, and the next thing I’d know, all the excitement I was out to get would take a nosedive. The man (let’s call him Mr. Big) actually believed he was the one reason why I came to Lagos. #shakingmyhead The sheer naïveté.
Mr. Big dropped us off at Chibuzo’s friend’s place at Shomolu, and after we all got acquainted with each other, he drove off, leaving me with his word that he’d come back in the evening to pick us up for a date.
Chibuzo’s friend is, um, Ikenna, and Ikenna happened to be squatting with his gay cousin, Chris. Chris was this deliciously good-looking dark-skinned young man in his twenties. He had a vicious boyfriend who had his eagle stare trained on Chibuzo and me from the moment we stepped into the house. Two pretty thangs moving into his man’s place? He’d be damned if he’d sit back and let us fool around with him. He wasn’t Chris’ live-in lover, but we saw him every waking hour we spent in that house, as he wagged his hips by day to the then Beyoncé Beautiful Liar hit track, and wagged them hips again by night to Chris’s thrusts.
But that was none of my business. Chibuzo and I were here, in Lagos, to make a business out of our pleasure. No time for long things, well, not Chris’s anyway. We spent all of an hour on getting acquainted with our environment that first day in Chris’s house, before retouching our appearances and sauntering off to peddle our market in the gaybourhood. All day we were out, soaking in the sights of the city. It was a fun outing, and we came back in time to have a bath, change clothes and get ready for Mr. Big’s date. When he came to pick us up, we waggled our fingers in goodbye at our hosts, and were promptly whisked off to another round of fun.
#sigh We were young and bright-eyed, eager for the decadent good life that Lagos promised. And we got a good share of it. We also got quite the hefty amount of drama that went with it.
Like the evening we were all set to spend with two banker acquaintances, in the house of one of them. We’d just settled down to drinks and the crooning of Luther Vandross in the background, when the madam of the house (you know, the madam with a cock, not the one with a pussy) barged into the house, into the parlour, and ruined the ambience with his enraged shrieking. And boy, could he yell. He yelled at his boyfriend. Scratch that, his partner (I heard they sealed their love in an elaborate wedding ceremony in Ghana). He yelled at his partner’s friend. And he was getting around to us, the two interlopers, with his eyes mad and his expression twisted, when we fled. I didn’t even have time to lace my shoes; I just took up the footwear in my hands, and we ran. Literally. Life was too short to have our good looks ruined by a douse of hot water.
Or acid. #shudder These Lagos ‘wives’ are just not joking with the side chicks at all at all.
Eventually, it seemed we were having too much of a good time, which was rubbing Ikenna and Chris’s vicious bitch the wrong way. Chris was a darling, and genuinely enjoyed the stories we came home with at the end of our sexcapades every day. But Ikenna and the vicious bitch didn’t like us, and they wanted us out. Never mind that we had nowhere else to go. Never mind that I’d burned my bridges with Mr. Big when he came to pick me up one day without priorly informing me, to meet my absence and Ikenna’s loud mouth.
No, they didn’t care. They just wanted us out.
So while we were out each day having fun, they were in, whispering poison in Chris’s ears. We should have seen it coming. The moment Ikenna’s disposition toward us soured and he started to bicker with Chibuzo at the slightest provocation, the moment the vicious bitch started to drop offhand remarks like, ‘Ehen, when una talk say una dey go back East sef?’ – that was when we should have known our days were numbered in the house. Even if I, on some subconscious level, knew Ikenna and the vicious bitch were plotting to oust us, I trusted Chris’s sunny smiles and genuine warmth too much to worry.
So, we were blindsided when we returned one evening to meet Chris’s apologetic demeanour. We had to leave, he said. His vicious bitch had given him an ultimatum – us or him. Well, whatever he had in his pussy must have been matchless, because Chris chose him. To add insult to the injury, he told us we had to leave that night. To add aggravation to the insult on the injury, Ikenna tried to act regretful to see us go. And he wasn’t even that good an actor.
Before I could panic, Chibuzo turned to his enviable Rolodex of contacts in his phonebook, and made a call. The person on the other end enthusiastically extended an invitation for us to come over. And we switched accommodation just like THAT! (snapping fingers #InYourFaceIkenna)
Now this new host is a man in his mid-forties, and was to Chibuzo what Mr. Big had been to me – another naïve, pot-bellied Lagosian who believed this young thang from the East visited Lagos just for him. Let’s call him Mr. Another Big. Chibuzo did not let on to him that we’d already been in Lagos nearly two weeks; somehow, he managed to convince the man that we’d packed our bags that very day, hopped inside a commercial vehicle and made the journey to the West just to stay with him awhile, all without giving him prior notice. These damned service providers and their bad networks sef; MTN had been messing up all day.
Amazingly, Mr. Another Big bought it all, hook, line and sinker.
We settled into our new place comfortably. Mr. Another Big was a sweet man and a good host, and he had eyes just for Chibuzo. Which was fine by me. There was no way I was going to let that average-height, paunchy, sweaty man with a heavy breathing and loud laugh anywhere near me. But he was a good man, and I felt a twinge of guilt every time I had to provide a reason why Chibuzo had to accompany me out of the house each day.
But you know, Karma is a real bitch. And she has no patience for clever boys dancing circles around an older man’s head. When she ticked our names down in her schedule and then came for us, her visit was glorious.
The latest runs we had wanted us to spend the night with them at their luxurious apartment in the island. Which was going to be tricky, because, how would we explain a night-out to Mr. Another Big. I still don’t know how he did it, but Chibuzo managed to spin a yarn that cooled the man’s agitation and got his permission to join me in spending the night outside his home. And so, we went out and had one more hoorah for the night. We returned to Shomolu at dawn. As we approached Mr. Another Big’s house, we met someone letting himself out. We recognized him; he was Yinka, a dude we’d seen a couple of times back in Chris’s house. The moment Chibuzo saw him, he stiffened. And then we got into the house to meet the damage that had been done.
Yinka had thoroughly declassified us to Mr. Another Big. Blown our cover. The breeze from his gossipy mouth had blown, and our nyashes that were opened were grimy with dirt and lies. Heu!
Mr. Another Big was in such a self-righteous rage when we met him that morning. He had no words for me. His entire umbrage was directed at my good friend. So you people have been in Lagos all this time, fucking around, and you have been lying to me! Slut! Ashawo! Liar! He threw every expletive his limited lexicon could dig up at Chibuzo. All the pounds on his overweight body thrummed with indignation. And his expression was snarling as he hurled the ultimate shocker at us: “LEAVE MY HOUSE NOW!”
Not again! And go to where? I wanted to screech. And my dismay went up a few notches when I turned to Chibuzo and saw stark panic etched on his face. The kind of panic that told me plainly that we had nowhere else to go.
And that was when I made a decision – to return home that very morning. I didn’t want to suffer the indignation of another probable relocation. So when Mr. Another Big stomped into his room after his declaration, I told Chibuzo my intention: “Let us go back to school abeg.”
But the panic stayed on his face. Why? He had no money for his return fare; he’d been banking on Mr. Another Big’s generosity. He hadn’t even saved a dime from all the sales he’d made in the gaybourhood market. Can you believe this guy?
So, we went into the man’s room after him, to beg him for a different favour – that he should make good on his word to give Chibuzo his fare home. I was fine. I had money in the bank and my account booklet tucked away in my school bag.
We begged and begged and begged this man. We pleaded. Chibuzo genuinely sobbed. I forced out a tear or two. Omo, the man did not budge, not even to yell at us. He simply maintained a stony, silent disposition, one that seemed to say: When you whores have finished begging, and you’re tired, you’ll still get out of my house.
Time was going. I soon got tired of humbling myself so. I signaled for Chibuzo to follow me out of the bedroom. We re-emerged into the living room where I told him I would lend him the money for his fare. I brushed away his thanks, and the next few minutes were spent on a frantic race to get ready. We were bathed, dressed and packed in record time, and left the house without a word to Mr. Another Big. We took a quick detour to the bank, where I made a withdrawal before we hurried to a bus terminal, paid our fare and settled in at the backseat, where we took a moment to shake off the recent trauma. The bus was soon filled, the driver revved his engine, and the doors were slammed shut. By the time we got to the highway, we had bounced back to good humour and were chattering away about our trip to Lagos.
Presently, I think about that experience and I shake my head in wry amusement at all the things I was up to while I was basically a child. And, um, Chibu, if you’re reading this (and I know you are), you know I still love you, but you think you can tell me when you are planning on paying me back that money? 🙂
Written by Pink Panther
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35 Comments
therealsalte
August 18, 05:48Lolz! I will pay you back on my wedding day pinkie love.
pinkpanthertb
August 18, 05:51Who is this one? Abeg shift joor.
therealsalte
August 18, 09:02You see am?! If I try to joke with u you’ll just push me away. Diaris God ooo.
pinkpanthertb
August 18, 10:41Lol. Salte, no vex. Me sef na play I dey play nau
Dennis Macauley
August 18, 05:58Was I the only gay man who stayed in school and studied?
JustJames
August 18, 06:16Yes.
pinkpanthertb
August 18, 06:18LOL @James
Dennis Macauley
August 18, 08:04James! Are you by any chance throwing shade? *cocks eye brow*
chestnut
August 18, 08:37No dennis…u and me both.lol
chestnut
August 18, 08:44I guess health-related courses do that to u though…
Khaleesi
August 18, 11:42oh yes!! Boring Dennis, while you stayed in school and played the bookworm, we were strutting our young firm stuff, selling our piping hot market, there were so many buyers nau, cos then we hot like akara (mind you we’re hotter but wayyy more expensive now) … abeg no mind me ooo, i also read like crazy back then, the fear of carryover/spillover/extra year was soooo real … i read my books, but i also found time to mingle with a few discreet campus hotties… so @ least I had some youthful fun… if you wish, i can show you how to make up for your lost youth ***sticks tongue out and runs away***
Dennis Macauley
August 18, 17:33Khaleesi? Erm about making up for lost time? (*Looks over shoulder for the other Mr Macauley*), Time and Place?
Max
August 18, 14:30No, ure not..
Chizzie
August 18, 06:07lol abit disjointed but an enoyoyable read nonetheless…kept me snickering and smirking on my crapped bus ride to work and for a moment I forgot about resanitizing my hands and readjusting to minimize contact w passengers I sat next to. I wish my Uni days were just as eventful but then again I went to a cloistered private uni. Nice one
victor
August 18, 06:47Yeah,its one of those things we do. I remember going as far as aba from benin cos of a gay party that we would end up regretting in the morning cos we knew the troubles that awaited us, and just like you, I had to lend my friends their fare when they spent all their money and its still pending. Please if u succeed in collectin ur own money,please come help me collect mine too,lols
Colossus
August 18, 16:23Funny how i lived in aba but never ever heard of gay parties. That town sha
pinkpanthertb
August 18, 16:36What on earth are you saying. I was in Owerri and all the gay parties I heard about were happening in either Aba or Port Harcourt. Never attended one tho. They all seemed to happen whenever I happened to be at home. And at home, my dad rules with an iron fist.
trystham
August 18, 08:28You make terror sound a funny thing. Sleeping in more than THREE diff houses??? I can barely shut my eye visiting anyone’s house for first over night visits. Nightmares of head hunters n ritualists won’t lemme hear word.
@Dennis No b only u o. My goody shoes pass two o. I had pair for everyday spent in school. Plus my ma was ever a monitoring spirit
chestnut
August 18, 08:42Pinky, I would be lying if I said I didn’t envy ur writing skills…the humour, wit, innuendo…great mix! Is dis a true story though? People get liver sha! I was too clueless and cautious to really enjoy me youth…*sigh*
pinkpanthertb
August 18, 10:42It is a true story o. I have quite the colourful past. Thankfully things are much cooler around me now. Lol
sensuousensei
August 18, 08:51This was hilarious! Kai, una bin get power oh! And why did you guyz humiliate yourselves begging that much when u cud have simply lent the money to your friend? Anywayz was a nice adventure.
Ruby
August 18, 11:44Quite an adventure! Sadly, I didn’t do much of travelling out of М̣̣̥̇̊Ɣ state 4 “runs” (thanks to М̣̣̥̇̊Ɣ father with his caging) buh I always made D̶̲̥̅ most of every little “Opportunity” 2 flex D̶̲̥̅ home-based numerous runs. Thank Goodness its all over now n I’ve got ♍e̶̲̥̅̊ someone dat gives ♍e̶̲̥̅̊ all D̶̲̥̅ sugar I need. So inspite of it all, I’m glad. Xoxo
Khaleesi
August 18, 11:46Great fabulous piece!!! I found myself instantly transported back to my youthful days (biko am still in my youth oo, just a lil bit more mature now) … Pinky, you berra start thinking seriously of how you can make a pile of cash from your amazing writing skills. You are gifted gurl!! ***bumps hips with Sista Pinky and saunters off***
lluvmua
August 18, 12:40Lolz @aunty pinky u sef u cannot allow d money slid abi? Lolz aiit send me ya acct numb
Dubem
August 18, 16:10My goodness. Pinky you won’t kill me with laugh. I know this experience must not have been fun at all. And yet here you have turned into such a humorous narration. Good one. I hope this While We Were Yet Kids will become a regular on the blog. Pretty please? 😀
king
August 18, 19:01And isn’t this why u r ever sooo special pinky…great story and even better that it was also a true tale!!
pinkpanthertb
August 19, 05:56Aww shucks, thanks King. 😀
¿¿¿
August 18, 19:59If I know say nah Second class my department go still give me after all my sweat I for flex die! I just dey low key for school with all the market wey be dey beg me. Chai where that time machine dey?
pinkpanthertb
August 19, 05:56LMAO! Pele o, my dear upside-down-question-mark.
enKayced
August 19, 03:00Dear Dennis and Chestnut, no be only two of una waka come like that for school o. I was busy reading and working 2 jobs while my ‘sistas’ were busy scouting runs in my neighborhood. Anyway, since I’ve graduated and I have between now and November before youth service, I intended to do one or two nutty things.
Unfortunately, the new job I’m training for right now may have ruined my chances of facing any similar adrenaline-laced situation.
Thankfully, I have someone that cares enough for me not to go about loitering. Not in this land of Kito anyways!
sexstar
August 19, 04:30nice story but yet laced with so much promiscuity…. can’t tb guys not just sleep with too many Pple… smh
Absalom
August 19, 12:11So queries SEXstar!
pinkpanthertb
August 19, 12:54Huh
Lothario
August 26, 06:28The theme is decadent youth. YOUTH being the operative word…..rme
WHILE WE WERE YET KIDS (Part 4) | KitoDiaries
December 16, 03:04[…] gay trysts. The series was titled ‘While We Were Yet Kids’. (Read former episodes HERE, HERE and HERE). I stopped writing when it seemed to me like I couldn’t remember anything else to […]