eating, we discussed about many things. My eyes were
fixed on her face, as her smile made me
want to tell all the jokes in the world. She
treated me like a brother. She had no fear
of me and attended to me as though it was
her obligation to do so. I had never been in
that position before. I only imagined it.
Right then I found that there was a
remarkable difference between imagination
and reality. We finished eating and she
took the plates away. The TV set was on,
the sound of the ceiling fan could be heard
clearly, and she was talking to me and
laughing all the while. She was a very joyful
being. But in all that made sounds in that
room, all I could here was echoes of
angelic voices miming to heavenly songs as
she was talking. I wasn’t listening to her. I
could only see her lips moving. The
allurements of her lips almost led me to
overcome my conscience and fears. Just
then, my phone rang, and my brief mind
travel ceased. I answered the call. It was
my mother calling to check up on me. I told
her everything I hadn’t told her yet except
that I shared the same room with a girl. A
very pretty one at that. After the call,
Ogechi and I conversed a whole lot. I told
her about myself and she did same. It
continued until about 10pm when she asked
me to join her in prayer, after which we
retired to bed. (On the same bed)
The next day was a Sunday. We prayed and
prepared for church service. She was a
member of Christ’s Embassy. I followed her
there. On arrival, almost everyone we came
across stopped her to say a thing or two
before letting her proceed. I became more
like a bodyguard, having to wait until she
was done with whoever she stopped to
converse with. It seemed to me like she
was really popular there. When we got to
the main building of the church, she handed
me over to a pretty female usher who took
me in and gave me a seat. I didn’t know
where Ogechi had gone to. I expected her to
sit right next to me in that church. Soon
enough, the chairs in my row was filled and
she still hadn’t come. I got my mind off
that and concentrated on the brother who
was taking the opening prayer. Midway into
the service I couldn’t still lay my eyes on
Ogechi anywhere in the auditorium. When
the choir was called out to minister their
song, I looked, and there she was among
them. She hadn’t told me she was a
chorister. The choir director introduced the
song and handed the mike over to guess
who; Ogechi. She was the lead singer. When
she started singing, first thing that stood
out was her angelic voice which made its
way at once to my body system to awaken
sleeping cells and tissues. While the
congregation was getting blessed by the
lyrics of the song, I was all the while
admiring and adoring Ogechi. She was
simply awesome. Her uniqueness kept
unfolding as the days passed.
After service, almost everyone
complemented her for her performance
during the choir ministration. I had to wait
until all that was over. She introduced me
to a couple of the brethren there as
Jesusboy. They kind of marveled at me for
bearing such name. And whenever any of
them asked why I beard that name, I would
say; because Jesus is the one I claim.
Some of them would laugh to that while
some others got short of words. However,
they would all call me Jesusboy afterwards.
They asked Ogechi how she got to know
me, and she said; I met him two nights ago
under an unseemly circumstance and he
turned out to be a good acquaintance. I
know that in no distant time he’ll be up and
serving in one of the units here in church.
She turned to me and said; right Jesusboy?
Definitely! I replied. It will be my pleasure
to make myself useful to the Lord in this
great house of worship. They were all glad
to hear me say that, and they commended
her for bringing me to church. To some
extent, I felt she was proud of me because
of the speech I just made. I wouldn’t know
since I never inquired.
In the evening that day, I wanted to hang
out a little since I was already used to
doing so every evening before I met her. I
asked her if she had anything doing that
evening and she said no. why? She asked.
‘I want to hang out a little. I was wondering
if you would join me’
‘N..a..h., I’ll just stay at home’
‘Look, I know you’re reserved and all that. I
also am, but once in a while you need to
loosen up. And in case you’re afraid ‘What
happened on Friday night might repeat
itself, don’t be. I’ll be there to protect you
if it does’
‘(She lay there on the bed looking at me
without saying a word, probably wondering
what made me think I could save her from
the police) Don’t worry. Go ahead. I’ll join
you some other time’
‘Come on Oge, it will only take a while. I’ll
be so bored hanging out all alone’
‘Then find some girl out there to keep you
company. Like you said, it’ll only take a
while’
‘That would have been a good idea if there
was some girl out there as beautiful as you
are. A pretty girl like you by my side will
give me a memory to hold on to. You never
know what you might derive from this time
out. Just come with me, I beg you’
She still didn’t yield to my plea, but as
soon as I went on my knees, it was like I
had cast a spell on her. I couldn’t believe
that the girl I had spent quite some time
trying to persuade to hang out with me just
consented helplessly. As soon as I knelt
down, she immediately jumped from the
bed and said; I WILL COME WITH YOU. She
said that three times without me saying
anything. I was greatly amazed! I kept that
in mind. That seemed to me like her soft
spot, and I planned that I would use it
whenever she grew tough. So I rose to my
feet and thanked her for agreeing to come
with me. She told me to give her some
minutes to change into something nice. She
went into the bathroom and came out in a
red gown that didn’t go down below her
knee level, with precious stones glittering
all over the gown.
‘You look extra ordinarily gorgeous’ I
remarked.
‘Thank you’ she replied blushing
I stood there for 30 seconds staring at her
with a grin without saying a word. I think
she loved the way I was admiring her
because she smiled all through the time.
Then suddenly she raised her eyebrows,
clapped her hands a few times and said;
‘HELLOO? CAN WE GO NOW?’ I gave her
my hand, she took it, and we left.
AT A SIT OUT
‘What do you care for?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know. Anything will do’
‘Okay. Waiter! Please get us two bottles of
Legend Extra Stout’
‘Legend Extra Stout?’ She exclaimed.
‘Of cause! Thought you said anything?’
‘(Aggressively) Y..e..a..h.., but not alcohol’
‘Oh’ really? How was I supposed to know
that? So now, what do you care for?’
‘You’re really crazy you know? I’ll take
malt’
‘Waiter, please change of order. Two
bottles of malt instead. And tell that
mallam to bring suya worth N1,000
‘Okay Sir’ said the waiter
‘Thank you’
‘Why did you change your order too? Don’t
you want to drink Legend again?’ she
asked.
‘I will if you will’
‘I don’t take alcohol’
‘Well, same here’
‘Why then did you order for it in the first
place?’
‘Because……..(waiter interrupts)
‘Here’s your order sir’ the waiter said as he
dropped our order on the table.
‘Thank you. (Turn to Ogechi) So Oge, you
never told me you were a chorister’
‘Yeah, it never crossed my mind to do so.
But now you know. You have a problem with
that?’
‘Absolutely not. On the contrary, I love
music, as well as singers. Especially
singers like you who can pitch high’
‘Great! Thank you. I wouldn’t be wrong to
assume you’re a chorister would I?’
‘Not exactly. You see, I do music, but I’m
not a chorister. I’ve never been in a church
choir or music group before, but I’ve
recorded quite a number of songs’ I said,
feeling like a star.
‘Wow! You’re a musician! Small world! I’ve
always dreamed of the day my church choir
will start doing studio recordings. I look
forward to the day our songs will go global
and touch lives. We have so much to offer,
and it has to go beyond the four walls of
the church to the world at large. I just don’t
know how soon that is going to happen. My
choir director doesn’t seem to be as eager
as I am to see that happen. And I’ll have to
wait until he does’
‘You’re wrong. You must not be in a church
choir to make that happen. You can always
go solo if you are that eager to reach out to
the world. Who knows if your choir director
will ever buy the idea of getting your choir
to record an album? Maybe all he wants is
just to minister in church. I’m not certain
about that anyway. But that’s a thought you
should take to heart’
‘(Ogechi pondering on what I just said) It
had crossed my mind to do so. I just didn’t
find the right motivation’
‘It’s finally here isn’t it?’ I said confidently.
‘I guess it is. But I’ve never recorded a
song before in a studio. It’s all going to be
new to me’
‘There’s always a first time. Besides, that’s
not what you should be worried about. You
should be more concerned about the writing
and composing aspect of it’
‘That’s the problem’ she said sadly.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Song writing is not really my thing. That’s
the reason why I couldn’t do without my
choir director. He writes our original songs,
and I give melody to it’
‘That won’t be a problem. I’ll do the writing
for you. It is a good thing you can create
melody. And I’ll also assist in that, if at all
you need my help at any point’
‘How come you can do all that when you’ve
never joined a church choir or music group
before?’
‘I’m sorry you may have to direct that
question to G.O.D’ I said, feeling funky.
‘Are you serious about this or you’re just
playing pranks on me like you did with the
Legend Extra Stout thing?’
‘Of cause not! I’m serious. Like I said; I’ve
recorded quite a number of songs’
‘I’d like to listen to your songs. If what
you’re saying is true, then let me listen to
them.
‘You still don’t believe me right? Okay
doubting Thomas. My songs are all on the
internet. I’ll give you a link to one of them.
If you like them,
I’ll give you links to the others. Are you
ready for the link?’
‘Just a second. (She reaches for her pus
and brings out her blackberry z10) Okay,
go ahead’
‘Title is ‘RISE & SHINE’; http://
m.naijapals.com/music.php?id=33247
That’s the link’
‘Okay Mister! I’ll do so before I retire to
bed tonight. Let’s drink up and get going.
It’s getting pretty late’
‘Alright Miss! Whatever you will, that shall
I do’
‘You’re a really funny guy’
‘And you’re the cutest girl I’ve ever seen’
We stared firmly into each other’s eyes
after I made that statement. It was as if I
had dropped the bomb. The longer we
looked each other right in the eye, the
closer our faces got to each other’s. Oh’
my gosh!!! Was this really going to happen?
To be continued.
