Hello Playloadites,

We have got this heart touching story, titled: “The Thorn In My Flesh” and here is a brand new Episode for your reading pleasure and am sure you’re going to learn a lot from this story..

Gift went into the kitchen and dished out a bowl full of pounded yam and banga soup with enough meat and fish for her student boyfriend.

Francis sat upright when he saw her carrying the dishes.

Francis: “all these for only me?” he asked rubbing his palms together.

Gift: “you deserve even more. You are my boyfriend and I wish that you would be able to eat all that I eat in this house” she said setting the food before him.

He washed his hands and attacked the meal immediately, devouring the sumptuous dried fish in the soup.

Gift went back and returned with a chilled bottle of maltina.

Francis: “shuuo! Maltina even follow join? This one na king’s lunch o, who dey follow drink maltina for this recession?”

Gift: “my mother kept that maltina for my father in the fridge, she kept it for her husband and I am giving it to my boyfriend”

Francis: “ah! What if your father returns and asks of it? I hope he will not beat you o”

Gift: “don’t worry, the only time my parents beat me is when they see me with a man. Just drink, if my father comes, I will tell him that my mother drank the maltina before going for her meeting. I am sure that he will not even remember to ask her about it when she returns from her meeting” she said.

“Okay” Francis said amidst mouthful of food.

Few minutes later and the dishes were empty. Gift carried the empty dishes away while Francis gulped the remaining content of the maltina.

Francis: “mehn, my eye don come down. That time wey you call me ehn, I know say better dey here dey wait for me, that is why I no waste time when you say make I come”

Gift: “its nothing my love. I will do even more for you. If not that my parents don’t allow me go out ehn, I would have been smuggling food to you anytime we cook”

Francis: “I trust you. But baby, I want your own food too” he said moving closer to her.

Gift: “my own food? Which one is my own food again?”

“The food here now” he said touching her laps and moving his hands inbetween her legs.

Gift removed his hands quickly.

Gift: “I told you that I cannot do it. My mother said that if I allow any man into my pant, I will get pregnant and that will be the end of my life because they will disown me and chase me away from their house” she said.

Francis: “they are lying jor. A girl must have sex for like fifty times before she gets pregnant” he lied.

Gift: “hmmn, how do you know?” she asked looking at him suspiciously.

Francis: “our biology teacher used to teach us about reproduction now. I know you will not know because you are always thinking about me anytime they are teaching in class”

They both chuckled.

Francis: “baby please now” she pleaded with him.

Gift: “no, I don’t want to get pregnant” she repeated.

Francis: “how can you get pregnant now? Okay, shebi we don agree say we go elope, if you get pregnant, we go just run go get our own house”

Gift: “no, I can’t do it, I am sorry”

Francis stood up.

Francis: “make I come dey go my house now, since you no want give me my right”

Gift: “ah-ah, why this soon? Are you angry?” she said standing up to him.

Francis: “I no vex, I just want go my house” he said and stepped out but she held him on his arm.

Francis: “wetin? You don gree make we do the thing now” he asked.

Gift: “no o, ah!” she said scratching her head.

Francis: “tor, I want go my house”

“Wait!” Gift said and ran into the kitchen. After few minutes, she returned carrying a black nylon bag popularly called “backo” in local Nigerian parlance.

Francis: “wetin be this?”

Gift: “foodstuff, I got you some foodstuff from our kitchen” she said excitedly.

Francis: “what exactly do you mean by foodstuff?”

Gift: “rice, beans, oil, seasoning, yam, dry fish, cry fish etc. My mother will not know that I took them from our kitchen.

Francis: “okay, you try o. This one na bribe abi na wetin? Anyways, thank you” he said and collected it and Gift saw him to the gate.

At the gate she held on to him in a tight hug. They were engrossed in savoring the warmth of their body that they did not notice when her father approached the compound.

Baba Gift: “what! What is happening here? My daughter outside with a man?”

Gift: “ah, I have been caught. I am in trouble!” she exclaimed and eased her way out of his embrace as if he was a serpent.

Baba Gift: “Gift! What are you doing with this tout?” he barked and Francis took to his heels, holding tight to the nylon bag containing the goodies that Gift had showered on him.

=====

Toke returned home looking sad and dejected. Her mother was in the house peeling melon when she saw her daughter.

Mama Toke: “what is it again my daughter? Why are you back by this time?”

Toke: “mama, they have sent me away from school, they said we should bring money for our Junior WAEC examination. Everybody in my school have paid, except me” she said.

Mama Toke: “ah, I know this kind of a thing would soon happen. What do I do now ehn, where do I get the money from now? How much are we talking about?”

Toke: “Seven thousand five hundred naira” she said as if she was afraid to say the words.

Mama Toke: “Seven thousand five hundred naira! Ah, where do we get that kind of big money from? All I have on me is two hundred and seventy naira”

Toke: “mama, maybe we should go back to hawking. I could help with the hawking until we get enough money to pay my fees” she suggested.

Mama Toke: “who will buy from us? All the villagers have sworn that they will not buy anything from us. The last perishable goods I bought for sale got spoilt the other time because nobody bought them”

Toke: “let us go to the neighboring village, no one knows us there. They will buy from us”

Mama Toke: “they are still hunting for human heads and strangers are mostly the ones who fall victims, I don’t want us to go and get killed because we want to sell tomatoes and pepper” she said.

Toke: “so what do we do? Is this the end of the road for my education?”

Mama Toke: “don’t worry. I will make sure I get you the money even if it means my…you know what, just stay here, I will be back” she said and dashed out of the house.

To be continued.