Hi guys, Lil here.
Here's another short tale. Please rate this tale when you're done reading and provide feedback. Constructive criticism is very much needed and appreciated.
I self edit and I'm struggling most times. I'll take advantage of the authors on here who can help me. I apologise for any errors.
Thank you.
During the course of this tale the characters can be seen switching between normal English and Nigerian Pidgin English.
*** All parties engaging in sexual activities are over eighteen ***
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What do you get when you mix lack of sleep for twenty four hours, pot cookies and alcohol?
There are different answers to that question, but most likely, you'll hear people say they'll never try it again. I am one of those people, even though this morning had me eating some more pot cookies. My swearing off doesn't count if two out of three factors are absent. For the time being, I'm swearing off anything alcoholic. Anything that isn't beer, plus no concoctions either.
So how did I get to this point? Why am I making these changes now? That is what I intend to tell you. This is the story, and it began the previous day. It is, pause for dramatic effect, the story of yesterday.
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Looking at the screen, I checked the time and saw that it was four minutes after midnight.
"Hey, I'll be right back. Gotta do something," I said to the girl on the phone. She hummed her consent, and I dropped the phone on the bed and jumped out. I found my way to my roommate's bedroom and knocked on his door.
I've been living with the same guy for five years. We've known each other for six years. Way back when we were both freshmen at the university. The same age, we were just months apart. Iyke was six feet tall, while I (Timothy) was five feet ten. He was dark skinned, with a full beard, whereas I was light skinned with an immature moustache and strands of hair growing on my chin. He was fully Igbo while I was mixed. Igbo and Efik. Somehow we'd stuck together all these years.
Somehow we'd stuck together all these years.
"Nwanem, happy birthday!" I said with a smile on my face when he opened the door. He came out of the room and closed the door. His girlfriend was inside, probably in a state of undress, so I guess that's why he didn't let me in.
"Thanks bro for the birthday wish," he said, patting my shoulder with his right hand.
"So how we dey run am?" I asked, switching to Nigerian pidgin.
"We suppose make cookies yesterday, but we no see the weed. Na you we been dey wait for."
"No be my fault na." I defended myself "I been ask you weda your babe go come house early, you say no, say na around 8 pm she go come. Na why I no bother again."
He nodded his head in understanding as I continued,
"Anyhow sef, I go waka with Jeme go buy for where she dey buy her own. Based on say the guy wey I buy from last time, e own no too plenty."
"Okay. Issue no dey," he said.
"Yeah."
"Which time wey una dey go?"
"She say make I come meet am by 6 am. Apparently, the guy dey always dey available any time."
"Ah, even better." he said. "Me and babe dey plan make pancake for morning before we make the cookies and the spaghetti."
"You dey plan put weed inside the pancake?" I asked, with an incredulous look on my face.
"Yup," he said, proceeding then to do a weird dance that reminded me of Chandler Bing. Chuckling and shaking my head, I watched him crazy dance his way into his room before I went back into mine.
I picked up my phone as I plopped into bed. Taking it to my ear, I asked,
"Still here?"
"Yeah," she replied.
"Oh good," I said, "So where was I?"
"You were telling me a story about a girl you went to high school with."
"Ah yes, Ella."
And so I continued telling her the story of how I met Ella, how we were really close friends until something happened and we broke apart. We did eventually become friends again, but we were still patching things up. We are trying to get back to the level we were at before.
Who was I telling this story to? Who was the girl on the phone? Tiana. Christiana, if you weren't me. She was my girlfriend for two years and broke up with me a few months back. It wasn't me; it was her. She had broken up with me after moving to Croatia. It wasn't me; it was her. Cliche, I know. She was sorry and hoped we would still be friends. In truth, the distance was the deciding factor, besides the fact that it's not like I could just pack up and move with her. In a fairytale, sure, but not in my reality. She was a really good friend, and I didn't want to lose her anyway, so I accepted. It's been difficult sometimes, but that's a story for another day. Back to this one.
So yeah, maybe when I go back to Calabar we will work things out, " I finished my drawn out tale.
She yawned, and that caused me to yawn as well.
"Did I bore you?" I asked.
"Oh no no," she replied quickly, "I'm just a bit tired."
I checked the time; it was two a.m., three in Croatia because of Daylight Savings. What had I been saying for hours? Damn.
"You should sleep," I advised.
"Yeah, I guess I should." she said, sounding a bit reluctant. "What about you?"
"Neh, I'm not gonna sleep."
"Why not?"
"I gotta be up at six a.m. Gonna meet up with Jeme to get the weed for the cookies."
She burst out laughing.
"What?" I said I felt self-conscious.
"Who goes to buy weed at six in the morning?" She was still laughing as she teased me. "I can understand, say five a.m., then it would mean the guy probably didn't sleep, but six seems wrong."
"Yeah, well, Jeme says he's gonna be there, so it doesn't matter."
"Uh huh," her laugh still stings my ears.
I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"Just stop," I pleaded.
"Fine, fine," her laughter eventually fades, "I'll stop."
"Thank you," I said, "Now weren't you about to go to sleep?"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't rush me. Geez"
"I'm not," I said.
She yawned again, and I couldn't stop myself from joining her.
"Can you stop yawning?" I said, in the middle of my own yawn.