Chapter One Her shoes were red, with
pointed heels and a hard sole.
Her red gown hugged the
length of her slim and delicate
body, revealing the curves in
the right areas. Comfortable in her outfit, she cat walked
gently along the dark but lively
street. The time was about 8:00pm or
8:30pm. The night sky was
filled with twinkling stars. The
wind blew softly, causing the
trees to bend in different
directions. Power Distribution Company were at their best,
there was no electricity.
Traders who dealt in the sale
of boiled or roasted corn and
plantain continued their
business and customers patronized them. Along the street, some boys
hung around darker corners
with their girl friends. There,
they either talked or
expressed themselves
physically. Oluchi Ubase walked past all
of them, only stopping briefly
to buy two stalks of roasted
corn, before heading home.
She stayed in a three bedroom
bungalow with her best friend, Ajiri Ogaga. Although things
were not rosy for them, they
did their best to pay the bills
and meet up with their day to
day demands. “Ko ko ko!” Oluchi knocked
the front door impatiently. She
was exhausted and frustrated. “Yes? Who is it?” Ajiri’s voice
came from within the house. “Its Oluchi. Please open quick,
I’m tired.” Within few seconds, Ajiri
opened the door. Oluchi pulled
her heels and carried them in
one hand before walking into
the house. “So how far? How did it go?”
Ajiri asked, as she shut the
door and followed behind. “My dear, it was a disaster.”
Oluchi replied. “I just wasted
my time and money on
nothing.” “How? What happened?” “The guy is a complete
opposite of what his profile
pictures showed.” Oluchi
confessed before sitting
heavily on the settee. “You mean he is ugly?” “If he was only ugly I won’t be
complaining.” She brought out
the roasted corns and gave
one to Ajiri. “Abeg, let’s chew
our mouths with this one jare.
Its the only way to relax after a very disappointing evening.” “You never give me the low-
down o!” Ajiri complained as
she took the first bite. “Hmmm…” Oluchi laughed
wearily. “I for just stay house
or I for wear one of my old
jeans and t-shirt go the dinner.
I wasted money buying
expensive jewelry and clothes just so I can look good for a
pauper.” “So he doesn’t have
anything?” Ajiri asked,
frowning. “Ajiri, na one chance I enter
today so o!One chance.” Both girls bust into serious
laughter. They laughed so
hard until tears started to
gather in their eyes. Oluchi, desperate to get a boy
friend, engaged in on-line
dating. The man she had gone
to meet was one of her on-line
friends from a dating site,
singles.com. He said he liked her looks but would love to
meet her in person. His profile
pictures was always of his
home, a duplex and a fleet of
cars. When asked where he
worked, he replied that he worked at Escravous.
Impressed with the little
information at hand, Oluchi
agreed to meet him. They
fixed a date for that evening
and she had gone with high hopes. Unfortunately, when she saw
him, he was different and
embarrassing. Her supposed
date came in a bicycle. On top
of that, he was dressed in a
rumpled t-shirt and jeans trouser. He looked very un-
kept, like what the cat had
dragged in. Oluchi frowned
when she saw him. Although
he apologized for his
appearance, she wasted no time lashing at him and
walking out of the restaurant.
She felt insulted. How could
she spend days preparing to
meet someone who could be
likened to a church rat?” While the girls were still
laughing hard, Oluchi’s phone
rang. Oluchi pulled herself
together and looked at the
phone’s screen. The caller
was her on-line date. “Yes? What do you want?”
She almost yelled at him as
soon as she answered the
call. Before that evening, she
was always so nice to him.
But since her disappointment, she didn’t think she ever
wanted to be nice to him again.
“Don’t ever call this line again.”
She warned. “But you did not give me a
chance to explain.” His voice
came through the phone’s
speaker. “You just got angry
and walked away. Please
Oluchi, let me expla…” “No need for explanations,
David. With all the lies you’ve
told, maybe David isn’t your
real name. So please, just
don’t call me again.” She cut
the call and tossed the phone on the other side of the settee.
“No more on-line dates for me,
Ajiri.” She said at last. “I’m
tired of men and their
deception.” “So what are you going to do?”
Ajiri asked. “I don’t know.” She sighed. “At
least not yet. I think I’ll take a
break.” “Don’t worry my friend. I will
think up something for you.”
Ajiri assured her. ******************* What’s the book title of the
above excerpt?
