OYINADE

~1~

~Oyinade~

As I stepped out of our black crooked gate, I adjusted my uniform, straightening the stubborn creases that stood out on my navy blue high-waist plaid skirt. I closed the gate and walked towards the adjacent black silver-coated gate. It smelled like fresh paint.

Of course, it was painted again. It looked smooth and shiny unlike ours. It was probably the fourth time that the gate was painted that year and it was barely March. I knocked briskly twice and waited. I brought out my comb and ran it through my short black hair. There was still no response. I decided to knock again, this time, with more effort.

The door finally opened and a head peeked out.
"Oh... it's you", he said.
"Come in"
I knew that he was probably not ready and I was getting impatient. I didn't want to go late to school again.
The punishment I received the previous day was still very fresh in my memory. So, I shook my head slowly.

"Okay...wait, I'll be done soon", he said with a small smile.

"No! you do this every single day. You're dressed already so let's go. Why do you still have to go in?", I said, every word laced with evident frustration.

He grinned and proceeded to go in.

"Ade!", I yelled.

He walked in quickly and I followed him.

"Let's go!", I groaned.

"I'll leave you behind o".

I stopped at the front door of his house and turned the door knob. In that same moment, he opened the door and walked out with his black leather bag and a hair brush. He stood and brushed his hair gently. He looked so unbothered and that got me infuriated.
His white shirt was neat and carefully ironed as always. His navy-blue trouser of the same material as my skirt was also crisp from the electric iron he used.

"Do you want to keep brushing your hair or do you want to go to school?", I fumed.

"I can do both", he replied with a smug smile.

"Arrgh, you're so annoying", I turned and walked out of his father's compound in quick steps.
"Are you angry?", I heard his voice.

He was also walking quickly to catch up with me. Was he really asking me if I was angry? Yes! I was pissed. I had to wash the female toilet yesterday and it was all because of Ade. I have always hated gore and bodily fluids and the school toilet was always so messy.

For some reason, I didn't get angry at him and we had walked home together that evening. I guess the anger had stirred up within me and now, I felt like I was going to explode.

"Yes! If it's not obvious enough. It's almost 7:30am and we've barely left our street.", I glared at him.

"Don't worry. We'll get there on time", he said, still smiling.

"On time? How's that possible? We are almost late. We're NOT on time."

"Can you please stop fretting? It's too early. Relax!"

I wanted to give him a resounding slap. He was getting on my nerves and it was deliberate. I glanced at him and noticed the mischievous smile playing on his lips. I suddenly remembered.
We had made a bet that the first person to get angry before the week ran out would run round the stadium in Unilag's sports center.

I know, random and specific but with I and Ade, it wasn't really surprising.
We've had all sorts of weird bets and dares and challenges since we became friends and even more since we became best buddies.

I tried to pretend as though I didn't remember but Ade already caught the glint of realization in my eyes because the next thing he said was,
"I won. You lost. I won and you lost", he repeated those words tauntingly and jubilated as if he won a lottery. He jogged to the front and was a few steps in front of me. He walked backwards facing me so I could see his face, in an attempt to get me even more angry. The street was quite wide and there was barely anyone around, so he knew that he was safe and that he couldn't bump into anybody or vehicle mistakenly.

I bit my lips in anger and my eyes pierced into his skin. If looks could kill, Ade would probably be in the world beyond.

I knew that I had lost but I was not ready to accept defeat so I decided to play 'the victim'.
I raised my arm to my face and acted like I was just noticing the bruises on my forearm.
"Oh, it's going to leave a scar.", I muttered.

He immediately walked closer and picked up my hand to inspect it. He was now walking beside me.
"Who did this to you? When?", he questioned. His brows furrowed and he looked angry.

"I had to wash the toilet yesterday, thanks to you. One of the girls that cleaned with me has really long nails. She scratched me by mistake.", I explained with a sad expression.

We were now at the end of the street, right in front of the expressway, the part where vehicles could move freely.
"What's her name?"
"It was a mistake.", I repeated.
"I heard what you said the first time. Just tell me her name", he retorted stubbornly.
"Stephanie", I stated.

He nodded as if he was making a mental note to be wary of her, to hurt her or to report her to the authorities. He glanced around and I wondered why. It looked like he was up to something.

"Ade, please don't do anything stupid", I said. He has always been like this. Always treated me like his younger sister.
"What do you mean? You know me. I never go against the school rules."

Actually. He always went against the school rules. In fact, a lot of times, he'd drag me into his mess. However, he pretended to be naive.

I glanced at my wrist watch and it was 7:20am. At this point, I knew that even if we ran, we'd still get to school late.
Our school is about thirty minutes away from our street by foot, about twenty minutes if we board a public transport bus, and about ten minutes if we go by motorcycle(locally known as bike). Usually, we'd leave home as early as 7:00am so we could trek to school and we were always on time. Also, sometimes we'd take the bus but that was in extreme cases whenever we were almost late. Taking bikes was never an option though because it was too expensive and I, for one, couldn't afford it, most times, with my measly pocket money.

Although Ade could afford it, still he'd always insist on walking with me. He once offered to pay my tee-fare by bus and I refused. I didn't want him to because I hated the idea of depending on someone or being a liability to anyone. So since then, whenever I don't have enough money for either bus or bike, he'd rather walk with me instead. Thus, because of me, going to school by bus or bike became a once in a blue moon thing for us.

"We are so in trouble", I sighed.
Ade flagged a bike by waving with his right hand and told the rider our destination. The driver nodded, indicating that he was heading towards that direction. So, Ade hopped on the bike, grabbed my bag and motioned for me to hop on too.
I grinned excitedly and hopped on the bike. This time, I couldn't refuse his help because I didn't want to be late. I couldn't bear the mortifying experience of washing the toilets again.

Ade had placed his bag in between him and the rider and placed my bag on his right thigh. There was barely enough space left for me, so I held on to him for support so I wouldn't fall as the bike zoomed off.
Luckily, there wasn't too much traffic congestion so the journey was fast and smooth.

Side note; Nigerians, especially yorubas, usually add 'o' to their statements for emphasis.

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This brings us to the end of this chapter.
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