OYINADE

~12~

~Oyinade~

Ade couldn't stop laughing.
"Really? That was your plan?", he bursted into sporadic laughter again. I found myself smiling as he had such a contagious laugh.

We had just concluded church service and I decided to inform him about how my plan went. I shouldn't have because he just couldn't stop laughing.

"You're unbelievable! All you needed to do was convince them that you can shuffle between your grades and sports. You really think passion and motivational words will convince African parents", he said.
I glared at him in response and he chuckled.

"Okay. That's enough. Thank you, I know I'm at fault. How do I solve this?", I asked.

"Easy. Prove to them that you can balance sports and school work comfortably", he said.

"Argh, how?", I groaned. There was no way I could do that. I could never convince them that I can balance school work with sporting activities.

"Coach Darasimi", he said.
"What about her?"
"Well... although she's young, she's really good with adults", he continued.

"Okay?", I said. I was still confused as to how that was going to help me.
"Prove that you'll be an asset to her running team. Leave the rest to her", he concluded. He had a point. The running team actually needed new members.

Also, they had failed in a lot of competitions in recent years, so I thought; if she sees the passion and talent I have, she'll probably convince my parents herself.

"Wow Ade, when did you become such a genius? Up tops", I grinned.
He raised his hand and I slapped my palm against his. We both chuckled.

"One more thing"
"How do I prove that I'll be an asset to her team?", I asked.
"That's left for you to figure out", he said.

One of the members of the choir department pulled his arm. Apparently, a meeting that involves all the choristers was about to be held. He sauntered off with her.

I glanced around. The church was almost empty.
Our church being the headquarters was to host some other local assemblies under it. There was going to be a general meeting of all the workers from all the branches and the workers in my church. It was scheduled for 4:00pm, so I had to wait while my mum, dad and Ayobami left. Basically, only the workers were still in church.

I sat down on one of the chairs close to the entrance and began to ponder. I needed to think of the perfect way to convince Coach Darasimi.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of me. I looked up and it was Daniel.

Daniel Adeyemo, my class prefect.
What was he doing in my church?
Oh..wow! I took in his appearance. He was wearing a trim nude colored suit with a white shirt and a black tie and it fit his chocolate dark skin perfectly. He looked different.

Our school uniform wasn't exactly flattering. However, a few people still managed to look good in it. Needless to say, Daniel wasn't one of them. However, the suit looked so good on him.
"Hi Oyinade", he said.
"Hey!", I deadpanned.

"Fancy seeing you here", I added with sarcasm. Why was he in my church? Last I remember, we attended the same church but I didn't know that his church had anything to do with my province.

He pointed towards the left side of the altar where the pastors and ministers were. I followed the direction of his finger and my eyes rested on a man in a black suit.