Bimpe looked at the watch on her wrist. It was 7 am.
She stood up, stretched, and yawned loudly, attracting the attention of the two students in front of her and the guy sleeping beside her.
She was in one of the small classes in her department. She had gone there the night before to read for her test that morning without distraction.
The test was at 9 am and she needed to be home on time in other not to be late for the test. She packed her books after glaring at the guy who hissed at her for interrupting his sleep with her loud yawn.
She was tempted to insult him, but she gave it a second thought. She was in no good mood for that.
The guy had entered the class after she had settled down to start reading. Bimpe observed that he only read for an hour or two before laying down on the bed, where he slept all through the night.
He woke up around 5:30 am for the early morning prayers and read for 30 minutes again before laying down again on the bench to sleep.
Bimpe wondered if he had sleeping sickness. What then was the essence of coming to class when he knew he was going to sleep? She asked within her.
Bimpe suddenly felt proud of herself. She had done TDB (Till Day Break) without sleeping a wink, even though she felt the urge to drop her book and have a good sleep around 3 am.
All her body ached but the two guys in front of her were motivating her to keep going from the way the two of them were seriously flipping through the pages of their handout every minute.
She put her books inside her bag and her earpiece which was on the table. The earpiece had assisted her in blocking the unpleasant snoring coming from the obnoxious guy beside her. She played some music on her phone and inserted the earpiece.
She remembered what happened at that instance and hissed as she moved away. She couldn't help but voice out the insult she had been holding in.
"Snoring animal", she muttered as she walked out of the class.
As she stepped out of the class, she noticed the sun was already out, which shows how sunny the day would be.
She trekked to the school main gate so she could take a bike home. She was unable to secure a bike on time and she hissed severally in frustration.
Ten minutes later, a bike man stopped in front of her with a grin.
"Ina ne?", he inquired, still grinning, showing his kola nut-stained teeth.
"Cochin church", Bimpe replied, looking at him suspiciously.
"Muje (Let's go)" he told her.
Bimpe was hesitant. "He seems harmless. Maybe he just likes me."
She discovered that men that were out of her league were the ones showing interest in her and it always infuriated her. She was still thinking of how to use the situation to her advantage.
She smiled back at him and board the bike. She knew within her that she was an opportunist lady.
*****
They got to the front of the Cochin church and she alighted from the bike. Then she turned to go into the compound after rewarding the bike man with a smile.
She stepped into the compound and move towards her door when she heard a scream. She moved away from the doorpost in fright.
She heard the scream again for the second time before she ran towards Banji's door. She knocked on it continuously without waiting for a response.
Banji opened the door with a frown and quickly replaced it with a smile when he saw who it was.
"Banji", she called, panting and pointing to the door which was directly opposite his.
The smile pasted on his face turned into a troubled look. "What is the matter Bimpe?"
"Didn't you hear any scream?" She asked him.
"Scream? I thought you were watching a movie", he responded.
"The scream is coming from my room. I haven't been home since last night, I just came back from class now. I can't go in, I'm scared."
"Is your brother home?" He inquired from her.
"I don't know. I was about to insert my key to open the door when I heard the scream."
Banji looked frightened for a while. Then he turned into his apartment while Bimpe pulled him back.
"Banji, where are you going?" She questioned, almost in tears.
"You don't expect us to go in there without anything to defend ourselves or do you?" He retorted in response.
Bimpe heaved a sigh of relief as he rushed in. A few minutes later, he came out with a long baton and went towards the apartment while Bimpe followed behind calmly and quietly.
It was obvious the door was not locked. Banji put his ears to the door but the sounds were muffling and he could barely figure out what the sound was all about. Banji turned to look at Bimpe behind him. He shook his head and held the doorknob as Bimpe got a hold of his clothing.
Then, he pushed the door open and entered with the petrified Bimpe behind him.
The baton slipped from Banji's hand as he took in the sight before him.
A lady was on the bed beside the lifeless Ayoade. The whole room was in a mess and everywhere was bloody.
He felt nauseated all of a sudden.
Bimpe gasped, seeing her brother on the bed, lifeless.
She came out from behind Banji and recognize the girl beside her brother. It was Salamat.
"Salamat", she yelled, as Salamat turned to look at her with swollen and puffy eyes.
"Ayoade", she called to her brother and ran towards his naked lifeless body.
"Don't touch him", Banji ordered, moving close to get a hold of her.
"Banji, my brother", she cried as he grabbed her. "My brother!"
"Please tell me this is not happening. Ayoade is not moving", she sobbed.
Banji hugged her fiercely in consolation as she lamented and wailed.
He wasn't even thinking straight. He couldn't even place what was happening. This was like a dream. He couldn't even think of the first thing to do in situations like this.
Is this how people die? He asked himself. He saw Ayoade the day before on his way to Samaru.
He had been meaning to tell him about his intentions towards his sister, Bimpe. He was in love with her but he knew she wasn't interested in him.
Even though he was a playboy and had many girlfriends, he knew what he felt for her was true love. He tried getting over her by meeting up with different girls every week and having an affair with them. But the feelings increased.
He always thinks of her whenever he was making love to one of his numerous girlfriends. He couldn't help but wonder how she would respond to his touches.
When Ayoade arrived at Zaria, Banji was more than scared to say his feelings out, even though he was doing them indirectly. Even though Ayoade was the quiet type, Banji was always trying to engage him in a conversation whenever they meet. This was to gain his trust.
He knew his fellow dudes don't like giving their sisters out to guys like him or someone they know as womanizers. Ever since Ayoade's arrival, he had been behaving like a good man.
He wanted to discuss the issue with Ayoade when they met in Samaru the day before but felt it would be bad of him to raise the issue in the middle of the road. So he told Ayoade that they would meet later in the day.
Who could have done this to Ayoade? He asked within him. He knew Ayoade was a very reserved person. The wounds on his body were evident enough that he was killed.
"Oh God!", he whispered as he shivered.
If Ayoade was truly killed, then it means the house is no longer safe.
When Bimpe disengaged from the hug, the thought of calling the police came to his mind.
This is the right thing to do in this situation, he thought to himself and began to wonder who the girl was and what she meant in Ayoade's life.
Could this be his girlfriend?
Bimpe turned to face Salamat. "What the hell did you do to my brother?" She pushed Salamat, with tears streaming down her eyes.
Salamat fell onto her buttocks. She tried to talk but no words were coming out. She was numb as fresh tears spilled from her eyes.
"Salamat", Bimpe yelled again.
"What are you doing here and what did you do to my brother?"
"Bimpe", Banji called, moving towards her.
"Banji", she cried again as he embraced her. Then she looked him in the eyes. "Is this a dream?"
Banji shook his head.
"What is she doing here? Did she kill my brother?", she asked, still looking at him with tears in her eyes.
"No", Salamat said more like a whisper, when she found her voice.
"Ayoade is dead", Bimpe screamed and felt dizzy all of a sudden.
"You killed my brother", she turned briskly to face Salamat. The dizziness intensified and she stumbled to the ground, unconscious.
******
Trouble in the house.
I'm so sorry for the late update. Im currently writing exams but I will soon be done
Who do you think is the killer of Ayoade?
Any prediction?
Dont forget to vote for this chapter.