ONOME'S Tales........Episode 3

 Two weeks later , while Mrs Sylvia was sitting by the poolside sipping a glass of brandy and having a feel of the friendly weather ,she heard her phone ring, it was Mr Adetoye on the line, after exchanging pleasantries, he told Mrs Sylvia that he finally got Onome an admission into the Business Administration department in Unilag, she was so delighted to hear this and promised to get back to Mr. Adetoye ,She immediately called Onome and gave her the good news, Onome  was overwhelmed with joy ,it was like a dream come through for her, Onome was to start her registration process the following week .Clara feeling like someone who has Lagos in her palm started advising Onome about her mode of dressing, their conversation went thus;

Clara: Congrats oh… Madam talk say your admission don commot

Onome: Yes oh, all thanks be to God, I’m so glad

Clara: ehn you go try upgrade your dressing sha, nor go dull yourself for Unilag and this your hair, you go de fix Brazilian weave, just give yourself brain, that’s all.

Onome: Please Clara I am going to study, I am not going for fashion parade, as far as my hair is neatly done and the clothes I put on are clean, I don’t think I have issues with the way I look

Clara: If you say so oh, but me I trust my madam say she go arrange your life, before you fall her hand

Onome: (shakes her head and said to Clara) na u sabi

The following week Mrs Sylvia’s driver Tunde went to drop Onome in Mr. Adetoye’s office so she could start her registration process, during the registration she met a girl called Mimi, a girl who  was born and brought up in  Lagos, She helped Onome with some of the registration processes as she knows her way within the campus, her elder sister Edith graduated from UniLag.

At  about noon , they were both famished and  so they headed to the school cafeteria and had lunch, Onome had a soft drink alongside her food and Mimi decided to do a little bit of alcohol, they were done in about an hour, Mimi’s boyfriend came around in his G-wagon to get her home, so she offered to help Onome get home, but Onome refused insisting that her aunt’s driver would be coming around to get her, they laughed at her calling her names, she could care less about that, but when Mimi insisted , Onome gave her the address since she really doesn’t know her  way around Lagos, they took her home and met her aunt in front of the house on a call, immediately Mrs Sylvia saw Onome come down from the car, she hurriedly went close to the car in anger with her eyes speaking a thousand of words even before she could utter one and finally said;

   ‘Where exactly are you coming from ? Tunde is in your school and can’t find you, you also don’t know how to pick your calls or are you just being silly?’

Onome :(Onome was at this point perplexed and didn’t know which of her questions to answer first)  No aunty , I’m very sorry, my friends offered to take me home, and I didn’t even hear my phone ring, I’m so sorry ma.

At this point , Mimi and her Boyfriend ‘Richie ‘got down from the car and decided to make an apology on Onome’s behalf, but her aunt wouldn’t take any of that , so they got into their car and went away.

Mrs Sylvia : have you ever heard of ritualist?

Onome: Yes ma

Mrs Sylvia : no I don’t think so, do you know them before ? you are being stupid , how can you possibly get into a strange car?

Onome: She’s my friend

Mrs Sylvia : Yea right ! Someone you just met today is your friend , you now have a friend that rides a G-Wagon? Do you think you are in the village? Since you don’t have common sense ,I think I now know how to handle you

                Mrs Sylvia walks away, Clara whispers to Onome through the window in the Kitchen…’come….come’

Clara: how far

Onome: About what? Look I’m not in the mood for anything funny

Clara: Relax! your blood too hot, how far that guy na? (Onome is astounded) that car mehnnnnn…..nor be lie!

Onome: hey, stop getting funny ideas, I don’t know him, it’s the girl I know, and that’s her boyfriend

Clara: all join, if your friend bobo get that kain car, na him be say your own go soon happen

Onome: Clara I don’t understand all of these!

Clara : hmmm, ok , make I speak better English, what I’m trying to say is that ,the guy looks cool, and if that’s his car, he’s is a big boy, my point exactly is that the guy has friends doesn’t he?

Onome : maybe, but  like I said ,I really don’t know him

Clara: Relax! My only advice is that you reason like a Lagos girl

Onome: I am still a village girl, who just got to Lagos to pursue her dreams, so don’t push it

Clara: Na so!( laughs so loud) Village girl wen don de enter G-Wag

Onome: Aunty called it G-Wagon not G-Wag

Clara: all join, as far as G de the matter.

Four weeks later, Onome was settled in school, she comes home only on weekends , her aunt had made sure she got a hostel accommodation so she can concentrate on her studies and not bother facing the stress that comes with Lagos traffic daily , there were various welcome parties for the new students , Mimi made sure she dragged Onome along to almost all of it, Onome at this point was already losing focus, Mimi got her new clothes as she could not bear the thought of Onome  attending parties with her in her numerous Cinderella gowns.

     After a while Mimi introduced Onome to Richie’s friend called Alex, who works in an oil and gas company in Portharcourt, but was only in Lagos because he had a training to attend for a week, Onome was shy as she never had a male friend, But Mimi went on with the introduction, Mimi was shocked that Onome wasn’t ecstatic when she in the process of introducing Alex made mention of where he works, the point is Onome doesn’t really know what it takes to work in an oil and gas company(financially). Onome and Alex exchanged numbers and the following day had a dinner date,Mimi promised to go along with Onome,but at about 6.30pm the next day, Mimi called Onome that she had to run home as she got an urgent call from her  folks at home, Onome was a bit disappointed and decided to call Alex to tell him she was no longer coming, but No! Alex is one of those guys who wouldn’t take NO for an answer and told Onome that he would be there in fifteen minutes to get her……..they got to a Chinese restaurant somewhere on Awolowo road in Ikoyi…..