#StorySeries: One Night in Ikorodu (Episode Five)

You can read Episode One, Episode Two  and Episode Three and Episode Four of our new #StorySeries titled One Night in Ikorodu

Here is the fifth episode

This is a story inspired by a true-life event, names have been changed to protect and respect those involved.

It’s was past 11 in the night when she called me, I was already asleep, which was weird because I usually sleep late but that day her call woke me up.

From the way I sounded, she noticed I was fast asleep and she was like “should I just allow you to sleep and we talk better in the morning?”. In my mind, I was like “babe talk wetin you wan talk, make I know where we dey go” but that wasn’t really what came out of my mouth, instead I was like “Nah, I’m not asleep, I’m just on bed, maybe that’s why my voice sounds like that” and she was like “abi you are trying to form bedroom voice for me”. We both laughed a bit before she mentioned why she was calling and what favour she needed.

She first told me about her new job and how good the pay is and I even joked about her bankrolling my lifestyle which made her laugh. Then she said, “part of my job needs me to design some graphics and I honestly have no idea how to do that”. She said she needs me to teach her graphic design, oh just in case you are wondering; I’m a graphic designer amongst other things.

I was quick to respond and my reply was this “is that the favour you couldn’t chat me up about? “Teaching you graphic design isn’t a problem, as long as you have your laptop, tell me when you would be free, we do a video call and we do what we need to do” I added.

She went mute for seconds that I had to say “hello you there abi you don sleep?” and when she spoke into the phone, she said “Dave, I don’t want a video call training, I want it to be one on one and the favour I need is for you to come to Ikorodu, so you can teach me”

Now it was my turn to go mute and it was her turn to say “talk naw, why are you quiet?…. hello you there?….Dave?” you know that moment when you are on a call with someone and the person says something that caught you off guard and you pretend you couldn’t hear them because the network isn’t good, that was exactly what I did. I was like “I couldn’t hear you, you want me to do what?” and she repeated it and made sure I heard her loud and clear.

To be honest, at that point, I was like “why I even pick this call self” because at the point I had already vowed that I was done going to Ikorodu for that year but this is a girl I have always liked and wanted to date and oh I need to say this, we have only met once. So in as much as I want to say NO, I also wanted to say YES because I had this quick thought “na another chance to see this babe be this ooo, maybe this time you fit to ask her out again, she go gree.” I also wanted to say yes because definitely, I was going to bill her, I mean she just told me how her job pay is good and she needs my expertise to help her do her job better, obviously “we gas chop that salary together”, so those where my dilemma about the whole situation.

Anyway, this was my reply “omo coming to that Ikorodu na die ooo, like I have already exhausted all my visit to Ikorodu but for you no wahala, you know I got you”. There was a certain change in the tone of her voice, I could tell she was happy, she even said it by saying “Dave thank you, I really appreciate, I know I can always count on you” and I made sure we ended the conversation on a more friendly manner by adding “but wait oooo, you would pay for my Tfare to and fro” she didn’t even hesitate when she said, “don’t worry, I would even give you pepper soup, shebi that’s still your favourite”.

After some other random conversations and catching up, we ended the call around past 12 midnight; yeah it was an hour-long call.