THE ORIENTATION episode 8

Ever since I left youuuuu, I’ve been to hell and I’m back. Now my baby I, I wanna give you all my body and souuul. In fact I want to give you, the keys to all that I got, ‘cos you’re my heart…..”

Tuface Idibia’s ‘My Rainbow’ echoed in the large confines of the conference room at ConTact Media, effectively jolting Esohe out of his slumber. The young man had been drifting off in a swivel chair, mouth agape; a pencil peeked out from behind his ear. Esohe looked like his eyelids had been glued shut with drool sliding down the corner of his mouth as he looked around for the source of the disturbance.  
Angry stares were shot in the direction of the owner of the phone. There was an unwritten no-external-interference agreement between everyone in the conference room.

Mimi cast an apologetic glance around while stifling an uneasy laugh. She took a quick look at the caller ID and hissed in disgust at the phone.

“Take it easy na. Are you a snake?”Melody from the Publishing Department said to her.

Mimi sent a scowl in her direction which silenced her. She methodically changed the sound profile on her phone to Silent and tried to focus on the brainstorming session at hand for the company’s new project. She looked on the marker board and re-read the subject of discuss: Designing an ad campaign for Beta Bites, a range of organic food products.

In a fit of frustration, a voice in the room threw open a jab at the product “Their bran flakes tastes like cardboard soaked in cold water starch.”

THE ORIENTATION episode 7

Continued from THE ORIENTATION part 6THE ORIENTATION part 6

“Is today talk about George day?” George snapped at his loquacious friend.

Aunt Lilian chuckled. “Oh don’t be silly sweetheart. Every day is talk about George day,” She said winking at George.

“George is grumpy today sha. Mimi what really happened last night?” Wole asked.

“Wole, that’s enough. No matter how curious we are, George deserves some privacy.” Uncle Chuks said firmly, earning a smile from his wife.

George was glad he had his protector and defender was with him. Ever since Uncle Chuks promised to be his protector, he always came through. He heard Mimi’s words that stopped his heart.

THE ORIENTATION episode 6

First of all,  Meet the authors of the exciting new series, THE ORIENTATION.

 

Have you been lagging behind? Catch up…..

THE ORIENTATION part 5

THE ORIENTATION part 4

THE ORIENTATION part 3

 

And now…….part 6

Breakfast at the Chukwumatis

________________________________________________________________________

Are you two going to join us for breakfast? Or you want to watch us like film?” Aunty Lilian’s stern voice was the knife that sliced the tension in the room in half. Her arms were working on the strings of her pink apron as she untied them from behind her.

Mimi stared down at her plate in mortified silence. Why couldn’t my attempt at sneaking out been successful eh? This is not the way I had imagined. she thought. The taxi she had called was probably still waiting in front of the house for her. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat. Looking down, she realised she was glad that she had managed to find good clean clothes of George’s that fit her. The torn red dress from last night in the harsh light of morning would have made her look like a prostitute heading home after a tryst. She battled the strong urge to run her tongue across her teeth. That’s what happened when you only gurgled mouthwash instead of brushing properly. Mimi dared to glance up and caught George scowling at her.

Michelle

This is a poem by a blogger and spoken word artist whom I greatly admire, Koromone Koroye. She’s a fellow Nigerian and Piscean gaining international recognition for putting her thoughts into words.

She read this poem called, “Michelle,” which is her tribute to First Lady Michelle Obama at Hofstra’s Black History Month reception and I had to share. Enjoy!

Notes From Prison continuum

So in 2012, I entered into this competition organized by fellow blogger, Donald Tumbia (Sleeick Stories). The challenge was to write an ending to his popular series, Notes From Prison and guess what? I won!!!!.
Read the Notes from Prison series here.

Notes from Prison part 1
Notes from Prison part 2

Notes from Prison part 3

Notes from Prison part 4

And now the winning conclusion……..

Cynthia Leonora Amande’s, sleeickwriter 2012, Notes From Prison Continuum

He gazed at the birds up above. Even they were flying in pairs. A saddened look fell upon him. He picked up a set of notes from the beach sand. And he wrote the word…Claire. And then he wrote…Revenge.

The rain pelted down turning calm gutters into raging streams. Chaos ruled the streets as people jostled for shelter from the downpour. Wind, vapour and darkness, it was. An unfriendly trio. The wind belted out in fury, whisking rubbish bins high into the air and taking umbrellas in its wake. The darkness that permeated the air was almost portentous.

This though, for this one man, was most welcomed. He moved through the rain with such amazing stealth for a man his size. A man of unwavering purpose he was, even in the midst of the chaos. He knew they would not be expecting him, at least not in this weather. That was his edge. The warehouse was remote. It sat the edge of the docks, the perfect den for an underground street gang. The security men were negligent as usual. It was almost disappointing to him. He had anticipated spilling some blood.

Shades of Sadness

Your face will start wars. Mother used to say.
I am no Helen of Sparta whose beauty started the war between Troy and Greece.
I started no wars.
No one will fight for me even.
I lay there in the bath tub staring with morbid fascination at blood that turned the bath water a pinkish hue. A crazed smile on my face. It didn’t hurt so much. My hand had grown numb and my lips trembled from the cold. If the bleeding didn’t kill me, the hypothermia would. Anyway, it was win-win situation.
You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes right at that moment before you die-Yes,that- mine was like a slideshow of poignant memories. Voices from a not-too-distant past called to me like ghouls from the grave.

THE ORIENTATION episode 10

“Hey babes, aren’t you going to the gym today?” Sharon asked as she backtracked towards Mimi’s room.

It was a hot Saturday morning and she was dressed in a slack grey Reebok Running Essential tank top and black Jockey Sport Pedal Pusher Capri leggings. Her hair was held back with a white hair-tie and her face shone with morning perspiration.

“Nah. I’ll just stay here and meditate” Mimi replied as she went through the mechanical motions of tidying her bed. Hosanna by Hillsong United drifted from the speakers in the room making Sharon smile. The recent past events in her friend’s life seemed to have jolted her back into the arms of God. Sharon remembered the book of Isaiah Chapter Ten where the Lord allowed the Assyrians to torment and oppress the Israelites which inadvertently drove the Israelites into prayer.

Indeed, God sometimes uses pain to get our attention. The sweet burning smell of orange, lemongrass, basil and geranium from the scented candle on the nightstand combined to give the room an otherworldly ambience.

“Sister, so when I’m busy doing physical exercises, you’ll be here doing spiritual exercises. Kai! Don’t I wish I could pray this fat away” Sharon grumbled.

“Don’t worry I’ll ask God for divine strength on your behalf” Mimi said playfully.

“I need more than divine strength for the kind of workout Fabian has planned for us today. I need food” Sharon said with a dramatic sigh. “I secretly think that guy is gay. Maybe it’s his tiny shiny blue tight Spandex workout shorts. Anyway, who am I to judge?” she added as she walked towards the main entrance door.

“You just did” Mimi shouted after a friend before realizing her voice had been high. She was still very testy over the word ‘gay’.

Who am I to judge? The words replayed in her head over and over again. Who was she to judge? Her smile collapsed into a frown as she pondered George’s bombshell of a confession.

Your answer Mimi. Yes, I am gay.

THE ORIENTATION (Filler)

“Guy na, which kain talk you dey talk for mouth so?” he fumed
“Guy, no vex. Na so I see am. My babe is changing apartments and I have to help her move. It’s not something I can opt out of because I want to hang out or something” came the reply
“Oh boy! You’re whipped I tell you! Whipped!” Josh screamed into the mouthpiece as he hung the phone.
He took a swig of the Jack Daniels and looked again at Mimi’s picture.
“Shit!”

White Shorts and Camp Nights

Everything they say about NYSC camp is true.

For three weeks, you may forget your name.
Forget your school.
Forget your accent even.

Most times, you may forget those outside the four walls of the camp. Out of Sight, Out of Mind, they called it.

THE ORIENTATION episode 9

“Are you gay?”

George’s head shot up and his gaze fixed on Mimi as he heard the dreadful question. His Almond Fruit, Smarties-crusted Ice-cream seemed to melt under the glare of the words. He had not expected such a blatant question.

“I-I r-resent that question” George sputtered.

“That’s not an answer George. I simply asked, are you gay?” Mimi continued, holding her ground, firmly. The room seemed to heat up. By a stroke of luck, the Helgado Delicio eatery at Ikota, Ajah was near-empty. The tension mounted with each tick of the fancy Italian looking clock on the wall just opposite them. Mimi had a can of Coca-Cola on the table in front of her. It was supposed to be cool and refreshing but for some reason, it irritated her. The chair also seemed to itch. Everything was repugnant in light of the situation facing her.

“I said I resent that question. It is derogatory and downright insulting” George retorted, voice low but hard.

The Liebster Award: Blogging Tribute!!!

So I recently discovered that I’ve been nominated for the prestigious Liebster Blog Award for bloggers by my favorite movie reviewers Sodas and Popcorn. My first thought was: An Award? yay!! *chicken dance* + *electric slide* (Not a pretty sight mind you). I know you’re thinking, Which award is this one again?. Well, since you’re being such a nosey somebody I’ll tell you. It’s an award for bloggers with less than 200 WordPress Followers. (Let us not dwell on that less than 200 followers too much. God dey!).

Now for my award Thank you speech (which I was reserving for my Nobel Prize *rme*)- I just wanna thank Sodas and Popcorn for believing me good enough to even be nominated.

So there are some basic rules and guidelines to follow once you’re nominated for this award(just like terms and conditions *sigh*) which are listed below:

The Rules

a. Thank the fellow blogger that nominated you – Check!

b. List 11 random facts about yourself

• I have never owned or played with a doll in my life (I really don’t dig playing with inanimate objects especially if they aren’t toy cars or have huge LCD screens attached to them).
• I once got drunk on 3 cans of Smirnoff Ice back in 2nd year (First time!), earned me the nickname Smir for weeks. (Not Smiggle *straightface*)
• I wanted to be a physicist in high school (wayy before Sheldon Cooper)

SingleHood episode 5

My heart was beating in a staccato rhythm but I’d be damned if I showed it. Tola was coming over in a bit. I didn’t know what to expect. A part of me was still hoping this was all a prank, borne out of her desperation to make me committed to her. Women had been doing that for ages. After all, this guy I knew, Jamiu had only married his wife Chisom because she was pregnant.

Married to Tola? I took a large gulp of water. God could not be that cruel to me na?

“You can be hap…

“You can be happy in the face of adversity.
Its a choice that you make daily to either
rise above your difficulties, or lay face
down and drown in the negativity.
Neither way is easy both roads takes
strenuous energy, but only one course
gives you the power to defeat your enemies.”