ZIK'S FLATS

All the blocks of Zik’s flats hostel looked alike. They were old buildings with cracks on all the walls. Melvin wondered what kind of weed they were that grew freely In between the cracks on the walls. The Spirogyras that dotted the sides of the building looked very healthy like carpet grasses and gave it an ugly dirty look. The side walls towards the back were stained with greenish liquid dripping from the broken sewage pipes on the wall. And the environment smelt awfully. The sight of the building reminded Melvin of the dilapidating part of the uncompleted back of his father’s house at Aba used as bath room now. He entered through the dark staircase by the right side of the door. Pleasant smell of curry and other food spices flowed into his nose and he closed his eyes to inhale more. Two girls on the ground floor caught sight of him and screamed “Ogo! Ogo!” He smiled reminiscence of what John told him in the morning and continued on his way up. Some girls at the veranda of the first floor scampered into their rooms with lightening speed as Melvin came up the stairs. The sound of their hurried feet frightened him. He didn’t see them clearly. He only heard them laugh and say some things he didn’t understand. Only their cooking pots sending out bubbles and white smokes on top of small green stoves made some putuputu sound in the noisy veranda .The clamour increased as more girls pushed out their heads from their rooms and shouted:

 “Driver! Driver! Driver!”.

He didn’t understand that too. His mind was blinded towards any ridicule that may come from the hostels. Excitement had taken full possession of him like alcohol in a drunken man. At the entrance gate of block ‘A’, he had bumped into another boy coming down the staircase with his girl friend; hands locked at the elbow.

“Oh! I am sorry.” He said and swerved and walked on without looking back. The boy just sighed and said nothing. He climbed the staircase to the second floor.

“Ogo noo!” a girl washing at the corridor greeted him derisively.

He smiled and said “ndewo” and continued on his way to Uju’s room. He couldn’t bring himself to use the name boys called girls in their hostels yet. He would have called her “tanker”. He would have had a good laugh. No other person was at the second floor corridor where the flavour of burning rice wafted. Maybe they were all busy in their rooms or still at school. The corridor was unexpectedly quiet, the kind of quietness that contrasted with the boisterous excitement inside of him. He knocked at the door.

“Come in if you are rich and good looking”, a shrill feminine voice said from inside the room.

Melvin opened the door slightly. Sala lay on her bed facing the ceiling with a novel in hand.

“Sala how now?”

She heard Melvin’s voice and jumped up immediately and adjusted her skirt. She was in a yellow short skirt and a white translucent singlet that hugged her tightly.

 “Yeah! K.C!” She screamed and Uju turned and hugged Melvin loosely.

Uju was in a towel wrapped round her body from her chest to half her laps and a shower cap on her head. And her body shone with moist like she just came in from the bathroom. She was about to unwrap the towel when she saw Melvin and fastened the ends abruptly.

She was careful not to rub off some water on Melvin. She was also careful not to slacken off the ends of the towel that she pushed under her armpit. She placed her hands on Melvin’s shoulders and watched him like a cloth hung for sale; Melvin only smiled back shyly without a word.

      “How was your journey? How are your parents? What did you buy for me? What…” She bathed him with questions without waiting for answers.

      “I have good news Uju.” Melvin said still smiling broadly as if he didn’t hear any of the questions.

      “What is it?” Uju asked drawing closer as if to gossip.

      “Just guess.”

       “Your admission?” She guessed more like a question, pointing at Melvin’s nose like a conjurer.

      “You are right, am going to pay my acceptance fee tomorrow.”

      “Oh My God!” She screamed and held Melvin’s head and pressed him against her body. “I am so happy for you.”

      “Congratulations! Let’s pop something!” Sala cackled, “but I will cut your tail.”

      “You are now a lion,” Uju yelled.

      “Clawless and toothless, with a very long monkey tail,” Sala echoed, giggling mischievously.

      “Shut up Sala!” Uju snapped, feigning anger and they all burst out laughing again. Melvin smiled all through. It was like the happiest day of his life; he felt fulfilled; he had always longed to be called a lion as every other student of the University of Nigeria.

      “Okay let me dress up.” Uju hurried over to the other side of the room barricaded by the board on the reading table and Melvin sank into the bed behind him where Sala was. Sala read something from her novel and laughed to herself and said:

      “please don’t mind me”.

 After some minutes of silence, Uju emerged with a cup of tea. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans trousers and black T-shirt.

Melvin finished the tea in a gulp. He stood up and dropped the cup on the table.

“Where is Chioma?” he asked in want of words and the look in Uju’s face grew cold.

“Her name didn’t appear on the supplementary list” Uju said and sighed

“Even after he had paid Fela profusely?”

The cold on Uju face crept in to the room with shadows of invisible clouds that sealed every mouth. She opened her mouth as if to say something. The lips quivered and closed again. She didn’t tell Melvin how much Chioma paid. She didn’t tell Melvin that Chioma had to sleep with Fela in addition to the monetary payment.  She only sighed; a deep sigh that left much to be deciphered. Melvin sighed too and said nothing. That was the way things were. Many of the girls had to sleep with some men to secure admission after paying in cash. Admissions into the school were like scarce commodities only purchased in the black markets. Melvin sighed again and drummed his fingers on the table.

“Are you going?” Uju asked looking surprised.

“Yeah! I want to go say ‘thank you’ to the woman I told you about at ‘E’ block”

“Which woman is that?”

“The one I told you was helping me with the admission. She gave me this admission free of charge you know?” Uju didn’t say a word again, she only arced her eye brow and putted her lips in seeming disbelieve. He wanted to ask Melvin to introduce Chioma to the woman but her lips could not produce the words.

The excitement bubbling inside of Melvin made him restless. Now he wanted to move about freely. Now he was a bona fide lion. He couldn’t wait to go home and show off his new status.