In the space of time - Episode 3

 

5th july 2006
Chuma looked at his wristwatch, it was past 8pm already. He knew with the way he was going, if he didn’t hurry up, it would get really late and he won’t go again. It was a month to his second semester exams and he wanted to go up school to read overnight  in one of the classrooms.  He looked at his watch again like he had forgotten the exact time it was, it was 8:27pm, there was no time again, still his gaze remained fixed on the watch, admiring it like it was one precious medal. It was a valentines gift actually, a girl from his class, Chidinma, had given it to him . They weren’t dating but she obviously fancied him, it was obvious to the whole class and to everyone who knew them. They had been friends since their third year and they were now in their final year. Chidinma was from a rich family, her dad was a politician, he was a member of the National assembly and there were rumors that he would run for governor in the 2007 elections, which was less  than a year away. Chidinma never lacked financially, so she was always spoiling Chuma with gifts, she looked for an opportunity to always get him something, whether it was his birthday or valentine or even Christmas.  So the watch must have cost a fortune or at least a whole lot more than Chuma could afford. 
Chuma wasn’t a very well to do student(finance wise). He had deferred his university admission for about two years because of money  issues

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/in-the-space-of-time

. He lost his father as early as the age of thirteen and he had three younger sisters to cater for. He was the first son, he knew he had to work extremely hard so that his family wouldn’t suffer. You could say that this was a trait which he got from his father. Dee Nnamdi, his father was a very hard working man. He wasn’t poor. He was the vice principal of a missionary secondary school, there in ovokon, Nsukka. The college had given him and his family a house to stay in the staff quarters of the school. He catered for his wife, Obiageli, who was a housewife and his four children, Chukwuma, Mercy, Gift and Nonso. Subsequently, he passed on following a sudden sickness. The doctor said it was liver failure, that had eaten up his system after lasting for  a long time unnoticed. Chuma was just a thirteen year old boy then in jss2, he started working, doing odd jobs like cutting grass in peoples farms, fetching them fire wood, washing clothes for people, just to make the little he could use to support his family. It was really hard for them, but thank God the missionary  school gave them(Chuma and his siblings) scholarships because of the position of their father,  so they never had to worry about school fees and accommodation, only food and other necessities of life. Still it was  hard, there were times, that there was nothing at all in the house to eat and they had to go to bed hungry or not fully satisfied. Obiageli was trying her best but there was not much she could do, seeing she had not furthered her education like her husband after attaining SSCE degree. This was before the intervention of Aunty Ezinne in their lives, she helped Obiageli. With her school cert, she helped secure a job for her in the civil service as an office clerk. 
Obiageli began to work round the clock, supporting her family with the little money she made from being an office clerk, an assistant to one of the officials in their  local government, there in Ovoko, Nsukka. This turned out well for the first two years, but in 1997, when Chuma was in ss1, he was in class on a bright Tuesday afternoon, when he heard that his sister, Gift had been  rushed to the hospital after she had vomited countless times and fainted. When he got there, the doctors said it was food poisoning, and  she needed an operation but they could not start one until they(Chuma and his siblings) provided a guardian or at least someone who would sign for her for the reasons of footing of the bill. According to them, they had similar cases in the past where there was no guardian and after treatment, the patients wont be able to provide the money required and the hospital would end up loosing. In the doctor’s words. ‘her hands were tied’. The least she could do was provide antibiotics but this wouldn’t solve the issue, it’ll just reduce the pain for a little while. 
To cut the long story short. Chuma lost his sister. After so much running around to look for his mum, on getting to her place of work later that evening (he trekked there), he was told that his mother went to Enugu(town) for an errand and she was not going to be back until at least 7pm, it was 4pm, then and his sister was dying. There we no telephones, no means of fast communication. Nothing. And there was no other person who could stand in as their guardian. Aunty Ezinne also lived in Enugu(city) at the time.  After Gift died, Chuma argued severally with his mother to quit being that job and continue to be the housewife she was before, if she didn’t want to loose more children. He blamed her for Gift’s death saying if she had been available when they needed her, maybe and just maybe, Gift would have escaped the dark hands of death. This phase of his life was the toughest one for him as he tried so hard to forget it but it was like every time he closed his eyes, he saw the cold face of Gift and the strict face of the Lady doctor who to him, did nothing to save his sister’s life. 
Chuma packed his bag, filled  it with the books and materials he was set to read that night and a bottle of water. He was walking there with Odinaka, his lodge mate who was also a final year engineering student, but in the department of systems engineering. “Odinaka! Odinaka! Gini ka I n’eme biko?(what are you doing please?)”. Chuma asked sarcastically, even though he knew what Odinaka was doing.  Odinaka was playing a game with his recently purchased Nokia phone. According to Chuma, Odinaka hasn’t left that phone since he bought it. Often time, Chuma would have to hit the back of his head( which was always low and smooth) just to get his attention. Chuma was about to do exactly that but Odinaka noticed, ‘’Odogwu, if you touch me, maka Chukwu,(because of God: a form of making a threat), I will give you correct beating here”. Odogwu was the name his friends gave him. They called him Odogwu because he was the ‘brave’ man of the class, who most girls wanted. The name stuck since their second year, now most people didn’t even know his real name, they just called him ‘Odogwu’.  He was one of the few people that actually stood out. He was smart and handsome, muscular(with really broad shoulders), spoke fluent English and had potential of turning out rich and successful. He had represented his department and school in many inter-state completions, which they attained first position in quite a number. Plus, he was friends with Chidinma, ‘hot, rich Chidinma’. That added to his portfolio. Chuma started laughing. ‘’Taa!  you’ll beat who? Oh, so you noticed me, I thought you could only see this your phone that you’ve had your eyes glued to since morning’’, he said, going forward and kicking Odinaka who was still lying on the bed. ‘’oh oooooh, Nna, ogini du?, I si no gini bu nsogbu gi sef?(what is it guy?!, what did you say that is your problem?’’
After much attempts of persuasion, Chuma finally agreed to get dressed and they were now on their way, up school.  They stayed at hill top. A private boys quarters, about ten to fifteen  minutes walk from main campus. It was late and they both did not have cars, so walking was their best option.  Actually, their only option. They got to where they were going to in about twelve minutes thereabout, the class wasn’t full but their preferred seats were already taken. Chuma blamed Odinaka for this, saying if he had stopped all his gra gra(slow and useless movements), they would have gotten there earlier and taken their seats. The name of the place was ‘new science lecture theatre’,  and the school authorities had just installed Air conditioners in the hall.

Read " When two hearts collide " by the same author ( Ijeoma Okorie )

. So many students usually came there to read overnight. There was power supply and AC, who would want to miss that?  Odinaka suggested that they could still stay in their corner, as just two girls were there, that Odogwu could use his charm, and the girls would gladly well come them. As silly as this sounded to Odogwu, he knew that it would work and it was their only chance of seating at their perfect sit. That place was in an isolated corner away from the rest of the people and hence, the noise of the hall rarely got to them. They took two seats and walked there. ‘’Hi’’, Odogwu  said, the moment he got there. That was until he noticed the beauty that was seated on his perfect sit. The girl looked like a princess. For real. After seeing her, he knew one thing was for sure; if he was going to sit there at all, he would be distracted by her beauty throughout his reading that night. But what could he do? They were already there and there was no going back now.