SAVE ME. EPISODE 11

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An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified
city
Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.
-Proverbs 18:19
——————————————–
“Corper Joseph, am sorry I can’t excuse you till closing
hours”, the principal said to him. He had come to take
excuse from his principal so as to go home and meet his
protegee. The young girl had called him that she was
currently in front of his house, and he had called James
who visited him to take care of her.
It was not her first time of visiting him, so she could find
her way around his kitchen. He could remember the day
the young girl had walked up to him after bible study
service…
“Good evening sir”, she said almost kneeling for him. He
was used to such gestures.
“How may I help you ma?”, he said seeing that she
seemed to be the shy type.
“Erhmm…, I don’t know how to really say this sir, but
ehmm, I have a leading of the Holy Spirit sir”, she said
still unable to pass her message.
“Okay…why don’t you calm down and talk to me like your
elder brother”, he quickly added, and it worked like magic
as the girl took a deep sigh, and said what was on her
mind.
“Can you please be my mentor sir, I want to be able to
divide the word of truth like you did in bible study
tonight”, she said sheepishly with her face like that of a
young child asking for sweet from his mother.
“Oh! your mentor? Hmmh…alright, erhmm I will pray about
it and get back to you on…Sunday”, he replied the curious
girl.
He had been convinced that God wanted him to train her
and he had told her he was ready to mentor her on
Sunday. That was how their mentor and mentee journey
started. Despite their phone conversations, she still came
all the way to Mowe Ogun state where he was serving to
see him. She lived in Lagos and Obafemi Awolowo was
on their usual strike. Even James was around, he said he
was too bored in Ondo, so he came to visit him.
“Corper Bukky abeg what is the time?”, he asked the
female Corper staying in the same office with him,
unfortunately for him his wristwatch got broken and spoilt
when he was coming from the principal’s office. He was
frustrated so he had angrily hit his hand against the wall,
forgetting he had a wristwatch on…
“1:45 pm, hope there is no problem?”, she asked,
answering him, while Joseph quickly packed all his books
and locked his locker. He took the shortcut behind the
principal’s office so as to avoid the principal who he knew
would be standing at the school gate to engage him in an
unnecessary conversation.
In a jiffy, he was closer to his one room apartment, but he
felt the atmosphere was not alright, his spirit was trying to
tell him something however, he ignored it. All he had on
his mind was getting home to meet the young lady he had
let alone by herself for over two hours.
“Leave me alone sir, please!”, he heard her voice. He was
scared of what was going on his room, she sounded like
she was struggling with someone in his room. “Where is
James? He told me he was in the room nah…”
He hastened his steps, almost running. As he opened the
door, he saw the most scary or better said, the most
shocking sight to behold…James was struggling with his
protegee, attempting to rape her…
Blinded by rage, he pounced on James like a predator
who caught a weak prey and gave him the beating of his
life, forgetting the presence of his protegee who ran out
of the room. He stopped only when he saw blood coming
out of the nostrils of his so called best friend. He couldn’t
take the sight in from of him. He stood up, picked his bag
and made his way to the door…he needed to clear his
head…
“Am very sorry dear, erhm…I didn’t know he could do
that…am sorry, please call me immediately you get home,
I will come and check on you after service”, he said on
phone to his protegee after running all the way to the bus
stop only to be told that the only bus going to Oshodi that
evening had just left, he was angry. He couldn’t take it
anymore. He boarded the next bus going to Ojota. He was
going to Ondo to see his fiancee that was the only person
who could calm him down. He would branch home and
sleep over since his father was not around…
“Why is her number not available”, he said to himself. He
had tried calling her, it was 2:35pm already and the bus
was already moving. He immediately called James. “I
don’t want to meet you in that house when I come back,
we are done being friends”, he said without even allowing
the receiver to say a word. He needed to calm down, he
had just failed as a mentor, he was meant to protect her,
but he had done the opposite. He was far from being
betrayed, his friend had thrown away their brotherhood
and love as best friends…. He didn’t even want to think
about it or why he did it. James was a spiritual
juggernaut, he knew it was wrong. “Flee every
appearances of evil that is what the scripture said”, he
said to no one in particular.
“Thank God”, he said when he got to Ojota and he was
told that he was the last person. “Something strange is
happening today”, he thought to himself.
“The road was free and there was no traffic, he was the
last person to enter the bus in Ojota!!”, he said to himself.
In less than five minutes, the bus was on its way to Ondo.
The driver was on a very high speed. And in less than
three hours he was in Ondo.
In a jiffy, he took a bike straight to Yaba. As he came
down, he walked some few minutes to his fiancee’s
house, this time he felt his spirit saying something again.
“Wait why today of all days?…”
He was at the corridor that led to her door when his
phone rang and he quickly picked it. “Are you serious? I
thought they won’t approve my visa till next year. Thank
God ohh…I will see you first thing tomorrow…I dey Ondo”,
he said smiling. With joy, he opened the door only to meet
another shocking episode for the second time in the day.
“Jadesola!!, doctor Paul!!, no!!!, this can’t be happening”,
he said as he met his fiancee kissing her mentor. He ran
out.
——————————————
“Jossy we can settle this!!”, John screamed on top of his
voice to stop his angry friend from launching an attack on
his guest.
“Settle what? You mean sit down with this betrayer?”,
Joseph said visibly angry…
“Am sorry bro, it was not entirely her fault”, James who
had just walked in with Funmi from the guest room in
John’s house said. She had been indoors while Joseph
arrived, and had not known that Joseph lived with John,
though John had been too busy helping him with his
father’s burial and Funmi too had not told him a thing
about Joseph’s presence in Lagos…
“Hahaahaha, defending yourself, I wish you could do
better…By the way am outta here”, Joseph said as he
made his way for the door, he was not going to sit and let
them infuriate him further than he was already…
“He is always blaming me as if he is entirely a saint”,
James said and scoffed, he went to take his seat,
“Can you guys just stop, its enough already, it is almost
six years, and you both have not grown out of this?”,
Jadesola said, resting her back on the soft sofa she was
sitting on, though oblivious of what had transpired
between the two best friends, she believed it should
already have been a by-gone.
“Says the lady who crushed my heart without mercy”,
Joseph said stopping at her words. After calling her
name, he had not said a word after to her, and he had got
to realise from John’s quick introduction that she was not
John’s fiancee, she was Eunice’s best friend for crying
out loud how could he even think of it, Eunice was their
assistant sister’s coordinator, someone he knew very
well…
“Here he goes again, blaming the poor girl for their break
up, mtchew, as if he is good enough for her”, James said
again, interrupting the conversation…
“Guys, please it is enough, I have had enough of this”,
John said trying to make peace reign, knowing fully well
that the duo has a pending battle to fight.
“No, let him finish his statement…”, Joseph said retreating
back into the living room. His angry face had changed
due to curiosity…
“I saw your chats with Bola…the girl you are dating aside
her, you even invited her, to your place, slept with her,
and you were asking her how the “encounter” was?”
James said with much confidence. “Moreso the girl you
almost wanted to killed me for, wore a very short gown
and she was lying on the bed in a provocative manner,
and I was tempted beyond…”, James was still saying in a
lackadaisical manner, before he was interrupted by the
blow that landed on his cheeks, the other one came
simultaneously, John rushed to separate his two friends
while Jadesola tried to hold Joseph back, Funmi held her
fiancee, Joseph immediately pushed Jadesola’s hand
away and stormed out the room…
“Nonsense, lying against me to my face, me and Bola…”,
he said as he slammed the door, the conversation
between Bola and the supposed him was the handiwork
of a Corper in his school who had consistently borrowed
his phone saying he wanted to chat with his girlfriend,
James knew he was not that type of person and in fact
the most annoying part was how he was describing the
young girl like a thing he could sleep with anyhow”, he
was thinking to himself out loud as he opened the gate
and ignored the words of John who was calling him to
come back…
“Gbam!!! A loud sound erupted…”Haaa!, yee!, help!
help!”,Was all John could scream as he opened the gate
to his house to witness an horror scene.
Joseph had been hit by a coming vehicle on high speed…