One Night In Ibeshe – Episode 1

One Night in Ibeshe – Episode 1

By

Kayode Odusanya

There were four vehicles parked haphazardly in the large compound; two black Toyota Camrys, one grey wrangler jeep, and a white Toyota bus. The mansion would have been a sight to be hold in the 90s, but now had worn out lemon green paint, peeling off its walls and patches of grass here and there. Paul and his nineteen friends were wearing white tops, hanging around in small gatherings, all over the compound, waiting for the last person before they would head out to the resort centre at Ibeshe. Paul had put everything together. That was his speciality, along with making mouth watering chicken barbecue.

Everyone was getting impatient, and the displeasure was evident on their faces when Paul’s mom called everyone together for a prayer. Thank God it didn’t last more than five minutes, and there was a thunderous amen at the end when she said they should make sure to have fun.

Paul, a big and black guy shaped like a giant teddy checked his watch with a frown on his face, and then gave the order for everyone to get in their cars and move out. “We don wait enough jare.” He said when Frank went to meet him and asked why they were no longer waiting for Anthony. Frank wasn’t happy with the new development, but he too had to admit to himself that Anthony had delayed the crew for far too long. They were meant to have left about half an hour ago if they weren’t waiting for Anthony.

Janet was in the front seat of her boyfriend’s Camry, waiting for him to come in when his phone beeped. She wanted to ignore it, but it beeped two more times and when she looked she saw the message, ‘When are you getting back? I’m really Hot.’ She took a deep breath, looked back to make sure he wasn’t approaching. He was still talking to Paul as she quickly picked up his black Android phone, unlocked it, and checked the message. All she needed was the girl’s name. When she got that, she put the phone back on the Camry’s centre console.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Anthony sef. We asked him to come in from Ibadan yesterday.” Frank said in a grumbling manner as he got into the car and started it up. Frank was about 5 ft 5, and 55kg in weight. He had the stature of a junior secondary school student even though he was in his mid twenties. He never let his size dictate the kind of girls he went for; in fact, like Janet and his past girlfriends, he liked them tall and thick.

“So are we leaving him behind?” Janet asked, showing no sign of anger from what she had just seen on his phone.

“I don’t even know. I guess we will wait for him at the bus stop.” Frank said as he put the car in drive and drove towards the gate.

The grey wrangler jeep went out first, then the white Camry. The bus was about to drive out when it stopped, the door swung open, and lanky Benjamin shouted out, “Anthony in the building!!!” Anthony had finally arrived. He was a quiet looking guy who looked like the black version of Ron Perlman; the actor that played Hellboy in the Hellboy movie. He was tall, buff, had strong facial futures, and ugly. Janet could feel the excitement in Frank’s voice when he poked his head out of the car and shouted out, “Anthony baba!” The guy smiled and waved at Frank before getting into the bus. Frank had told her a lot about him, but this was the first time Janet was seeing the recluse who never liked to leave his home.

Although there were twenty-one people in total embarking on the trip, the original friends were just four; Paul, Frank, Anthony, and Benjamin. Every one else was a friend, or a friend of a friend.

The vehicles formed a single file outside Paul’s house and began the journey to the jetty.

To be continued