Kingsley Okeke @kingsleychi

I noticed weevils in my beans, and this disappointment and anger welled up inside me. If only these weevils knew how much beans were selling for in Nigeria right now, they wouldn't have dared to approach my bag of food. I sat down, pondering the best punishment to deal with these pests, but I couldn't come up with an effective plan.

Among the ideas swirling in my mind, one suggested itself: frying the beans to dry them out and kill the weevils inside. However, I also realized that this would spoil the beans over time. I contemplated just sealing the bag tightly, but I knew that wouldn’t be efficient either. While I was still considering my options, a friend came to visit and suggested a solution. He told me about using grounded pepper as a remedy.

Encouraged by his advice, I decided to try it. I rubbed the grounded pepper generously on the beans, making sure to cover as much surface area as possible. Then, I waited anxiously to see if it would work.

Days passed, and slowly but surely, I began to notice fewer weevils scurrying about. It was a relief to see my intervention paying off. I kept the pepper on the beans for a while longer to ensure any remaining pests would be eradicated.

My beans were savedat last !

Whenever I had a visitor over, I always gravitated towards the right side of my bed which was the side closest to the wall. It was where I felt most comfortable, a habit I had grown fond of over time. But during one particular visit, my friend, who could be quite stubborn, insisted on taking that spot. Despite my clear objections, she persisted and ended up pushing me towards the end of the bed.

I tried to keep my frustrations in check. Our friendship had evolved to a point where we rarely allowed petty disagreements to get the better of us. Still, I found it hard to manage my discomfort in that moment. I shifted uncomfortably, attempting to acclimate to my new position, but it wasn't easy.

Then, out of nowhere, a bit of unexpected drama unfolded, a mystery of its own. My fan, which had been blowing a steady breeze in the room suddenly fell, landing right on my friend’s head. The suddenness of it all startled him and shook him awake from his stubbornness.

Seizing the opportunity, I quickly switched positions, reclaiming my rightful side of the bed.

During the last Christmas, I decided to make a difference. Since everyone was becoming an adult, I thought it was time for me to step into that role as well. This year, I wouldn’t be taking myself out for an outing or a party. I didn’t want to go to the zoo or the cinema like I usually did. Instead, I wanted to do something meaningful.

During the morning of Christmas, I had helped out with the cooking, helping out with other things needed for the festive meal. It was no small feat, but I welcomed the stress that came with preparing for such a special day. After hours of chopping, stirring, and seasoning, we finally finished cooking and arranging the sumptuous food.

While my siblings eagerly prepared to head out to a nearby restaurant to indulge themselves, I chose a different path. I took a refreshing bath to wash away the morning’s labor and changed into comfortable clothes, ready to feast on the delicious meals we had prepared.

I lost track of time as I indulged. I ate enough to the point of overfeeding myself.
With a contented sigh, I pushed back from the table, a satisfied smile on my face. My belly felt pleasantly full, yet as I stood up, I found it difficult to walk, and that brought me more joy.

After the meal, I decided to treat myself to some relaxation. I grabbed my favorite drink, headed straight to my room, and settled onto my bed. Turning on my data, I lost myself in the vast world of the internet. I scrolled through social media, enjoying pictures of friends celebrating and sharing their festive moments. It felt nice to share in the joy, even from a distance.
I called my youngest sister and gave her some money, asking her to pick me up a tub of ice cream on her way back from their outing.

My ceiling fan was looking unsteady as it hung in the center of my room. It was time to take care of it, so I decided I would call an electrician within the week. After two days, I found an electrician who came to fix it. I thought he had done a good job, and I felt relieved.

That day, I had gone to school, and when I returned home, my mind was focused on studying for the exam coming up the next day. I positioned my desk right in the middle of my room, hoping the fan would blow cool air directly on me as I prepared to read throughout the night.

The looked alright, providing the perfect breeze, and I settled in, enjoying the comfort it gave me.
Just as I was begun to dive deep into my studying, the fan crashed down landing directly on my head. I stood frozen for a moment, and stared at the metal on my floor with shock. Miraculously, the blade didn’t scratch or injure me, but the head impact ached me so much that I felt all motivation to continue reading evaporate. I quickly tossed my book aside and crawled into bed.

That night was ruined for reading and turned into a deep sleep. I didn’t pick up a single textbook again until the next morning when I finally started to feel more like myself.

Despite my efforts to put it behind me, I couldn’t shake the irritation I felt toward the electrician. Did he really fix it properly, or had he simply made a careless mistake? Disappointment washed over me, and I found myself calling him to vent my frustration. If the fan had fallen harmlessly onto the floor, perhaps my anger wouldn’t have been so intense, but it had fallen on my head, the very head that needed to be clear and focused for my exam preparation.

We had been enjoying a constant and very reliable electric current for the past few months, and I did not know why calamity decided to visit my region. Just yesterday evening, as I was about to set my bed for sleep, the lights began to shake. They blinked multiple times and then went off completely.

Wondering what was happening, I rushed outside to see if someone was tampering with the wires or if something else had gone wrong. To my surprise, I discovered that not only was our house without power, but also several nearby compounds were in the same situation. Only a few houses still had their lights on.

We all wondered what was wrong. Within the next couple of minutes, the entire vicinity was thrown in darkness. The power had shut off completely, and not a song house had light.
I slept in darkness that night hoping for light but when morning finally arrived, we learned that the electrical system had been damaged and so we contacted the regional manager, hoping for a swift resolution to our plight. He was sounded surprised and replied that they were already working on it, but till now; we haven't seen electricity.

We were having a good conversation over time, and we didn't know how time had already passed. My friend was up on his bed while I stood behind his table trying to write off some things. And then I looked back and realized that the mosquito was already killing him where he lay. I squatted down with my torchlight, and I was able to find about millions of mosquitos encircling his stomach area.

I came to a halt while some made it away. I didn't just go back to the table where I was focusing on a particular task. When I looked back again, he was actually suffocated by a multitude of mosquitos again. They were landing on his nose, his neck. It was like they came to party on him, and if they had their way, some would have even landed on his private parts.

I still got to kill most of them all, slapping my friends body hard to catch a lot in my palm. The heavy sleeper didn't fidget or show sign of life. He was enjoying his sleep.

Kelvin burst out laughing when he saw the laptop I had hoped to buy for a low price opened up on my table. I couldn’t help but join in his laughter. The sight was both amusing and a little sad by the way. This laptop belonged to a friend who was eager to sell it after years of neglect. I thought it might serve me well for some simple tasks in the future, even though it was an old model of an older generation with a mere 2 GB of RAM which is far from being up to do with today’s demanding online tasks.

As I booted it up, the old fan in the laptop wheezed, making strange noises as if fighting its existence. In that moment, I understood what I was I was in for, recognizing the irony of my hopeful purchase.

Yet, after our laughter subsided, I began to reevaluate my decision. I resolved to return the laptop to my friend. There was no way I would buy such a device; it would only serve to make me a laughingstock coupled with embarrassment.

A friend of mine visited me, and while he was on his way, he got some food for himself without getting any for me. We are good friends; we see each other almost every day, we share things together, and we are very cool friends. It’s just that he didn’t get my own plate of food while he was getting his.

He claimed he was hungry and had been in school for several hours from morning until the evening when he came and hadn’t had anything to eat. So, I allowed him to eat, but he finished about half of the plate of food. Then, he received a call from his dad and went outside to answer it. That was when I picked up a new spoon and fed myself with the remaining half.

When he came back in, he was puzzled and then just burst out laughing. He knew he couldn't just eat food while I was there and wouldn’t have any, I no go allow am.

I just maintained my seriousness and continued eating. He cannot intimidate me in my own house. By the way, he was the one who came to visit me; he cannot come here, put me in a tight corner, or make me uncomfortable with the good smell of the food oozing all over the place. I couldn't let that happen. I fed myself and when I was done, got some soft drink for the both of us to complement the mood.