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platoon Two, Ep 17- Lagos Camp Experience Week 1
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PLATOON TWO
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I entered the next shop where a young lady sold rice, stew and beef worth N150. We were to continue our registration. As I sat down to eat, Lewa came in.
The first lecture started, it was a welcome address. It held on the field. The day was sunny and the place was noisy. I found a bench to sit on and as I brought out my phone to dial Shaye, he was already calling.
As I dropped the call, my phone rang again and it was Annabel. I almost screamed my head off but I held myself. Annabel gave a similar explanation with a slight difference. I was too excited to be angry.
The first lecture ended 20 minutes after I returned. When we got to the field I sighted a lady with a small box from where I was, she was coming through the gate.
“Could that be Irene?” I asked myself and proceeded toward the lady's direction leaving Lewa behind again.
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Episode 17
LAGOS CAMP EXPERIENCE -WEEK 1
I walked as fast as I could towards the gate yet I kept looking back frequently like someone sneaking out of the house to a night party. As I moved towards the gate the vision got clearer. It was Irene!
“Irene!” I shouted, she looked up from her box which she tried to adjust to roll on its tyres.
“Derin!” She shouted back. She dropped her box and we hugged each other happily. Tears of joy rolled down my eyes as we hugged. I saw Irene last just a week ago but my 24 hours on the camp ground made it like 24 years. I helped her with her box and we both headed straight to the hostel.
We were fortunate not to have been sighted by the soldiers because Corps members still gathered for the parade rehearsal. I took Irene to my corner in the room where she dropped her box and we proceeded quickly back to the parade ground.
When we arrived the parade ground, we were told parade rehearsal had been postponed to evening time because of those who were yet to complete their registration. This afforded Irene and I more time together. I was yet to collect my uniform popularly called Khaki (which comprised a green pair of trousers, white branded NYSC T-Shirt, green jacket and orange pair of boots) and my white T-Shirts and Shorts alongside stockings and sneakers (all white).
Where I was to collect my clothes was not far from where Irene registered. It was a classroom filled with tailors sitted in front of their sewing machines ready to adjust and amend over sized khakis. The floor of the class room was levelled with cement and the walls of the classroom was painted yellow. There were only two corps members left and one left just as I came in.
At the corner of the classroom was a wooden door closed. I was told that was the fitting room where I was to try my uniforms on and return for amendment if necessarily.
I walked towards the door like a child unsure of what would happen next. The wood of the door looked like a very old one. It had dotted holes and looked like it had been perforated time and again by ants or termites. It was a very small room that could barely occupy an individual, yet I managed to try on my uniform and change back.
The white nikkers were quite short in length. They were almost like bum shorts and I was not comfortable wearing it so I had to use the ones I had sewn from home, the T-shirts were my exact size. My Khaki was big but I chose not to amend because I was told, the khaki would shrink with time from frequent washing.
I thanked the tailors and left the classroom to join Irene where she was. We had just one hour to go for the parade to start.
“Hey, Sweetie, nice see you again” the male voice called again. It was the bow legged John Paul. I knew his voice but I ignored and walked on. He came close and double crossed me. I had to stop.
He laughed and said “Don't you think it's no coincidence that we keep bumping into each other?”
Then, he moved closer and leaned over to whisper in my left ear “Look, I'm harmless, I just need you to know I'm attracted to you, I have a girlfriend but she's not here, she doesn't know what I'm doing and I assure you, you boy, that's if you have one will not know, that's if you don't tell him.”
My heart raced from fear as he whispered the words, I was scared and I couldn't hide it. He ended his last few words by letting with one of his fingers run from my left shoulder down to my elbow; he looked at me and licked his lips lustfully.
Immediately, I shook the fear off, hit his finger and looked at him straight in the eye, I warned sternly “Don't you ever, I repeat don't you ever run your filthy finger on my body again. The next time you try it, you will be sorry.” I hissed and walked off.
“It's not over yet baby!” I heard him shout and laugh hysterically behind me as I walked off.
... to be continued
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