Sweet Stigma by Ebube Ezeadum
It wasn’t that the 300-level student, Bowale Israel, wasn’t handsomely carved. Neither was he as deadly as a shark cultist. It was the little exhibition of mad: the sudden explosion, the unconscious pacing up and down the hallway, the loud dialogue-like monologue. It was these things that made even the thought of having a romantic lady in his life seem like fiction. Deborah Ebong was the transfer student in his class. Somehow she had miraculously worked her transfer to the University even at 300 level. She was as slender as a one-year-old pawpaw tree. Her long hair, rather than her breasts or a womanly shape, was the singular characteristic speaker that announced that she was a female human. She just wasn’t the girl Bowale Israel was looking for. She didn’t pass up to half of his features-I-seek-in-a-woman checklist. No large backside; no curvy waist; beauty, Nil; intelligence, not impressive; ability to cook well, he heard that she hardly ever boils water sef! So she was a failed candidate to him. Yet he recognized but didn’t know why she always flanked around him like a remora fish on a shark’s side. *** It was going to be the routine Valentine’s day. No lover. No call, well except his younger sister asking him if he had taken his “anti-schizophrenic drugs”. He kept pacing the room, scared that he may have another episode of explosive outburst. He was talking with an increased volume to himself. Why was I even born? That’s true. I never gave it a thought; it was probably a mistake. Hmmm… I feel like I’m just wasting resources here. Why is life so unfair? I can’t even have a love partner. And I am in the 300 level! Maybe I should just become a priest if I survive graduation two years from now. Or… wait. Not a priest. A monk. I can’t afford to travel to China. What do I do now? Bowale pacing came to a stop as he spotted the coconut at a distance from his bright window. Something struck his mind. Easy! I’d travel to the village. I can be a village monk. But what about jobs? It doesn’t matter, man, the villagers farm their food and that’s all that matters, right? But my friends… Be a real man, you’ve got no friends! Bowale scratched his head; he didn’t want to believe the voice in his head. But it seemed so real and right. His pacing resumed. Faster than before. His heart raced. His feet and wrist pumped with blood and energy. No, not now. The psychiatrist had told him to distract himself by painting pictures when Mr Negativity spoke to him, but he was not in the mood to continue painting this lonely city portrait. He opened his room door to steal some breeze for a while. Two hostelites dressed in Valentine’s color passed by with their girlfriends at their sides holding fancy packages. “Why did you pass the corridor? Now everywhere is smelling perfume, perfume. Do you people want to block my nose?” “What concerns him if we passed a general corridor?” One of the boys asked the other. “Chike doesn’t respond to him; you know how he always does.” “That’s true sef, no crazy hostelite can spoil our day,” He wrapped his hands around his girlfriend and stoned her with a kiss on her chubby cheeks. There was a wicked cackle as they walked down the corridor. Bowale was mad. He went back inside, slammed the door. He came out again, slammed the door harder. He opened it again and repeated the action only stopping when he heard his doorknob drop to the ground with a clang. He could hear the silence afterwards: the birds cooing, his heart crying aloud, the cars honking. Bowale sat on his bed gazing at the spoilt doorknob on his hand and the fresh bruises on his right foot which made him so puzzled. His pocket vibrated twice. Then he heard his ringtone. Who could it be? He stared at the screen. Deborah? Why? He touched the screen and raised the phone to his right ear. Yes. Hello. I’m fine. Okay? My email? Why? Important message. Okay… About what exactly? Speaker? Me? How? His face lit. Okay. I’d check it right now. Thank you. Well… I didn’t have any Valentine outings. I’ve been home all along. Sad, boring Valentine’s day as usual. Which girlfriend? No, I don’t have one. In fact, I had never had one since 100 level. No one has called me today up till this moment, well, except you. I’m still in my hostel by the way. What about you? This was the first time he asked about her; it felt different. Impossible! He sat upright, plucking his nose unconsciously. You, too, were home all along? I thought it was just me! Wow. I get it. Hmm… Are you for real? Okay. You know what? Can I come over to your place? Oh. You don’t stay in the hostel? I get; your parents may be thinking XYZ. Her laughter was unique; It seemed powerful yet creamy. You want to come over? Wow. I never saw that coming. I stay at Zik Hall. Block C. You can call me when you get there. Okay. Let me see what I can do; if there is no foodstuff, we’d soak garri together. Her laughter induced his blushing. He dropped on the bed, his smiling face opposing the multiple white squares on the ceiling. Yes o… Even on Valentine’s day. Okay now. I’d be expecting your call. Once again, Deborah, thank you so much for what you did; God bless you. Yeah. I’ll check my email right away. Take care, too. Bye. Bowale smiled. He never thought Deborah could be a wonderful person. He heard footsteps pass the hall and he suddenly remembered that she would be coming over soon. He tucked in the bedsheet in minutes, swept the floor, and hid the bucket and the pair of