Securing The Bag (The Lagos Hustle)

Pros And Cons

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JECINCTA
  

My mom taught me when I was little to always take a pen and paper, draw a table with two columns and title it; Advantage & Disadvantages of ("whatever stupid decision you're about to make" as she had eloquently put it)

The first time she brought up this method, I was 15 and my school principal had sent for her because our English teacher had caught me and a boy in my class, kissing and smooching behind the mini mart.

When we got home, she brought out the turning stick from the plate rack and thrashed me about 7 strokes on my buttocks while I cried and begged.

I stayed locked in my room that day and refused to eat lunch or dinner, later that night she came into my room. "Jessy, I know you're growing and you're a big girl now in SS2, by next year you'll write Waec and before you know it, you're getting ready for University"

I was pretending to read the paperback novel, still very upset with her but curiosity got the better of me and I closed the book. "I know mom, we were just playing truth or dare, mister Patrick just entered and started-"

"Jess, Jess it's okay. I understand. I was once a young girl too. I know how it is with boys, but you're still too young. That's how it starts, from there now you you start sleeping with boys and then you get pregnant. Is that what you want? When your mates are in University you'll be breastfeeding and taking care of your baby at home. Yes now, cause I won't nurse and take care of any bastard child under my roof. At least you're not a bastard, you know your father"

Then she told me, "next time you feel your body itching you, take a pen and paper and calm down, then list the advantages and disadvantages of whatever stupid decision you're about to make. In this case what are the advantages....I can't even think of many, okay maybe you'll enjoy 10 minutes pleasure or lets even say 1 hour pleasure, by the time you list the ways it could derail your life and what it could cost you eh, if you're a smart girl you'll decide to keep yourself for your husband." She paused for effect and let the words sink in after-which she seemed satisfied with my reaction to her wisdom. "That's all, put off the gen by 10. I'm going to bed."

Strange that I would remember that conversation tonight. Cause I didn't draw any table when I first decided to sleep with Mr Doings. Come on, earning 6 months salary in one night was all the advantage I had needed. Plus I wasn't a little girl anymore, I would be 20 soon. I knew how to take care of myself. I wasn't going to get pregnant.
 
But now I found myself drawing a mental table, comparing the pro and cons. The pros were many; the money was good, right now I had just less than 400k sitting in my account, Mr Doings was very well connected and I constantly found myself in the kind of social circles I used to dream of, he also took good care of me, few months ago I never thought i'll get to wear a wig of  100K for instance.

It's been three months since my first date with him and I noticed some things about him. For one, he was extremely possessive and a very jealous man. The first red light was when he asked me to break up with my boyfriend. We had just finished showering together in his penthouse and I was watching Entertainment weekly, draped in his bathrobe and toweling my hair when my phone rang and my screen showed I had an incoming call from Abobo my boyfriend. 

We spoke for a couple of minutes. He was missing me, he wanted to know when would I come to Jos, how come I didn't text or call like before, bla bla bla....at the end of the call he said; "I love you"

"I love you too" I replied automatically.

Mr. Doings was slumped in the bean bag chair, surfing on his laptop and I felt him tense and look in my direction.
Immediately I dropped the call he said, "who was that?"