Adenike Ekon ✔

21. The beginning of a new end

Something happened that got Eighteen-year-old Adenike Ekon excited.

It all started when she received an email address, at first she mistook it for spam from an app she logged in a while ago. But when she did eventually open it, her mood improved.

She took knitting classes from her grandmother, something she never did.

It must've been something huge for her to feel the need to call her best friend early in the morning.

"I have got it!" she shouted to the phone. Ade had never called her, so when she received a call. She thought something happened.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Adenike could tell she was pacing, it was something she did when she was nervous.

"Was it your grandmother's health? Did Akaulisa say hurtful things to you? Was it Anwulika?" she fired question after question.

But Ade didn't reply to any of that. She only listened to her, and not once did she interrupt.

"How is your mom?" she asked instead of telling her the reason why she called at five in the morning.

Rokibat knew she was pulling her legs, Adenike was having trouble holding it up. She wanted to tell her everything.

"She is fine." She said. Adenike could detect the sound of TV in the background. "Are you-"

Before she could say anything, Adenike cut her.

"How is Khalid?" Adenike almost laughed. She knew that not telling Rokiabt the cause of her good mood would be hard. Rokibat was the type who gets things out of people.

"He is fine," she said. But before she could say anything else, Adenike bit her to it.

"Remember my Grandfather's book," she couldn't hold it even if she wanted to. When she returned the email, she knew she needed to tell someone about it. And Rokibat seemed to be the perfect person for that.

"Yes," she confirmed. "The one you had been trying to self-publish but didn't settle in a company yet."

Adenike had been trying for the last two months to get her grandfather's book published. But each time she offered it to a company, they rejected it. Adenike thought Chetachi's story wasn't well written. So after she won the Young Writer's competition, she dedicated a year just to rewriting the book.

"Yeah, that one-" Adenike nodded sadly. The thought of it made her heart ache, her grandmother had never given up on the book.

"I'm sorry if I reminded you of-" she could tell Rokibat was about to cry. "No matter what happened, know that I'm here for you. Lika, Lisa, and even Joseph."

Rokibat never ceased to remind her of their friendship. Joseph had gotten into the University Of Ibadan to study computer engineering. But he visited regularly.

"I got in," she shouted. That was what she was trying to tell her all the while. But she had been busy imagining the worst scenario.

"Which company?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Heinemann."

Adenike had contacted the agencies there. She had sent a copy of her book to Joseph. He had liked her grandfather's book and had suggested she joined Heinemann.

"That's amazing," she replied. Adenike was proud of herself.

She sat on her desk, with her hands on her cheeks. And the phone laying on the desk, on speaker.

"Let me call the rest," Rokibat said. Adenike could imagine her jumping on the floor or the couch.

As she hung up the call, Ade didn't scold her on how it wasn't the best time to call them at such an hour. But she was too happy to do that.

She thought of all the possible ways they could celebrate. How she would relay the information to her supportive parents. Her dad had transferred, and now that he was constantly here with the family, it would be more fun to celebrate.

She would call Joseph later and tell him about it. And he would attempt to travel to Lagos.

With her family, her friends, and Emilia by her side. Nothing was impossible.

Adenike's writing journey had just begun.