Thou shall not steal

1.

~WILBERFORCE THE DREAMER~

Walk it off.

Walk it off.

Walk it off.

I kept telling myself as I walked to the heap of gravel at the side of the road. I grabbed some stones from the heap and played around with it.

But the hunger was not playing today.

It felt like my guts were twsiting inside me and it felt like I would die any moment now.

I climbed higher to the peak of the heap and from there I watched the busy street before me. I saw people flagging down vehicles to take them to various destination. The sea of different vehicle from the brand new cars to the scraps; these are taxis that looked like metals scraps glued together for commercial use—yes, they were that bad. All these vehicles reflecting the beautiful streetlights that had just been put in place by the new government and they accelerated uniformly because of a hold up caused by an accident that happened earlier today further down the road.

"Aboki wife!"

I smiled to myself when I heard that loud shout from behind me, below the heap but, I acted like I didn't and continuing playing around with my stones.

The person calling me is my good friend Uche. Uche and I are close friends and although he is older by 5 months, we are both fourteen years old. We both lived in the slum and he was my neighbor.

After witnessing one mallam—who sold beautiful golden jewelry—profess love to me and even propose coming to ask for my hand in marriage, Uche had taken it upon himself to call me 'Aboki wife' but he only did it when we were together because if my mother so much had heard it she would give me, Uche and the Mallam the beating of our lives simultaneously.

"Aboki wife!" He persisted.

I ignored him once again and started humming in tune with the sound of the car horns of the vehicles before me.

"Come you no dey hear your name?" He shouted.

This time I looked up to the road while trying to fight back the smile that played on my lips. I started to hear the sound of him climbing up the heap and I knew he was gonna climb up behind me and pull my ear so, I got on my guard and as soon as he approached me, I knocked him off the floor with my feet and watched him fall to the ground on his bum.

"Ouch!" He whined as his bum hit the hard floor and I burst out laughing.

He immediately rose to his feet and started at me agin but I quickly caught his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Ow!" He yelled, "Oh ho stop nah! Don't you know this thing is painful?"

"Will you call me Aboki wife again?" I whispered into his ear as I bent his arm even higher.

"No! No! No!" He yelled.

"So what's my name?"

He hesitated but once I pushed up his arm he roared out, "Nma!"

"My full name?" I said laughing at his moans and grunts.

"Nma Wilberforce Nweke!" He answered panting.

I let him go with a shove and once again he fell on his bum but this time he didn't try to attack me, he just glare at me momentarily before turning his head back down to nurse his throbbing arm.