Thehe First Kiss
By
Kayode Odusanya
© Kayode Odusanya
Chapter 1
Wale loved Harmattan mornings in Lagos; it was always a reminder to him that Christmas was on the way. Outside was cold and misty. He stood by the door, contemplating going back in to throw on a sweater on top of the dark blue long sleeve shirt he had on. His grandfather’s black 87 Toyota Camry was in front of him in the driveway, covered in dead leaves and bird poop. Thanks to the almond tree in the compound that housed all sorts of birds. The man had a sentimental attachment to the tree, and won’t agree to trim the branches, let alone cut it down.
He slowly shot the door behind him and took the steps down his front porch rapidly; his chest jiggled as he did so. Even though he was a lanky guy, he had been doing a lot of pushups lately, and the evidence of the results put a brief smile on his face. Dried bird poop on his black gate made that smile disappear fast. He shook his head as he opened the gate and stepped out.
While on the sidewalk, heading down his street, his mind wondered off. He had been preparing for this day for weeks now, and he wondered how it would turn out. The prolonged strike of the union of academic staff in universities in the country had left a lot of youths idle, and the landlords in his community had put together a competition for the youth to participate in; a competition that tested their intellects, with prizes for winners that were motivation enough for the young people to want to partake in. Two people were picked from each street, and Wale was one of the representatives of his street.
A black sedan car was approaching on the other side of the road, and the driver, a pretty dark skin lady with a white dress on had her eyes on him. He focused on her to see if she was someone he knew, and then slowly looked away. He was tall and good looking, and was used to girls his age staring at him. But the confusion always came when he was being admired by females old enough to be his aunt.
He pulled out his Samsung Android phone from his jeans pocket, and started entangling the earpiece, which was already plugged up to the phone’s headset jack. By the time he took the right turn onto the main road that led out of his community, he had the white earphones in his ears, with Bob Marley music playing. The first song on Marley’s Legend album was his favorite, and he bobbed his head as he walked along, singing the lyrics to the song. ‘Is this love, is this love, is this love, is this love that I’m feeling…’
A hand tapped his left shoulder, and he turned left, but there was no one there. He turned to his right and saw Chinaza walking beside him, looking straight ahead with a poker face. He immediately smiled. She had big cornrows hairdo; about 6 cornrow braids total, packed to one side, flowing down the back of her head, to her neck, and resting on her chest. The black camisole, black jacket, blue jeans, and black pumps she had on made her look formal, and fashionable.
He saw her mouth move, and removed the earpiece from his ears before asking, “What did you say?”
“I said it’s quite dangerous walking on the road with earpiece on, listening to music.” She said in a soft voice. She was just a few inches shorter, slim like him, oval shaped face like him, and the same light skin tone; they could pass as siblings.
“Well…” He was saying, and then stopped to really focus on her. “Have you grown taller since the last time I saw you?”
“Yep! I found a magical drug in my mom’s wardrobe that did that overnight.” She said and a smile slowly appeared on her face. Her beauty was in full display now.
He looked at her from head to toe, and stopped at her feet. “Nice shoes.”
“Thanks. I’ve been looking for where to wear them to.” She said and looked at her own feet for a few seconds before saying, “I know they don’t fit the occasion, but I couldn’t wait.” She said and laughed a little.
“Anyway, hope you’re fully prepared for today.”
“You can count on me partner!” She said in a cartoonish voice and made him chuckle. Chinaza was an introvert, but always loosened up whenever she was around Wale. He became friends with her brothers first when they newly moved into a house on his street; always going over to play video games. When both her elder brothers got into the university, and weren’t around as much anymore, he bonded with their sister, who was about his age. And it wasn’t just video games they had in common; they also both loved old music, cartoons, and animals.
As the two walked along chit-chatting, the lady in the black sedan from earlier was driving up behind them at a low speed. She had her eyes on Wale, with a smile on her face. The honking horn from the car behind her made her increase her speed. She looked at him one last time as she drove past them, and then sped off.
