Chapter 4

“Hello,” the young lady whispered, “I’m Bussy.”

“Why aren’t you down there partying and dancing?” I inquired while sitting close to her.

“I’m not the dancing type,” she replied with a smile.

I heard her giggle while I pulled my GSM mobile phone out of my left trouser pocket. Bussy was not too tall, but what she lacked in height, she made up for it on her chest. She later informed me that one of her roommates had convinced her to come for the party but was currently mingling with some boys elsewhere. God had given Bussy a well-suited backside and flexible hips and waists.

“Can I have your phone number, please?”

“Sure. 080364….”

“So, uhm congrats on your admission once again. Six years to go, I guess?”

“Yes, six years to become a medical doctor…”

Although the lights weren’t bright, I tried to picture Bussy’s smooth chocolate-skinned face and couldn’t help recalling the sound of her soft voice and giggle.

“Alright, I’ll keep in touch, Bussy.”

I saved her contact and rose to my feet. Her body language informed me that she didn’t want a male company to escort her back to her hostel that was nearby. Even though I knew I wasn’t in Switzerland, I could swear that I almost took her right hand tenderly to kiss the top of it. 

“Okay, Pierre Abutu, take care of yourself. Bye.” Bussy giggled again and adjusted her jacket. I could still recollect the wine-colored gown she wore that fateful evening, while her hair had weaves in it – deep brown in colour. The scent of her perfume was still hovering around my senses when I returned to sit beside Eka.

“So, how did it go?” Eka inquired with a wide grin.

“It went well. I was able to get her number, and she said she was not the dancing type”.

Eka laughed for a while, and I still wondered why he never had a female companion till he graduated. Half an hour later, the crowd thinned and the ‘dance floor’ was gradually becoming scanty. Eka and I rose and headed for the exit. We literally had to force our way through several First Year (100 Level) students. Most of them were drunk, excited and spoke almost at the same time. One thing was apparent: they all possessed an unquantifiable amount of happiness.

Eka and I later stood in front of a shop that was built near the theatre. We continued staring at the female students that walked back and forth.

“Are you returning back to the Old Boys’ Hostel right now? I asked Eka.

“Old Boys… yeah, soon”. Eka’s teeth held a cigarette between them and I shook my head at his smoking habit. His gaze was on the buttocks of a naïve-looking female student, who wore a leopard skin print gown. One look at her and I soon realized that she woe only a G-string, or no panties at all. 

“How’s your final year project going?” I asked Eka while he puffed on his cigarette.

“Project? Don’t mind that lecturer… I mean supervisor. She just loves stressing me. Pray to get a good supervisor when you reach final year, my brother”.

I smiled and turned to stare at the exit of the open-air theatre, and the students milling around it. I was unable to locate Bussy among them. I made up my mind to call her the next day, and get to know her better. Eka finished his cigarette, and I soon remembered that the security personnel at my hostel locked the gates by 10 at night. Eka and I walked away from the partying 1st-year students and towards the tarred road. The sky was a bit bright, even though the moon wasn’t a full one.

“October rush has started,” Eka mumbled while looking at me with a large grin.

“What is October Rush?”

“You know, after the new students get admitted in September, the older students in 200 Level and upwards start ‘grabbing’ them in October. Since they’re mostly novices, Daddies’ girls and newly independent, they’re easy to woo and seduce”.

I marvelled at Eka’s explanation, and began to possess some feelings of guilt due to Bussy’s number I had collected some minutes ago.

“I guess you’d be working on your final year project tomorrow?”

“Yeah… project and sleeping, I guess,” Eka replied with a yawn.

“Try and go to church on Sunday.”

“Church,” Eka scoffed. “These are all students’ fellowships, Pierre Abutu.”

“Just make plans to go, all the same,” I insisted. Eka smiled at me before placing his right hand in his right pocket.

“Remember to call your new catch.”

“Sure, I will… good night”.

Eka mumbled something and waved at me without looking back. The next day, I did call my new ‘catch.’ It was some minutes past ten in the morning when I called Bussy. Her sweet southwestern voice rang in my ears and head for several days afterward.

“Hello, Bussy, it’s Pierre Abutu speaking. You gave me your number on Friday evening at the 100 Level students welcome party”.

“Oh yes, I remember, Pierre A-b-u-t-u…”

She giggled again.

“So, what’s happening with you, Bussy?”

“I’m okay. I’m getting used to the new environment, new roommates, surroundings, and atmosphere”.

I remember that feeling, too… last year.

Bussy paused a bit. I believed she was reclining on the chair or bed she had been on.

“You’re in 200 Level, Pierre Paul?”

“Yes, at the Oba Erediauwa College of Law… hope there’s no problem?”

“No, not all. It’s just that I felt that you were in the final year, 500 Level, you know”.

“Do I look older than my age, Bussy?”         

“No-”

“Okay, but can we meet this evening, f it would be convenient for you?”

“Hmm, okay, barrister.”

I heard her giggling again before we bid each other farewell. The time was almost six in the evening when I walked out of my room and out of my hostel. Students were walking to and fro, and I was walking to meet Bussy.