TÓDÙN

24

                       ~TODUN~

Still in my singlet and boxers on an early Wednesday morning, I went into the kitchen and decided to boil rice for us to eat. The other three were still on their bed laying down like heavy logs of wood. The sudden booming sound of the  alarm made Nife scramble up from her bed and run to the bathroom with her towel around her neck. I washed the rice, poured it into the pot and went back to the room to meet Remilekun and Tamilore who seemed unbothered by the alarm.

"You guys should wake up, it's day break already." I announced and tapped them to awake, against their grumbles. They didn't sleep early the previous day because of a party that they attended. It was around 1am before they came back and after they did, they still sat down on their beds discussing the party.

"I am not going to school today." Tamilore groaned and pulled the quilt over her head, while I moved towards Remilekun. "I will skip class too." Remilekun yawned and stretched on the bed. Nife ran back to the room, stared at wall clock that rested on the wall and nervously took her cream from where she placed it. She squeezed the cream into her palms and hurriedly rubbed it on her body.

"I have a test this morning." She said to no one in particular and disappeared to the bathroom again after breathing into her palms which made me guess that she hadn't brushed her teeth. I went back to the kitchen to add salt to the rice, regulated the gas cooker and went back to the room to meet Nife dabbing my white powder on her face. When she noticed my presence, she hurriedly dropped the container on the bed and used her palms to perfect the powder on her face. I took a deep breath to suppress the urge to tongue lash her, I knew better than to start an argument with her early in the morning. After telling me in a disoriented manner that she was off to school, she jammed the door and I went back to pour the already done rice into the sieve.

Letting out a loud yawn, Tamilore stood up from the bed and went into the bathroom, she came back and grinned at me before asking if there was anything for her to eat. I told her to take her own share of rice from the kitchen and that instant Remilekun climbed down from the bed, clutched her stomach and wore her slippers about to go to the kitchen.

"Don't tell me you want to eat without brushing your teeth?" Tamilore inquired from her and pulled the grumbling Remilekun towards the bathroom while I went into the kitchen to boil a kettle of water and went back to the room to put off my clothes and  arranged my bag ready for school, in preparation for an afternoon lecture that was to be held by a lecturer that doesn't condole lateness. I grabbed my towel and went into the bathroom. Few minutes after taking a relieving shower, I heard my phone beep Tamilore was about to take it from the bed but I snatched it away from her in time and opened the message.

"Call me when you are through with lectures today, I will be at the parking lot in your faculty." I stared at the message and at the name I used to save the person that sent it. It was Kunle, we have talked several times after we both went to the library and pretend not to be friends in the presence of Remilekun even though he said they were not dating and I should not feel guilty but who will not feel guilt when anything she does is like betraying her friend.

"A message from home?" Tamilore asked me and tapped me, calling me back into reality.

"No not at all, it is a message from MTN, you know they just send message anyhow when what you are expecting is a bank credit alert." I lied and bent down to take my sandal that was under the bunk.

"Okay, she replied and Remilekun gave me a card which I stared at and discovered it was the invitation card for her Mum's party. I wanted to say right away that I wasn't interested in attending but I knew how nagging they can become trying to convince me to join them. I will rather tell them when it is about a day to the party, I thought and used my finger to trace the logo of the political party that was there.