Above Chaos(episode1)

The anthropology class was interesting as usual. The lecturer; a thin, bespectacled professor with a trim mustache had thrilled the students today. Professor Marcus spoke glowingly in his rich, baritone voice to the admiration of the students who listened with rapt attention as he challenged their imaginations and embellished their fantasies with grand tales of man’s forgotten past. The course code was also impressive; GNS 221; general studies as they call such courses, are usually interesting. This is because it brings many departments together and gives the engineering boys, who have few girls in their classes, an opportunity to meet the beautiful girls from the social sciences. At this time of the semester, when social activities were at an all time low and we had just resumed from a long strike, this class was the most interesting place to be in this boring world.
To me, this class was also important, not just because of the above reason or that it was a prerequisite for my moving to 300 level. It was because it offered me another opportunity to see Tami. Gazing at the podium from my rear seat near the window without really seeing the lecturer, my mind wandered away from the lecture and fixed on the lingering pain in my heart. I was filled with nostalgia; it was in a class like this that I had met Tami several months ago.
In my first year in school, I was a chronic recluse. I was shy and withdrawn most times, as I was always in conflict with my environment in my mind. I covered my insecurity by focusing on books. My social life was on gloomy ebb. I didn’t have any friends, neither was I involved in any social activity. As expected, my first year result was excellent; I was on my way to having a first class. But it could not remove the dull feeling of emptiness within me; I hadn’t yet come to terms with my identity and essence in the midst of such confusion. I felt lonely; I thought nobody really wanted me. I became envious of the confident, gregarious guys in my class; I watched them as they spoke and played with pretty girls and jealousy tore at my heart. Sometimes, I found solace in the intellectual masturbation offered by books. I withdrew into an inner shell.
Then one day, after a GNS 211 class, which was a course on linguistics, I met Tami. Though I was in electronics engineering, we were grouped with students from mass communications. I was sitting at my book as usual when I sensed unusual footsteps and I looked up to see a damsel walk in. What struck me immediately she entered was the aura of freshness that surrounded her, and wondered who she was coming to see. Something strange tingled in my body and I faced my book immediately, to avoid any embarrassment. It wasn’t long before my curiosity took the better of me and I had to look up again. Suddenly, I found her walking towards me, her eyes looking directly at me. No, this couldn’t be happening, she couldn’t be coming towards me. I was dazed, I sank into my chair and wanted to escape, but it was too late, all my escape routes were well guarded by prying eyes.

Above chaos

This week, we will start something new on the blog. I will start publication of my short story, titled 'Above Chaos' It is the story of two lovers who discovered that they were actually step- siblings under the most unfair circumstances. The story delves into the political, social and ethnic issues in Nigeria; corruption, violence, ethnic strife and love. The story attempts to examine these issues and how they affect ordinary individuals. I have broken the story into episodes to make it easy to read and enjoy. Happy reading.