A New Creation – Chapter 5B

5B
Host returned six hours after he left, after having with his girlfriend a nice time; a process he believed was a refreshment to his body and soul. The guys were looking famished already, only their phones had been able to keep them from complaining bitterly. Of course, except for Fabio who was looking lifeless, like a prayer warrior who had just finished a thirty days and nights fasting without getting an answer to his problems.
They all stopped what they were doing with their phones and rose to their feet on hearing the approaching footsteps of Host. He walked in seconds later and quietly proceeded to the seat he previously occupied. He had changed his clothes now and was looking calmer, he also had his green Beret on his head. He remained quiet for a couple of minutes, looking like he was reflecting on a plan.
“What have you people being able to come up with so far?” He finally broke the silence with his question.
There was no answer to his question. Host looked at each of their faces one after the other and smirked on seeing Fabio’s face. The contorted look on Fabio’s face and the thick lines on his forehead revealed his bottled-in frustration.
“The White Tigers would not let El Salam go without a fight and I’m sure the fight is coming soon,” he continued. “Like I said earlier, it’s time to use the opportunity and finally take over. Enough is enough! We should stop ruling the campus alongside the tigers, now we would wipe them out and show the world who reigns indeed. We’ve always been their masters, it’s just that we’ve allowed them play too much.”
~~~
**Next morning**
“So make sure you write all the assignments and submit them on Monday.” Ojo said to the guy standing in front of him. They were both standing in front of Ojo’s car and the door to the driver’s seat was opened, Ojo was ready to step into his car but only had to finish off his conversation with the guy.
“Alright, I’ll submit the ones I can and bring those ones whose submission dates have passed to you.” The guy replied.
Ojo Bolarinde was a final year student of business administration. He was one of those invisible students in class, he only shows up for classes three to four times in a semester and never waits till the end of any lectures. He hardly shows up for tests and exams also but his scripts and signature on the attendance booklets are always found miraculously by the examiners.
This was one of the days he showed up for lectures, he had come in twenty minutes to the end of the lecture and waited till the lecturer left the hall. He then walked up to meet one of the intelligent students in his class and called him aside to see him. He had a coursemate who was always helping him with assignments before but was absent from school for some weeks due to an unknown illness. He had to choose another one who was a close friend to the former and whom he knew was aware of his activities with his friend.
Some students rumoured Ojo to be a married man with kids who was working in a multinational company and just wanted to further his education. They said he had no time to read as all his time was invested into making money for himself and his family.
Another popular rumour in the department was that he was a top member of the White Tigers, one of the most notorious cults in school. But none had been able to prove their claims, all they passed around were hearsays. Only few students who were officials in the Student Union Government were sure of their claims. Their proof was the semblance of his name, Ojo to the well noised nick of the third in command to the White Tiger’s Cappon, Screw.
Screw, his deputy, Coded and OJ were well known by their nicks, but their faces were unknown by other people. OJ’s face was still well known amongst the cult members who keeps his identity secret but Screw the Boss and Coded was only known by the top ranked members.
The second rumour only began to look truer recently when a lecturer insulted Ojo in the class and promised to ensure Ojo fails in his course if he doesn’t start to see him in class frequently. Ojo had been quiet while the man was talking that day and even apologized after the lecturer finished with his insults, stating that he would have loved to always be present for lectures but the nature of his job would not permit. The lecturer ignored Ojo’s apologies and added more insults but Ojo remained quiet and waited until thirty minutes after the lecture before leaving the class in his usual manner.
It was a big surprise to everyone in the class when the next day, news circulated that the lecturer’s tongue had been cut off by unknown people in his residence that night, his wife and eldest daughter were also molested by the attackers. Since then, the lecturer did not show up in the university again and nothing more was heard about him. It was still not confirmed that the lecturer’s tragedy was a result of his hauling  of insults on Ojo. The police had investigated the case and found Ojo innocent of any charge. That left people doubting if OJ was a member of the White Tigers or not but most people had to accept that he wasn’t because they had never seen him with a known member of the tigers in school or anywhere else.
The sound of a car horn distracted both Ojo and the guy he was talking with. The guy had to move closer to Ojo’s car as a Camry pencil occupied the space close next to them.
“Please make sure you bring them early enough, so I can submit them myself. Most of the lecturers are my friends and they understand my busy schedule.” Ojo said with a smile.
“Okay then, I’ll call you” the guy said and turned to leave.
“Thank you,” Ojo watched him walk away first before turning to enter his car.
“… Slimmy, Woooow!” He stopped as he heard an excited scream from the car by his side. He turned back to look.
A young girl had just come out of the car, smiling as she stared into her phone with full attention. She quickly typed in some words into the phone before locking the car door. She looked into the phone briefly again before picking out her sunglasses and fixing it on her face. Her gaze met with Ojo’s as she glanced up.
“Hi,” he said to her, with a smile.