MASTERS HIGH SCHOOL.

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• The girl from my past   TRIALS AND JUDGEMENT.

  The Justice Stephen Clark of Texas county court was a no nonsense man. Lawyers who were to come before him always made adequate research in order not to appear foolish or unprepared. He was deathly white and put on a very big spectacle that seemed to cover his face. He looked like someone from the Shakespearean times. When I saw him first, I knew he was the typical description of “the law knows no emotions because the law is the law.”The Texas law did not make any provision for the death sentence even in extreme cases like murder. When a murder case was proven beyond reasonable doubt, as was the basis in the Texas law, the law provided for a sentence of maximum of 25 years. I had already known right from the time I was in the cell that I was going to be convicted. I’d watched a lot of movies to see how these things worked here. Most times, when powerful people were involved, the law just favored them. And in this case, Christabel had a powerful ex-military father and I

• The girl from my past   LEGAL SHITS.

  My trial was scheduled to hold in three days time. By then, I had resigned to fate and didn’t even bother to obtain the services of a lawyer to defend me. The lawyer that was assigned to me by the state was a somewhat friendly white woman. She belonged to the category of people whose ages couldn’t be estimated. After telling me my rights and what I ought to and ought not to do, she asked me the same question I’d gotten tired of answering since I came here.“Did you do it?” She looked sincere.“I’ve told every other person that came here that I didn’t. So telling you that is just like throwing words to the wind. I can bet a million bucks on that.”“Listen Mr Oduduwa, you don’t need to be hard on yourself. I’ve worked with clients like you who had resolved in their hearts to accept their fate just the way they found it and trust me, it didn’t normally end well. Do you do religion?”“Yeah. I used to be a Christian. Not sure I am one anymore though. Haven’t gone

• The girl from my past   IT LOOKS LIKE MURDER.

  One of the most difficult things on Earth had to be escaping psychos and killers. Sometimes, when one tried too hard to escape troubles, they come knocking directly on the person’s door. And those who fuel up troubles and unrest often seem to escape unscathed. Unscathed here can mean going to prison because they don’t even mind that anymore, the irony of life.My final project defense came and went. I didn’t even care about the encomiums showered on me for what they professors in the panel called an exceptional performance. By then, I could fix and make airplanes. The mystery behind airplanes flying in the sky was no longer a novelty to me. As a student graduating with honors, I needn’t find a job. I was certain jobs were waiting for me.That night, I did what most Texans did after recording a major success, save that I didn’t consider it a major success – I drank a bottle of red wine in the solitude of my room. By then, I had gotten so comfortable with being alone

• The girl from my past   ZENITH UNIVERSITY.

  Houston Texas was similar to Lagos in just one way - the weather. I hadn’t researched very well and felt I was coming to a place of extreme cold. Nigerians stereotyped America as a cold place all through. I was surprised to meet a place with a similar weather to Nigeria. Winter wasn’t even that cold and summer seemed to stretch far.Academically, Zenith was just the right place for me. Houston boasted of extensive NASA researchers and space test drills. It was like the passage leading to space. I enjoyed the fact that everyone seemed to care about space here. Researches and field trips were easily conducted by my professors. Of course, I’d managed to hit the top of the class list in not just the aeronautics engineering department but the entire faculty of engineering. It wasn’t difficult at all. Passing my final exams in high school was by far more difficult. I even marveled at how the so called exams were conducted over here; you were given a project topic and asked to resear

• The girl from my past   AT LAST!

  Our people say that sweet moments do not last. The day I dreaded and equally expected finally came. It was a Friday afternoon, Bisi was out with Obinna, they were officially dating and I could see that they were genuinely in love. I was lying down on my bed, listening to the radio, when a knock came. Dumebi had gone for two hours and I wasn’t due to see her until the next day.I wondered who the boring Friday afternoon visitor could be. Then I checked and was surprised to see a mail delivery man at my doorstep. It wasn’t like it was a rarity at these parts to receive mails but I had all my personal mails delivered directly to my school. And ever since I graduated, I hadn’t received any mail.“You must be in the wrong house sir.” I said to the middle aged man.“No, I am very certain am not. I was adequately provided with information on the house I was to deliver the mail to and this house matched the description perfectly. By the way, I am looking for a certai

• The girl from my past   LOVE AND HAPPINESS.

  the security man to help me out. He was a very light skinned man and looked more like a doctor than a security man.“Oga abeg, I dey find Akintola family house.” I said.“Are you not the boy who I’ve been seeing on every poster?” He asked.“Yes sir, I am.”“Oh, today is really a good day oh. I’ve set my eyes on a celebrity. I am so glad. If God decides to take my life today, I wouldn’t mind at all.”“Why do you say so?”“You see my boy; I was really like you when I was growing up. I really wanted to excel academically. I made the best results and all that but then, I lost my parents to an auto crash when I was thirteen and I couldn’t continue with my education.”“I am very sorry for that sir.”“You don’t have to be. Just focus and be smart in whatever you are doing.”“Sure thing. I will.”“I’m sure you are looking for Dumebi, she’s a very good girl and she speaks well of you.” He winked and directed me to plot 23.