Presentation Day (Episode 13): A Feet Of Defeat

6:00 pm

“Oga wetin we go do?” the fear of watching a man die had started to creep into Olinlin’s heart but he tried his best to imitate Tony’s calm demeanour. “Wetin you want make we do? We go leave am here. Come let’s go” Tony headed towards the car but Olinlin couldn’t move his feet; he tried but his feet didn’t obey his mind.

Tony was halfway to the car when he realized that Olinlin was neither walking beside nor behind him, so he turned back and saw Olinlin still standing where he left him. He waved his hands at him but he didn’t move “move your feet young man” he mouthed but Olinlin still didn’t move an inch.

“Na wa for you o, you wan siddon for this place until person come see us? Wetin dey worry you now. I think say you be sharp guy?” Tony was still as calm as a cucumber but Olinlin was starting to sweat like a Christmas goat. “Oga, I no fit leave am” “so wetin you wan do? Make we carry am?” Tony asked and Olinlin’s silence gave him an answer to his question.

“You dey mad o, how we go carry am… carry am go where?” “I no know but if we leave am here and person see am; dem fit link am to us” Olinlin was pale by now trying his best not to faint. He lifted one of his feet and shook it in the air “wetin be that?” Tony asked with a puzzled look “I wan make blood enter my leg, e dey do me like say I no fit waka again” Olinlin replied.

Tony drove the car discreetly to the bush that held Olinlin and the dead man’s body. Olinlin put the body in the boot of the car; the fear he felt gave him enough adrenaline to lift a dead body all on his own. Body in the boot and they were gone.

As they drove, Olinlin was a nervous wreck; he wondered why Tony was so calm and decided that he was an idiot for being so nervous but as the ride kept on and he found it extremely difficult to concentrate on his driving; he realized that he was not an idiot for being so nervous “na dead body dey this car o” he thought “this wan wey oga Tony dey do like say na dog die” his thoughts were all over the place “e be like say oga Tony don kill before”.

“Olinlin I have not killed anyone before” Olinlin gasped at Tony’s words, it was a miracle that he didn’t scream and jump out of the car “how you take know the thing wey dey my mind?” Olinlin was afraid of the answer but he couldn’t stop himself from asking “because of the way wey you dey look me. You dey look me like say I wan kill you” Tony replied leaning back on his chair… he wanted to take a short nap before they arrived at his house.

Just as Tony closed his eyes to nap, he heard Olinlin shriek like a little girl; he opened his eyes instantly and saw the reason for Olinlin’s teeth gnashing fear, there were a bunch of policemen half a kilometre away from them.

“Make a U turn now” Tony commanded without thinking but Olinlin couldn’t turn the car around from where they were as the rules for that particular road didn’t permit it. In order to turn the car around, Olinlin would still have to drive past the policemen which they were trying to avoid in the first place.

“Wetin we go do now? Oga wetin we go do now?” Olinlin was near a panic attack; Tony couldn’t believe that this was the same Olinlin who tried to calm him down when he was going through his own panic attack. He looked at the way Olinlin’s feet shook helplessly and said “drive. Nothing will happen… las las we will tell them that we are coming from the hospital”

Olinlin obeyed Tony’s words like they were laced with the charm of obedience; his feet stepped on the accelerator and the car moved closer and closer to the spot with all the policemen.

“Good evening sir” Tony said to the policeman that approached their car, he didn’t want to give Olinlin a chance to talk or show his nervousness. “Good evening” the policeman replied scanning the back seat with his eyes “where are you people coming from?” he asked “the hospital sir” Tony replied with a weak smile on his face… he wanted to look friendly and non-threatening but so far the policeman did not care for it.

“What do you have in your boot” the policeman asked and the question made Tony’s feet jerk just like Olinlin’s feet was moving earlier “no…nothing sir… we are just coming from the hospital” Tony’s spine started to chill with fear “let me see your boot then” the policeman said.

Worse words have never been said; Tony and Olinlin exchanged glances and looked at the policeman to be sure they heard him right. They did hear him right when he repeated his request the second time. Just then Tony could see Olinlin’s legs shaking frantically from his feet to his knees and he didn’t blame the man. There was nothing to be calm about… the dye was cast and it was time for them to face the music.