章節 12: Friends

After a while of waiting, David saw his door open, and he stepped out as though it had been planned. Fixing his suit to look neat, David began walking into the main department building.

He could do nothing about the many eyes on him, so he decided to ignore them. Two suited bodyguards followed behind him; it seemed they couldn't leave his side even for a second.

"David!!" A familiar voice rang out.

Turning to the source, David saw his friend Gabriel walking toward him. They were finally out of the crowd, so they could walk freely, and the crowd was slowly dissipating as everyone went back to their business.

"My guy, how far?" David said, reverting to his normal self as soon as he saw his friend.

"I'm good, but look at you, just shining! Just one day, and you're all kitted up. Bro, what's going on?" Gabriel asked.

"For now, I can't tell you. But what's up with you?" David replied.

"I'm okay… did you do Mrs. Nmecha's assignment? We have her first," Gabriel said.

Looking at his friend, David could only smile. It seemed he had made a good one. Without worrying much, the two walked into class together.

Although they weren't in the same department or even faculty, they were still students at the University of Port Harcourt, meaning there were courses they took together.

David, on the other hand, had completely forgotten about it due to his recent fortune, but he had no fear since this was fairly common among students.

The General Education Studies class was attended more out of obligation than necessity, as it was compulsory.

Two hours later, the two went their separate ways as David went straight to his main department building, and Gabriel did the same.

David was a student in the Department of Library and Information Science, a course he had never been happy about but had chosen to continue with in the end.

If he had known a time like this would come for him in the future, he would never have accepted admission into the department. He had applied for Engineering but was pushed into this course for reasons unknown. He accepted it only because he had no other choice.

Now, though he could pursue it, David saw no point in doing so. Arriving at the department garage, he saw a small group of people gathering.

"You guys don't need to follow me around here; just being nearby is enough," David said as he got out of the car.

"Sir…"

"Just find a strategic point and guard. Following me around makes it a bit awkward for me and everyone," David replied.

As much as he appreciated the security, he couldn't deny that it was uncomfortable. Even during the GES class, they had stood directly at the door. These were huge men with guns, intimidating to anyone, no matter their size.

"As you wish, sir," the guard said as he bowed.

"Thank you," David replied, adjusting his suit.

As he did so, he saw the response team setting up in the garage. The library only had two entrances, one of which was here. Two of them immediately went to stand by the entrance, but David didn't argue with them since it was, as he said, a strategic point.

Deciding to shrug it off, he started walking toward the staircase to get to class, and as usual, the entourage followed. However, unlike before, they stopped at certain points and stood guard. Seeing this, David smiled as he went about his business.

His department wasn't exactly large, being one of the newer ones within the university, and from what he had heard, they were even in a borrowed area.

The day went by quickly, and soon it was time to go home. His life at school was uneventful; he knew no one, and no one knew him.

"Gabriel, how far? Where are you?" David asked as he prepared to go home.

"You're not going yet, right? We're coming," Gabriel said.

Even as Gabriel spoke, David could hear the exhaustion in his voice; it was clear they were running to his department. David found it a bit touching, but they had always gone home together, and the fact that he was now wealthy wouldn't change that.

Several minutes later, he saw the trio running toward him. Gabriel had become a friend because they both lived in the same lodge. Uchenna was different, as they had been roommates for a while, and finally, Shedrack was just someone whose interests aligned with theirs.

Looking at them, David realized just how random his friends really were. But they were the people who had put up with him, helped him in his time of need, and could be said to be one of the reasons why he was still here.

"Guy, tell me, when did you get so rich?" Uchenna asked without hesitation as he finally caught his breath.

"Bro, if your family was this rich, why did you make us suffer for three years, or was the garri sweeting you?" Shedrack asked.

(Garri is cassava flakes, a common food in Nigerian households and a staple for college students.)

"Guy, I swear, if not for your bodyguards, I would have started beating you right here," Gabriel said.

"Oya, oya, calm down! Small prank, and you guys are already vexing," David said, keeping his distance.

(Oya, depending on context, can mean "Hurry up" or just "Okay" as it does here.)

"Prank? Bro, we didn't even eat breakfast yesterday, but you had money to buy a Rolls Royce. That thing is worth more than 600 million Naira! You could buy half of Aluu with that money," Uchenna argued.

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?" David asked, knowing very well where this was leading.

"What else? Come and buy me something to eat. I haven't eaten since morning, and there's no garri at home," Gabriel said.

"Makes sense," David reasoned.

For one, he was happy that even though he was now wealthy (or was supposedly hiding it from them), his friends remained his friends.

Of course, from the looks in their eyes, they saw him as a golden goose, but they still put in the effort to remain the same as before.

To fulfill their wishes, David turned toward the small shop set up close to the library. It sold snacks and other items students might need.

"That's right. Now that you have money, buy 'temptation' for us to eat," Uchenna said, pointing to the shop.

"Seconded."

"Thirded."

"Is that even a word?" David asked as they all began laughing.

"Temptation," as they called it, was simply a recent addition to the woman's stall: fried meat. Meat was already something very few students ate daily to stretch their budget for the month.