Kingsley Okeke @kingsleychi

A neighbor told me she was bringing an extension to me to fix, as it had a little fault. She messaged me on WhatsApp that she′d be coming over in a few minutes. Before she arrived, I quickly sprayed perfume and body spray on myself so I′d smell good.

When she came into my room, she handed me the extension and sat down, watching me work. She complimented my cologne, which made me feel proud. As I worked on the extension, I was trying to act tough. When I plugged it in to test it, it sparked, but I pretended like it was nothing and pulled out the plug like a pro.

However, when I touched an open wire and got a shock, I quickly drew my hand back. Without thinking twice, I coupled the extension back together without checking why it was sparking. I just screwed everything back together and handed it back to her, telling her it was fixed.

As she asked me questions, I didn′t answer and instead opened the door, telling her I had a task to do. I said I′d come check on her later, but really, I just wanted to get away and deal with the pain from the electric shock. Now that she′s gone with the extension, I′m relieved and plan to get some sleep. I′m definitely not touching that extension again and God knows.

I had always wanted to have a sleepover at my friend′s place. He was a close friend, well-known to my family, and we had grown very close over time. Although he often spent nights at my house, I had never returned the favor.
He invited me to his place for his father′s 50th birthday celebration the previous Monday, and I accepted.

During the invitation, my parents gave their permission for me to spend the night, which excited me. My family typically doesn′t allow sleepovers unless absolutely necessary, but this time was an exception.

After the party, we helped clean up, and as night fell, I looked forward to a good sleep. The air conditioner was blowing cold air, which I loved.But the peace was short-lived, as I started hearing the buzz of mosquitoes everywhere around my ears. Despite the perfect room and cool breeze from the AC, the mosquitoes made it impossible for me to sleep.

My friend, on the other hand, seemed to have adapted to sleeping with the mosquitoes and wasn′t bothered. I tried to sleep, but the buzzing continued throughout the night. When morning came, I woke up without showing any signs of stress. I thanked his parents and left, relieved to be heading home for a well-deserved rest. Although the party was a success, all I needed was a good hour′s sleep in my own bed.

One day, going home from school, I took this new path and discovered a location filled with tranquility and ambient surroundings. It was so peaceful and a good spot for reading. Immediately, I saw the area and how it had developed, I concluded in my mind that the next time I needed to read after lectures or school hours, I would go there to read.

I told one of my friends to check out the place with me after classes the next day, and he was also encouraging about the environment. He appraised how peaceful it looked, with tree shades and a knit surrounding that was just breathtaking. We both agreed that anything we read in that vicinity would stick in our brains.

The next two days came, and we went to read. The place was as good and peaceful as ever. There were no distractions, no people moving around, no noises from generators, and no noises from students. It was like the place was secluded from noise. We were reading, and everything was going smoothly, with the sun shining but not getting to us because of the tree shades.

Then, all of a sudden, I heard a creek on the tree. I thought it might be the wind or some little animals moving about in the branches. But then, I felt a thud on my head.
It was a mature mango that had fallen from the tall tree branches and landed straight on my head. The pain and agony were immediate, and I was thrown off balance.

My friend, who was sitting a few feet away, looked back to see what had fallen and saw the mango. He quickly rushed to pick it up, but I took it from him while still rubbing the painful spot on my head, that mango was an atonement for the painful landing. It was a memorable experience, and we decided to be more cautious whenever we read at that spot, watching out for any falling mangoes from the tree branches. We didn′t feel safe again until the fruits on the tree were exhausted.

There was a building close to ours, and recently, they had installed a solar-powered street light. The light was very illuminating and usually started around 6 PM. When it was first installed, I thought it would be a great spot to read during power outages. I discussed this with some friends, and they agreed to join me.

One day, there was a blackout for two consecutive days, and I needed to read some articles and books. I brought out my table and placed it under the light. The light was exactly what I had expected. Before long, some friends joined me, and we were reading together. We were enjoying the night, but I have to admit that having friends share my table was a bit distracting. We spent more time conversing and joking than reading, but I still managed to get some reading done.

As we were reading and joking, one of my friends laughed too hard and pushed the table towards me. I jolted back in surprise, and the table broke. This is where the dismay comes in. My friends were still laughing, and they didn′t seem too concerned about the broken table. I was disappointed and showed a bit of anger. As time went on, we continued reading, but I was hoping my friends would show some sympathy for the broken table. However, it wasn′t until three days later, when I called them together, that I demanded they contribute to buying a new table.

They initially resisted and argued, but after some convincing, they agreed to contribute. I wouldn′t have asked them to if they had shown some remorse about breaking the table, especially since we were all sharing it. I think I did the right thing by asking them to contribute to a new table.

My uncle had agreed that I would accompany him to the uptown market to get some goods for his shop. He usually dealt in motor and motorcycle parts, and this time, he was heading deep into Benue state to get some spare parts from his delivery agent. We started off in the morning, but I had no idea that the journey would be so devastating.

At first, I admired the beautiful greens, trees, and wild monkeys I saw on the trees, as well as other animals I couldn′t identify. However, as we continued on the journey through several miles of plantations and wild crops, I grew tired of the scenery. I wanted to see something new, like fancy houses or the city lights, but instead, we were stuck on rough roads with bumps, red sand, and mud.

I thought we would arrive at our destination quickly, make some negotiations, and head back home. But it wasn′t that simple. We had to buy a pass ticket and take a second journey, which took us to a particular gate after about two hours. We used the ticket to access the area, and then we drove for another twenty minutes to meet with the agent.

My uncle negotiated with the agent, and I learned a thing or two from his negotiations. As we finished up, I realized it was already clocking 4 PM, and the drive home would take around eight to nine hours. We spent the entire evening driving back home, and after that experience, I′m not sure I′ll be as excited if I′m asked to accompany him again.

I decided to try fixing the ceiling fan myself, and it was a truly unforgettable experience. I had located the spot where I could climb up to the ceiling fan, so I placed a ladder and climbed up with all my tools. I was filled with certainty that I would fix the fan that Saturday. However, studying the wire connections took longer than expected - it took me two hours to figure out how the wiring was connected and where to put the negative and positive cables.

After I located the correct spots, I connected the wires, but the length wasn′t enough, so I had to come down and purchase another yard of cable. The dust and cobwebs up there were terrible, and they got tangled in my face. My clothes were ruined, and even after soaking them in hypo and washing, the stains are still there. That cloth is as good as condemned.

After making the connections, I came down and switched on the fan. On the fifth calibration (the highest), the fan rotated slowly. But when I switched it to the first calibration, it started blowing fast. I might have interswitched the wiring, but at least the fan was working. I took a bath, then lay on my bed, enjoying the cool breeze from the fan on its highest calibration (which was now the first setting). It sent me straight to dreamland, and I slept away my sorrows.

When I woke up, I felt lighter, but my joy was short-lived. The fan was dangling and looked shaky, like it would fall any moment. I didn′t trust my work, and I think I′ll call the electrician back when I have some money set aside.

I had been hearing about price hikes everywhere, but what happened last week was shocking. A harsh wind had blown off the cables connecting our house to the tall poles, leaving us without electricity. We called an expert electrician to fix it, and he charged us a whopping seven thousand naira just to climb up the pole with his ladder and tighten the cables. I was stunned, and my father and I tried to negotiate the price down to at least five thousand naira, but the electrician was firm. He explained that the cost of things had gone up, and he couldn′t do it for less. I had to pay him via transfer.

A few days later, I was in my room admiring my new ceiling fan, which I had bought for almost twenty-seven thousand naira after my old standing fan got burnt due to light fluctuations. I needed to get it connected, so I called the same electrician to estimate the cost of the cables and labor. But when he quoted me over fifteen thousand naira for workmanship and an extra ten thousand naira for the wiring, I was taken aback. It was outrageous! I refused his services on the spot.

As I looked at my ceiling fan, I thought to myself, “Can′t I just make the connection myself?“ I started searching online for tutorials on how to connect the wires, and I′m planning to give it a try tomorrow. I′ll climb up to the roof, make the connections, and see how it goes. I′ll share the outcome with you guys in my next story.

I′ve been eating bread and fried snacks for breakfast for a month now, ever since I started working. With my busy schedule, I don′t have time to cook or eat heavy meals, so I opted for lighter options. I′ve also been trying to reduce my weight, and heavy foods aren′t ideal for morning consumption.

I have a bread toaster, and I often wondered if I could use it to bake something more substantial, like a cake or meat pie. Despite some doubts, I decided to give it a try. I purchased flour, baking powder, milk, sugar, butter, and a fruit cake mix, hoping to create something delicious.

Following online tutorials, I mixed the ingredients, poured the batter into the toaster, and set the alarm for 20 minutes. Within 10 minutes, the aroma filled my room, and my neighbor, drawn by the smell which must have escaped into her room, asked what I was making. I promised her a taste if it turned out well.

When my alarm went off, I checked the texture, and it looked perfectly baked. The taste exceeded my expectations, and I decided to make baking a regular habit. I shared some with my neighbor, who loved it and asked me to teach her how to make it. I′ve been putting her off until I master the recipe and methods.

I had planned to charge my gadgets at a commercial charging point for a fee. I budgeted 1,000 Naira, which would cover the charging costs. At 11 AM, I would drop off my devices and pick them up around 6 PM. However, just as I was about to leave, electricity was restored at my residence. I was thrilled and decided to charge my devices at home instead.

I recalculated my budget and planned to use the 1,000 Naira to buy snacks. But before I could even head out to buy them, the electricity went off again. My phone had only charged for 10 minutes, leaving me with 20% battery life. I hoped the electricity would be restored soon, but it didn′t happen.

As the day went on, I realized I would have to spend 900 Naira to charge my phone at the commercial point, and it might not even charge fully. So, I decided to wait until tomorrow. Now, I′m recording this story with only 5% battery life left, hoping to submit it before my phone dies.