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It was the fourth month in Mr. Okafor’s residential rental property without a caretaker. Things were beginning to fall apart in 5, Otolori Street, Lawanson since Martins threw in the towel following the entry of Jamiu. Before his fall out with Mr. Okafor, Martins had felt uncomfortable with Jamiu’s personality and what he portrayed himself to be. But Mr. Okafor who had never set his eyes on the dude and knew nothing of him admitted him into his apartment anyways. That singular incident amid other occurrences severed the relationship that existed between Martins and Mr. Okafor.
5, Otolori Street had a tradition of admitting tenants of repute and of good report. Unlike the other houses in the neighbourhood where frequent fracas among tenants and landlord/tenant palaver was the order of the day, the tenants in Mr.Okafor’s house had been able to alienate themselves from the disturbances Otolori Street had become notorious for.
However, since Martins stopped being their caretaker, chaos had began to set in. First, Jamiu’s agent was now deputizing as caretaker in the absence of Martins till Mr.Okafor made concrete arrangement for his replacement. During this period of instability, four longstanding tenants had left the premises having failed to renew their rents, while some new one’s who had barely spent a year also left under one guise or the other without completing the duration of their rent. The tenants had left because they were becoming uncomfortable in a place that was supposedly a safe haven whilst Martins was caretaker. A couple of them left because they were starting to see strange faces stroll in and out of the residential building at very odd hours of the day.
The new occupants that replaced them were people of questionable character. The agent cum caretaker was not as in-depth and detailed with the scrutiny of prospective tenants like Martins. He admitted people into apartments with reckless abandon not minding their work history and background. New tenants had to bribe the agent before they could get an apartment, just like Jamiu who had to pay extra cash asides his annual rent and service charges to become a distinguished tenant in the residential building.
The end of the day was drawing near. The new tenant, Jamui was settling in well. He had succeeded in making a number of female friends in the compound. Runo was one of them. Some flats in the compound had been thrown into darkness due to some illegal connections. Jamui’s flat was one of them, and as usual he seized that opportunity to spend some time in his next door neighbour’s self-contained apartment
“Jamiu its 9pm. I think your phone should be fully charged by now” Runo opined.
“Babe I dey enjoy this program, abeg make I finish am”
“That was what you said while watching the last program that ended some 5 minutes ago. Jamiu you’ve forgotten you are in a lady’s room. Please I want to have a shower. I need some private moments”
“Wetin they worry you sef? Like say you know dey enjoy my company since. How babe wey fine like you go just they alone for room without any body to yan with.”
“Jamiu I can have one thousand and one friends over if I wanted, however I love my privacy. Moreover you’ve been here since five, have I not tried for you? Please you really need to leave now before the busy bodies in this compound begin to spread rumours that we are having an affair” Runo pleaded.
“And you think they are not doing that already? Runo we are neighbours, no be today I don they come here”
“I know, but your visits have always been brief”
“You make it brief” Jamiu countered.
“Yes, because I don’t allow neighbours into my apartment. That you stayed till this time is because I’m in a very good mood today, plus you’ve been cracking me up with your jokes.”
You know that right? Jamiu said smiling. Jamiu rose from the only sofa in Runo’s one-room apartment. He walked towards her, hoping to make a move on her.
“You know you are a very pretty girl Runo and because you know you are pretty you will be forming hard to get.” Jamiu places a hand on her shoulder as Runo shrugs it off.
“Jamiu whatever is on your mind tonight just forget it. I’m not one of those cheap sluts we have as tenants that you’ve managed to woo to bed with your wiles.” Runo walks past Jamui as she goes to the door to show him the way out.
An unrelenting Jamiu correspondingly walked towards her, then tried to grab her waist. “Come here baby”
“Jamiu stop it!”
He nestled her to a corner. “Babe calm down! I’m just trying to be a caring neighbour here. I know you get lonely a times.”
“Oh really! You know me that much?”
“Of course”
“Get off me!” Runo pushed him hard, finally freeing herself off his grip. “So that is why you’ve been frequenting my place lately under one guise or the other. Look here mister, you won’t even see my bedspread talk-less taking me to bed”
“You think so?” Jamiu asked, smiling sheepishly.
“I know so”
“Oh I love challenges. Babe I know your type, I swear I will make you eat your words”
“While I’m still alive? Probably my dead body. Jamui you no reach. You are no where near my class neither are you my spec.”
“Runo that’s an insult on my personality and I don’t deal lightly with insults.” Runo’s belittling words gnawed at him like a bee sting
“Jamiu leave my room before I create a scene. After-all we don’t share the rents here or do we?”
Jamiu shamefully left the room with his head bowed. Runo heaved a sigh of relief, then suddenly her eyebrow was creased by worry and uncertainty. Jamui’s last statement before he left her room just struck the hardened layers of her heart.
He had threatened her, his words echoed in her once again. “Gosh! That did sound like a threat, didn’t it? Should I lose sleep over that?”
Runo stood in front of the mirror observing her reflection keenly as she took a bird’s eye view of herself from head to toe. For a moment she prayed Jamui wasn’t setting plans in motion to do what she was thinking his last statement had been about.