Maya in Big Brother’s House!
Maya’s dream comes true.
It all happened so fast. My weekend had started with the sad news of Hiyalo’s launch date extension, as a way to keep myself distracted, I spent the entire Saturday stalking my newfound love interest. The Launch date was extended, but they certainly had found me a man. He was my husband, but he wasn’t aware. I would give him time to get the revelation he so needed, no rush. I must have been super exhausted because I dozed off and when I woke up, my phone was buzzing endlessly. It was a call, several calls actually, but from the same number, it ought to be Bode. Only he had the audacity. What was that awful smell? My phone rang again, and I was prepared to block Bode after giving him a piece of my mind.
The voice on the other end of the line was feminine and, much to my surprise, her first words were, “Congratulations, Maya!”. Congratulations on what? The words that followed jolted me out of my sleep trance, and I started pacing as she explained the next steps to me. I was going to Big brother’s house! My hair was a mess, and I didn't have any luggage packed. My pickup was in less than 10 hours. Panic was setting in, and I could swear that I heard a sound effect of suspense in the background.
Next thing, I was running to my hairdresser’s shop to address the mess on my scalp. By the time I was done, I had less than four hours left, so I ordered a ride. The instruction was simple, a speedy transit to the next shopping plaza. That was when it happened, my first obstacle from my village people. He suddenly was standing in front of us, causing the driver to swerve to the left. The curses were endless from my driver, but the boy seemed unphased merely strolling across the road only to stare down the driver once. As he walked away, I could swear I saw him smirk. I dialled my mother’s number immediately. I needed to order some Holyghost-backed prayers. The shopping knocked another two hours off my time. My room was a mess, but I didn’t care. The awful smell was stronger now. It seemed to emanate from above my head. Did a rat die in the ceiling?
I had about 30 minutes left when I got another call. My pickup driver had called to confirm my location. He would be arriving in even less than 30 minutes. That smell was stronger now, and this time I could swear I caught a whiff of male cologne, but how? A dead man in the ceiling? I didn’t have enough time to investigate it. My phone was ringing again, and I was barely done packing. I believed I was done with all the strangeness when a cat and dog jumped out of the sky and landed in front of me. Suddenly, the weather got pretty dark, and it began to rain, and I was giggling involuntarily — did it just literally rain cats and dogs? I definitely could not ruin this beauty, so I grabbed an umbrella and dashed out to find my ride parked at the end of my street. I looked at my reflection in the rear mirror for the first time and realised I was wearing a suit. Not just any suit, but one that was two sizes too big and a shade of red that would make anyone mad. Why was it so shiny? Strangely, my hair had come undone again. I looked a mess.
For a weird reason, I didn’t get nervous or anything. I just smiled at my reflection. Was I going mad? We were at the venue and there I was on the stage. I was elated and feeling quite groovy, and that was when I saw him in the crowd, my crush from Hiyalo — unveiling my boo soon, to see him follow the publication here and join the waitlist. He was holding up a red card with a frown plastered on his face. He looked really disappointed. Suddenly, everyone stopped clapping and for some weird reason they were all wearing football boots and one woman had an arsenal jersey on. She looked so much like Gabriel Jesus. Was that his mom? What is she doing at Big Brother’s house? The strange smell was back stronger than ever. I was sure I would throw up. I began to scream at the madness happening before me.
That was when my eyes flew open. My big brother was there, staring down at me like I had gone mad! The neon lights of the clock above his head read 7:30 pm. I had been asleep for over 2 hours. “Who has a nightmare in the evening?” he asked with a bemused smile. That was when it all dawned on me. I had dozed off on the couch while watching the Big Brother show. I had arrived in Abeokuta the day before to spend the weekend with my elder brother. It was raining heavily outside, which would explain the cat and dog. But that smell was back. “What is smelling like that?”, I asked. “Oh, I forgot, you hate the smell of locust beans, the food I’m eating is made with it”, he replied, never removing his eyes from the television screen.
A match was on now. It was Arsenal. All this while, my brain fed my dream with stimulations around me. I had to confirm one last thing, so I went to my inbox. Well, the only truth in all of this madness was that Hiyalo had extended its launch date. It was for the best. Greatness takes longer than one expects. So much for being in Big Brother’s house!
