To read part 1 go HERE
To read part 2 go HERE
Now, he had a new family. The boys were his brothers and
Olori a father figure of sorts. He didn't go anywhere without one of them being
with him; most often, it was Tunji. He didn't have to worry about anything bad
happening. When he got into any scrapes, the boys were there to fight with him.
Every night he went to bed, he had food in his stomach.
One evening after a day of scavenging, Kola went into the
communal outdoor lean-to bathroom to wash up. A nightly ritual, he liked to
wash off the dirt and stench of the dump that seemed to permeate his body and
clothes. One habit he'd learned from his mother. No matter how broke she'd
been, she'd always insisted on cleanliness.
He unlocked the tap for the outdoor storage tank that Olori
made sure was filled up whenever the water tanker came around the
neighbourhood. There was no running water in this slum.
After scrubbing his body and rinsing off the soap from head
to toes, he towelled off and got dressed in clean shorts and a cut-off sleeve
top he wore to sleep. Then he hand-washed his dirty clothes before hanging them
against the low brick fence to dry.
He grabbed the soap dish and turned to return to the room he
shared with the other boys when he saw Olori talking to two men he didn't
recognise.
Huddled together, the men spoke in low, rumbling voices.
Although curiosity tugged at Kola to find out what they were saying, he wasn't
stupid enough to eavesdrop on Olori who had shown him more kindness than anyone
else had done since his mother's passing.
When the men turned to look at him, he bowed his head. Both
men looked so similar they had to be brothers. Both sporting dreadlocks, they
wore loose-fitting washed jeans although one wore an Arsenal football shirt
while the other's blue t-shirt had a large D&G logo on it. On their feet were
tan-coloured Timberland boots.
"Who is this?" the one with the Arsenal shirt
asked. He looked not much older than Olori but there were more lines around his
hardened dark eyes.
"This is my new boy," Olori said and crooked his
fingers for Kola to come forward. "Kola, these are my friends."
"I'm Stinger," the first one spoke.
"And I'm Stone," the other said.
Kola sucked in a sharp breath. He'd heard of the two of them
from the other gang members. They were indeed brothers and very notorious
criminals, according to the rumours. They'd never been caught in the act or
perhaps there'd never been any proof of their guilt, so they were free men.
When the other boys had spoken of the two brothers, there'd been awe in their
voices. Some of the gang aspired to be like them.
"He looks very sharp," Stinger said.
"Yes, he is. And a hard worker, too," Olori said
proudly.
"Then perhaps he's just the right boy we need for the
upcoming job," Stone said.
"I don't think he's ready for that." Olori looked
at Kola with a frown.
Kola wondered what the job was about but he had the good
sense to keep his mouth shut.
""I agree with Stone," Stinger
said."Kola will be the perfect boy to use. He's good-looking and looks
sympathetic enough."
Olori nodded. "Kola, go inside. I'll talk to you
later."
He nodded and left the men, going inside to find Tunji who
was with another boy, Osei.
"Yes, I know," Tunji said.
"What's going on?" Kola asked.
"Did you see the two men talking to Olori?" Tunji
asked.
"Yes. Stinger and Stone," Kola said.
"That means there's a job coming up."
"But we already have jobs at the refuse dump."
"Ah, this one is a better job. There will be big money
involved."
"Big money?"
"Yes. I've had my eyes on the latest sneakers I saw in
the market."
Kola made just about enough to feed with and half of it went
to Olori, anyway. So he couldn’t imagine even having enough money to buy a new
pair of shoes. But since he had a roof over his head, food in his belly, and
the gang around him, anything else would be a bonus.
To be continued.
Come back tomorrow for more.
If you can't wait, go and download a copy of Kola.
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