“But she slapped you na” It was Tai teasing Kenny.

He was laughing so hard, holding on to his side, twisting every which way. A really exaggerated laugh. Kenny was not at all finding it funny, and he was making no effort to hide it as he retorted;

“Almost, almost oooo just almost and she apologised and still she no gree for you”

“But she sha apologized because I spoke to her”

“To both of us, she apologised to both of us not just to you”

Kenny had this habit of emphasising almost everything he said, a habit Tai usually found annoying but at the moment he just wanted to laugh at his twin. Very few people could tell them apart, but there were a number of distinguishing features. Tai was a couple of shades darker, a left arm that twisted a little bit inward at an awkward angle. Kenny was the goofy one while Tai was almost always grumpy. On occasion however Tai went off character and would just go absolutely goofy as well. For some reason Kenny never found these moments funny and when these moments arose, he became the grumpy twin.

Sixteen year olds, although they appeared slightly older, they were the only children of an Architect dad; Femi Brownson and an accountant/nurse mum (well she worked in an audit firm but she administered injection and drugs to her children). They asked why she did not work in a hospital and she told them it was because she was no longer a nurse. They were kids at the time and as children who want to be in the know, they asked more questions;

“Mum, so if you are no longer a nurse why are you giving us injections?“

“Because I am a trained nurse”

“So why are you no longer a nurse then?” chirped kenny

“Because I am now an accountant”

“Why mum?” asked Tai

“Do you want an injection on your lower lip?”

“No mum” it was a subdued chorus.

So take your pills and go to bed. “Errrmmm mum…” it was Tai again. She gave him the look. “Nothing mum, look I’m swallowing my pills…nanite”

Even now, over a decade later, the “look” still had the same effect on the twins. Today they were returning from their JAMB classes. It was early evening and though the sun was still up, the weather was really cool. It was one of those evenings when the leaves looked greener and the air felt really clean. A few minutes earlier, they had seen a really pretty girl about their age. She had on a blue polka dot dress, her hair was packed behind her head in a tight bun–which was a strange style for a girl her age and she has a pair of tortoise shell framed glasses perched on her dainty little nose and no jewellery whatsoever. In all she came off as a very pretty, somewhat fragile, nerd. The twins were at that point in their lives honing their toasting skills and Kenny was quick to throw his brother a challenge. She was walking across the neighbourhood basketball court and they could see her from the foot path on which they were walking but she was yet to sight them,

“Oya na show us your toasting skills oooo, abi she no fine?“

“No na shebi you say Bob style is sure fire and there is no girl that will not fall for it, Kenny this is your chance to prove it”

Bob was one of their friends who seemed to exert a lot of influence on Kenny, he went to school with them and stayed in their neighbourhood and Kenny simply took his opinion on anything as the law.

“No no no no, you try your luck first, I am sure she will fall for my toasting so use your own chance first and then when you have failed ehn? When you have failed ehen, ching ching”

He mimed the action of pulling the lever on a slot machine. In reality both of them were nervous but none was willing to admit this. Neither had actually ever toasted a girl. So Tai walked on to the court, while Kenny continued walking down the path. With his heart beating faster than the rockstar beating a drum, he part walked part stumbled up to the girl,

“Hi, hello, afternoon sorry evening, I mean good day” ‘get a grip man’ he told himself at which point she turned to look at him. No smile no frown, nothing but a blank stare and his mouth just went absolutely dry. So dry that he feared his tongue would rip apart if he tried to move it.

Stay tuned for episode 2 next week Friday. If you want to encourage this story please like, leave a comment, share to your friends and tell them to subscribe as I am sure you have done that too. Thank you.