Tongue by Adedayo Oluwaseyi Emmanuel
Students bustled about the university ground, wilting visibly in the sun—blazing down from the cloudless skies.
Peter puffed and panted as he hurried along the sidewalk, the heat of the sun slightly searing his face. His lab coat constantly ballooned out in the wind. He checked his watch for the third time and quickened his pace. Timing was crucial at that moment. He shielded his face from the sun and bemoaned under his breath that he was going to miss his Biology practical. The Biology laboratory—the venue for the practical, was still a long distance from where he was. There was no shuttle or bike in sight. He dabbed at the beads of sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief and spat. He was too preoccupied to see the two ladies —Tolani and Sara, standing on the mowed lawn, few feet from the sidewalk. The phlegm left his mouth with a sucking sound and landed on Tolani’s arm.
Tolani recoiled in disgust at the sight of the phlegm on her arm. “Eww, what’s this?” she shrieked and stomped angrily after him, muttering a curse under her breath. Grabbing the collar of his lab coat, she spun him around to the fiery look on her face. “Are you blind?”
At first, Peter was utterly confused. Seeing the phlegm, he began to stutter an apology. He reached to his pocket, produced a hanky and made to clean the phlegm but she slapped his hand away.
She raised her right hand, apparently to slap him hard across his face but Sara held it firmly. “Leave my hand,” She groaned, struggling to wriggle her hand free, but her friend proved powerful and tightened the grip.
“Babe, chill. He clearly didn’t see us.”
“Let go of my arm,” Tolani bellowed, struggling against her friend’s strength, her patience fraying.
Sara turned on the guy. “Just leave before she loses her temper,” she said but didn’t release Tolani’s arm.
Peter mumbled an apology and appreciation, and scurried away.
Sara slackened her grip once he was yards away.
Tolani squirmed her hand free and hissed. “You should have allowed me to teach him a lesson,”
“You like violence a lot.”
“Gosh, that’s the only way people would avoid messing with you,” A look of annoyance crossed her face. “He’s probably in 100 level. A whole me in final year! His cheeks would have been stinging from my slap if you had not stopped me.”
“Take it easy. You don’t know for sure his level, just let it slide.” Sara ran a soothing hand over her friend’s back.
Tolani checked her watch. “Since you didn’t allow me to slap that blind fool, at least you would allow me pull Mimi’s wig for keeping us waiting under this hot sun.” She fanned herself with her hands and dabbed at her face with a napkin carefully, not wanting to smear her make over.
“She should be here very soon. She couldn’t afford to miss the class just to go shopping.”
Tolani eyed her askance. “How about me that didn’t attend? It’s a departmental lecture, besides the man lectures are always boring.”
“Everyone’s not like you,” Sara said matter-of-factly.
“Whatever.”
“Fine, let me call her.” Sara brought her phone out of her fanny bag and began dialing. There was a short pause as the number connected then began to ring. After two rings, the call connected. There was a beep.
“Hi. This is Mimi. Sorry, I can’t talk right now. . .”
“Voicemail?” Tolani grumbled. “What’s going on? Where did she put her phone?”
“The lecturer must be strict, he could seize her phone,” Sara pursed her lips and scanned the lawn. “Let us wait for her, she should be here any time from now. I’ve texted her where we are,” she said and motioned to a vacant bench under an orange tree.
Tolani obliged, grumbling as they both ambled over to the bench.
“Lest I forget, aren’t we inviting Shade?” Sara asked, crossing her legs. “She might want to shop for our dinner night and sign out day. . .”
She had hardly finished speaking before Tolani began to wave her hands in protest. “No no no. Don’t let us invite that filthy thief.”
“Ahn ahn, we don’t know for sure if she did stole the purse at the party,”
“We found it in her bag.”
“Someone could have put it. . .” Sara offered.
“The same person put those things in her hostel bah?” Tolani paused. “To the extent that she was banned from the school’s hostel. Let’s call a spade a spade,”
“But she is still our friend. I’ll call her.”
“You would know best to avoid her once she steals from you.”
Sara was already dialing. She pressed the phone to her ear and leaned back in the bench. The call connected after one ring.
“Hey babes,” Shade’s girly voice came floating out of the phone’s speaker.
“How are you darling?” Sara asked, beaming. Tolani sneered.
“All good thanks.”
“Alright. So, we’re going shopping, you coming?”
Shade went silent.
Tolani began to snigger but Sara threw a hand over her mouth to muffle the words that were hardly out.
“No problem.” Shade finally blurted.
“Meet us at the lawn beside Agriculture lecture theatre 2. Be fast o.” Sara said and removed the phone from her ear. She turned on Tolani. “What’s wrong with you?”
“She’s probably broke, you’re forcing her.”
“You don’t know for sure. Let the poor girl rest.”
Tolani zipped her bag and clutched it closely. “I should take precautions, abeg.”
“You’re unconsciously stigmatizing her. She has done a lot for us in the past.”
“That doesn’t justify her bad habit. What if she steals from the mall and we get arrested for accompanying her?”
“Ahn ahn, she won’t.”
“I’ve said mine.”
One hour later, the four girls were laughing hysterically while they swaggered through the mall, carrying bags containing clothes, shoes and other items they had purchased from previous stores, but they intend on purchasing more from other stores as they proceeded. All those while, Tolani had kept stealing sideways glance at Shade.
Tolani was the first to see their department president, Crystal, through the glass walls of a Dior clothing store. “Is that not our president?” she whispered to Mimi and pulled her along.
Crystal examined the price tag of an emerald gown and gasped. “Gosh, that’s too expensive,” she bemoaned to herself almost aloud.
Mimi suddenly jolted her aside and reached for one of the two emerald gown left on the hanger.
“Hey babes,” Crystal smiled briskly. A frown flitted across her face.
The two friends examined the price tag and burst into shrieks of fiendish laughter.
“I think the manager should have put a signage outside to shoo away poor little things like you,” Tolani said between gags.
Mimi sized her up. “You don’t want to cut your coat according to your clothes.”
“I-I J-just. . .” Crystal stuttered.
“You should return to your bend-down-select spot. That’s what you can afford. Don’t force it, girl.” Tolani said mockingly.
“It’s just two of this gown that’s left,” Mimi turned to Tolani. “both of us should buy, what do you think?”
“Unfortunately, Emerald is too loud for me. Someone else would. . .” Tolani’s phone beeped, interrupting her. She checked to see a credit alert from her boyfriend. “My boyfriend just sent me 100k for shopping!” she blurted, grinning.
Mimi edged closer, peered at the phone’s screen and they both squealed. “We’re painting the town in many colors!”
They hurried away, whooping as they went.
“Don’t mind them, huh.” Shade said when she and Sara bustled past Crystal, after the two girls.
***
Later that night, Mimi was in Tolani’s hostel, testing out the clothes they bought.
“This gown really outlines my curves,” Mimi said, admiring herself in a full-length mirror resting on the wall. She spanked her buttocks and watched it bounce in the clothe.
Tolani was struggling with the zip of a Chelsea boot. It finally gave in “At last,” She swung her leg and the shoe came off. “It should fit you instead.”
Remembering that she had a date with her boyfriend that evening, Mimi hurriedly primped her hair, slipped into her heels and gathered up seven shopping bags. “I’ve got to rush. I don’t want to keep my man waiting.” She scampered out of the room.
“Alright babes. See you tomorrow.” Tolani called. She laid flat on her bed and sighed.
Outside, a figure stepped from the shadows. It peered after a departing girl. It had prowled around for a while to see the first girl came out of the Tolani’s room hurriedly and the second girl had come through a different direction, but she hadn’t entered, instead she paced up and down right outside the room before she eventually turned and left. It tightened its grip on a baseball bat and made towards the door of the room.
Tolani had just began to record a video. Her phone was balanced on a phone mount placed on her mahogany reading table and the room was awash with a brightly lit ring light. She was gyrating her hips to the camera, laughing at her own flexibility, mumbling along to Naira Marley’s song jamming from the speaker of her Bluetooth music box, when a knock came on her door. “Who is that?” she asked aloud over the loud music.
Silence.
She frowned. “Mimi is that you?”
Silence.
She fumed and made for the door. Someone must be playing tricks on her. She wasn’t in the mood.
The figure listened to the beat of the muffled music for a moment before it rested a hand on the doorknob, closed it eyes and in an attempt to steady it shallow and rapid breath. Finally, it exhaled noisily and pushed the door. The door flung wide open.
Tolani recoiled, startled.
The figure moved inside. With its back to the entrance, it pushed the door with a foot. The door slammed shut.
The recognition hit her and she hissed. “Why are you. . .” she couldn’t finish.
The figure swung the bat at her belly.
It sent Tolani sprawling across the floor, a few feet away. Her face was suddenly ashen and wet with sweat. A chill ran up her spine. She hadn’t seen the bat, not until it was raised; she would have kept her distance. The truth was that she had not thought the person was here to hurt her. She was out of her mind with shock. Groaning, she raised her head to speak but the bat came again, very hard at her mouth. Thick blood flung out and she felt her cheekbone and teeth crack. Pain rippled through her, fear sent her pulse racing. Yet, impulsively, she bolted to her feet and made a run for the kitchen.
The figure came after her with powerful strides and swung the bat again.
The bat bashed her waist, she loses balance and fell face first to the floor. Whimpering, she raised her hand in a feeble motion, mutely pleading that the figure stopped swinging and told her what she had done to offend it.
It allowed her pull herself into a sitting position and meet the inhuman fury in it face. Then, without a word, it raised the bat, ready to strike, deaf to her pleading.
Tolani squinted in disbelief, then she saw the bat whooshed in air; a rapid blur of movement. It bashed her in the head and she saw a brilliant flash of light, then darkness.
The figure whacked harder. Ten times. Twenty times. Until what was contained within her skull squelched out, scattering on to the floor. It stood there for a while, clutching the bat, huffing and puffing.
“At first, when the idea of this story came to me, I envisioned that it would turn into a mystery story. Unfortunately, I lose interest in the middle of writing it. I had no choice but to dump it.”
Adedayo Oluwaseyi Emmanuel (he/him) is a creative writer from Lagos, Nigeria. His writing includes fiction, poems, essays and reviews. For him, writing is an expression; a written transcription of his wild imaginations, feelings and thoughts. He runs a blog where he writes short stories, essays and books/movies reviews.