EPISODE 31 – JACKPOT!

As I write this post, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa is on and the much anticipated match between Nigeria and Argentina in Group B is underway. Presently, Argentina leads by a lone goal, courtesy of a carelessly conceded goal resulting from a well taken Argentinean corner. Mehn, I had to bounce immediately after the ball went into our net but my ears are pinned to the commentator’s comments emitting loudly from my TV a few feet away. I’ve had to rush off from my laptop screen to the TV like once or twice thanks to the hypertension-generating sounds. I hate watching games of this nature, especially when it’s the Super Eagles playing. Somehow I’m not a big fan of the Super Eagles, probably because I always feel they’d disappoint and they sure do times without number. I know it sounds unpatriotic but I’d rather spend hours and millions of cash watching Arsenal rather than watch the Super Eagles play. Anyways, it’s not that Arsenal FC have been doing great lately. Hopefully, the Super Eagles would prove me wrong today and overturn the deficit. It’s about 33 minutes now and anything can happen, right?

What comes to your mind when you imagine the term, ‘Jackpot’? At first thought, one would imagine hitting a big prize in a casino or the lottery or some good luck situation. The thing about a ‘jackpot’ is the fact it is usually unexpected. Of course that’s the fun in the whole show – the suspense! However, hitting the jackpot could come in varying forms, positive or negative. Some guys in my part of the world also have a funny way of defining ‘jackpot’. We’ll come to that point shortly.

Before long, I was over ST even though I still hoped in my mind that things had turned out differently, it felt good to be free of her. I finally convinced myself to give my relationship with BG a try and things started working out pretty well. We got much closer and towards the end of October 2006, we finally broke the jinx. We had sex, as in real sex. Surprisingly, the experience did not turn out to be as horrific as I had thought it would be, especially considering our ordeal on our failed first attempt. On that fateful day, we both knew in our hearts that we were ready and so we released ourselves to the flow. I had a second thought and probably a third as well about going ahead to take BG’s virginity but she was willing to give it to me this time. The guilt I had always felt about my seeming greed and inconsiderate nature was no longer there and even though the experience was a brief one, it was one that remained forever etched in my memory and hers, I believe. Of course, the blood and the pain were part of the experience but there was a lot more mature tone to it and I felt no regrets of any kind. I had to confirm her feelings about it and I was glad to hear an affirmative report. She was equally glad it had happened. That was probably the defining point of our relationship and at that moment, I was convinced we would last longer than I had ever envisaged, although I had no long term plans in mind. I had turned twenty-one the previous July and I still believed I had nine years to go before jumping into the marriage boat.

However, less than a week after the incident, a strange feeling suddenly beclouded me. I felt there was something wrong somewhere but I couldn’t quite place a finger on it. I spoke with BG on phone a couple of times during that period and she seemed perfect. After a serious soul-searching and finding nothing out of the ordinary, I managed to relax. The unpleasant feeling nevertheless persisted and I convinced myself that it was probably a mood swing that would sort itself out in due course. I had been used to mood swings all my adolescent life and it was hardly unusual for a boy like me who happened to come from a broken home. I quickly shrugged off the feeling, suppressing it to the best of my ability.


By the first week of November, I felt curious and asked BG if she had seen her period lately. I have always been a very overly inquisitive person and I practically knew the dates BG had her periods, even before we ever had sex and from my calculations, she had a near perfect cycle. The distance between her periods hardly ever exceeded twenty eight or twenty nine days and I came to learn that was a most perfect situation for a girl. BG was totally unaware I studied that much about her personality and we had an inside joke where I would usually predict her periods and they would come exactly when I had predicted or at best a day earlier or later. But this time, she told me she was expecting the ‘flow’ that weekend. It was a Tuesday and I recalled her last period had come exactly twenty nine days before. The Friday of that week would have implied a thirty-two day gap which was pretty unusual for her. She did not realize this nor did she seem to be bothered and I could not express my concern on the issue to her. I hoped in my heart that the ‘flow’ would come by the weekend as she had predicted.

The weekend came and I decided to give my heart a rest. I did not call her all through, deciding to call her on Monday, hoping that she would have been heavy with the flow by then and thus give my heart a big lift. She spared me the wait by calling me on Sunday to tell me she was still yet to ‘see her period’ as she put it. I felt a sudden chill pass through me. I did not want to believe she could be pregnant. She was too innocent, too naïve, too ‘small’ to get pregnant for heaven’s sake. Besides, it had only been one act. She had been a virgin until then and were virgins supposed to get pregnant on the first attempt? I had a million questions running through my head but no answers were forthcoming. I thought of the consequences that awaited me if my worst fears were confirmed. I would break my mother’s heart. My father would probably kill me. I would be an object of scorn and the laughing stock of all the girls I had previously dated, rebuffed or treated badly. My friends would be disappointed in me. Sam would have the last laugh. The last point had me wondering deeply. My relationship with Sam had lost its previous spark ever since BG and I began dating and what would he say or think after hearing that I had gotten BG pregnant. The situation was crazy. Plain crazy!

I quickly calmed myself down and decided there was probably an explanation for what was happening. What if BG’s body system was adjusting to her new status as an ex-virgin? Maybe girls were expected to have changes on their menstrual cycle after they started having sex. What if God was trying to test me? What if BG was trying to test me? Perhaps she had ‘seen her period’ already and was just pulling my leg. I held on strongly to the last thought and hoped to God that it was the situation. I realized however that BG was not one for making such jokes. Ordinarily, she would have called me with excitement at the first sight of blood she spotted. However, I prayed this case was an exception and I struggled desperately not to get drowned in my fear. I convinced BG that her body system was probably adjusting and things would be okay. I asked her to relax even though my heart was completely on fire. I did not ever mention anything as regards a possibility of pregnancy to her. I was glad she was reassured by my words. It was best not to let her realize how scared I was, I decided.

By mid-week the situation was the same and I began contemplating she went for a pregnancy test. She called me on Thursday and that phone call was the beginning of severe trauma. I was in class when the call came in and I had to sneak out to take it.
“Geebee, I need to see you urgently” she said in a most sullen voice that clearly showed that all was not well. I sensed there was danger but composed myself.
“Really? I’m in class right now. What’s the matter? Don’t you have lectures today?” I asked, desperately trying to conceal the apprehension I felt.
“Please, leave whatever you’re doing and come now. I’m on my way to your place” she said before ending the call abruptly. I had heard a sob underneath her tone before the line went dead and I needed no one to tell me the bubble had burst.

I made it to my house in record time to find BG sitting in front of my house looking like she was carrying the world on her shoulders and indeed she was at that moment.
“How are you?” I asked calmly. I knew the look on my face was far from reassuring this time. I had grown tired of trying to show a strength that really wasn’t there. BG simply sighed and reached into her bag and produced a folded piece of paper which she offered me. I needed no soothsayer to tell me what it was. I sat beside her and collected the paper. It was a lab test result and as I opened it, I spotted the word ‘POSITIVE’ clearly written in the HCG/Pregnancy column. I heaved a deep sigh. I was undone at last. I had hit the jackpot at a very wrong time. Only God would help me.

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE GEEBEE CHRONICLES

PS – The match is over and the Super Eagles could not at least try to salvage a point. Argentina 1, Nigeria 0. Tragic! Hope y’all have a wonderful World Cup experience.