The University Village

Episode 14

Although, he didn’t have enough cash on him, but he had in his bank account which he could easily withdraw from First Bank ATM, which is situated inside the school. Bishop asked to see the phone but the guy said that he left it charging in his hostel room, that he should follow him there. Bishop probably thought the worst couldn’t happen, so he made a gesture with his face asking Femi if they should follow him, Femi then gave an affirmative reply and they began walking behind the guy, heading to his hostel room. Only if they knew that they were walking into another trouble….

It is often said that trouble comes like a thief in the night, it doesn’t give a pre-warning to its prey. Hence, in every situation, while praying for the best, still hope for the worst.

Finally, they got to the room and all stepped inside. The interior was quite a beauty to behold compared to the first room which they entered, the occupants had actually renovated the room by removing the bunks and re-painted the walls against the original white colour. A red-coloured rug carpet was placed on the floor and they had four different mattrass positioned at several strategic areas inside the spacious room. They also had a music sound-system for their listening pleasure and an ‘OX’ standing fan for ventilating the atmosphere. For a moment, it seemed as though they were not in Dangana hostel.

Bishop and Femi met three other guys inside the room, and then, they were not sure who owned the phone anymore. The first guy who took them there requested the phone from the second guy, while the second guy requested the phone from the third guy, who later brought out the from a small bag, it wasn’t even on charger as the first guy claimed.

The phone was handed to Bishop who began to examine it, the P5 was quite rough on the surface but still in good condition. Bishop switched-on the phone and discovered that it had a lock pattern, he then passed the phone to the first guy who later tried different patterns’ but none seemed to work. After several failed attempts, one of his colleagues started speaking Yagba to him, which is a sub-division of the Yoruba dialet spoken by people from the western part of Kogi state. The guy literally said that they would take the phone to Xamarano ICT who’s a popular phone engineer in the school to have it flashed, in order to remove the lock pattern. Bishop, a native of Mopa-Amuro L.G.A understood Yagba a little, so he grasped what they were saying. On the other hand, Femi was also a Yagba-boy but he only understood Yoruba, with his reasons being that he didn’t grow up in his hometown.

Bishop suspected foul play from the way they were acting, they probably stole the phone and tried to cover their tactics by acting innocent. He immediately lost interest in buying the phone, but before he could mutter a word, the first guy who brought them there suggested they take the phone to Xamarano ICT, claiming that his cousin brother sent him the phone, and that he had forgotten the pattern drawn to him. Bishop knew that he was lying, but decided to play along.

Femi quickly jumped in saying there was no need going to Xamarano, stating that he knows how to format Tecno android phones using hard reset. The so-called owners of the phone didn’t protest, instead, they gave him the benefits of doubts and allowed him to perform magic. Femi collected the phone, removed the sim and memory card, and then inserted the battery back into the phone. He punched the volume button together with the power button at the same time, and after some seconds, some write-up appeared on the screen. He proceeded to click some of the icons, whilst they concentrated on him with rapt attention. He was the Houdini of the moment, and just like magic, the phone began to format. Everything was going smoothly as the Tecno logo was displayed on the screen.

Trouble started when the logo lasted longer than expected, it was taking too long and Femi feared the phone had become bricked. He then removed the battery and inserted it back which he wasn’t supposed to do, but the situation remained the same. He kept removing the battery a couple more times but his efforts were rendered frutile.

The tension became high and Femi began to panic inwardly knowing the consequences of what he had done. Bishop was constantly asking him how far? But his reply couldn’t yield any positive result. One of the guys started speaking in yoruba saying that the phone had become damaged, and should they not pay for the phone, he won’t hesitate to mobilize Dangana soldier to beat nonsense outta them. On hearing that, Femi quietly gulped a huge chunk of spittle down his throat, his humanitarian deed had put him into trouble, or so he thought. The guy later asked if he understood yoruba, Femi replied in the positive, and the guy responded with, Ok! Albeit, with a sinister tone. Femi who had been standing suddenly sat on a chair. Indeed, he was in a hot seat.

Bishop was a bit pissed about the guy the guys were exaggerating the issue, but decided to keep his cool. He was probably the only one who believed the phone hadn’t become crashed. About then, another write-up was displayed on the screen which meant that the phone had successfully been formatted.
Femi jumped up in euphoria, he couldn’t hide his joy. The guys were put to shame as they started congratulating him. He demanded that they give him the money they were supposed to pay Xamarano, should they have taken the phone there, but trust dangana boyz, that statement could only pass for super story…