MY LESBIAN FRIEND

After my Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in accounting at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, I got a job at Equitorial Trust Bank where I did my Industrial Attachment (IT).

My colleagues and boss would advise me not to go back for my Higher National Diploma (HND) but go to a university. I was told that HND holders had lower prospects of getting promotions and that there was a very high segregation between HND graduates and university degree graduates.

I tried to get into Obafemi Awolowo University and Ogun state university but I was not successful. After a while, I got tired of working at the bank and decided to stay at home to prepare for another JAMB or get a direct entry into a university.

It was the era of satellite campuses. I saw the advert for a diploma in accounting at Abubarkar Tafa Balewa University, Bauchi. I went to the school at Fadeyi to make enquiries. I was told that having the school's diploma would make it faster to get into it's university than if I used my OND at Yaba Tech.

So, I discussed with my parents and they gave their permission and money and I began the registration process at the ATBU outreach.

It was at this school that I met her. She was very fair in complexion. Her name was Julie. We became friends on my first day at the school. She was the one that came to meet me and we began to gist. We became close and after school, we would leave together and take the same bus. I would be the first to get down before her because I was also attending my ICAN school (Instititute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria) at WYSE which was in the same area.

Julie liked to talk about her boyfriends and sugar daddies. She would sponsor my lunch during break time.

One day, I was sitting alone in another class studying for a test. I was the only one in that class. She came to meet me.
She said,
"Kemi what are you doing?"
I said, "You can see that I am studying."
She said, "You are studying abi."
And as she was saying that, she was grabbing my breasts and smooching them.
Then she made some mourning sound and planted a kiss on my lips.
I said, "Julie, are you alright?"
She said, "Continue reading. We will talk later."

After class, I did not call her. I just left the school and went home. At this time, my mind did not go to anything like lesbianism. I just thought that she was fooling around and I was disgusted.

I had heard about lesbians when I was in secondary school. A friend of mine who had elder sisters in a girls' only school had gisted me about how girls would have sex partners and they will be calling themselves, my 'ichu' and that they would use wrapper to cover themselves whilst they fondled themselves in bed.

As exams approached, Julie asked me to come and stay with her in the girls' hostel that was near the school. She had moved into the hostel a month before because she complained that her aunt whom she stayed with had started giving her wahala because of her numerous boyfriends and sugar daddies.

She said she was having problems in accounting and that it would be nice if I came to stay with her so that we could study together. I told her that I would ask my parents if they would allow me to stay with her so that I will be able to get to school faster because of the exams.

I never bothered to ask my parents because I knew that there was no need to stay in any hostel. I could cope with coming to school from home everyday. Besides, my parents are very strict. They would want to know whom I was going to stay with and ask so many questions that I would be tired.

The next day, I told her that my parents said that there was no need to move in with her and that I could come from home.
I said,
"Besides, won't your room mate mind an extra person?"

She said, "I live in my room alone. You have refused to come and visit me. How will you know? Every time you will be be going for ICAN lectures. You don't even have time for me again.
Hanhan, Kemi why are you behaving like this? I have already made preparations for us. If you come and stay with me, I will take care of your feeding and you don't have to pay any money for the space. I have already paid for a year."

"Don't do me like this now" and as she made that last statement, she came towards me and started to smooch my breasts again and her right hand went down to my crouch.

I pushed her away. It felt weird.

When the exams started, she would come and sit next to me so that she could copy me. It was distracting. I could not get the incident out of my mind.

I raised up my hand and the invigilator asked me what I wanted. I told him that I wanted to leave my position and sit somewhere else.

After the exams, we did not speak to each other till our diploma session was over. I don't know whether she eventually went to ATBU. Well, I did not. Eventually, I got an admission into Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun state.

Probably, Julie thought that I was the male version of the lesbian because back then, I always wore a pair of jeans of different colours, shorts, shirts, boots, morcasin and behaved like a boy.

Why would I be attracted to a girl without an original 'poron', baritone voice and six packs?!
If I had gone to her room, wetin for don happen?

Lesbians, free me! Abeg!