'Madam,do me 3 indomie and 2 eggs, takeaway ni o'
'Ehen,my customer'
I dropped onto a seat and watched as she cracked the eggs,dropped them into hot oil and scooped spoonfuls of noodles into a styrofoam pack.
'Madam,na 3 indomie o! Make e plenty o'
'Okay,I know you nar' her lacerised face widened into a smile. She said that in obvious reference to my large appetite which she noticed in the early days of camp. 'Customer yii ma jeun gan' she kept saying whenever I hopped in.
Food gotten&payment made,I gave the shop a once-over-just a rectangular walk-in with a stove and kitchen odds and ends at its end.
'Madam goodnight' I muttered
As I walked midway out,I repeated louder this time 'Madam goodnight'
I wasn't being polite or obsequious,this was my last night on camp and I had come to appreciate these stands and people. I would miss them.
Walking back to the room,new friends staggered and patted my back,some shoved phones into my hands to exchange contacts and we all smiled dopely with the carelessness of youth.
On the tarred stretch that led to my hostel-Panama Bay we called it-I was left alone to my thoughts and the stifling ammonia from pee encrusted walls.

Memoirs of an Otondo

Shopping for camp,I headed for Lagos Island to get the essentials. My homie-Itunu was at hand to give me the list of the requisite-although they sounded unrequisite-sneakers,white shorts, all to avoid using the camp issue.At the end of the day,I had a white ensemble which boasted cool labels,Itunu smiled gleefully at this and patted me on the back.The only purchase that gave me joy was a black and gold embossed copy of 'The 50th Law', you remember that book?the new sizzler from rap artise,50 cent and the acclaimed writer,Robert Greene.(The 48 laws of power,The Art of Seduction)
I arrived camp when the shadows had grown long and in a haze of so many accents,I got a mattress and a dusty stretch on the cement floor which was very welcome seeing all this arrived at 2:00 a.m.
Reading the 50th law made me appreciate the camp more. See this was a book which rotated around the themes of individuality,mental alchemy-turning shit into sugar and opportunism.
So I appreciated the early morning bugles,because it afforded me the opportunity of experiencing dawn in the open air;feeling the chilly breeze,seeing the sky lighten and the sun peek out-at first shy like a hesitant bride and soon proudly overhead making us scamper to the nearest shade.
Greene said 'When we get to work with what there is,we find new ways to employ this material' That proved true in camp,I learnt how to churn out articles with a pen and jotter seeing the editorial team had to perform without a computer.I learnt how to hold a phone through the night seeing we had to charge and we had a hundred room mates. And I learnt humility when the camp clown said I marched like 'a pre degree student'.
Did I tell you about the sheer variety of languages that exist here?Sometimes I unplug my earphones and just feel myself drift in this cacophony of diversity- chiazo in his igbo accent, musa who when he says 'poor pipe' actually means 'four five', ade who asks if am 'hangry' or if the light is 'hon'. Great peeps,'em all.
As the days draw to an end,and the bonds of friendship cinch tighter,I would always value my top moment-watching the Nigerian flag ascend with an auditory backdrop of a martial tune, I could feel my heart billow in tune with the polyester of the flag's material. Good times-these.