WHY YOU RUN ME STREET

 "Oboy! How far nau. You don go come back?" I asked my friend as he walked in.

"Yes  Chief, I bin talk say I no go tey na. I bin go carry pesin phone for Icon" he replied.  

"No  wahala" I concluded and retired to watching a movie on my device.

After some minutes, my friend drew my attention again. "E dey do me to whine the owner of this phone for my hand. I for like play with her brain small. How you see am?"

"Na very strong idea be that guy, I dey with you, we go game..." I grinned.

My friend called my name severally but I was too engrossed in the movie. I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Gee!!..." I  immediately raised my head. 

"I don dey call you since...wetin u dey watch sef " he asked as he got my phone. 

"No vex abeg, I no bin hear you", I apologized.

"I feel we shouldn't carry out the prank like a stage play. I think we should make mention of the missing phone to her just more than once. Until she is forced to take us seriously" I paused. 

"Then she goes into a frenzy and afterwards, we hand her phone back to her" he concluded.

 "Ah!!! No ooo...I no think sey that one go make sense. If we don't stage it like a play, ensuring she believes us and probably begins to shed tears, then I don't think it's a prank" I disagreed. "Look !!! There's nothing like little or mighty prank. A prank is always a prank. But if we do it the way you mentioned, then it'll no longer be considered a prank.

 Got it? " I stated. 

 

 My friend nodded his head which signified he consented to what I said.

We waited for over an hour but the owner of the phone didn't show up. 

"Omor...guy! Where the barnie enter na? I go soon comot for here. I gat place to enter like this" I finally said. 

Barely minutes after I made that statement, I sighted Ella approaching our work stand with her friends. My joy knew no bounds. I was ready to show her what stuff I was made of. 

"Good evening people of God" she greeted. That was such a funny irony. If only she knew what these "People of God" had planned out for her.  

"Good evening barnie " we replied coincidentally. We also exchanged pleasantries with her friends. My friend engaged the folks in a little conversation while I began to warm up myself for the main deal. I was elated at the thought of the whole plan. 

"Ella !!!"  One of her friends called out. They signaled her that they wanted to go home. "Ah !!! You guys wanna leave now?" Ella asked like she didn't expect them to leave. Turning to my friend, she said " Please excuse me, I wanna drop them off at the gate. I will be back in a jiffy". 

"No problems" my friend replied.

We bidded the ladies farewell as they took their leave.  We also anticipated Ella's return with excitement. 

"Alright, I'm back darling" Ella arrived. She touched my friend's chin softly. " So... How was sales today?" She asked.  

"We thank God for everything" my friend replied as she turned to my direction, 

"I know you are doing fine. Fine boy" She teased.

 

Seconds of silence ensued between us. "Ehm... I gotta go guys, wanna get some food stuffs for mum from a nearby supermarket" she broke the silence. "I need my phone" she said stretching her hands out to my friend.

"What? she exclaimed. You couldn't charge the phone?" she rhetorically asked. "Well,  there are no problems with that, I will charge it when I get home. I gotta go now. So... can I have it?" she said spranking up on her feet.

My friend wore a sorry face.  He was full of remorse, he couldn't say anything. He was already flowing with the plan. I felt some kind of joy within me. We were about to run the beautiful "barnie" street. 

"Hey!!! I'm talking and your not saying anything. Any problems? Okay, what's the matter " she asked as she sat again on her seat. 

"Ehm...I misplaced your phone" my  friend managed to speak, keeping his head low again.

"You did what? Oh Jesus Christ!!! If it's a joke please just stop it. You're kidding right? Okay!!! Enough of the play, I need my phone, I wanna go now". 

Just then I walked into the work space. "Ella you're still here, I was thinking u had left" I said. 

"He's the one keeping me, he's trying to play pranks with my brain. He said he misplaced my phone" she said.

I began to play along. "Guy, were you serious about that talk?" I  asked. Because he made mention of it some hours ago, I felt he was kidding or something. Na wah for you guy!!! How the phone take jappa?" 

My friend sighed. "On my way to get the printer, she asked me to help her charge the phone there at Icon Mobile. That was in the morning hours. Our boss called this afternoon, I was to do some business for him, somewhere around Icon. I got the job done and then decided to pick up her phone at Icon" my friend said. 

"What happened thereafter?" Ella asked with curiosity. 

"On my way down from the staircase, I met this random guy. I do see him around but not often. He told me he had some business to discuss with me. He took me aside, he began talking about some blogging business". 

I was tired of the long speech, so I spoke up. "Guy, would you please go straight to the point. What exactly happened?" 

My friend resumed again. "Okay...ehm, he saw Ella's phone in my hands. He was like;  "damn! this phone make sense...Who owns it?" I told him it was my friend's...He requested to have a look at it and so I gave it to him. We took a walk to a nearby shop to get some cold water. He held me closely to his side saying he would like to have the phone to himself. I tried explaining that the phone wasn't mine but he said he doesn't give a fuck. He threatened to end my life if I let out any alarm. I pleaded with him severally, almost to the point of getting on my knees but it was to no avail. He boarded a cab and left. 

Ella was already boiling in anger. "You mean you let go of my phone just like that?" she spoke up. Well, I don't buy that. I know you are trying to play with my brain.  

"I was actually thinking it's all but a joke, but I guess I'm wrong" I spoke up. 

"Wrong ke!!! You guys should please stop this" Ella pleaded. She dipped her hands into my friend's pocket, in search of the phone but couldn't find it. She searched his cross bag, but the bag was empty. She looked around our work space, lifting up every item she came across, the phone was nowhere to be found. 

Looking straight into the eye balls of my friend, she sighed. Letting out a smile, "I can see laughter written all over your face, guy! you no fit run me street, I won't fall for this prank" she said looking directly at him. 

"Okay...this is what is gonna happen. I will quickly get to the mini mart closeby, you guys should pack up, I will meet you guys at the gaming center. And I will get my phone" she said, doubting what we said. 

My friend lowered his head again, he didn't say anything but sighed. His eyes were turning red, he hit the table hard with his hands, expressing pains and unhappiness.

He was a good player no doubt, he was playing according to plan. 

Ella was confused, she couldn't leave for the mart anymore, she sat back. I guess she had a rethink about the entire synerogue. We needed her to believe us, because that was aim. So...I decided to spice up things. 

"Chief, I understand you're kidding but I think you have gone too far. Don't end up causing her to develop high blood pressure. Hand the phone over to her, I know you are with it, you know where you have kept it" I said. I needed her to see it as a real happening and not a prank, so I decided to act like I doubted my friend too. 

My friend looked at me with anger in his eyes. "Guy! You have known me for some good number of years now, you know I don't joke around with people carelessly, let alone a potential customer of ours". My guy was killing it, I said within me. 

"If truly you have misplaced someone's phone, and in that manner you stated, then sorry to say...You are a big fool" I said. Turning to Ella, "if  I were you, I won't take it kindly with this guy, I for collect my phone or seize him own phone, until he gives me mine" I said expressing anger. 

"What will I gain in seizing his own phone. Will it bring back mine?" she said almost in tears. 

"Imagine what you can say. Look at the advice you can offer. Instead of suggesting we make attempt to track the phone or maybe lock it temporarily, denying access to her files, important documents, info, etc. Rather you are saying something else" my friend hissed. 

"But guy, u fuck up big time, you allow make small boy collect phone from your hand. E no fresh na. E no dope at all. I think say you na big guy sef" I said expressing disappointment. I succeeded in adding more light or spark to the fire. 

"Would you please stop apportioning blames? It's not the time for this. You guys should contact someone who could help us track the phone. But is it not too late?" Ella asked rhetorically. "He must have gotten some important information, contacts and maybe flashed the phone. I just can't believe you could misplace my phone in such a manner. At first, I had thought it was all but a prank. Earlier, I had said within me that if it was a prank, that I would actually be very angry. But I guess it's not, I now wish it was" she said as tears were clouding in her eyes.

"Don't worry dear, we will look for a way to retrieve your documents, contacts, information, important stuffs, etc, from the phone. I guess we should contact our boss so he could begin the tracking process. Let's just hope he hasn't flashed the phone yet" I said with pity. 

"We're behind time already. He got the phone in the afternoon right?" Ella asked as she fought the tiny tear drops from rolling down her cheeks.

"Yeah!!! My friend replied as he also acted like he wanted to cry. He was indeed a good actor. 

"Look!!! If there's anyone to be crying here, I should be the one not you. Like where do you expect me to start from at this point?" Ella asked as she wiped away the tears off her cheek. "I have a group assignment to submit tomorrow, as early as 8am as the group head. The soft copy of the assignment or report is in the phone. How do you expect me to go about that now? So now... everyone of my colleagues in the group will fail, right?" she asked. 

"I'm so sorry for everything. I'm deeply sorry" my friend said as he sighed. "You can use my phone for the mean time" my friend said stretching out his phone to her.

"Oh please, spare me that bullshit!! Ella yelled. So now I should begin making use of your phone...how about the important things in my own device? Oh! I should forget about those ones, that's what you mean right?" she asked rhetorically. 

"I'm really sorry"  my friend said. Oh God!! What kind of problem is this...how did I get myself into this mess?" he soliloquiesed. He lowered his head, pretending to be crying. 

I wasn't satisfied with the whole play, so I decided to spark things up as usual. "Ella please calm down, we will figure out a way to help you with the assignment. Ehm...where are your friends...can you locate any? I asked.

"I guess some are in the hostel, I'm not certain. Most of my friends stay off campus.The problem is...I don't know any of their phone numbers off hand" she replied.

"That's not good at all" I said as I sighed. 

I resumed again. "I dunno but...I ain't always comfortable being at that mobile facility. Just last week, they took out my friend's phone from his pocket while he was gaming" I said, igniting more fire.

"I never loved that place a bit. My spirit had always hated that place because of the caliber of people I do find there. Something within said I shouldn't give out the phone for charging but I wouldn't listen cause the battery was low and I had to use it for my assignment. I regretted not listening to my conscience" she said admist tears. 

The whole game was getting instense as she began to cry uncontrollably. My friend smacked my leg alittle. He gestured that we should end the prank. 

Ella on the other hand had made up her mind not to return home. She knew her parents won't take it kindly with her. 

I knew we had taken it too far so I agreed to end it.

"Ehm... Ella please stop crying. I have a suggestion or should I say a solution" I spoke up. 

"Okay! What's the solution? She asked with curiosity. 

"Do you have the find my device app installed in your phone? Cause I guess that's the simplest means with which we can track your device. Ehm...Please don't quote me wrong. I'm not saying that's the only means, I'm saying that's the simplest means. Understood?" I asked. 

She nodded her head in concordance. "But the app wasn't installed in my phone she said. 

My friend immediately cut in..."We will get it done by some other means. I will inform our boss about the situation on ground, I'm certain he will be able to track and retrieve your phone". 

"Please write down your phone number here" I said as I gave her a sheet of paper. 

She wrote down her number in a jiffy.

"Okay! Cheer up... You will get your phone soon. Just give me some few minutes, I will be back. I wanna place the call" I said as I stood up to leave.

"I am just hoping he hasn't flashed the phone" she soliloquiesed. 

I went behind our work stand and gestured my friend to put a total end to the prank. 

And he did just that. 

Barely ten minutes, I returned from making the fake phone call. Ella didn't allow me to chill. She quickly attacked me with her words.

"So...guy! You knew it was a prank right and you decided to play along. You guys made me cry". At this point she was already smiling because she held her phone in her hands.

I decided to act like I didn't understand what she was saying.

"Excuse me! What do u say?" I asked. Meanwhile I am Prince Edidiong by name and you are? I asked laughing out loud.

"You guys had the mind to run me street. Why una run me that kind street?" she asked rhetorically. Turning to my friend, "you made me cry, you guys won't earn my forgiveness. I swear!! She said joyfully as she kept poking my friend in his side.

"But seriously you guys made my day", she laughed. "Yunno why I am not that angry? It's because my phone wasn't misplaced. But I still dey vex oo, she said as she spranked up on her feet. Talk about the punishment I have for you guys tomorrow" she said. It's late already!