The following day after sleeping over the issue, his fathered decided to change his mind over the issue. He asked Osaro to come to his room. A downcast Osaro was still saddened by his father’s perceived unwillingness to let him attend the party. His father cleared his throat and began by saying that responsible fathers will always want the best for their kids. He said he was a responsible father and that he would let him go only on the condition that he would take him and wait for him there, just in case there was need for him to intervene. That he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having a bunch of 10year olds organise a party without the supervision of their parents.
Osaro was very happy after hearing his father’s decision; he leaped for joy over his daddy’s change of heart. All was now set for him to truly belong to the crowd. He knew he had finally announced himself as a ‘Big boy’, and that Ramon would now, more than ever, see him as a matured boy and not some mummy’s boy. The next morning, on the way to school the look of excitement covered his face, he got down from the vehicle and said his good byes to his mother and ran to his class.
Upon sighting Ramon, he shouted, “Ramon, I have good news, I am coming to the party”. “Really, so what magic did you do to your folks for them to let you come to the party?” “Nothing”, said Osaro. “I just told my dad that I wanted to go to your party and he trusted me. I didn’t have to tell him a lie. I just told him the truth.” Ramon said, “Okay, just make sure to tell your dad that he is not invited, so he should just stay put in his car”.
The weekend couldn’t have arrived any sooner. It was Saturday, the day of the party. Osaro didn’t sleep the previous night. He kept on thinking about what he was going to wear for the party and what kind of people would come for the party. He imagined that perhaps a few of Ramon’s friends from America would show up. At one point, he thought about the possibility of Ramon’s mother coming from Miami to attend her son’s party. Maybe this was a chance for the parents of Ramon, to finally unite and become a family yet again.
At 1.00pm that Afternoon, Osaro ran to his father’s room and after knocking, told him that it was time for them to leave for the party. Nothing was going to make him miss this opportunity to go to Ramon’s party. His father got up from the bed, wore his T-‘shirt and grabbed his car keys. He got to the garage and they both entered the car. The trip to Ramon’s house took just 45minutes; they arrived at the apartment complex where Ramón’s father was living. It was a posh private residence largely occupied by expatriates.
Osaro’s dad escorted them to the actual apartment block where Ramon was staying. A gentle tap on the door and Ramon opened the door. He welcomed Osaro into the living room, which had very loud music blasting. Ramon didn’t greet Osaro’s dad respectfully as its customary here in Africa, he just quipped, “Hey man, what’s up?” He slammed the door behind Osaro’s dad. Osaro could perceive the smell of cigarettes in the atmosphere, it was quite choking. He saw a few bottles of alcoholic beverages on the table.
He noticed that there were a few girls that came to the party. The girls looked like students of the school he attended. “What was going on?” He muttered silently. He knew that all Ramon had told him in the build to the party was a lie. This wasn’t some ordinary harmless party organized by an eleven year old boy. This was a naughty party. He knew he had gotten into trouble with his dad. Because his dad will get to know that there was alcoholic beverage, cigarettes and girls in the party.
He got up and called out to Ramon, he said, “Ramon, I thought you said that there will be no girls in this party? How come you later invited girls to the party and you have alcohol and cigarettes here?” Ramon, laughed out so loud, and told him that the party was just beginning. Ramon said, “Osaro, do you really expect me to apologise to you? Well I am not going to… C’mon, if you leave now, your dad is gonna feel that something is wrong.” “I suggest you just stay put!”
Osaro was so frightened; he wondered what his fate would be when he eventually sees his father. He was unsure if his dad had seen anything .He knew his dad would definitely spot something once the party was over. He wondered if there would be more surprises from Ramon that day. He just had to keep still and hope for the best and not further escalation.
While Osaro waited in the living room, he saw Ramon smoking with a glass of Vodka, he knew that it was illegal for people who were under eighteen years of age to smoke in Nigeria and that it was also illegal to drink in Nigeria until one was eighteen years of age. He had lost any shred of respect he had for Ramon, he now perceived him as a lying manipulating misfit. At that point, he suspected that their friendship had ended. What was on his mind now was how to get out of the mess he had found himself in.
After a while, Ramon came to the front of the living room and said, “Hello people, the party is about to get wild.” He went into his daddy’s room and came out with two guns a pistol and a riffle. He brandished the guns to the shock of the crowd in the room. He said the gun wasn’t loaded and so he calmed them down. The guns were passed round for the boys in the party to play with. Then Ramon took the riffle and jokingly pointed it towards Osaro. Osaro gently pushed the gun away from his face and shouted at Ramon to stop with the theatrics. Ramon did it again and again.
Osaro became irked about the whole thing. He knew it was time for him to leave the party. He was ready to damn the consequences, and got out to meet his father, who at that time had no inkling of what was going on. Ramon tried to stop Osaro leaving the house. Then a scuffle started, Ramon mistakenly removed the gun from safety and a bullet left the gun, someone was shot and badly injured.
Written by Chineme Uzo
