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By Akin Onadeko

April 16,2015.
7:08 pm,
2 hours,15 minutes before the jocks’ fight.

The room was dimly lit and filled with cigarette smoke. Cigarette butts and empty vodka bottles were strewn about carelessly around the room. The occupants of the room were either high as a kite or smoking like a chimney. One got up from his bed and began to walk haphazardly, almost stumbling on a box left on the floor. This was one of the jock boys’ rooms. It was stuffy and smelt of booze. Scott, one of the jock boys leaned against a pillow and lit a cigarette. He drew heavily on the cigar and asked a figure seated on a bed across from him; “Hey man, what exactly have you got planned tonight?”. “Just wait, you would get to see it”, replied the figure. Exhaling sharply, he asked the figure another question, “So what exactly do you have in mind to set the ball rolling?”. Gawking at the bulb fixed to the ceiling, the figure replied,”I don’t know yet. I haven’t made up my mind yet”. “Man, you’ve gotta,you’ve gotta start something”, Scott said to him. With a fazed expression on his face, the figure got up slowly from the bed and walked towards the door.

April 16, 2015.
9:29 pm.

The McGriffin hostel had been in an uproar for the past five minutes. It was clear from the way people were chanting and running amok that a fight had broken out among the jock boys. “I have to see this fight, the noise is deafening”, Craig said, walking out of the room. After a minute elapsed, Max and Lance also left the room, leaving Ryan all alone in the room. “Supporters’ league”, he muttered before returning to his novel.

9:33 pm

A noise jolted Ryan from his reading. It was coming from his phone. A message had just come in. “I’ll check that later”, he said to himself before returning to his novel. The hostel was still noisy. He could still hear shouts and cries within the hostel. Suddenly, the door swung open and Craig walked in. “Hey,you’re back early”, Ryan called to him. “Maybe you didn’t have the nerve after all to watch the fight”, he continued. Craig shot him a look of pure reproach and walked to his corner of the room. “So tell me Craig, was there so much blood on the floor?”, asked Ryan,snickering under his breath. “I don’t know, Ryan, why don’t you go and witness the fight and come back and tell me ? Oh, I forgot, you’re reading a book”, replied Craig angrily. “Oh, don’t get so touchy, Craig, it’s not a crime or a thing to be ashamed of if you’re scared”, continued Ryan. This time, he accompanied it with a laugh. At this point, Craig was boiling. Ryan pissed him off, in fact all his roommates pissed him off. Max and Lance with their video games and raucous arguments about who was better at scoring goals. Ryan always did his best to get under his skin with his wise cracking talks. “Keep it together, keep it together”, Craig muttered under his breath. What Craig’s roommates didn’t know was that he suffered from severe multiple personality disorder. He had a distorted look to reality and he held onto it just by a sliver of a thread. His roommates had always overlooked it as mood swings and he had always done his best to conceal it from his roommates. “Hey, Craig, don’t be a scared baby”, Ryan called out to him. This time, Craig didn’t answer. He reached underneath his bed and pulled out a box. His mind was slipping away, he was rapidly letting go of reality. His alter ego was beginning to possess him, to take control and it was a truly malevolent personality. A personality that could kill. Ryan continued to babble on as Craig scrummaged about in his box. Soon, his hands found it and his fingers tightened around its sharp edge. “Craig, you’re not answering me”, continued Ryan. “You know fighting is not a thing everyone likes, right?”, asked Ryan as he dropped the novel he was reading on his chest. Having put on gloves, Craig crossed the room in two quick strides to where Ryan laid and in a bloody rage, he plunged the knife into Ryan’s throat. Ryan’s eyes widened in shock but he wasn’t given the luxury to fully express it as a clearly deranged Craig removed the knife from his throat and began to stab Ryan’s face with it. Soon, the drawn curtains near Ryan’s bed had fresh blood on it. Ryan’s grip on Craig’s hand loosened as blood flowed freely from the stab wounds and cuts Craig made. As if that wasn’t enough, Craig slashed the throat of Ryan for good measure. “Now, I guess you would shut the hell up”, he said. Taking the night lamp placed on Ryan’s table, he repeatedly used it to bash in Ryan’s face. Ryan’s nose soon caved in as the night lamp continued to send trauma force into his face. Done with stabbing the already dead Ryan, Craig looked at the face of his dead roommate. “Oh, those chubby cheeks that love to laugh”, he cried out and with the pen knife, he cut off a part of Ryan’s cheek. With his shoulders heaving heavily and his body drenched in sweat, Craig began to return back to normalcy. His maniacal episode was rapidly dying down. “Oh, what have I done?”, he asked himself, looking aghast at the mutilated corpse of Ryan. He looked at his blood stained hands and almost retched. The gloves were already squishy with blood. Throwing them off, he rushed to the door, opened it slightly and peeked outside a little. The hallway was deserted with people gathered at the extreme, still watching the fight. He shut the door and locked it immediately. He pulled his phone from his short pockets and dialled a number. Soon, the recipient at the other end of the line picked up, asking “Hello, who’s speaking?”. “Hello, it’s Craig. I need your help urgently, can you come up to my room immediately?”, he asked. “Okay, I’ll be there in two minutes”, the receiver answered and ended the call.  Visibly shaking, Craig returned the phone back to his pocket and opened his closet.

9:48 pm

Simon leapt the stairs two at a time. He had spotted no one on his way and no one had spotted him back. He darted into a corner as he heard voices approaching him. The voices seemed excited as they relayed information of the fight happening below to one another. He waited while the voices receded into the distance, then he walked briskly to Room 42 and gave two sharp raps on the door. “Who is it?”, a voice from within the room whispered. “It’s me, Simon”, Simon whispered back. “Okay, don’t touch the door handle”, the voice answered and quickly opened the door for Simon to come in. He stepped into the room and his eyes immediately went to Ryan’s dead body. “Oh dude, you’re in one hell of a mess.”, he said to Craig. “Do you have to tell me?”, Craig shot back. “Look, here in this bag is anything that can tie me to this murder. The vest and short I was wearing when I killed him, the pen knife and gloves, the towel I used to clean blood off myself and anything else which can implicate me are all in this bag”, Craig said to Simon. “Okay, but won’t your roommates notice your change of clothes?”, asked Simon. “Fortunately for me, the short is a pair and I have numerous vests, so I’ve worn another vest”, answered Craig. “Okay, anything else?”, asked Simon. “No, I’ve cleaned up my fingerprints and the night lamp I bludgeoned him with lest people notice its absence.”, answered Craig. “Okay, that would be all.”, Simon said. “Simon, thank you for doing this. I will be forever grateful”, Craig said to Simon. “Come on, dude, you provided me and my guys the location of the second year students who beat up my friends. That’s enough help to me. With the way we left them, it would be a cold day in hell before they mess with a jock boy again. This bag would be burnt to ashes”, said Simon.  “Thank you”, Craig reiterated. Simon grabbed the bag and left the room quickly. Craig locked the door quickly and checked the room again to notice if anything was amiss or if anything might give him away. Three minutes later, he opened the door slightly, checked the hallway for any incoming person. It seemed the fight was a tense one as no one was back yet. He turned the lights off and closed the door behind him. He paused for a while, feeling his other personality slip away. Twenty five seconds later, he went to watch the fight.

10:10 pm

“Ryan, Ryan”, Craig wailed out. “Somebody help, call the police”, he screamed further. Soon, boys were rushing into his room to see what was going on. Max and Lance soon entered the room and they both stepped back in horror. A hall keeper rushed in and quickly cringed at the sight of Ryan’s dead body. Soon, the room was filled with onlookers. The hall keeper brought out his phone and dialled a number, “Hello, I am Mr Montgomery from McGriffin hostel. I want to report a murder….”.

April 17, 2015.
6:21 am
8 hours,11 minutes after Ryan’s discovery.

The police sirens cast a sickly glow on the hostel. Boys were huddled together talking in hushed whispers about the horrible murder of Ryan Stewart. Craig stood at a distance, staring into space. His voice was cracked from all the crying and his eyes were bloodshot. He, Max and Lance had been found innocent by the police. Nothing tied them to the murder. They were all seen witnessing the fight. “Excuse me, Craig”, an officer spoke as he gently tapped Craig on the shoulder. “Yes, officer.”, Craig answered. “We’re ready to leave but we would get to the bottom of this murder.”, the officer said to Craig. Craig nodded his head. “If there’s anything new you or your roommates find, please do not hesitate to contact us”, he told Craig. “Okay, officer, replied Craig. “Please, ensure to take things easy. I know how you feel, you were the one to find your friend murdered. I know what that can cause, so you and your other roommates should take things gently. I’m sorry for your loss once again.”, said the officer to Craig. Craig stood there for a while. He knew the police wouldn’t be able to track down the killer, all forms of evidence would have been ashes by now. Looking sideways to check if anyone was staring at him, he retrieved a folded paper and a pen from his pocket. He unfolded the paper and used the pen to cross out something written on the paper. Written on the paper were the names: Max, Lance and Ryan. The name Ryan was crossed out. He folded the paper and returned it with the pen back to his pocket. With an evil smile creeping up his face, he continued to stare into space.

April 16, 2015.
7:10 pm.
2 hours, 13 minutes before the jocks’ fight.

“Man, you’ve gotta, you’ve gotta start something “, Scott said to the figure as the figure got up from a bed and walked to the door. “Yeah, you’ve got to have something you wanna do.”, asked another jock boy called Theo. The figure stood still at the door for a while, staring at the both of them. “I think the both of you should have a hell of a fight.”,Craig finally said as he walked out the door.

Fb:Akinwande Toby Onadeko
Twitter:@Wyldkat95
Email:akinonadeko@gmail.com

Many health issues develop later in life and it’s difficult to change any “bad habits” when you’re older, so it’s a good idea to start implementing healthy habits as early as possible.
So what are the health issues we’re talking about?  

• Men are at risk of developing prostate cancer after the age of 40. You can read more about the prevention of this cancer.

• Men are more prone to heart disease after the age of 40.  Hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes can lead to heart disease and therefore need to be well controlled in order to prevent it.

• One of the major causes of health issues is simply being overweight. The “beerboep” puts you at major risk, because this abdominal weight has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease.  

We don’t all have personal shoppers, chefs and gym trainers, so how do you go about improving your health?

Here are some practical tips:

• Get into the habit of EATING REGULARLY. This helps to provide regular energy during the day, thereby controlling your appetite and your weight.  This means having breakfast, lunch and supper, and if needed, a few small snacks in between.

• Take a new look at VEGETABLES. It’s now hip to be seen eating a huge healthy salad with chicken or steak strips, so tuck into a colourful salad with some delicious avo when you do a business lunch. Try out some interesting new flavours such as butternut, baby spinach and red onions baked with a little oil and pumpkin seeds.

• PLAN YOUR MEALS. If you’re not sure where to start, involve your partner in helping you to plan what to buy in order to prepare healthier meals and have the right kind of food to take along to work. The more prepared you are, the less likely you are to rush off to your local store for an emergency pie and chocolate at 5pm in the afternoon, shortly followed by your dinner at home – this will not do your waistline any good! We’d rather you shop for lean proteins, high fibre bread and fresh produce for your healthy sandwich and fruit snacks.

Here are some simple ideas for meal options.

• BREAKFAST: a smoothie with fruit, yoghurt and peanut butter if you need to “eat on the run”; wholegrain toast with poached egg; a tub of yoghurt and a banana, apple or naartjie.
• LUNCH: high fibre bread sandwich or baguette with lettuce, tomato and a choice of lean protein, e.g. smoked gammon or roast beef slices, chicken breast or tuna with a little low oil mayo.
• DINNER: keep it low carb if you aren’t exercising in the afternoon, with a choice of lean protein, e.g. fish in foil/skinless chicken breast/pork fillet or lean beef steak with a colourful mix of stir-fried or steamed vegetables. Liven things up with the flavours of fresh garlic, ginger, chillies, and some olive oil.

• Be aware of what you DRINK. Avoid sugar-laden cold drinks and opt for some sparkling mineral water with lemon slices, or a sugar-free fizzy drink as the occasional option. Try and “wean” yourself off sugar in your tea and coffee. You’ll get used to using less sugar quicker than you think! When it comes to alcohol, we don’t want to take away your time with the boys, but we’d suggest moving onto something “lighter” if you’re worried about your waistline.  Whiskey and water or soda is a good option. If you prefer brandy or vodka, pair it with a sugar-free mix.

• VISIT YOUR DOCTOR. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by being too proud to visit your doctor for any issue! If you have a pain or lump that should not be there, it’s a good idea to have it checked out. You should have an annual visit to your doctor to check blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood fat levels, especially if you have a history of heart disease and diabetes in your family. If you’re over 40, you do need to consider screening tests for prostate health. Any issue can be dealt with if you become aware of it at an early stage. 

Nobody really understands love.
Not the scientists, and certainly not the poets. Love defies understanding because it is never the same for any of us. It seems to be Universal. It seems to be Timeless. But, those are just illusions because, even though it’s something we all experience, it’s also something we all experience differently .

Love is an individual experience, filtered by our own lives and expectations. No one truly understands it because it’s invariably a very different thing for each of us.
People define love differently in a way you may even get confused. That’s life.

In conclusion,I’ll say,nobody really understands love.

by: AKIN ONADEKO

The night was filled with shouts and cries from McGriffin hostel. The jock boys were at it again,they were always the ones disturbing the peace of the hostel. Craig opened the door of his room to see other boys rushing past, they were going to see the jock boys pound one another to a pulp.

The jock boys provided entertainment for the McGriffin hostel with their nightly fights and quarrels. “What’s going on this time with those jocks?”,asked Max, Craig’s roommate. The noise generated from the fight happening in one of the rooms below had disrupted them from their video game. Seating next to Max was Lance who seemed in a hurry to get back to playing the game. Laying on one of the beds in the room was the fourth and last roommate, Ryan. He was reading a book and he seemed unperturbed by the noise. He was used to them, the jerks who always felt as if they owned the school. They disturbed the hostel with their loud and stupid music, quarreled every now and then but nobody ever disturbed or confronted them.

The hall keepers never bothered to check in on them as one of them had ended up in the hospital with a broken nose three weeks earlier. A fight had ensued between two of the jock boys and the hall keeper earned himself a broken nose, two fractured ribs and a battered face for trying to separate both boys. Of course, both boys were expelled from the school but no other hall keeper wanted to be a martyr. Everyone just seemed to mind his business whenever the jock boys were around.

Just the other day, a quarrel had broken out  between some second year students and some jock boys. The jock boys were severely beaten by these second year students but later those students were found bloody and beaten to a pulp. The beaten boys refused to disclose the people responsible for the beating but everyone knew it was the jock boys but they kept mute.
The shouts and cries at the hostel intensified as many onlookers gathered to see the jock boys batter each other’s faces. The occupants of Room 42 however remained in their room. Max and Lance resumed their video game but their minds weren’t in the game anymore ,they wanted to go and see the fight down below.It looked like people were gathering but no one bothered to separate them.”Who could blame them anyways?”,thought Lance to himself. Craig suddenly stood up from his bed saying “I have to see this fight,the noise is deafening”. Having said that,he walked to the door, opened it and walked out. Max and Lance soon followed suit,dropping their game pads on the floor. They all left the room except for Ryan who seemed preoccupied with his novel in hand.

The crowd surrounding the fighters egged and cheered them on. The jock boys who were involved in the fight kept battering and ramming into each other. The first jock held his opponent in a tight neck grip and pummelled the living daylight out of his face. The second jock suddenly found the first jock’s foot and twisted it hard. A sharp cry of pain tore through the night air as the first jock went down in a heap. He hurriedly let go of the second jock who instantly landed a swift kick on the face of the first. Blood erupted out of the face of the first jock as the second jock added two more kicks to his abdomen. The crowd was now chanting for the first jock to get up and continue the fight as the second jock continued to throw blows and land kicks. The first jock suddenly rushed and grabbed the second jock by the torso,lifted him up in the air and with a loud cry,threw him on the floor. Loud cheers and whoops emanated from the crowd as they celebrated with the first jock. Max and Lance were shouting and screaming themselves hoarse. Craig stood at a corner, watching the whole fight. He wondered what people enjoyed in watching these fights. The guys fighting could get themselves killed but yet people enjoyed it.

He soon felt that he had seen enough and decided to head back to his room. Max and Lance would return when they have had their fill. He got to his room, opened the door and was greeted with a cold, dark silence. The lights in the room were off. They had all left Ryan in the room with the lights on. Maybe, Ryan had decided to go to bed after all and had put off the lights. He had better turn them on. His fingers groped along the wall, looking for the light switch. “Ryan,Ryan”,he called out but Ryan didn’t answer. Alas, he found the light switch and turned it on. What he saw, he wasn’t prepared for. Ryan laid on his bed,his throat slashed and his face stabbed multiple times.

The book he was reading laid on top of his chest soaked in his blood.A part of his cheek had been cut off and his nose bashed in. Blood dripped from the bed and pooled all over the floor.

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Fb: Akinwande Toby Onadeko
Twitter: @Wyldkat95
Email: akinonadeko@gmail.com