THAT ROOM WOULD NEED POLICE TO STOP US___WEEK 239 Episode 03

If you were placed in a room with all your childhood friends and classmates, how long do you think the gathering will be lively for? Do you think the old camaraderie will be able to be reignited?

My answer is simple: If you put me and my childhood friends inside one room today, you will need to call landlord to come and chase us out.

Because that room will be lively for 3 DAYS NON-STOP!

Let me tell you why.

My primary school friends from Onitsha are not normal friends. We are the set that made teachers resign. We are the set that used to sing "we no go gree" when they said we should go home. We are the set that shared one biro for 5 people and still passed exam.

If you put us in a room today?

First 10 minutes: Shouting.

"EH! Is that Uche? Uche that used to eat chalk!"
"Amara! You still dey with that your big eye glasses!"

Nobody will sit down. Everybody will be standing, hugging, touching belly.

Next 30 minutes: Laughing competition.

We will be remembering how Chinedu used to sleep in class and snore, and teacher would use cane to wake him. How we used to run to buy gala and La Casera with our small break money. How we used to play "police and thief" inside bush behind school.

One gist will lead to another gist. One story will lead to 10 stories.

You know what is funny? Even those who were not talking to each other in school then, they will now be best friends. Because time has washed away all the quarrels. The girl that reported me to teacher in Primary 6, if I see her now, I will hug her and say "Thank you for reporting me, na that day I learn lesson!"

And the camaraderie, can it be reignited?

It will not just be reignited, it will catch fire!

Because childhood camaraderie is not built on Instagram followers. It is built on "You helped me carry my bucket of water when my leg was paining me." It is built on "You shared your biscuit when my mama no give me money." That kind of foundation, even earthquake cannot break it.

Adult friendship needs data. Childhood friendship needs only presence.

In that room, we will not check who has money. We will not check who fine pass. We will be checking who remembers the lyrics of that old song: "Baby baby, my baby baby..." and we will all sing off-key and laugh until tears come out.

We will do old school dance. We will do Galala, Alanta, Azonto inside that room. We will not care if we look stupid.

Someone will say "Make we do back to school photo!" And we will arrange ourselves like we used to arrange for school photo, with one person kneeling down in front.

And we will gist about teachers. "Where is Mr. James? That wicked math teacher! He still alive?" "Mrs. Nwankwo that used to tie wrapper and dance when we pass exam!"

How long will it be lively? Listen, if you put us there by 10am, by 10pm we will still be talking. Our voice will be hoarse. Our belle will pain us from laughing.

If NEPA takes light, we will use phone torchlight and continue. If rain falls, we will close window and continue. If hunger catch us, we will contribute money and buy gala and pure water and continue.

That is what happens when you put real childhood friends together. The room becomes a time machine.

So my answer is: The gathering will be lively until you force us to leave. And yes, the camaraderie will be reignited, because it never really went off. It was just on low battery, waiting for one gathering to charge it back to 100%.

I wish they can really put us in that room tomorrow. I miss my people.

IMAGE SOURCE AI