From Boredom To Chaos.

“You guys, I swear if I sit here one more minute doing nothing, my brain will melt,” Fola groaned, dropping his phone on the dusty veranda floor.

It was one of those long, hot afternoons in the neighborhood, the power had been out since morning, the WiFi was dead, and the four friends Fola, Chike, Simi, and Bimpe were all slumped in front of the house like abandoned mannequins.

“Maybe we should just sleep,” Simi muttered, fanning herself with an old magazine.

“Sleep?” Chike laughed, his voice sharp, “Boredom is killing me, not malaria. I need action.”

That one sentence was the spark. Fola sat up suddenly, eyes glinting. “Then let us create action, Let’s… I don’t know… start something, A parade, A challenge I mean Anything!”

Bimpe gave him the side-eye. “A parade? With who? Goats and chickens?”

“Yes!” Fola clapped his hands, grinning. “Exactly! The goats, the chickens, even Mama Alhaja’s stubborn ram, let’s have the first-ever Animal Parade of Olanrewaju Street!”

Everyone burst into laughter, but the more ridiculous the idea sounded, the more it appealed to their boredom, within ten minutes, the four of them were running around the street like lunatics, trying to gather every stray animal in sight.

“Chike, catch that chicken!” Simi shouted, as one hen flapped wildly, escaping into a gutter.

“Don’t just stand there, help me!” Chike yelled back, hopping into the gutter to grab it, he came out smelling like something rotten but triumphant, holding the chicken high like a trophy.

Meanwhile, Fola had managed to bribe a little boy with sweets to help him drag Mama Alhaja’s ram, the ram, however, had other plans, the stubborn creature stood firm, refusing to move.

“Bimpe, pull from the other side!” Fola shouted.

“ Me I am not dragging that beast o, ahahn , see as It looks like it eats people!” she protested, backing away.

In the end, they tied big ribbons and very old scarves around the animals that they had managed to catch, the two goats, three chickens, and one dog that seemed too friendly for its own good.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Fola announced loudly, as neighbors looked out from their windows, “welcome to the grand Animal Parade of Olanrewaju Street."

The animals, however, did not get the memo, the moment they started, chaos erupted, one chicken wriggled free and flew straight into Mama Nkechi’s shop, scattering bags of groundnut all over the floor, the goats butted each other, dragging Simi along with them until she fell flat in the sand, the “friendly” dog decided to chase the ram, which broke loose and ran into the road, almost causing a keke to swerve dangerously.

The street was filled with shouts, laughter, and chaos, People came out, some yelling angrily, others laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes.

“This is madness!” Bimpe screamed, holding onto a chicken that kept pecking her hand.

“Madness or not, at least we are not bored anymore!” Fola shouted, half laughing, half terrified, as he ran after the escaping ram.

At the end, they all just collapsed back at the veranda again, all sweaty, dirty, and gasping for breath, they had returned the animals to their respective owners (some angrily, some with laughter), and the whole street now had a new story to talk about.

Simi shook her head, she was still panting, “See ehn only boredom could have make us start a zoo in the middle of the street.” "omo I hope my mom doesn't hear about this."

Chike grinned widely , brushing the dirt off his shirt. “At least we will be legends, the ones who had turned boredom into a full blown carnival.”

And with that, the four of them burst into laughter again, it was a disaster, but one they would never forget.

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