Having spent the majority of the weekend doing things I love; eating out, playing table tennis and watching soccer games, I even played a soccer game otherwise known as “nkwatankwa” in local field which also serves as a mini army barracks.

That was my first football game in two years and I realised I,ve lost a lots of skills and technicality in the game. the Metal (my name) was beaten at ease and my man-marking expertise has sunken into oblivion which was obviously my forte that made me one of the formidable forces in the game. we lost all the three "sets" we played and believe me money (500/set) was involve too. The Metal was already salivating on the prospect of oncoming Chelsea encounter with west Bromwich Albiom.

I had to rush to watch the match at the local viewing center so off I went, mounted okada without bidding the price and in a few minutes, I found myself on the front row of the deafening, raucous game centre with one bottle of Hero gracing my front. Yes our expectation was high as Chelsea has brushed aside with consummate ease eight teams in the EPL scoring around 22 goals and conceding only 2 which is approximately 2 goals or more per game.

So after the game which we scrappily won thanks to Diego Costa 76minute sumptuous roof effort, The Metal needs to go home at least to brush off and set out for the next only-God-knows where. And then Man utd match with Tottenham looms and I had to catch a glimpse of the 89th minute draw specialists. was already feeling pity for my rivals at the other side that my inner self wished they,d win this one.

PS.not a writer or author. am not going to edit this piece so accept my grammatical errors i,ve obviously not seen the four walls of university before.thanks

After the Man Utd match, had nothing at all on my bucket list. Twilight is fast approaching and the next most interesting thing seems like playing with my pets and doing football manager till the day wanes. As I sets out to free myself from the rowdy and chattering crowd at the viewing centre, I bumped into this man living at the neighbourhood, he had beaten me 6-3 in a Draught game the previous day and was brimming with confidence as he tries to lure me into playing again.
“guy how far na” he asked
“Nnaa udo di” I retorted grumpily as I rented my dissatisfaction by the way he whipped me yesterday.
“lets go kill some time at the stadium na” he replied, ignoring the glaring discontentment on my countenance. “No way man, unless you promise to give me certain conditions, then I will play, after all you chopped me N600 naira yesterday” I answered in a more direct manner.
“what is N600 naira to start with?”
“huh, but its enough to get your newly married wife a fried chicken” I replied in a satirical tone.
“OK then I will give you one winning, one draw”
“we have a deal”

m

The draught game didn’t go as I expected, and before I knew it, I was already 9-0 down courtesy of my opponent’s no-nonsense, brutal finishing. Certainly it has, at that moment dawned on me that I was no match for him but the Metal is not one that gave up so easily. This was a guy I went head to head yesterday beating 2-0, 3-3, before he finally smashed me 6-3. His quality is not to be underrated though and is easily one of the best players one would ever come across as long as Draught is involved. For those of you that were wondering what Draught is all about let me elaborate. the Draught game is very much like a Chess, Players take turns to move a piece of their own colour. Any piece that reaches the far edge of the board is immediately crowned and is thereafter known as a "King". The act of crowning is a physical one - another piece of the same shade is placed on top of the piece in order to distinguish it from an ordinary piece. Until a piece is "crowned", it can only move and capture in a diagonally forwards direction. Kings are allowed to move and capture diagonally forwards and backwards and are consequently more powerful and valuable than ordinary pieces. However, ordinary pieces can capture Kings too.
My confidence grew as I grew in the game, I matched him in every facets of the game but he has an enigmatic monopoly in finishing, I figured that out too and matched him head to head. At length, I was able to recuperate from 9-0 to 9-3, he had to run away with acquittal that his wife needs his attention. I made a loss of N1200 total in yesterdays game.

By this time my awareness was shifted to my wallet and I was brought to fruition that all I had left is only N700. I reflected on my past spending philanderings and it wasn’t encouraging at all, and I could vividly overheard one tingling voice echoing the basics, telling me to go get a wife ASAP. Its already 7.00pm and the Metal have run out of pet food and the only hope it’s the ATM which is just a 5 minute drive from the neighbourhood. I preferred to trek at least to capture the effervescent occurrences on the side roads. The four angles of the road are boisterous and The Metal needed some sounds to navigate away from the ostensible distractions emanating from the streets and which artist can deliver the goods effortlessly than the talented Atif Aslam. I brought out my old and worn out Huawei ascend mate from its closet, plugged my powerful headset and select the newly released Duet from Atif Aslam, “Toota Jo Kabhi Tara” hit repeat button and vava-voom, The Metal is on cloud nine.
I could barely focused on the zooming automobiles and scores of beautiful people making their way either to their home or their respective destinations as I was carried away by Atif’s voice and ability to hit high notes painlessly. “hediot”, I cursed abruptly as one teenage motorist breezed its way past my personal lane almost hitting me in the process.

Oh yeah, it’s really time to unplug and dump the headset in my jean pocket as I approach the slightly demolished FCMB bank facade by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu at faulks road Aba.

I brought out my wallet, pull out my card and inserted the slimy thing on the slot but I got “unable to dispense cash temporarily” as a compensation. Tried two more cards in futility before I decided to check out the other banks in the front.

I verified the exact same message on a certain UBA ATM too and it in full swing started proving very clear that my quest is increasingly becoming a fruitless one. My legs was aching and The Metal had to resist the incessant temptation of boarding a keke.

i am no superman and fatigue has been taking its toll on me from the long strength-sapping walk, I was serious polishing the coal tar with my made in Aba Moccasin shoe version that has lasted three years on the trot. The Metal captured an indication of what appeared a random dispersion of crowds in two to three folds but chooses instead to cross the ever busy main road to avoid any unnecessary entanglement as per the urge and benefit of cashing out successfully far outweighs any delightful gist or sightseeing which could potentially transmute to menace before one could say ‘Hi’

I glanced at my new watch and the time says 7:45pm, almost fourty five minutes gone but still not successful and I was at that moment aware I wasn’t the only one searching aimlessly for a paying ATM machine.

I captured a clear silhouette of a guy with his girlfriend at the machine and trust me no adjectives can qualify the frustration on the girls expression. “Who goes out trying to withdraw money on a Sunday night?” a calm soothing, inner voice reprimanded me. I got the instruction and balked out even though there are three more banks at the horizon still unverified.

By now, with Mission certified as failed, there is nothing else on my head other than to waft home with the speed of light and embrace my bed in its entirety. I could brilliantly hear some uproars and curses in the distance as I move towards the unruly crowd.

With Some meters away from the jamboree, I paused to decide on my next move and a voice was ceaselessly ringing the basics again in my ears culled from my book of dos and don’ts. given the prolonged altercation between me and the inner voice, its unquestionably glaring some rules might be broken tonight.

To be continued...