UP TO SOMETHING: A SHORT STORY
EMMANUEL I. EGBO
I’d taken his phone to browse my assignments that evening, so I knew when the text came in. Laz was rather uneasy, asking almost intermittently whether I’d finished. I could see how uncomfortable he’s becoming every passing minute, he just needed to hold his phone; “is there something I need to know?” I asked, “Rien” he replied in French, our national language. On an impulse I decided to handle him the phone and use the desktop in my room; he wanted to pretend, but I knew he was relieved. He went downstairs while I headed for my room. I was damn curious, I wanted to know what Laz is up to; From my room I could hear him speak in English and as well trying to use a good accent, I carefully opened the louvers to hear his words. “About twelve inches” he said to the person on the phone who was most likely to be a man; they spoke for the next thirty minutes which made me wonder whether he made the call or he was called.
Ever since our parents died, Laz has become more wayward than ever, though he was very much like our father, my only fear was that he lacked self-respect. Two months before the ghastly accident that saw the end of our parents, Mum almost caught him watching pornography, he’d thought mum would stay long as usual; he turned on porn videos in his laptop in the sitting room while trying to avoid me. Not too long, mum opened the door without knocking, he did not want to be suspected as mum would do if he covered the PC, the close button was not visible either since he was viewing on full screen. I was walking out through the other door to welcome mum when I saw the trouble he was about to get into, I quickly moved to the system and used the Alt+F4 shortcuts to get all windows closed.
“That’s virus” I said to confuse mum
“I just observed it” he replied having understood what I was doing.
Mum told us too many people were to be attended to before herself, so she decided to return the next day. When she entered her room, I was left with in the sitting room with Laz.
“Thank you bro” he muttered while avoiding to look at my face.
“You’re on your own” I retorted immediately
“Why would you want to wash you dirty linen so openly” I asked.
“Hey, mind your business” he said;
“Wish I’d minded my business few minutes ago” I said,
“Perhaps I would have given you a new business with mum” I concluded.
He raised his face and look at me steadily and intently without uttering a word, “Qu’est ce qui ce passé?” I asked, he rose like an injured gorilla and stepped out of the house.
When I returned from school On Monday, Laz handed me a new battery and a charger for my phone, warning me with every seriousness never to near nor touch his phone.
“Pourquoi?” I demanded
“Parce qu’il est ma phone” he said without any explanations.
I was not just surprised, I was perturbed, I felt something is going wrong without my knowing. After all, now our parents are no more, we stay in different rooms and anything could happen.
It was exactly 2:47 am, Laz came into my room, woke me up and invited me to the parlor for a talk; when I’d taken a seat, he began:
I’ll be moving to the United States any time soon” he said,
“a friend who would like to employ me has invited me to come over” he continued.
“What sort of employment is that?” I queried,
“Ben, you don’t need to know” he said.
“And when are you leaving” I asked,
“That’s why I’ve called you this morning, there is no fixed date. Any day you wake up and you do not find me, I simply implies I’ve travelled” he said rudely.
“Mtcheeeeeeeew” I sighed as I walked out on him.
It’s been four months now, and Laz is yet to travel, I already felt he’d never travel but the 16th of August took me by surprise when I woke up and did not find him anywhere in town; on the 20th, he called to inform me he’s already in the U.S. Though we didn’t relate very closely as brothers should do, but I was sure I would be lonely if not unsafe in the absence of Laz.
At about three weeks before we wrote the final exams in the law school, Josh my very best friend needed to stay away from home, he lived with his grandmother and would like to avoid distractions in the forth coming fate-determining exam. I willingly accepted him into my home; perhaps, he’ll help me break the chains of loneliness. We actually got along very well, he was a better cook than myself, and in all things, preparing for exam was easier for the both of us, though my house had many rooms, we shared a room.
At first, I thought I was dreaming, perhaps a wet one, a hand was rubbing the thing between my legs, it came from my breast through the hairs on my chest to the very thing that made me woke up. Though I enjoyed the pleasure, but the hand was male and Josh’s.
“what are you doing dude?” I shouted
“You’re gay?!” I queried.
“ooh, so sorry man” he said,
“thought you’d like it” he added.
I slept on the couch for the next two days, he’d always beg and cry for forgiveness; he insisted I should come back to the bed if I’d truly forgiven him, I obliged on the fourth day.
However, the incident has made me re-observe the many features which Josh possessed, he looked so sexy anyway, any girl would pay to have him; I remember Lillian of our regular university days, she’d paid me to convince Josh to dance with her at a party. The looks on his face match with his broad shoulders that are carried by his hot legs, he had a lot of enemies in school then since most sugar mummies would always make advances to him. I’ve never had a real sex experience, neither do I wish to start with a fellow man, not even the beautiful Josh.
I was taking my shower one morning; Josh opened the door and demanded that we bathed together, since time was already against us, I accepted with no complaints. While we bathed, he made crazy comments of the size, shape and color of our genitals, though those comments did offend me, I refrained from expressing it as I hurriedly left him to prepare.
We were finally called to the bar and we began to practice immediately, but Josh still lived in my home; by now he had had his way, and we did it, neither once nor twice, not even ten times. So it continued for nineteen years with neither Josh nor I getting married. Sometimes I wonder if I did enjoyed it or was I trying to be a good friend? Only my ass could tell, since Josh has converted it into his…
Twenty-one years into this shameful act, Josh demanded for a third round in the morning before we go to work, I promptly declined and he over-powered me to punish me with three rough rounds; following this incident, we separated to become arch enemies. I knew his exit would do me good, but I was sure I’d feel his absence.
Seven years later, I was already a judge, that day a sensitive case is brought to the court over which I presided, the evidences were too glaring and the suspect is not denying either. Joshua Salmi was charged with the rape of a 12-year old boy for which the constitution provides 13 years imprisonment. I was battling with my conscience, whether or not to jail a man with whom I have also shared my body, maybe I should adjourn the case….
Josh is in prison, Laz has died of cancer, some of the drugs he took as a porn star had damaged his system; I now understand what he sized as ´12 inches’ years ago and the reason he protected his phone like a shrine. As for me, I am 79 today and I have no child of my own, I’m standing right beside the lagoon and the moment I jump in, my story ends.

The story is really interesting buh sad end...tragic