Centino:
NDI’s CROSS

ASUU got a rude shock when the Federal Government only paid eight days of their expected eight months’ salary upon the resumption. A breakaway faction called Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) was swiftly recognized by the Federal government which also began to pay their eight-month salary backlog. The saga had not ended after all. The pump price of petrol began to subtly yield to market forces. Artificial scarcity for a week or two and then the product became available again with new prices on display with no official word from the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) whose function it was to fix prices. Tinubu and Atiku continued to cherry-pick where to make an appearance in their presidential campaigns citing ‘busy schedules’ while Peter Obi continued to be ubiquitous such that you wondered if there were more than one of him. A US court released papers on an order of criminal forfeiture granted against Tinubu in connection with drug dealings in Chicago in the 90s. While this caused a rumpus on social media back home, mainstream media continued to stay mum. Festus Keyemo attempted to bamboozle as to the real facts of the matter. A PDP spokesman on Channels TV said that if the matter went to court that Tinubu could be barred from contesting the 2023 presidential elections. Buhari still found time to go to London. Osinbajo finally crawled out of hibernation following his Presidential primaries’ humbling. US midterm elections showed how steeply divided America had become along party lines, with abortion occupying a big portion on the ballot papers. The world was still getting to terms with a coloured man occupying 10 Downing street. President Zelinsky was feeling brash following a historic recapture of Kherson and the retreat of Russian forces, even as Russia bombed Ukraine's energy infrastructure to ensure the Ukrainians froze to death in the winter.

At 225 Katakata Street, Achike had made a discovery that was threatening to bring down the house that morning.

“Taa Ogbu! You gave gone too far this time. What respect do you have for me? What respect do you have for my wife? What respect do you have for the institution of marriage and the extended family for doing what you did?”

“Brother I be man. I no rape the woman. She no be your wife!”

“You are even talking back at me!” Achike thundered.

“Brother comot eye for dia. Why you no fit face ya wife. This woman na your wife?”

“She is my wife’s mother! She is family! Do you think this is blue film? This is an abomination! It is like sleeping with my mother! Your mother!”

Chisco wanted to ask Achike to swear that he did not wish to sleep with his mother-in-law. He wanted to bring sand from outside and give him to lick if this behaviour of his was not borne out of jealousy. But the man had caught them red-handed in his home. Perhaps he was entitled to his righteous indignation. But the hypocrisy was too much for Chisco.

“Chisco you have a place of your own! Did you have to do it here? Are you not by this action telling me to my face that I am nothing? You did not even consider how my wife would feel. You did not even consider the possibility of my wife witnessing such filth!”

It was a most harrowing watch for Achike. Evae was pregnant again and was having many uncomfortable nights. This time the pregnancy made her nauseous and she needed to spit into a can at intervals around the clock. It was one of those times when she reached for the can to spit into that Achike stirred awake and was unable to go right back to sleep. He began to think about Eyonyam. She was fully recovered now from the gruesome attack and all his former designs on her had returned. He could go to the other room and take a peek at her sleeping form. Just to look, nothing more.

Achike opened the door of the adjoining room carefully. He did not want to wake her or Evae up. He just wanted to look.

His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness and all his internal organs seemed to collapse, leaving him swooning and needing to hold on to the frame of the door for balance.

Silent sex was a skill you had to perfect in a face-me-I-face-you. You heard the occasional involuntary gasps when the thing hit a certain spot but even that was mostly stifled because nobody wanted Mr Zubi’s rascals singing their names in the morning unless you were Jide Falomo and Funbi. But responsible family men and those who stole the sex knew how to bask in it in utmost privacy with an eventual abdominal protrusion the only evidence of physical procreation having happened. This was stolen sex executed to stunning perfection.

If they were doing doggy style or something along that line Achike would have felt somewhat better. At least he would have accepted that Chisco only wanted to maximize her famous posterior and that it was not anything serious. But there they were, copulating the missionary way. Slow, deep, and passionate like they wanted to conceive the messiah. He watched Chisco’s hard bottom go up and down Eyonyam whose body he could not see as he would have liked as Chisco totally dominated her essential parts. She spread her legs wide and was running her hands all over his back. She would at intervals grab his buttocks and push him even deeper into her. Chisco himself also passed his hands under her and found what Achike was sure was her comfortable soft nyash and kneaded them steadily as he continued to drive heavenly strokes into her. How did they manage to stay so silent? Their bodies moved in appropriate tandem, but how could their vocal cords be that cooperative under such circumstances? There was nothing they could however do about the occasional queefing from her vagina. The thought of how wet she could have been for that sound to emanate threatened to drive Achike crazy.

Achike was angry and excited at the same time. The small goodness in him begged that he not interrupt them. They went to great lengths to forgo the need to moan because they did not want him to hear. They did consider his feelings. They were both single. The familial boundaries he always alluded to to discourage them he knew was nonsense. If anything, it only applied to him and not Chisco. But they would still leave his house in the morning.

“No fear! No respect! No regard! My wife could have walked in on you. Do you know how traumatic that would have been for her? Her own mother! And you, woman! What do you have to say?”

Eyonyam did not say anything. She looked at him in such a meaningful way that Achike immediately changed the prepared verdict. Only Chisco would now be barred from the house. Chineke what was that he saw in her eyes!

Oh, men! Eyonyam thought. She did not want to leave her daughter. She could not. She knew how quickly things could unravel. Ever since she returned from the hospital she could sense that something was going to happen soon. It did not feel like it was going to be something pleasant. And the only person that could protect her daughter and her infant and unborn child was her. Achike was a small price to pay to ensure that.

*

Ndifreke stared at the porous mansonia wood as Maya jammed the door in his face. He turned the door handle to no effect. He scratched his head and looked around to be sure no one witnessed his embarrassment. He saw Josephine retreating into her inner room from the corner of his eyes. A few other curtains swayed in a manner suggesting that they had recently been ruffled. He was sure that it was not only Josephine that had gone to their door to eavesdrop. He made a slow deliberate walk through the corridor and down the stairs and back to his room. Still troubled, he decided to seek out Mr Cosmas.

Neighbours were going up and down the corridor and to and fro the backyard just as the queue at the toilet and bathrooms continued to get longer. Mothers were shouting at recalcitrant children. Fathers were barking at their wives and everybody. The unique face-me-I-face-you smell of onions frying in hot oil together with that of pungent medicated soaps from the kitchen and bathrooms that were close to each other wafted into the corridor causing Ndirfreke’s stomach to churn in protest.

Achike and Chisco were arguing loudly. Just as Irikefe emerged with a frying pan with which he walloped Carbondioxide’s head. Irikefe rushed to his side to explain as he saw Ndifreke. They had not been on speaking terms since he fired him and Castro from his stillborn business. But at that moment, Ndifreke could see the instant regret in his eyes following the assault on the boy and Irikefe’s need for either validation or a shield because Prince White had gone back inside when his son yelped in pain and everyone knew that that meant he was returning with a machete.

“See this yeye boy and him Papa o! Yesterday the useless afin approached me and said we should at least be friends since we live together. He sweet-mouthed me that he was going to give me sure odds to stake this weekend because he works in a betting shop. I then fried eggs and gave them small but because I was feeling somehow in my tummy I did not eat my own. I left it in the cupboard. Only for me to wake up this morning and Oxygen or whatever his stupid name is had finished the egg in the frying pan!”

Continue reading https://katakatastreet.com/2022/11/13/ndis-cross/

Guys. I just found out that you can now listen to the audio of 225 Katakata Street (released weekly) on the Genti Audio app on Google Play. I downloaded the app from here: www.gentimedia.com

www.gentimedia.com. Download the app and listen to proper Nigerian and African audiobooks for free. They even have the legendary 225 Katakata Street on there

I'm a story lover but I find it difficult to have the time to sit down and read a book - whether on my phone or a physical book. Here are 4 apps where I can go to to listen to stories, while I keep my busy schedule going:

1. PocketFM (www.pocketfm.com): I think these guys are Indian. They have a lot of interesting stories, but sometimes the accents annoy me. Still, it's very nice, and their stories are interesting - from romance to fantasy, even horror.

2. Audible (www.audible.com): Audible basically started this whole audio books thing. But they're expensive! Like 7 dollars for 1 book per month! I had to stop my subscription like 4 years ago. Cannot be spending dollars anyhow in this Buhari Economy.

3. Genti Audio (www.gentimedia.com): These guys are pretty new (since August) and I think they're Nigerian. So far, it's my best. It's completely free, and they have some interesting stories and audio dramas that I used to read/listen back then, and they have stories in english, pidgin, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa. Wow. Stories like 225 Katakata Street, When a Woman Wants, and even BBC's Story Story. The only thing is they need to bring out more stuff. They still don't have that much content, but it's promising sha.

4. Noice (https://open.noice.id/). Cool app but most of their content is in Indonesian (I think). Some english titles here and there, but hard to find.

So there you have it guys. I hope this is helpful. Have you guys tried any of these apps? Let me know what you think, and if there are more you would recommend, please let me know