The sound of my alarm woke me up; before getting up, I forcefully offered two minutes of prayer before walking to take my bath and prepare for class.173Please respect copyright.PENANAanxDjTJGOo
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After getting dressed up, I greeted my neighbor before locking the door and walking down the stairs.173Please respect copyright.PENANAE10Zr0d9uU
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My stomach rumbles. I saw where akara and pap were sold; walking past it, I made my way towards the main paved street. Taking a quick turn, I made my way to a lonely alley; at the right side was a small square-shaped house. It houses prostitutes, but it's now a road I do take to get to a market called Sabo (Hausa Park/Market). Going to an open-air cafeteria, I ate a quick lunch before boarding a bus called koropke; in there, we were usually packed together like sardines.173Please respect copyright.PENANALmaCrgyGuN
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Alighting from the bus, I made my way towards the school entrance. I'm a student of anatomy, and today we are making our first dissection. I was eaten with gnawing anxiety as I walked in the paved/tarred road towards the lab.173Please respect copyright.PENANACmsQmrfhSc
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Walking in, I saw dead humans, medically called cadavers, all lined up naked without any covering, their eyes shut and hair disheveled, of both genders.173Please respect copyright.PENANAHCkcgrcCZk
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Observing them thoroughly, I saw that they must have been mad when alive due to the nature of theirs; it was filled with sticks and dirt.173Please respect copyright.PENANAtHXVgVNsNE
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But mad people are a very common sight in Ogbomoso; a person can see three to four mad people in less than a mile walk.173Please respect copyright.PENANAOClB1gTHXM
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I always wondered why no psychiatric hospital can be found here.173Please respect copyright.PENANAMhi90vmm76
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I developed a sick feeling in my stomach, and my heart pounded so hard against my chest that I felt like I was going to faint.173Please respect copyright.PENANApvzqk5TB5P
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The smell of formaldehyde lingers as our lecturer enters to teach us how to dissect.173Please respect copyright.PENANAR5QesH66ec
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We were grouped into three groups; I was placed in group B. We were forty or more; I really can't tell.173Please respect copyright.PENANAUqCQEvUXci
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Placing the scalpel at the anterior superior iliac spine of the pelvis, he cut through skin and fat.173Please respect copyright.PENANAOowuVvyHnl
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He sliced gently with the scalpel halfway to the knee; he then asked who will continue, and a lady volunteered.173Please respect copyright.PENANA2CLFsZNbhn
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Well, I was shocked at her bravery, and she wasn't the only lady to volunteer. I can't even touch the cadaver, let alone cut it, and my anxiety won't even make me able to say yes even if I want to.173Please respect copyright.PENANA37lYXXX6vk
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Well, she did perfectly to me, especially when it was her first time. Cutting towards the knee, she then started skinning the thigh, removing the skin and fat, allowing the oily muscle to be in view.173Please respect copyright.PENANAJ7w0xJvfRt
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She started describing the muscles; although lots of muscles were mentioned, the only one I was able to remember was sartorius, and I forgot to add that I do go out a lot of times to spit; my face mask wasn't able to bear the stench.173Please respect copyright.PENANATKt2e7YexW
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As the cadaver was appreciated, so our lecturer said, we are appreciating them by dissection.173Please respect copyright.PENANAEfATPJiMYA
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I wonder if they would have agreed if not for unfortunate circumstances, and regarding circumstances, what kind of life choices made them end up on the dissecting table. I wonder if I'm the only person thinking about it.173Please respect copyright.PENANATZwvWZlmW7
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The muscles were peeled layer by layer, and changes were made. Another lady, of course, began her explanation, but I honestly was lost and unable to follow.173Please respect copyright.PENANAalfcUgUmsb
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I was questioning my life choices. I honestly don't know what I'm doing there, and even if I'm not there, there's no other place I would love to be, where I find myself, that place I don't like.173Please respect copyright.PENANAyqVaD7a9PQ
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My mind goes around. What if I give that cadaver a name and a story? If anxiety won't let me dissect, how about I do a literary dissection? Then it was born in my mind to tell the story of a cadaver I called Ade.173Please respect copyright.PENANAWyeKwYcD2K
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Ade was born in December 1986; whether his parents got married before he was born or his mother ended up living with his dad after he was born is a mystery beyond our reach.173Please respect copyright.PENANAAnLyWinQcv
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He was big and strong as a child, the firstbornof his parents; his mother shed emotional tears seeing the living soul that she brought into existence.173Please respect copyright.PENANAflj7qZlk7E
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A week later he was named Olamide at a church not far from their house.173Please respect copyright.PENANAipTABcX7sN
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It was a little ceremony with no more than thirty people present.173Please respect copyright.PENANAVHyhtLM5PJ
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A year later he was weaned, not without tears, of course, for he was now attached to his mother's bosom, a place of rest and comfort, but those are for children alone; he might still be a child, but he's considered to have outgrown that soft comfort.173Please respect copyright.PENANA7FMAFEIHGE
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Then he learns to adapt to pap and milk; his bones grow strong as he also learns to walk, talk, and eat amala, rice, and everything edible that's presented to him without rejecting it.173Please respect copyright.PENANAzZlPOYYUmc
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As he aged, he learned his father was a farmer, and he always brought farm produce home, but his farm was small and wasn't enough to feed the house. 173Please respect copyright.PENANAQyI1Eo5Zjz
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He was enrolled in a public school when he was three years old, he doesn't know why he was sent to school, but his mother seems very eager and excited to send him there, especially because she was nursing his younger sister.173Please respect copyright.PENANAn59qnXg8cE
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School wasn't fun at the beginning, but with time he adapted the same way he adapted to being weaned; he made lots of friends, and they learned how to curse and insult, how to love playing football, and even how to take what wasn't his without anyone knowing.173Please respect copyright.PENANAjcNyPVvczx
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He has succeeded in taking meat from the pot and also some of his mother's sweets from her tiny shop without her noticing anything was missing.173Please respect copyright.PENANAwDTRe2vSFB
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He also noticed that every Sunday he was dressed up in his best clothes and sent to church. There were taught morals and some other stuff, but he didn't seem to pay much attention; his friends were a constant distraction, and he loved their company too.173Please respect copyright.PENANAgTWLHIco77
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"I'm not playing with you anymore; when I have something, we eat it together, but when it's your turn, you hide." Ade lamented. 173Please respect copyright.PENANAZnaMfy4V8f
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"I never forced you to give me that; that's your problem," Segun replied. 173Please respect copyright.PENANA1mpGMieaqS
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"Ohhhh, so that's how it is, abi. The first to do it doesn't feel pain, but the second to do it feels the most pain. I will do it back to you."
"That's how he does behave; let's not play with him again," David said, pulling Ade close, "Get away from us," shoving Segun away.
"Oya, take." Segun extended his buns to them all.
"Should we collect it?" David asked.
"No, we shouldn't, and we shouldn't play with him either," Ade replied.
"Let's collect it, Joor," David said, collecting it and changing position.
"Won't you accept it too?" David asked Ade, "Don't be angry; just collect it," he said, chewing.
Ade, not wanting to lose his friends and a chance for a free snack, has to accept it.
"What are you three doing there?" The Sunday school teacher's voice resonated.
"Never serious during Sunday lessons, stand up, you three," he ended.
They stood till the end of class.
****
On getting home, he went to play football under the heat of the sun; he never cared about his homework or anything. Life is fun and nothing more.
The field was an unevenly shaped plot they played ball at; the place was filled with curses and swearing as they played.
Lots of dishonesty and lies were rampant; he was a good player nevertheless. He played skillfully without fear and was very strong and aggressive with the ball.
After scoring so many goals that he couldn't count, he reached home tired and worried he would be punished.
On getting home, his father was waiting, cane in hand, for him. He knows what awaits him: trouble. But it can't be avoided now; trouble always comes along with pleasure. It's not something new to him anymore.
The spanking tonight was horrible; his dad must've had a fit all through the day. He was so badly bruised and battered that he promised himself never to play ball again.
School the next day wasn't fun; he was supposed to be beaten during assembly for bullying a fat girl but was saved due to his coming late that Monday, but he was flogged in front of the class, which is a normal occurrence, but this, however, was hotter than normal.
With a painful butt, he managed to sit down, but it didn't take long before he was called out and beaten again for refusing to do his homework; that day was really hard on him.
The sound of the bell for break time filled him with joy; he can't wait to leave the choking classroom for some fun.
"You are a disgrace," a lady with bulging eyes but highly intelligent conversed with him.
"Look at him, always unkempt, stinking, and stubborn," Joy chipped in.
Ade stood fuming but unable to utter any word; he felt shame and no shame all at once. He dashed outside towards the field to play ball.
But he wasn't able to play any ball; he was too young, so he played with empty bottles with friends. When tired, they started play fighting; he kicked and jumped, was hit, and hit back. He ran and was chased, stopped abruptly, and gave a back kick to his chaser's stomach, which made him fall in pain.
The situation escalated quickly into fighting, as the chaser was angry at the kick, and the fight was settled by other students so as not to get into trouble.
With extremely stinky shirts without buttons, flowing, he walked into the class as the teacher watched him with disgust.
****
Ade wasn't an academically sound student, but he was a good artist and has very fine handwriting.
One early morning, he woke up for school, ready and dirty as usual. He heard his mother and father fighting.
"You will not leave this house today, you very useless and good-for-nothing man," Mrs. Ade cursed bitterly.
"It's your father that's useless and good for nothing, you battered wife. I said I don't have money; should I kill myself? He asked angrily.
"Why did you give birth if you can't take care of your children?" She asked back.
"I wasn't ready to give birth; you got pregnant—that's why," he defended.
"When you were enjoying sex, what did you expect? You want to eat and clean your mouth and go? "I'm wasting my time talking with you," she said, dragging him by the pocket and refusing his demands to be left alone.
He hits her; he was shocked seeing her howls. She still drags and refuses to let go; he pushed and shoved till she finally let go.
"This witch I have for a wife," he muttered under his breath as he darted outside.
"It won't ever be better for you; you will work like an elephant and eat like a rat. God will punish you; you will never be successful," she cursed amid sobs.
He moved shakily to her.
"Get away from my face, you idiot," she snapped angrily at him.
He wasn't able to go to school; he was a bit happy he would be able to play, but he ended up sleeping due to hunger.
He grew up watching this intense drama, and he's now a part of it, no longer a spectator.
"Give me my money, joor," his younger sister snapped in the most rude voice she could use.
"If I give you a dirty slap, you will run mad immediately. Get out from my face, you thing I can't name," he answered without looking at her.
"Do I look like a fool or someone you can be controlling as you like?" she retorted more rudely before she knew it, and a dirty slap resounded in her face that forced her to stumble and fall.
He felt a bit guilty, but she ran away before he could say anything.
"It's her fault; my mood wasn't good, yet she was provoking me," he muttered.
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Life went on, his body changed, the drama didn't cease at home, and he formed more friendships with birds of the same feather.
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He entered senior secondary school; he's now hitting puberty and is getting attracted to the opposite sex. He just finds himself staring at them more; he doesn't know why.
"Ade, Ade, come and see something," Segun called him to a corner.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Watch," Segun was grinning as he showed him his hidden secrets.
"What do you think of it?" Segun asked.
Ade felt excited with curiosity regardless of his embarrassment.
"That's my kind of guy—sharp and current." Segun showed him more.
"Not only have I watched it, I have tried it sometimes." Segun boasted.
"Ahhhhhhhhh, but how come you are still young?" Segun screamed confused.
"Age doesn't stop anyone," Segun said, walking away with pride.
Ade was unsettled; his heart was racing; he was preoccupied in his mind all through, but the way he viewed girls had forever been altered.
He saw Ade walking home; Segun was in the midst of girls. He then noticed some voices springing out from the pit of hell. "What's all this?" he wondered. It's negative, but he never thought of controlling them; he let them assume, judge, and condemn. "What if it's them?" he asked, and he slowly started to believe it. What else should he believe, and why should he not believe it? These were his thoughts after all.
He lay down; he didn't feel hungry. His thoughts were fixated on Segun and the video that was shown to him. He played it over and over in his mind. Now he changed roles, and he was enjoying it. Why should he stop something that made him feel good? He has no reason to stop.
"Ade, Ade," his mother called, but he didn't answer.
"Ade," she shouted again.
"Ma," he replied angrily.
"You, this child of the devil, is that how you reply to your mother?" She asked, "Take this pepper and grind it for me, you bastard," she commanded, which he obeyed with much grumbling.
On his way there he met Segun, who was walking without any direction.
"Where are you going?" Segun asked him.
"I want to go and grind pepper, of course," he replied.
"I'm looking for where to charge my phone. Will you be available later? Let's hang together." Segun asked.
"Yes, I will," he replied as they both parted ways.
Ade met him with another friend; they discussed everything: school, girls' football, and everything.
"There are some boys from that other street that do come here and behave anyhow; I think we should fight them." Basit suggested
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