before he says
The television set and all other appliances in the room. The room is stuffy, but you decide you can forgive Nicko’s grubby nature. ‘Guess who is throwing the par-ley tonight?’ Nicko teases as he picks up a toothpick from the glass table and places it in his mouth. He starts chewing it easily, as if it were palatable. ‘Dude, just tell me man. I’m not in guessing mood’. You’re only in the mood for blue collar jobs. You sit and lean back in the sofa, losing your interest in his talk. ‘I will save you the trouble,’ Nicko says as he places one foot on the table, not minding his dirty sandals. He leans forward, stares keenly at you, anything, so that he will not miss the expression on your face when he makes his revelation, ‘The Nigerian billionaire is throwing a party at his mansion in Bugolobi and I managed to secure two invites’. ‘Wha…what!?’ You can’t believe your luck. You get out of the chair, your hands in the air, your eyes wide and your mouth open, but no sound comes out. You’re excited. Excited because people always talk about the rich man’s mansion and in your imagination, it’s paradise. And although you hadn’t included it on your list, it is one of your dreams to be there. You are going to dine with all the rich people in the city; feel important for the first time in your life and also squint at the billionaire’s daughter. You have heard she is extraordinarily attractive though in your heart, she can never be more beautiful than Karen. You suddenly remember you don’t have a proper outfit for the occasion. ‘Haa, man, Nicko, what am I going to wear?’ You know Nicko always has a way out. ‘Ah, don’t worry, man. You will dress up here. My old man usually keeps his suits ready to wear’. Nicko’s father is out of town for the weekend. He will definitely find a nice suit for you and him. Evening falls and you have got to get ready. The function starts at eight that evening, but you would like to be there for seven. ‘We better start getting ready,’ Nicko says, ‘but please take a shower before you wear my father’s suit’. You have to do what Nicko says, or else he might not give you his dad’s suit. You realize though that you’re without socks and shoes. You take the shower and you both get dressed. You are ready to go. But before you leave, Nicko notices how dirty the house is. ‘Eh, man, will you help me clean this house tomorrow, man, yo ma boy you know?’ He says, tilting his head to one side as each word pours out of his mouth. ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s cool, it’s cool.’ You know you are now a pawn on his chess board. You either say yes or start undressing. You leave the apartment, mount on one boda-boda and go to what for you is the party of your life. You get to the gate and the askari gives you a mean look. You know the reason for his stare is because you didn’t arrive in a chauffeured, shiny black car like most of the guests. But all the same, the invite will guarantee you VIP treatment. You are showed around paradise by a finely made-up girl, donning a knee length dark blue dress and silver stilettos. You can’t believe how outsized the estate is. About three large gardens make up the front of the house. The girl leaves you at the first entrance where you are transported by a cart to a second one. A suited usher directs you to a high, marvel-paved art gallery to join the rest. Its walls are garlanded with high-ceilinged pillars in azure, scarlet and white. Cool, white statues of West African subjects stand in the rooms’ four corners. You immediately start admiring all the hangings on the walls. The portrait of his daughter created from multicoloured glass, one of him as a child made of wood. There is a Nigerian emblem made of shinning metal. You stare at the accolades he has collected throughout his life, which are kept behind glass cupboards. You notice the water fountain in the middle of the room which seems to be keeping the room cool. 15 You continue walking around the room, looking at the same paintings and wondering if you hadn’t seen them already. You notice many people’s attention in one place and wonder what they are looking at. When you notice them leave, you go to have a look. You can’t believe what you see. A gem! You remember having seen it featured in the national newspaper’s section, ‘The Rich Men’s Possessions’. It’s the flawless star ruby. It’s red in color, medium dark tone about 15 carats in an oval cabochon cut. Its star shimmers over the surface of the stone and is visible when illuminated at an angle with a single light source. It has a strong florescence when exposed to ultra violet rays like those in sunlight and holds its vivid color under all lighting conditions. It has also been in the family for five generations and originated from Burma, now Myanmar. You recall it was worth almost $50,000 or something in that range. Of course you can’t even convert that money in your head, but you know it’s a whole lot of money. Then your mind drifts back to that paper you keep under your pillow and then to Karen! Your conscience goes on a trip! All you think of is how to get the ruby from its glass case. You look around to see if anyone is watching you. You envision Nicko in one of the corners busy talking to an incredibly beautiful young lady, you decide it’s the rich man’s daughter and at that moment it doesn’t matter. You look in all directions and notice that people are departing from the gallery through various exits. You now know it’s safe and you open the case as your heart races, threatening to pierce through your chest, you pick up the ruby and fix it in the pockets of Nicko’s father’s trouser. As you walk around the house, you remember a Nigerian movie you watched, where a young man steals a diamond ring from a jeweller’s store, not knowing it had juju. The ring caused rapid deaths, bizarre illnesses and utter impoverishment in the young man’s family, until he decided to take it back. But you know witchcraft cannot affect you unless you believe in it. You convince yourself that your prayers will be stronger than any juju the gem could possibly bear. You forget that you actually just stole something and God might not hear your prayers. You don’t even think about who will buy that gem, when all the news stations and newspapers throughout the country have already reported on the multi-dollar gem. Your body is frail, as if you are carrying a heavy boulder on your back. You lose interest in the party. You call Nicko and tell him, ‘Man, I’m leaving, I will return your father’s suit tomorrow and will help you clean the house’. Nicko can hardly understand why you have to leave so suddenly when the party has hardly started, but what matters more to him at that moment is basking in the aura of the billionaire’s daughter. You walk successfully past all the three exits leading outside. You walk to the gate and smile at the askaris, knowing it’s the right thing to do since it shows appreciation for their work. And before you know it, your arms are behind your back, you feel chilly metal hug your wrists! Two heavily bodied men are holding your shoulders tight on both sides and they’re not saying a single word. You kick about with your legs but there is no way you can brush them off of you. Instead, the heavy bouncer puts Nicko’s father’s coat through the shredder as he gets a better grip of you. You are dumbfounded, but you are sure it has something to do with the ruby, its juju perhaps - in fact most definitely. You are taken back to the house and embarrassed in front of the guests. You are asked who you came with and you point at Nicko. Nicko looks behind him only to see the wall - so it is definitely him being singled out ‘What! I don’t even know that man’. Nicko denies you, his boy. The sirens come closing in and you’re scared for your life. You are pushed out of the house and dumped into the back of a double cabin vehicle like garbage. Your boy, Nicko, is only worried about his father’s suit and how he will tidy up his house alone, not whether you will rot in jail
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