Chapter 6

Gladys was a quick-tempered woman. She frequently quarreled with Doris and Doris would always threaten to leave her house each time they quarrelled. One day, Gladys went to the market to buy some foodstuffs. She had earlier instructed Doris to prepare some food, which she would eat when she returned from the market. Instead, Doris went into the parlour and switched on the TV set. There was a football match going on between two strong teams. Doris loved to watch football matches. One of the teams was her favourite team. She became interested in the match and was so carried away that she did not know when Gladys’ youngest child crawled into the kitchen and pulled down a basin containing a large quantity of uncooked grains of rice. Doris continued to watch the football match until Gladys returned from the market. She pressed the doorbell:

“Who is that?” Doris asked.

“It’s me” Gladys answered.

Doris was alarmed. She quickly turned off the TV set and opened the door. Then she rushed into the kitchen to prepare the food, which Gladys had earlier told her to prepare before she left for the market. Gladys entered and went inside her room. Doris was stunned when she entered the kitchen - the little child had scattered the grains of rice all over the kitchen floor. She gaped at the child with hands akimbo. Confused, she did not know what to do. Gladys came out of her room, went inside the parlour and switched on the TV set. Changing stations and hissing intermittently, she started to a watch programme which was a children’s debate, and the topic was: ‘Are private schools better than government schools?’ Then she giggled, adjusted her seat and started to listen to the debate with pleasure. Shortly, the debate heated up to the extent that the judges could not find any point to rule out. It was a hot verbal and argumentative fight. At last, the judges ruled that government schools are better than private schools. Gladys was sad and disappointed. She was disappointed because she liked private schools more than government schools.

“These judges are deaf and blind!” she concluded. “How can they say that government schools are better than private schools? They are blind, as blind as bats!”

In a moment, Gladys yawned and called Doris from the parlour but there was no response. She waited for some time and called Doris again. Still there was no response. She became angry and went into the kitchen but Doris had finished packing the grains of rice before she entered the kitchen.

“Doris, why is Linda dirty?” Gladys asked.

Doris reluctantly mumbled some indistinct words.

“I know that the baby must be hungry. Has she eaten?” “No” Doris answered sharply. “Why?”

“I – I haven’t prepared her food”

“You haven’t done what?”

“I said that I have not prepared her food”

“What! Are you talking to me like that?” Gladys barked. To make things worse, her two sons, Stanley and Nick came in with their clothes stained with muddy water. Gladys was infuriated. Without wasting time or waiting for an explanation, she rushed into her room, brought out a long cane and started to flog Doris. Doris did not want to apologize. Instead, she attacked Gladys with abusive words. The noise of the brawl that ensued was so great that it attracted the attention of neighbours and passers-by.

“You must not sleep in my house today, stupid girl. I haven’t brought you here to insult me!” Gladys barked.

Doris ignored her. Instead, she insulted her the more: “You are too bossy, autocratic, evil; I am tired of you!”

“Fool! What have you been doing since morning, you dullard?” Gladys continued, “You can’t even take care of the children, lazy baboon! You must leave my house today, period!”

As the noise was going on, Dan, Gladys’ husband, returned from his office. He came in to pick a forgotten book. Dan was a tall and handsome man. He was a publisher.

“Darling, what’s going on? What’s this noise all about?” he asked as he entered the house. “Darling, this stupid and contumacious hopeless animal had been insulting me in this house ever

since I brought her to the city. She is uncultured, disobedient and useless, disrespectful, ungrateful and senseless. Look, she must leave our house today!” Gladys answered seething with rage. Dan sighed wearily and collapsed tiredly on a sofa. He untied his tie and removed his shoes and socks. Then he tried to resolve the quarrel between his wife and Doris but he could not calm them down. He went outside to meet some neighbours to know their own side of the story but they made him angry. Then he stormed in the house with fury and called:

“Doris!”

“Yes?” Doris answered sharply.

“Did you hear that?” Gladys observed, “She answers our calls disrespectfully”

“Calm down, darling, calm down. Just calm down, I know what to do” Dan said. Then he turned to Doris:

“Doris, we brought you here for a purpose and to reward you afterwards when you must have lived with us for a number of years. Now, your arrogance, stupidity and disobedience have truncated our plans for you”

Doris was not moved at all. She did not show any sign of compunction. Dan sighed again and took

Gladys to a corner: “Darling” he whispered, “Darling please forgive her. You know she is a village girl and must take many years to adapt and adjust. You see, the inherent concomitants of village life in her will eventually leave her like an evil spirit. It is an eventual and gradual natural phenomenon. As you can observe, there’s a considerable difference between her behaviour and those of other maids who, unlike her, were born in the city. So please think about that and give her a second chance”

“I have made up my mind” Gladys countered. “I cannot continue with her. In fact, I’m fed up with her. That girl is not a human being. She must leave my house today. In fact, it is either she leaves or I leave, period!”

Dan was alarmed. He went inside his room immediately and came out with a wad of banknotes.

“Doris” he said, “I thought you would be a sight for our sore eyes but I was mistaken. Now take this money – I think it will be enough for you and all the expenses you may incur on your way to your village. I want you to spend the money judiciously; you may use some of it to buy something for your siblings. Tell your mother that I will come and see her during the weekend. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir” Doris answered arrogantly.

“Now, go and pack your belongings. I will take you to terminus”

“Now listen, never you think of coming here again, hopeless girl”, Gladys added, fuming with

anger.

Dan took Doris to the terminus and made sure that she boarded the right bus. He then approached the driver, a hairy stout man, and said:

“Driver, please make sure that you convey this girl and her luggage directly into her compound” “Ha, you will pay extra money” the driver said.

“I know. I’ll pay for that” Dan said. He paid the extra money. Then he quickly scribbled a note and gave it to Doris to give to her mother. But Doris had another plan: she wanted to go and live with Sam, her boyfriend.

The bus filled up and left. When they got to a certain junction leading to Sam’s street, Doris asked the driver to stop. The driver ignored her and sped past the junction. Doris started to shout again: “Driver, driver! I want to urinate. Please stop, stop, my bladder is about to burst. Please stop, stop!”

The driver hissed and grumbled. He slowed down and stopped beside a nearby bush. Doris quickly alighted from the bus and went inside the bush. There she thought of how she would escape from being conveyed to her town. Her luggage was still inside the bus and she thought of how she would escape with the luggage. Finally, she arrived at an idea. The driver started to hoot the horn impatiently. Doris came out from the bush slowly. The rest of the passengers started to rebuke her when she came out from the bush:

“Hey, do you think you’re the only passenger in this bus?” queried one of the passengers.

“You should have told us that you have an abnormal and voluminous size of bladder” another passenger added.

“We didn’t leave on time and the journey is far. Please get into the bus” another passenger said.

Doris ignored the passengers and went to the driver:

“Sir, please there is a set of breakable plates in my bag and I would like you and the passengers to exercise a little more patience while I put things in order”

“Ooooooh God!” the driver complained. This girl - are you possessed? What kind of nonsense is this eh? Please leave that until…”

“Driver you don’t understand” Doris interrupted. “There are many breakables in my bag and I need to arrange them properly. Please I won’t waste time”

The driver hissed and slotted a radio cassette into the bus’ radio cassette player. He turned and said to the rest of the passengers:

“Please let’s be patient with her”

“Look driver, I am fed up with this nonsense” a passenger said after a while. “Give me my money and let me take another bus. I haven’t paid to be delayed on the way because of this stupid girl. I have an important meeting to attend and I’m already late. Give me my money at once”. He looked at his watch, hissed and alighted from the bus. Another passenger also looked at his watch and alighted from the bus.

“Now driver give me back my money. I can’t wait any longer” The driver started to beg the angry passengers. He alighted from the bus, walked up to Doris and said:

“This girl, please hurry up! I don’t have any money to give to these passengers. Please hurry up, I beg you” But Doris was still plotting her escape. She pretended to be arranging the breakables inside her bag. After a while, the driver hissed and said:

“In fact, I’m leaving” Then he got into the bus and banged the door angrily. Shortly, a mass of smoke started to exude somewhere underneath the bus.

“Driver, what is the meaning of this?” a passenger asked pointing to the smoke. The driver banged the steering wheel.

“Oooooh God!” he exclaimed. “This radiator has started again. What is the meaning of all this nonsense?”

He hissed, alighted from the bus and opened a compartment. He discovered that there was not even a single drop of water in the radiator and the smoke oozed out in great amounts. The driver then started to look for water. He sought for a nearby shop to buy sachets of water but he couldn’t find any shop. Doris immediately brought down her bags, flagged down a motorcyclist and disappeared. The smoke continued to ooze in greater amounts this time and some electrical sparks were heard from the battery compartment. The driver was confused as more passengers alighted from the bus and demanded their money. He did not know what to do. Now, the smoke had increased in intensity. It grew thicker and thicker until it blurred the windscreen. The driver scampered for safety; seeing that he couldn’t save the situation, he opened the door, took away the bus’ particulars and shouted:

“Escape for your dear lives!”

The passengers were alarmed. They started to struggle for escape. As two sturdy and obese women were sluggishly struggling to escape, their elephantine hips rubbed against the boarders of the narrow door of the bus and blocked the way for the rest of the passengers to escape. Some young boys in bus jumped through the windows. The men became aggressive and pushed the two women down, stamped on them and sprang into the bush. When everyone had escaped, the bus burst into flames, but some were unlucky as their luggages were consumed in the fire.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Doris reached Sam’s house but she couldn’t locate his room. The house was a public yard. It is the type with multiple rooms. Doris approached a tenant to ask him about Sam:

“Hello, please do you know Sam’s room?” The tenant did not utter a word but he turned and pointed to a room. Instead, Doris went to another room and that was the yard’s room-sized general toilet. She knocked on the door and a voice answered:

“Yes? Wait a minute”

The voice sounded like Sam’s voice but it wasn’t his. It was the voice of an elderly man inside the toilet. Doris smiled and brought out a powder container inside her handbag. She rubbed some powder on her face, adjusted her dresses and hair. An elderly, wiry man inside the toilet was reading an old newspaper and was unaware of what was happening outside. Doris waited for some time and knocked again. The man inside the toilet, thinking that it was another tenant, answered:

“Yes? Wait a minute”

Doris was annoyed a bit.

“What must Sam be doing all this while?” she thought. She waited for some minutes and knocked again but still the same voice answered:

“Yes? Wait a minute”

Then there was a shuffling and ruffling of papers. Doris finally ran out of patience, pushed the door and bumped into the toilet only to collide with an elderly man sitting on a brownish piece of sculpture.

“Get out of here stupid girl! Don’t you have manners?” The elderly man barked.

“I’m sorry sir” Doris said. Then she went and knocked at another room opposite the toilet. Sam, who had been sleeping, came out wearily. He was pleased to see Doris. They hugged and went inside the room. Inside the room was Judith, Sam’s elder sister. Judith was a young, tall and sexy woman. She was glancing through a pile of pornographic magazines. She was a prostitute but Doris didn’t know.

“Doris, meet my sister, Judith” Sam introduced.

Doris smiled and said, “good day, ma”

Judith giggled quietly. Sam hesitated for a while and added:

“And Judith…this is em…Doris, my girlfriend”

“Oh, how are you, Doris?” Judith greeted.

“I’m fine, ma” Doris replied.

“You are welcome”

“Thank you, ma”

Judith laughed again. Sam went out to buy a soft drink for Doris.

Doris cohabited with Sam. She thought Sam would marry her but Sam had no intention of marrying her. His plan was to use Doris to satisfy his sexual desires and to drop her in the end. Two weeks later, Judith called Doris privately and asked her some indirect questions. It was around 7 o’clock in the evening. Doris answered the questions correctly but Judith kept on thinking on how to unfold the actual topic she had wanted to discuss with her. At last, she cleared her throat and began:

“Now, tell me Doris, what have you made up your mind to do while you stay with us since you don’t want to go and stay with your mother in the village?”

Doris thought for a while and said, “I practically have no idea” “No idea? You have no idea…?” Judith asked. “Yes, ma” Doris answered.

“You must have an idea, Doris, you must. Think and think very well, you must have an idea” Judith said.

Doris wanted to ask a question but Judith interrupted her:

“Anyway, if you’re interested, I’ll introduce you to my kind of business, and in a couple of days, you will be counting some cool cash”

“Your kind of business…counting some cool cash in a couple of days? What kind of business is that?” Doris wondered.

Then she said: “Please I need the details and some explanations on the nature of the business” “You will get the full explanations later on. The question is: ‘Are you interested?” Judith said. “Ah, I’m interested provided it is a smooth and money-yielding business”

“Not all smooth businesses are money-yielding and not all money-yielding businesses are smooth. There are always some differences and risks in businesses. Mind you, every business needs sacrifice” Judith countered, beating about the bush.

“What do you mean ma?”

“Take for example, we often say ‘Life goes on’…how do you think that life ‘goes on?’”

“I still can’t understand, ma” Doris said. She thought that Judith was talking about a very good kind of business but she did not know that she was about to be led into the snares of prostitution. She waited for some time and asked a question but Judith laughed and parried the question. Then she drew closer to Doris:

“Doris”, she began, “You are such a pretty and charming girl with firm, full and standing succulent boobs, full, well-rounded hips and big, bouncing buttocks. No man will pass you and fail to turn to look at you again. Don’t you know that you are beautiful and admirable…?”

Doris smiled courteously.

“In fact”, Judith continued, “I would like you to follow me to a certain place tonight” “Where?” Doris asked.

“Somewhere. When we get there, I will introduce you to some people who will give you anything you want provided you co-operate with them…” Judith explained.

“What do you mean by ‘provided I co-operate with them’?” Doris asked.

“By that I mean…to satisfy their needs”

“What are the ‘needs’?”

“Simple needs, my dear, simple needs. It is just a give-and-take kind of business. Just a little system of exchange, and exchange, as you know, is no robbery”

“What should I exchange to get what?”

“Haa! Doris, are you a kid? Are you a virgin? Haven’t you been having sex? Can’t you use your head and figure out what I mean? If I give you a lump of meat don’t you know what to do with it? Assuming you lose you transport fare and someone offers you a lift won’t you jump into the car? Aren’t you desperate for ‘something’ you can do while you are here with us? You just have to use what you have to get what you don’t have. Think my dear, use your head”

“I’m sorry, but what is the nature of the business? Just go straight to the point”

“In fact, if you must know, it’s runs business, ashawo work, you can call it prostitution” Doris was shocked.

“Do you mean I should…?”

“You don’t need to ask questions, Doris” Judith interrupted. “Look, this is a great opportunity for you to make some money - some cool cash. Let me tell you, many young and beautiful girls like you have taken up this kind of opportunity and they are now living comfortably in duplexes. Some are even living abroad! Remember, you are no longer a virgin and it wasn’t even my brother that deflowered you. So…?”

“But, sex work is a risky adventure”

“Yeah sure, that’s quite true but have I died? There’s risk everywhere and in everything we do. In fact, you have to brace up and face the challenge. You are no longer a kid. Moreover, this is Lagos and nobody cares to know who is who or what one does for a living” Doris chuckled; she was beginning to get convinced.

“It is true” she said. “But please I want to ask just one more question” “What question? There’s no time for questions”

“Please how do I get connected?”

“Ha! It’s simple. A guy would just pick you up and you will spend the night with him. The next day, you’ll be counting some cool banknotes, cool cash in your hands. It’s just as simple as that, no big deal”

“Oh, my goodness!” Doris exclaimed, “This is a real opportunity!”

Judith smiled and said:

“It is just a suitable and cool money-yielding opportunity for a lucky and pretty girl like you”

Doris was finally convinced. She giggled and said:

“Thanks a lot”

“That’s alright” Judith said. “Now get ready. I will bathe and you will bathe, then off we go!” Shortly, they set off for a certain brothel.

“But isn’t prostitution a risky business?” Doris reiterated along the way. Judith laughed and parried the question. Doris repeated the question. Then Judith began:

“There you are, poor girl, there you are. Many people think that prostitution is the only risky business in the world. Listen, every business has several risks attached to it. That’s why we have numerous insurance companies. After all, exchange is no robbery. It is just a little system of give-and-take, a process of using what you have to get what you don’t have, an indirect and modernized form of ‘trade by barter’!”Doris chuckled.

When they got to the brothel, Doris could not believe her eyes. There was a cluster of fair and dark complexioned girls of different heights and sizes each clad in highly provocative and sexy dresses.

“This is amazing!” Doris exclaimed.

“You haven’t seen anything, Doris” Judith said. “Many might have left and many may be still on the way”

Doris snapped her fingers in amazement. In a moment, a black Mercedes car stopped in front of Doris and Judith. A tall fair-complexioned young girl alighted from the car, adjusted her eyeglasses, collected some wads of banknotes from the driver, slammed the door and went inside the brothel. Doris shook her head and snapped her fingers again.

“Did you see that?” Judith asked, “This is just the tip of the iceberg”

Doris was amazed. She did not say a word. She only shrugged and continued to snap her fingers in amazement. Judith later took her to a woman, who is the owner of the brothel. The woman asked Doris a series of difficult and frightening questions but Doris answered all of them correctly because Judith had already dismissed such fears in her on their way to the brothel.

At last, the woman said:

“Well Doris, I have seen that you are interested in this kind of business...” “Yes, ma” Doris said bravely and impatiently.

“Take it easy, take it easy, young girl” the woman said, “We have been in this business for years” Judith suppressed a laugh.

“I believe you already know the rules of the game...?” “Yes, ma” Doris answered unhesitatingly.

“Alright, starting from today”, the woman continued, “I count you as one of my workers. You’ll be paying me one thousand naira every day. Is that clear?”

“Yes ma, but please can I ask a question?”

“No, you can’t. It’s either you agree to that or you go your way. That’s our chief rule and it’s irrevocable”

“Alright, I agree” Doris said.

“Now go and fish for money but you must be extremely careful! Always insist on using protection to avoid deadly diseases and unwanted pregnancies”

“Alright, thank you, ma. Thank you, Judith”

So, this was how Doris was eventually introduced and initiated into the risky and inglorious business of prostitution. She made a lot of money in a couple of weeks. By the end of the month, she had already made a huge amount. She was over-zealous. In the space of two months, Doris became more popular than

Judith, who had introduced her to the business. Doris attracted more men due to her beauty thereby making more money than Judith, because she was sexier, more beautiful and more sexually-appealing than Judith.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Eight months later, there was a noticeable decline in the number of men visiting the brothel and it affected the income of the girls adversely. The number of the girls also started to decrease. The remaining ones were worried. A group of girls clustered at a corner of the brothel. They were chatting and recounting their experiences with wealthy and stingy men.

“It seems there’s a shortage in the number of men visiting us these days” one of the girls said.

“Yes, that’s true. I observed that” another girl said.

“And it affects our dough badly!” cried another girl.

“The worst part of it is that whether you are gaining or losing, you must pay the owner of this place one thousand naira every day!” another girl also cried.

As the girls were discussing, a car stopped abruptly in front of the brothel. The girls quickly went and surrounded the car in a bid to know who would be lucky to be picked up. Inside the car were two gorgeous-looking men, wearing dark eyeglasses.

“Hi darling” one of the girls greeted.

“Just as little as two thousand and I’m yours all through the night” chipped in another girl. The men looked at each other and stroked their beards gently. Shortly, Doris came up to try her luck:

“Hi, do you want me?” she greeted wriggling her waist flexibly, flaunting her massive boobs conspicuously. The other man in the car adjusted his eyeglasses and stared at her from a calculated angle.

“This girl must have descended from the moon” he whispered to the other man. “Just make your selection and I take care of the bills” the other man said. “Men, it’s hard to select just one of these girls”

“You can select more than one if you like”

“It’s also hard to select even more than one”

“Then forget about them and let’s leave this place”

“What? Leave where? Men, even a blind man would see if any of these angels is placed in front of

him”

“Angels in brothels? Please pick one quickly, you may also pick one for me to cool off after a hard day’s work”

Finally, the man pointed to the voluptuous Doris and said:

“Alright, I pick you, pretty girl. How much do you charge?”

Doris rolled her eyes coquettishly and came closer to him.

“Hi sweetie” she greeted with a very soft voice.

“Yeah, fine girl. How much…for the night?” the man responded. Doris rolled her eyes again and then a little bargain ensued. Suddenly, the other man was taken aback; he removed his eyeglasses, looked at the other man inside the car and shouted:

“Doris!”

The man was Dan, Gladys’ husband! He had come to the brothel with his friend to pick girls and consequently and cheat on his wife. Doris was puzzled. She adjusted her hair, removed her eyeglasses and looked at the man closely. When she discovered that the man knew her, she withdrew, intermingled herself with the girls, and disappeared.

“Damn! Men, what’s wrong with you? Why are you shouting somebody’s name in this unholy place at this time of the night? Don’t you know that you dare not shout somebody’s name in this kind of business or else you reveal his or her identity? What’s wrong? Have you lost your senses?” barked the other man.

The other girls were surprised. Some withdrew and left the men while others still clustered around the car.

“Men, do you know the girl who just disappeared from here?” Dan asked.

“What have I got to do with her?” the other man replied sharply.

“Can you believe that the girl was our housemaid?”

“What!” the man exclaimed, “Your former housemaid? This is unbelievable!”

“My God! So, Doris eventually became a prostitute? What on earth must have brought her to this

goddamn place?” Dan wondered.

The other man laughed and said:

“Men, what kind of silly question is that? ‘What on earth must have brought her here?’ Hasn’t it occurred to you that this is someone’s business? Alright, let me ask you: what on earth brought you here?”

Dan shook his head, heaved a sigh and said:

“Lord, have mercy!”

He wanted to say something but he was interrupted when a girl asked, “Hey, don’t you guys want any of us?”

Dan hissed. He did not say a word. The other man laughed for a long time. Then he snapped his fingers and turned to select two girls:

“You, no, you…the one behind you…no, not you, the other one, I mean the one in front of you, sorry I made a mistake, …yes you, no, sorry, I mean the one in miniskirt, yes you…no, not you. Oh my God, it’s hard to choose! Yes you, the other one, I mean the one behind you, yes, you and em…em…em…you….no, the other one…no, not you, I mean the one in red dress, no, not you, the other

one, the one beside you, yes, you come, sorry, I made a mistake, not you…em…you, yes you, no, not you, the other one… Oh my God, I’m confused! Yes you, sorry, the other one, yes both of you get inside the car”

Dan was indifferent and speechless while his confused friend was choosing the girls.

“Just choose two or three and let’s get out of here!” he barked.

“Men, it’s hard to choose the girls, I must confess, it’s very difficult” his friend said. Dan giggled. His friend finally chose two beautiful girls. They exchanged few words with the girls and drove away. Few minutes later, a brawny young man alighted from a motorbike, went inside the brothel, picked Doris and disappeared into one of the rooms. Shortly, Doris started to moan in sexual ecstasy.