Chapter 15 LAGUNDE

Sobrina arrived Lagunde very confused.

The journey had been long and stressful. The driver had complained along the way that he could not see in the dark, therefore they had to sleep in the bus at Ore - a transit city along the way - where they had stopped for dinner. They arrived Lagunde late in the morning on the second day of her journey.

She had decided to visit the popular city out of curiosity, she wanted to see what it looked like. There were places in the city she had heard of and desired to visit, such as Guru Beach, Karimoh Beach and any other fancy places. She just wanted to see the city. She had planned to club at night on arrival, and go home with any man who requested. She also hoped to make friends among free women and hopefully find accommodation amongst them. But she didn't know they were going to arrive by the midmorning of the following day of her journey.

She told the driver she was going to Veronica Island, she had heard it was the best part of the city, where all the Beaches were located. He stopped her where she took a yellow taxi that could take her straight to Guru Beach.

She sat on a stone on arrival, smiling. She was very pleased with the sight, she had never seen an Ocean.

Lagunde was truly beautiful as she had heard, with beautiful sky scrappers built around the Atlantic Ocean. She had grown up in an over protective home, experiencing very little freedom. Leaving for the University meant breaking out of a shell among many other things.

She had undertook the trip as soon as school vacated at the end of her second academic year. She had heard that Lagunde was a land of opportunities, she therefore hoped to raise money big enough to cater to her needs in the coming academic year.

The Beach was surrounded with large stones, deposited by a construction company who about to build something on the Beach.

The water rolled and splashed regularly on the white sand in front of her. Different sizes and colors of ships could be spotted on the horizon, some steady on a spot, others moving gradually towards the port.

There were people idling about that morning on the Beach. People doing different things, some sitting on the sand, others just running around. There were also religious people praying in groups by the Ocean. A strange man approached Sobrina.

"I see shadows surrounding you", he began, he was acting mysterious.

"Shadows, monitoring and stagnating your success. There are some people from your father's side who had vowed to never see you succeed", Sobrina listened attentively.

"You will bath with water from the Ocean, use the sand as soap, it will wash away the shadows", he instructed, when he saw she was interested. Sobrina obeyed in her naivety, and so took her first public bath, naked except for her panties. Using sand as soap, she painfully scrubbed away all the imaginary shadows. She had come to Lagunde hoping to succeed, and she would do whatever it took.

When she was done, the stranger took a little money as offering from her, which was what he was actually after, and bid her farewell as she left the Beach.

She stopped a motorcyclist by the road and asked him to take her to the best club on the Island. She was very motivated, after what she had done at the Beach.

The motorcyclist took her to Ynot. The clubhouse was a combination of restaurant and bar. It was a small one storey building located in the heart of Veronica Island. It had a beautiful environment decorated with tall artificial flowers and pretty round tables.

But she was disappointed, it wasn't as she had expected. She was the only customer in sight. Sobrina realized she was hungry and requested for the cheapest meal on the menu. She fell asleep supporting her head on the table, after she had eaten. She was awakened few minutes later by one of the waitresses.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Sobrina"

"You can't sleep here... Wait, my shift will soon be over". The waitress added, when she saw the discomfort on Sobrina's face.

Later, the waitress took Sobrina to her place, which was a small space under the staircase of a nearby office building.

"When did you come to Lagunde?", she questioned as they walked.

"I arrived this morning, I was planning to wait at the clubhouse until later tonight".

"You're stranded as I thought. Don't worry I was once like you, where is your luggage? You won't be allowed into the club, when it opens dressed like that".

"I have none, you mean the clubhouse hasn't opened for the day?",

"It has, but only the restaurant functions during the day, the club opens at night. That is when it begins to happen. I'm working day shifts this week", the waitress explained amused.

Sobrina was greatly relieved to hear that, she had traveled light, taking only her hand bag. The waitress offered to borrow her a pretty dress.

The two girls dressed up later at night. The waitress took Sobrina back to the clubhouse and left her with the instruction to hustle tight.

"I don't club here because I work here. See you tomorrow morning". She added.