HOT EBA!!

The day that nearly took my life.

*This was me four years ago. Thank God for growth.

It was the normal Saturday in the hostel. I was tired, hungry and bored—the holy Trinity of boarding house life.

But I was okay, I still had garri with a few pieces of groundnut. I could ask chiamaka for sugar, then I'll add my cowbell choco inside to sweeten my garri combination since milk has become a luxury.

We were in SS2 now, and were designated to the most horrible building ever in the history of dormitories. The girls’ hostel had eight dormitories housing each class from Jss1 to SS3. It had a long fenced wall, which I was determined to climb and a black gate which was always locked. In short, the girls hostel was like a big fortress with tiny little houses tagged dormitories inside. And I felt like I was in a prison and I was very sure I wasn't the only one that thought so. The SS2 dormitory was the only building with no stable water and refurbishment, most of the rooms had bent or no longer working fans, or no light at all.

Why am I telling you all this? So you can get the picture.

I was in my room gisting in praise's corner while my garri was on my fancy plate with barely ten pieces of groundnut floating on it. I was drinking it and was currently rushing the meal because I had heard they were playing ‘hot Eba’ outside. At first I didn't know what this game was but it was explained to me by a roommate and I was curious. When I went outside, the crowd I saw baffled me, a few girls about twenty were partaking in the game while the rest were onlookers. We were still in the girls' hostel but outside the SS2 dormitory which had a large space before seeing the next building. This was where the infamous ‘hot Eba' game took place.

Now according to what I saw these girls do, the game was incredibly violent. A large number of girls gathered together and they would make a little heap of sand with their hands then a little stick would be placed at the tip and each girl would take turns in touching the sand, if the stick fell at your turn, you would become the prey. Immediately that happens you will have to run to the safe zone, in this case it was the wall of the jss3 building besides ours. If you were caught you would be given hot slaps. The ‘slaps’ was what they called ‘hot eba’ and when they were slapping the victim they would be chanting “chop hot Eba”, “you must collect Eba”,

I pitied the victims.

And as always something in my head told me that if I was in the game I would never be caught. As if to prove to myself what I meant, I went to join this angry mob of violent girls. A few of them were not caught yet, so they had high spirits and their hands were itching them to beat others, while the ones who had been victims wanted to give the others a piece of their own medicine, in other words if you're caught, they don't care whether you partook in their serious beating they would do the same to you.

Normally I don't like violent games and rough play, but this was mostly a game of bravery and ego. You mean a girl will just finish chopping eba and still go back in the game to play, that was bravery to me.

And ego, the one that made you feel like it can ‘never be me’ I had it in large amounts.

And I have learnt from experience that if you say ‘it can never be me' it will always be you. But at that time I didn't know this.

After they finished beating one of the victims I decided to join the next round. I was warned by onlookers not to partake in it, but I laughed it off.

*No b game.. mtchew*

The game started and we took our turns touching the heap of sand, suddenly the stick fell at my turn.

‘I first shock’ then I ran towards the safe zone for my dear life.The girls chased me and I ran so fast that I felt like Usain Bolt. But little did I know that I was a tortoise.

A hand suddenly grabbed my loose gown from behind and in a matter of time I was surrounded by girls, each of them happy because they were not victims and could beat someone that wasn't them.

It started subtle, from little slaps on my back to bold ones. The slaps that screamed “I don't care about your well-being, it is my right to beat you.”

I tried to run out of their grip and I did make a significant movement back to the area where the game started and I think it was mostly because of the free gown I wore that day, because anytime I tried to leave their grip a fragment of my gown would be caught by someone. Soon, my gown was torn, I was pulled to the ground and beaten to stupor.

I curled up, face down like a snail in its shell, and let these people assault my back. Some really daring girls were aiming for my face, but I wouldn't let them, I mean I was not aiming to carry a swollen face to class on Monday and risk my crush seeing me like that.

I have never been assaulted like that in my whole life, and yes it was an assault, the only difference was that I gave them permission by joining the game.

I thought I would die, hot slaps were coming in from different angles, at that moment my enemies had taken over and were ready to end me.

Till a miracle happened, God sent a savior.

The name of this savior is not ‘Jesus’ but ‘Esther’.

Esther was my roommate in the same house, we were not particularly friends but neither were we enemies. But a few girls in the dormitory didn't like Esther, they felt she was too wicked but masked it in her churchy ways. Esther attended Christ embassy church and every new term she would bring tens of copies of their popular rhapsody of realities book and share it with our room girls for free, some girls didn't collect it, or would throw it away after, but I always loved to accept it. Not because of the preachings in it, but because of the puzzle games at the back of the book which I loved to fill.

*Till today I thank God for Esther*

I was exhausted and out of strength, till a bold hand pushed through the crowd and grabbed me by the same gown that betrayed me. Very swiftly Esther grabbed my elbow and held me up.

“Stop now, do you want to kill the poor girl?”. Esther, did you just call me poor?

That was what was in my mind, but at that moment I could be anything as long as it guaranteed my safety.

“Jesus”. “Stop it”. She kept saying as she pulled me up and dusted the sand off my body.

The other girls in their defense kept saying.

“Na game na, shey na she come join.” So even if, was that why you girls wanted to kill me? I thought.

Bending my head in shame and dusting the sand off my body I walked towards the entrance of my dormitory. Esther still remained in the crowd as an onlooker. She was not partaking in the game, maybe she stayed there to save the next victim.

The ‘hot eba’ girls immediately took their stance again ready for the next unsuspecting girl like as if they didn't just almost end my life.

I entered my room and my roommates present were looking at me like I was a mad person. I couldn't blame them, considering the fact that I looked like I went outside to roll in sand. I removed my gown and placed it in my empty bucket for thorough washing. Then I took my sponge and soap and headed towards the tap area, where I had a long bath.

As I bathed I could still hear the ‘chop hot eba’ from outside, and I concluded they were doing the same thing they did to me to another girl.

The experience was traumatic and immediately I had flashbacks.

I shook my head for myself and laughed at my stupidity, but this was enough lesson for me. Next time you won't see me anywhere they are chopping ‘hot eba'.

Till next time.

*Peace out*

Oh wait! Hit that subscribe button if you want to join my yacht party coming up when I finally have money. Thank you.

Pen terrorist, cares. *Blows virtual kisses*