SNAKE ON THE BED
Precious and Amaka had just returned from their night reading in preparation for exams the next day. They were so exhausted because the course was technical and required apt memorization because it involved a lot of citations. Precious took to cramming because she felt that would be the only way she would be able to use citations in the exam.
At about 1:00 am, Precious woke up to use her custard bucket under her bunk in the hostel to take a shit in the toilet. While she was going about her business, though still quite sleepy, she tried to recite most of what she had crammed just to be certain she remembered and for clarity’s sake. She still had the citations and definitions tucked safely in her memory; She smiled her way back to bed and hugged the pillow closely as she shut her eyes to rest for a few more hours.
It felt like seconds later when Precious was jolted awake by a stifling scream. It was Amaka who had screamed and like Precious, the three other girls in the room were awake.
There was a black and red battery torch in Amaka’s right hand that was pointed at the headrest of Precious' bed.
The time was 3:45 am.
Coiled majestically atop Precious’s headrest was a brownish and black python, unmoving and proud.
Precious held her breath and stilled herself to remain composed and not afraid while some random girl flicked on the light switch.
"Jesus!!!"
"Leave the bed".
"Shift".
"Use the mop to hit the ...."
"Precious, stand up, please!", Amaka cried.
"God forbid, the devil will not rejoice over your life!", someone else exclaimed.
"Guy, stand up. Find way shift ....."
Different people kept shouting as the hostel became a little crowded.
Precious willed herself to stand up slowly and move away from the staring contest she and the snake seemed to have been engaged in but her legs failed her. At that moment, she could hear her heartbeat clearly and loudly; she could feel her warm blood pulsating through her veins, and her eyes began to tear up just as her nervous system was about to betray her.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw a man using a mopstick to try and remove the snake from the headrest. The snake did not bulge. He tried again and the snake moved back a little toward the wall with it’s eyes still fixated on her. She grew more tense.
"Mother, it seems you bring good message come for this student but she never understand. Give her time, the young ones do not understand our culture here. Most are foreigners. (Chants, incantations and praises)", the old black man dressed in a brownish singlet and skyblue shorts pauses and looks at Precious, "Good thing dey come. It’s why mother come to pay you visit, stranger".
Precious could not comprehend what the old man with yellow teeth had just said, all she wanted was for the snake to be gone. She could not even remember a cent of what she had crammed previously.
The old man smiled as he made a low hissing sound and the snake crawled majestically to the stick and coiled up with her head held high as though daring Precious to yet another staring contest.
This fiction was coined from an actual incident, see link below 👇
https://punchng.com/python-chases-delta-varsity-students-from-hostel-school-says-reptile-harmless/
