“Feliz Navidad!”
I slapped my palm on my face in mock disappointment as Preye dropped her bags suddenly on the ground, causing the room to quake in acknowledgment of her arrival.
Source
“Preye keep it down. My neighbors hardly hear my voice here”
“Is this how you will welcome me to Uyo for the first time?”
My roommate turned questioning eyes to me. When I told her to get prepared for an actress, she told me she was not a theatre arts student if she couldn't handle drama. Now just five minutes after Preye arrived, I was trying hard not to burst into laughter because of the faces she kept making at me.
“Is that your roommate? Won't you introduce me?”
When neither my roommate nor I gave a reply, she proceeded to take her clothes off and sauntered to the bathroom herself.
“Who did you say this girl is again?”
I let out the laughter that had clutched at my chest all along at her ashen expression. Preye was one of the young ladies who made my stay at Port Harcourt a memorable one each time I was around. We had met in a taxi when I was returning from church one evening. She was with a thousand naira note and had forgotten to inquire if the driver had changed to give her. We dropped at the same junction but when she stretched her hand out to hand the note to the driver, he exclaimed in anger.
I could see embarrassment written all over her face as she apologized severally but according to him, apologies didn't make up for cash. Some passengers in the taxi began to murmur their displeasure, others teamed up with the driver to yell at her for wasting their time. When I saw the situation was becoming something else, I stretched my hand out with enough money for the both of us and nudged her to leave. She stuck to me like butter to bread from then.
“So Preye,” I said when she finally emerged, “where would you love to visit first?” I held out three pieces of paper on which I had scribbled choice locations. She made a show of deciding with her index finger and then proceeded to pick one.
“Ibom Tropicana” was what she read out.
The thought of visiting Ibom Tropicana lightened the atmosphere as we began an intense dress-up session, leaving our house with clothes mixed up and thrown about on the bed, doors, and reading chair.
“Woah…Uyo is this beautiful, eh?” Preye almost stuck her head out of the minibus window to capture the entire view of the well-decorated streets. It was 7 pm already so the fancy lights hung at strategic places on the streets were turned on. All the water fountains we went through were heavily decorated accentuating the rise and fall of the water. She was obviously captivated. When we walked through the glass doors of Ibom Tropicana, Preye was almost screaming. My chest swelled with pride as I led her to the water fountain so she could take pictures then we proceeded to get tickets for a movie.
“There are white men here too!” my pride was gradually turning into embarrassment, so I asked her to get a hold of herself.
“You know this place is patterned after Disneyland in the US, right?” She turned wide eyes to me.
“Really?” My roommate took it up from there.
“So, you can tell someone that Treasure and her roommate took you to the Nigerian Disneyland”.
“So, you talk?” Preye sneered back at her causing us all to explode in laughter.
“Can I get on one of those too? I don't mind the cost” Preye said referring to the hoverboard which some guys rolled casually about.
“Yes ma'am, but the movie is already starting so we need to go in. Don't worry, they'll be here when we get back.”
I had intended for us to go on to ‘Christmas village’ which was the second place on my list, but Preye had exhausted us by playing almost all the games she could lay hands on. I could not forget how she screamed when she was going through the 9D game experience. My roommate and I got that part on camera too, just in case she wanted to give us a tough time.
“So where are we going tomorrow?” She asked as we flopped on the bed, trying to our bones.
“Le Meridien or Christmas Village? It's your call” I replied to her.
“Don't trade Le Meridien for anywhere else in this world.” My roommate cut in sharply. “Thank me when we're back. Goodnight, ladies”.
I gave Preye a snug smile then threw the covers over my head, hoping to dream of an amazing time at Le Meridien the following day.