Friday, February 01, 2013

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY and THE NEXT ATTEMPT by Segun Adebanjo

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
Alice Abram is her mother's only child in a polygamous family. Her
mother pampers her to a fault. She is already sneaking out to
overnight parties as a 19-year-old secondary school dropout in
Olorunda Village,with her mother's connivance.

She is later sent to Kajola to live with her maternal uncle James,who
gets her a job as a receptionist at Lancelot's Ltd. Along the
line,she acquires four boyfriends: Frederick,Femi Roberts,Chief Lawson
and Alhaji Sidiq. After quarrelling with her uncle,she moves into a
flat rented for her by Chief Lawson,who visits her once a month with
plenty of advance notice.

Alice organises a birthday party sponsored by all the four boyfriends.
A fracas ensues at dancing time among the four men and their friends
over who dances with her. The shame forces her out of town,without
informing any of her relatives.

THE NEXT ATTEMPT

In Lagos,Alice stays with her school friend Ngozi until she meets and
marries Yemi Robinson. She reconciles with her family.

Alice becomes panicky a few months into the marriage when she didn't
get pregnant. This is understandable considering her past. The couple
keeps running from pillar to post until Yemi gets tired of the stress
and secretly has a child by Chinyere Okonkwo. Alice faints on hearing
the news from Ngozi and is discovered to be pregnant at the hospital.

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