11:45 in Lagos

I remember vividly the flashy cars, the loud music blasting from hi-fi speakers, and I remember beautiful women, looking like nymphs just emerging from a lake, swaying their hips as though dancing to an inaudible beat only they could hear. Some with their boyfriends, some just walking around…. Studying of course had lost its appeal for me by this time. I asked a passer-by what was happening, because on that particular night I felt a buzz in the air, something seemed different, alive. I was told there was a party being held somewhere in the city, and that this accounted for the unusual activity taking place that night.

All of a sudden, for the first time a rebellious spirit rose up within me. I couldn’t understand why I should go back to studying when something spectacular was happening somewhere. I went back to my room. After chatting with my roommate, we decided to go to the party. With my heart pounding in anticipation of finally attending one of those famous parties, I put on my best clothes and we set off. I remember negotiating for a taxi at the school gate, and haggling till we got a good price, when suddenly a car zoomed out through the gates at top speed, leaving dust in its wake. No sooner had the dust settled than another car came out, closely followed by yet another. This was the famous ‘convoy’, as it was known among the students. Organizers of any major party or event would ride to the location in a convoy of cars, driving at top speed. Normally the location was kept secret, but tonight was an exception.

We managed to get to the location, the 11:45 club, and when we entered it was, for me, a whole new dimension. Loud music filled the air, the place seemed so alive with the sound of people laughing and dancing. The disco lights cast a sheen over the bodies of the people there, and the females especially seemed to emit an ethereal glow. I was lost in this wondrous world. After all, who was I but a simple bookish fellow, trying to experience the campus social life?

I wandered among the people unnoticed like a ghost, until I saw her…Laura. A woman I’d seen on campus. We were barely able to talk though, amidst the loud music blaring from the speakers and the male folk trying their best lines to get dancing partners. She seemed a little out of place among the brightly dressed partygoers bent on having a good time. I recall she must have been tired, and wanted to rest, and I remember looking for a quiet spot for us to sit down. We found one, squeezing ourselves in between others who were equally burnt out. I remember a proud feeling of accomplishment, that finally I had been able to bridge the gap between studying and having a social life, reflected in the fact that I’d been able to attend one of the famous club parties.

I was suddenly stirred from my reverie: Laura was saying something, she was tired, and without seeking my consent she laid her head to rest on my shoulder and dozed off. All of a sudden the excitement of getting on the dance floor paled in comparison to having her dozing on my shoulder. A protective air came over me, and feeling like Sir Galahad of old, I wanted nothing more than to protect and watch over her. And so the rest of the night passed slowly away, with me watching the others gyrate to the latest booming music. In the midst of all this, I kept watch over my charge until at last I was able to take my leave in the wee hours of the morning.
Adewale Adebusoye, from Nigeria, is a second-year MSc student studying computer science.

(Illustration: Juan Carlos Ortiz Nicolas, Mexico)

I remember it as a cold night. I had just finished studying and was bored. I walked outside to get some fresh air. The campus of the University of Lagos was aglow, especially near the female hostels. I remember vividly the flashy cars, the loud music blasting from hi-fi speakers, and I remember beautiful women, looking like nymphs just emerging from a lake, swaying their hips as though dancing to an inaudible beat only they could hear. Some with their boyfriends, some just walking around…. Studying of course had lost its appeal for me by this time. I asked a passer-by what was happening, because on that particular night I felt a buzz in the air, something seemed different, alive. I was told there was a party being held somewhere in the city, and that this accounted for the unusual activity taking place that night.

All of a sudden, for the first time a rebellious spirit rose up within me. I couldn’t understand why I should go back to studying when something spectacular was happening somewhere. I went back to my room. After chatting with my roommate, we decided to go to the party. With my heart pounding in anticipation of finally attending one of those famous parties, I put on my best clothes and we set off. I remember negotiating for a taxi at the school gate, and haggling till we got a good price, when suddenly a car zoomed out through the gates at top speed, leaving dust in its wake. No sooner had the dust settled than another car came out, closely followed by yet another. This was the famous ‘convoy’, as it was known among the students. Organizers of any major party or event would ride to the location in a convoy of cars, driving at top speed. Normally the location was kept secret, but tonight was an exception.

We managed to get to the location, the 11:45 club, and when we entered it was, for me, a whole new dimension. Loud music filled the air, the place seemed so alive with the sound of people laughing and dancing. The disco lights cast a sheen over the bodies of the people there, and the females especially seemed to emit an ethereal glow. I was lost in this wondrous world. After all, who was I but a simple bookish fellow, trying to experience the campus social life?

I wandered among the people unnoticed like a ghost, until I saw her…Laura. A woman I’d seen on campus. We were barely able to talk though, amidst the loud music blaring from the speakers and the male folk trying their best lines to get dancing partners. She seemed a little out of place among the brightly dressed partygoers bent on having a good time. I recall she must have been tired, and wanted to rest, and I remember looking for a quiet spot for us to sit down. We found one, squeezing ourselves in between others who were equally burnt out. I remember a proud feeling of accomplishment, that finally I had been able to bridge the gap between studying and having a social life, reflected in the fact that I’d been able to attend one of the famous club parties.

I was suddenly stirred from my reverie: Laura was saying something, she was tired, and without seeking my consent she laid her head to rest on my shoulder and dozed off. All of a sudden the excitement of getting on the dance floor paled in comparison to having her dozing on my shoulder. A protective air came over me, and feeling like Sir Galahad of old, I wanted nothing more than to protect and watch over her. And so the rest of the night passed slowly away, with me watching the others gyrate to the latest booming music. In the midst of all this, I kept watch over my charge until at last I was able to take my leave in the wee hours of the morning.
Adewale Adebusoye, from Nigeria, is a second-year MSc student studying computer science.

(Illustration: Juan Carlos Ortiz Nicolas, Mexico)