Junkyard Blues

Chapter Fifty

215 C Chapter Fifty ow much do you have already?” Niba asked him two days later after he had explained his adventures of the past days to him. They were in a bar, on Niba’s insistence, “Come on, man, I need a beer.” “When don’t you need a beer?” Jude had asked not feeling any great need to drink a beer. All he thought about was the possibilities that life was trying to offer him, and going around drinking beer was almost like down-playing those possibilities. But he accepted at the end of the day to accompany Niba after Niba insisted that he could not go and drink alone, “Beer taste different when you’re alone, man.” “Shut up.” “I’m telling you the truth.” “How much do you have already?’ Niba asked again. “I don’t know.” “What do you mean by you don’t know?” Niba asked, took a sip of his beer and said, “This is something serious.” “Well, I think it’s about three hundred and fifty.” It was actually almost at least twenty five thousand less than that but he did not want to tell Niba that. It was the same pile of money they were living on anyway and Niba could not understand that or the fact that the money was always handy and actually easy to withdraw. Mabel was not some sophisticated bank that had a lot of formalities you had to undergo to withdraw some of your money, but even after that she was still the best person he knew who could keep the money, “I don’t know really, but I think it’s about that amount.” Niba thought for a while, took a sip of his beer and asked, “Do you even know where this money is?” “Mabel’s…” “Keeping it,” Niba said, “And she’s not the type.” “Look the problem here’s not Mabel or the money that I’ve in my hand.” “I know.” They sat for a while in silence, Niba taking a couple of sips of his beer. Jude looked outside at the fading day. It had been raining almost all day long, “H 216 but now the rain was gone and it had left a false sun that was now quietly sinking away. He wanted to feel assured that it was going to be easy to get all the money he needed, that it was going to be easy to conduct some junks and make them pay, but somehow he did not feel that way. He felt like it was going to be impossible, but he did not know why he felt that way. He still had time to hustle and he knew it was actually ample time, but he did not know why he could not feel that way. “How much did you say you need totally again?’ Niba asked. “A million,” he replied still looking outside at the fading day. “Just to arrange everything here. It does not include the fees and the rents and all that.” “Yes, but if I get a scholarship…” “And if you don’t?” Jude looked at Niba and shrugged, he had stopped thinking about not getting one. He believed he was going to get one, and he depended on that. Well, he had decided to choose Belgium because of the promises of easy and good scholarships. He had the good results, a good GPA, and if that was a prerequisite for getting one (which he thought was the case), then he was going to get one. He shrugged again and said, “I think I’ve high chances of getting one. But if I don’t…” what’ll you do? Huh? What do you think you’re going to do if you don’t get one? Buea… That’s out of the question now, you’ve already engaged in something. “I don’t know,” he said, “If I don’t get one, I’ll still try and go. If I’m there I can always manage and do something.” Niba listened and said, “I still don’t know why you chose such a country. What do you want to send me when you’re there?” “It’s cheap,” Jude said. They were silent for a while, and the bartender came over to their table to take new commands, “I still have a beer,” Jude said. The man left and brought Niba a fresh bottle of beer, he took a long pull and made a...