The atmosphere was serene which was actually a far cry from the bustle and noise from a few days prior.
Although you could still see a few people about, it didn't take a magician to note that this wasn't the usual population.
Schooling in one of the Nigerian universities, it was just a few days after our last exams for the semester and as always students were already off for the holidays even on the day some of them wrote their last exams.
A lot had changed in those few days though, as the absence of businesses were quite noticeable. Everyone it seemed were already in the holiday spirit.
Living off campus with my campus had it perks, but sometimes it could be quite boring. Which was why I'd gone inside the campus go to visit a coursemate and to get some movies in anticipation of all the free time I was looking forward to.
Earpiece in my ears, the song Eko ni London by the rave of the moment Sammy fariz was on repeat as I bounced and swayed to the beat. I'd gotten the song from my coursemate who claimed the artiste was once a student in our first year.
Normally I wasn't one to show off my non-existent dancing skills, but the absence of both students and the shuttle normally conveying students to different destinations within the school and school gate meant I had a long way to walk outside and I was soon lost in my dance steps.
I was apparently lost in the catchy lyrics and beautiful vixens in the music video before i spotted something long lying on the pavement I was walking along.
It took a few seconds to recognize that it was a snake and I was headed directly in it's path. I understood why sometimes goalkeepers have no option but to watch the ball roll into the goalposts as they stand in apparent icemode.
My brain registered it was a snake, but my legs weren't so fast to follow along. I found myself passing over the snake and till this day I never understood why it didn't bite me.
Apparently the snake was resting by the roadside as well due to lack of cars and the usual noise from students. I didn't notice on time because for those same reasons, I was comfortable walking by the road with my focus on the video playing on my phone.
If I was told to pick any animal or insect to remove from existence then it would be snakes.
Being born in Lagos, I was already above fifteen years before I saw my first snake and at that point all my friends had seen one at different points of their lives.
Many animals can kill within minutes, but I hated the idea of something with the capacity to down me within seconds or minutes by simply biting. Not seeing one till that point already gave me an unhealthy imagination on how much I dislike them.
Over the years my encounters have always been nothing but close calls. I wouldn't want to go close to say a lion, but I don't expect a lion to pop up in my kitchen when I'm cooking.
So if I had to choose, then snake it is.