Christmas day of the year 2010 is a day that I will never forget. I traveled home from my college to spend the holiday with my loved ones in my hometown. My siblings and parents also traveled home from their state of residence.
I had three friends that I always looked up to spending the holidays with. They were in different colleges across the country. The Christmas holiday always brought us together to discuss our experiences in our various campuses. We would hang around on a few occasions to take pepper soup and some brands of alcohol.
The fourth person arrived on the eve of Christmas. This set the stage in motion to have a blast Christmas celebration.
We planned to hang out at a bar in the evening of Christmas.
When it comes to drinking alcohol, my system is a type that misbehaves after just two or three bottles of beer. I wouldn't, because of that, pity myself.
"I need a crate for myself. I am ready for you guys today," I told Joe on the phone before being on my way to the bar.
"You want to climb a tree beyond its leaves," he responded to me with a loud laughter. "How many bottles did you take last time?" He asked.
"Forget the number of bottles that I took. We are talking about fresh water with fresh fish."
"Ojo, just come over. If you are ready for five crates, the bill is on me."
We both laughed as the call ended.
I picked my motorcycle key and headed outside. My dad had a motorcycle and anytime I was around, I used the motorcycle to navigate round the town.
I went to Kola's house to pick him as agreed. Both of us rode on the motorcycle to join Joe and Otaru who were already seated at the bar. Otaru's father got a motorcycle too. He went to the bar with it.
The bar was booming with music. There was a stand of barbecue chicken standing by the right corner while that of beef was by the left.
I was scanning around to locate where Joe was when I got a tap on my shoulder.
I turned back and saw Otaru.
"I want to titrate. That's our round table over there," he pointed to a spot a few meters away. Titration was a term that we used to imply urinating.
Kola and I walked up to join Joe on the table.
Beside Joe were two crates of star beer untouched. A few bottles of wine on the table with a plate of chicken barbecue. A packet of Benson cigarettes was on the table with a small ceramic pot to collect the ash.
The whole bar was a mini chimney. Sitting anywhere for a few minutes is enough to cause someone to be diagnosed as a smoker.
I pulled back a chair and had my seat with smiles.
"Where will I start from?" I asked no one in particular as I scanned through the available weapons of increasing the body entropy.
I picked a bottle of star beer to start with. The anxiousness of starting with my favorite brand couldn't let me notice what was in Joe's hand on time. I had passed two gulps through my esophagus before noticing what Joe was holding.
"Which one is this again?" I collected the can to read the label.
"Black bullet. Alcoholic content 17%." I read out the name and other properties written on the label.
"Hope this one won't knock someone down like a live bullet does? Let me identify with the taste." I turned a small quantity into my tumbler.
"Since you've started with star beer, continue with it. Don't mix brands to avoid getting you intoxicated totally," Joe warned me.
I sighted Otaru and Kola concentrating on the wines on the table. The duo were slow consumers. They can spend hours drinking different brands of alcoholic wines and beer one after the other. I was the impatient one. I loved quick action.
I didn't heed to Joe's advice. After two bottles of star, I ordered the black bullet.
"I love the taste. It's more bitter. Big boys don't take sweet drinks."
Joe raised his head to give me a side look before dropping down his face again.
"Ojo, be careful with this mixture that you are taking," he warned me again.
I continued with the black bullet drinks.
The darker the day became, the more silent we went, especially Joe and I. The reaction in my body was similar to osmosis or diffusion. The concentration transfer happens gradually.
Kola and Otaru switched from wine to palm wine.
The reaction was nearing the state of equilibrium in my system. I forgot myself on the chair for a few minutes.
"Your cigarette is wasting," kola taped me back to reality. "Are you sure you are not already carrying more load than you can carry?" He asked me.
"I dey kampe. Nothing do me," I reassured him in pidgin English that I was in charge of the situation.
I sighted a white gallon with white content on the table.
"Palm wine, my favorite!!!" I screamed.
I dragged the gallon to myself to have some quantity in my tumbler.
"Stop it, don't knock yourself down," Joe voiced out as he collected the tumbler from me.
"I am an adult, man. I know my capacity when it comes to drinking," I flared up.
He gave me back my tumbler and I filled it with palm wine.
This cup of palm wine that I took completed the work of knocking me down totally. I sat still for almost an hour according to what I was later told.
I got a tap on my back when it was time to go home.
I stood up and forced my eyes open. My surroundings were whirling round. I experienced vertigo as a result of the way my head was spinning. Things around me appeared doubled.
I didn't wait to be asked if I could ride my motorcycle back home before I told my friends that I couldn't. I staggered to the point where our motorcycles were parked.
Kola climbed my motorcycle and I sat behind him. He barely moved a few meters when I imagined the seat to be the type in my sitting room. I extended my body backward to rest on the imaginary arms of the chair. My action nearly caused us an accident. Kola struggled with the motorcycle before he stopped the movement.
He flagged down Otaru and Joe who were trailing us on the other motorcycle.
I could not stand for the few minutes that they discussed the way forward. I sat by the roadside with my head heavy.
"Mr adult, get up and let's go," Joe teased me.
I sat behind Kola on the motorcycle while Joe sat behind me in order to support me.
Our journey home that day was like I was on another planet. Everything around me appeared bigger and in doubles.
"There is a mango tree in front of my house. Please don't take me beyond my house," I reminded the rider who I shortly took as a stranger.
"We all know your house. Please, you are bending your head to the side too much," Kola complained.
"Only you took black bullet, star and palm wine. See the results now. An adult like you can't sit alone on a motorcycle."
I could hear both of them complaining. All that was in my mind was to arrive home and sleep.
We got home and I went in straight without greeting anybody.
It was the following morning that I was told that on our arrival, my family members were seated outside receiving some fresh air before going to bed. I didn't see anybody that night. My head was carrying a load more than its capacity.
That particular experience contributed to my journey towards quitting alcohol. I put a stop to it a few months later.