It’s sometime at the beginning of October and as always that’s about the time Nairobi ASK show ilikuwa inakatika. Its a fine friday morning na kama kawaida I and my crew are geared up kuenda kujibamba. As it has been every other year, lazima makosa ifanyike. By saa tatu tulikuwa tumefika pale kwa gate and there was a flurry of activities, school kids wamejazana pale some in funny coloured uniforms and I could certainly tell which counties they were representing.
At this time we had to plan how to get into the showground. We were eight guys with only three membership cards. Kwa wale wanakumbuka, there was this ASK membership card that could be used as many times as possible from the first to the last day kuingia show. I was the first to get in together with Johny and Mwas. Then Mwas went back out with the three cards and two more guys got in and this continued until we were all safely inside.
Once inside there was no time to waste, ni kuingia DS where all the happening was. Hio mambo ya kuona ng’ombe na sukuma wiki kwa shamba tuliachia majamaa wa ocha kama @uwesmake
Inside, the Omega1 djs were on the decks keeping the show lively. As an oldskul fisi, eye roving kicks in trying to scan the surrounding for a potential kitemeo. My eyes land on this yellow yellow with enough behind to complement her skinny body (my kind of ngeo btw). She’s in a group of other ngeos, all wearing the same red colored skirts, white socks and black shoes but all with different tops. Straight away nikajua hawa ni ma high school girls, probably fourth formers na sanasana from some ushago county from the way walikuwa wanakaa kuchanganyikiwa. I wasn’t going to let haka kamlebo kaende tu hivo na vyenye kalikuwa na kiherehere mob. Napenda kubinja kama hutwo.
I could not take my eyes from this ngeo and I noticed she was also under the same spell. When our eyes finally met I maintained my gaze and so did she. It was a moment we are there looking at each other waiting to see who blinks first and Kush being one not to fail such an easy test nkakodoa mecho zaidi, mlebo akaangusha yake and when she lifted her face she had this beautiful smile I had not seen in a long time.
Nkasho maboyz watulie nkahurie kamtu. I went straight to her and stretched out my hands for a handshake. She looks at her ngeos with this bewildered look and a little confusion and after receiving approval from them, stretches her hand in reply. “Am Kuria but you can call me Kush”, and she goes “am Waithelelo” with a sheepish smile. Hio ilinikuna lakini nkakanyagia, a rule for the gentlemen usimsho hajui. Am like, “Can I have a dance with you” to which she obliged. Nkamvuta kwa ‘dancefloor’ and coincidentaly the music playing was ‘My only love’ by Gregory Isaacs. I pull the little fragile girl closer to me and hold her tight only making slow swaying movements. For the next few minutes dem akatupa rada, body ikawaka moto, Abdalla akawa restless.
Just like that I had owned this ngeo. Nkama dj alijua juu alirudia hio ngoma kwa mara nyingine. When Grego finally faded out of play I tell this mlebo to grab her ngeos nkawa buyie angalau tu soda. How happy they were to hear this. Nikawapeleka pale kila mtu aitishe.
So nkachukua huyu mmanzi tukasonga hio side ingine na nkaanza gameplan immediately. I get to learn she is the headgirl from a school in Kiambu and all these other girls wanamskiza sana. Its now kedo 1.30 mchana and she tells me they have to be by the school bus at exactly 6.30 pm. Hapo there is enough time for me to harvest some important slices and after kiswahili kiasi she tells me “goja kidogo nakunja”. She heads over to her ngeos and after giving them some instructions which they all nod in agreement to, she comes back to me and tell me we can go but “sitaki wanjue nmetoka show”. At this point in time I din’t mind hio chida ya matamchi all I was interested in was the slices.
I tell akina Johny nafika base narudi. Within no time tulikuwa tumevuka reli and through Jamhuri estate to Ngong road nkadandia mathree with the Kiambu’s finest tukafika mtaani. Now, to get to my boy cave ilikuwa nikama a security pattern kwa simu ya android to make it hard for a one night stand to retrace this place kukithoka. The main entrance to my cave ilikuwa side ya mbele ya plot but ilikuwa inabidi tutumie kachuom side ya nyuma. First unaingia kwa ploti ya wenyewe through the main gate, unazungukia huko nyuma, unatokea ka mlango kadogo then ufungue kamabati kwa fence ndo upenye ndani ya ploti yetu. Tukafika nkafungua mlango tukaingia.
Since it was a race against time ikawa ni kuchapa mucakwe kwanza kesi baadaye. Waah! My oh my, si huyo kisokorowinyo alikuwa mtamu like literally and same time naughty, save for the meno tint phenominal na the kung’oa syndrome. Keja yangu pale ni ya mabati na kumbuka jirani being a housewife ametulia tu kwa keja anaskiza gospel zake hapo. Katika ile harakati ya kumkata kuku, nikama mucakwe ilikuna mahali serious, Waithelelo akavuruta mguu kwa mabati rrrrrrrrh! Before ntulize pace, akagonga wall puuu! vitu za jirani zikaanguka hio side ingine na kelele ka yote nkaskia jirani ameuliza “Kuria mko sawa, kwani mnapigana?” How she knew kulikuwa na mbinjano sijui.
Kumaliza, nkang’oa ruabe kwa pori nkampa. She’s like “what is this for?” I tell her to dress up so as not to get late for the pick up time. I check the big plastic clock on the wall and its 5.30pm na bado tuko Ungwaro. I have to get this girl to the showground before she run late.
I head to the shops and get my friend who operates a taxi. He agrees to take me to the showground and so I go back and grab the girl. We made it in time and after making sure we located the school bus ikabidi kwanza npewe ma hug za pongezi na kwaheri all at the same time with me promising to visit her in school the following weekend. Nkamzindikisha hadi kwa bus and as am about to let her go tukaskia ‘Gradys who is that boy?’
Nkamwambia tulia I’ll take care of it. Nkaenda straight to this man who happens to be their teacher and greeted him. I introduce myself, “my name is Kuria and Gladys is my small cousin, a daughter to my mother’s sister”. Akasmile tu nakuniuliza how watu wa home wako. Nacheki kando kwa mbathi madem wamechangamka yao yote.
Its time to search for my mboyz tuendelee na hepi hadi chee. Waitherero or is it Waithelelo, am glad we finally meet again hizi ma streets after so many years.
