Badejo had found a way to drag Tito to the clinic next to the mega-church on Ibiade Street. It was a long way from where they lived, and he was pretty confident no one would see him.

“All this suffering on top small enjoyment, this thing hurts,” Badejo winced as he spoke. 

They had registered and gotten him a card, and now they were seated on one of those long wooden benches that drained your spirit the longer you sat on them.

“Na you sabi, next time if I give you condom no collect na,” Tito hissed and then broke into a smile that became a small giggle. 

“They would have to chop off your dick now,” he kept a straight face when he said this.

Tito annoyed him half the time they spent together, but he was the only friend who could come here with him. 

Moreover, Tito had introduced him to Shalewa.“That girl sweet o, Bade,” Tito remarked as he sucked on cherries; this was a month ago on one of those Saturday CHM 101 tutorial days. “ I even heard Fola had tasted her, Bolu and Pascal too,” he said as he spat out a seed his mouth had cleaned out.

Badejo was not like most of his friends; he had not ‘tasted’ anyone then, so he listened while they bragged.

Tito made it such that all three of them -himself, Badejo, and Shalewa walked back together to the student dorms after tutorials that day. On subsequent days, Badejo walked Shalewa back to her hostel before leaving for his, and by the end of the second week, it was her turn to pay him a visit in the off-campus residence he shared with Tito.

“Weyrey, use condom o,” Tito had warned. “You leave that one, just give me small privacy abeg,” Badejo had just one thing on his mind, and he wasn’t really thinking about condoms.

A week later, it burned when he peed, and he couldn’t bring himself to tell Tito. In another two weeks, his pee started to turn brown, and he knew he had to do something about it. So, he had dragged Tito all the way here.

“Badejo Tioluwa!” The stout nurse at the reception called out. “Yes, ma,” Badejo answered as he and Tito stood.

“Room number five,” she pointed towards one of the black doors down the hall as the boys picked up their bags and made for the room.

“Good morning, boys. You can have your seat,” the doctor smiled as she motioned them to sit across the table from her. 

“So, what brings you here?”

“Erm, it hurts when I pee, and recently my pee has started to appear brown in colour,” Badejo had rehearsed this a few times that morning.

“Okay, when did the pain start?” 

“Three weeks ago, ma.”

“Alright, and how old are you, Badejo?” she asked as she started to scribble something down. 

“I would be nineteen in September,” he lied. Tito smiled at him reassuringly.

“Have you had sex recently?” she asked with a calmness that let him know this wasn’t her first rodeo, and he had no reason to lie.

“Yes, about a month ago,” his right hand found its way to his temples, shyly grabbing at nothing in particular.

“But it was just once o,” he felt the need to add that.

The doctor nodded; her face didn’t give away what she was thinking, or maybe she wasn’t judging him exactly.

“That’s alright.” her eyes met his, and it didn’t feel like she would scold him. “You may have contracted a sexually transmitted infection, that could happen when you have unprotected sex, regardless of how many times.”

“Did you use a condom?”

Badejo shook his head sideways in response.

“Okay, condoms are one of the best ways to prevent infections if you want to have sex.”

Badejo nodded now; he had learnt his lesson.

“Most STIs can be treated if they are diagnosed early enough, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Tito sighed; he felt some relief for his friend.

“Take one white form on the table to room 10. Your urine sample should be collected for a test there,” the doctor smiled at him. He noticed that she wore contacts, and her blue eyes had some allure to them.

“Okay, thank you.”

“Before you go, remember to inform your partner about this, some STIs are asymptomatic in females, you should convince her to come to the clinic,” her face was stern now.

“Alright ma, I would try to,” he was not sure if he could convince Shalewa, but he would at least try.

He took one of the white forms and tapped Tito. Badejo was glad that he would be relieved and his penis wouldn’t be chopped off like Tito had teased.

AYANNUGA Olayinka

Clinical II