CHAPTER FIVE

His alarm woke him up at 7 am. That morning he didn’t wake up from another dream. By 0830, they were assembled t school for the trip.

In the past two weeks, he had been flirting with Hope, the senior AAC instructor's daughter. They were from South Africa. They sat next to each other and were intimately close friends. Hope was doing General Law. They loved each other dearly. The first girl Vincent Jr ever dated. All the students were excited about the trip, going to South Africa brought so much exhilaration to them. Jr and Hope sat in the midst of them, enjoying each other, their faces lit with so much excitement.

“How does it feel, to fly back home?” She giggled, rubbing her hand against his.

“There is no place like home.” She giggled again.

“How does it feel like to fly to a foreign country? Ever been on the flight?” It took him a while to answer.

“I am in love with you, Hope. I am anxious about flying. It will be my first.”

The bus parked. They queued into it. Then it was twenty minutes’ drive to the airport. As they arrived, Vincent Jr marveled at the huge infrastructural difference between South Africa and Somalia.

The hotel they lodged in was similar to what he always saw in movies.

They assembled at the hotel conference room to be briefed by some soldiers concerning the drill they were to undertake along the Limpopo River. Among other things, they were trained to do survival skills and scuba diving.