Pranks Are Us.

LOL, the picture above is wickedly hilarious. I used to be like that, so full of mischief and pranks but I have sort of toned things down a lot since I realized that my daughter got a chunk of my genes. Sigh. That girl is something else, she's like three going on 40!!!! Very naurry geh, indeed with a brain and body packed with that part of my genetics. So I'm keeping things real and straight around her, because she's cheeky enough to refer to my shenanigans as an excuse to get away with hers. (hopefully, she won't read this post until she is well above 18 years because I know she might use it against me, cheiiii!)

I cannot finish recounting the mischief my brothers and I got up to while growing up.I was a proper tomboy with an overload of that stubborn Ekiti gene in me and in hindsight now, I often how my mother coped with FIVE of us. Nigerian mother were built rock solid, trust me.

A particular prank I recall my brothers and I pulled back then almost cost a life. My dad is a car lover and he goes all out when he sees any car of his choice. He treasured his cars so much that even as young as we were, we knew better than to mess about with his cars. That week, he had just bought a brand new Metallic Ash Benz 230 which he parked in all of its glory in the garage. On this fateful day, my brothers and I got back from school, had our lunch, watched some tv before Nepa struck then decided to "visit and admire" my dad's shiny new car. I can't even recall how it was that we were home alone without the maid or my mum or older ones. I do recall how we ran our grubby little fingers all over the car, peering in through the windows and wishing we could ride in the plushness of it. Suddenly, one of us popped open the boot and voila, it was unlocked.

The interior of the boot was stunning, with lush carpets laid and that intoxicating brand new factory smell taking over our senses. I cannot recall whose idea it was but we decided that one by one, we would lie in the warmth of this lushness, lock ourselves in and then let ourselves out! *covers face, we were young and adventurous o* I got in first, was locked in, reveled in the beauty of the interior of the boot briefly, and then was let out almost immediately. My youngest brother did the same and we let him out as well. Then came the turn of my other brother and the tide turned.

He got in, we locked him in and when we tried to open the boot, we realized that it had sort of jammed!!! It just wouldn't open. We tried everything we could but alas, our dear brother was locked in and freaking out badly. We began to panic and rushed inside to see if we could find my dad's car keys. The entrance door to my parents' side of the house was locked and then we started crying helplessly. I remember saying a quick desperate prayer to God for a miracle and afterwards had a eureka moment. You see, especially for those who know how Festac houses are styled, if you get on to the veranda by the living room upstairs, there's usually a window that leads into the Master bedroom corridor. I dragged my kid brother over there, tried the window and it was open! We scrambled over and miraculously, my parents' room was unlocked. I was so overwhelmed with relief as we searched for the car keys, found them and dashed downstairs to the garage. By this time, my brother was already besides himself in the boot. He was frantically banging on the door, cussing me brightly and crying. We hurriedly used the key to open the boot and out he flew, landing me a very hot slap. I didn't mind or even feel the slap. I hugged him, grateful that he was alive. It was a scary experience that I've never been able to get out of my mind (not that it stopped me from playing more pranks, albeit less dangerous ones. Hehehe) and till date, my brother remains claustrophobic.

I really hope my children won't get to as much mischief as we did and even if they try to, I sincerely pray God will watch over them and keep them safe for me.

The thing about trying to slow down on my cheeky side is that I miss the old me and apparently so do those that knew that side of me. I guess the only constant thing in life is change afterall. ;)