Thread by @diaryofa9jagirl

In 2007, I borrowed money from a friend - N9,000. It was a lot of money for me back then. I had exhausted my borrowing and dashing Grace from my siblings so I had to fall back on a friend to loan me some money.

I was going to pay her back from my allowee.

However, life happened and I couldn’t return the money in full when I promised I would. I told her. “Please let me give you 5k now and balance the remaining next month.” She disagreed and said she wanted all her money at once and immediately,she didn’t want to “spoil” the money.

I kept the 5k I had and suffered through the month while I avoided her numerous calls. I just wanted the month to end so I could pay her back. I remember sending her a text, promising her that the 5k I had would not be touched and I couldn’t pick her calls because I was ashamed.

Still, she would call insistently, I would ignore her call.

It was a friend’s birthday and I was invited, I remember asking my military toaster to give me transport fare or drop me off at the party because I couldn’t afford transportation to get there. He chose to drop me off.

As I was settling into the party, my friend walked in and I attempted to escape into the house. She sprinted after me and pulled my T-shirt from the neck, she held on and spoke into my face, “where are you running to? Where do you think you’re running to?”

**I know some people who served with me in Kaduna will remember this story. It was a corper’s party**

I teared up and lied that I didn’t even see her. As the tears dropped her voice became louder, “what are you crying for? Give me my money, what are the fake tears for?

you’ve been ignoring my calls now.”

I said, “I thought you were flashing me.” My heart was racing, everyone had stopped what they were doing and they were watching the debacle. I then remembered my military toaster. I looked to where he was seated, I saw his back,

he was walking away.

My heart suddenly weighed a ton, I cried more and my lips quivered when I told my friend, “please let go of my T-shirt. I’ll pay you next week. Please.”

She looked at me with disgust and let go. I ran after the military toaster,

it was the only choice I had, other than melting into the ground.

I apologised to the toaster and asked if he could drop me off at home. He said I had embarrassed him and I should find my way home.

So, I hopped on a bike, for a 45 minutes journey and paid the bike rider N500.

I took that money out of the 5k I had at home, the part payment of my debt.

I blanked out this embarrassing story from my mind until this morning when the military toaster reached out to me via DM. He said, “anytime I come to your page, that incident is all I can remember,

please let me apologise for leaving you there. I think it was ego that made me leave.”

I’ve been quite emotional these days so his apology made me tear up. For minutes, I couldn’t stop crying as the memory of that embarrassment came flooding back like it was yesterday.

I paid my debt that month but I couldn’t look my fellow corpers in the eye for a long time. The story had spread that I was a chronic debtor. Truth is, that was my one and only time of borrowing money from anyone during NYSC but how many people would I convince?

Please, if someone isn’t a chronic debtor, when they can’t pay you what they owe, cut them some slack. Based on their character, you’ll know they’d pay you if they could.

Don’t damage their self-esteem more by embarrassing them or calling them out.

Please, be kind.

#DANG