PLAYERS

She looked simply ravishing. It was a Friday night and it was time for yet another escapade. She had decided about two years ago that she needed some adventure and fun in her life. She was tired of the routine in her school life so one Friday evening; she had dressed up and gone to a pub with her friend, Oforiwaa. As they sat in a corner minding their own business, a gentleman came up to them.

“Hello. Are you two lovely ladies here by yourselves?”

She did not know what business their sitting down and enjoying their evening was to him. Oforiwaa thought the same so none of them paid him any attention but he went on anyway with why he was being a nuisance.

“Well, my friends and I were wondering if you girls would care to join us at our table.”

She and Oforiwaa turned their heads in the direction at which he pointed; they saw three young men sitting around a table grinning at them. She was appalled just looking at their grinning faces.

“No thanks." She responded.

The gentleman tried to be persuasive but it was like talking to the wind so he left them alone. A few moments later, another older gentleman had come around their table to try and hit on any of them or maybe both of them. The evening had continued that way till they left the pub. She was horrified at how men, both young and old, had come around their table to get them into their beds. She wondered what was coming over the world.

The next Friday had seen her and Oforiwaa at a different pub. The situation had been no different from what happened at the first pub. They just wanted to go to a place and relax after a week of endless lectures but these men kept coming at them. After the second pub they had tried three different pubs and the situation was no different. She was amazed at the number of lonely hearts out there. Was it really that they were lonely or they were just promiscuous? She recalled having seen some men with their wedding bands but was not afraid to hit on them. “A very crazy girl could make money out of these men”, she had thought. It occurred to her she could be that crazy girl. She shook her head in an attempt to take that thought out of her head but it would just not leave. So she told Oforiwaa of her intentions who branded her crazy. She, Oforiwaa, tried to persuade her to forget such a ridiculous idea but it had already settled in her mind.

She had gone to three different pubs in three months and had been successful at ripping off three men of huge sums of money. She had made sure to completely change her looks to avoid any trouble. She also made sure to choose a place where it would be easy to see her but it would be difficult to see her face. She was careful to let some ample time pass if she would visit one pub twice. It was funny how the men were not interested in the face but the body and that was how she was able to escape a disastrous situation.

She had gone to a newly opened pub about forty minutes ride from campus to prey on someone. As she found the perfect spot and sat down sipping on some chilled wine, she saw a man moving towards her. She could not make him out as he approached since the place was not well lit. As he drew nearer, light was thrown on him and that was when she realised he was the second man she had preyed on. Putting her hand in her bag, she brought out her phone and pretended to be talking to someone as she passed through the darkness and made her way out.

She sighed and felt the cold wind on her face which cooled the sweat she had experienced as the man moved towards her. As she stood there feeling the cold winds on her and thinking of how close she had been to prison, she heard a voice behind her.

“Hello sweetheart. I have found you again.”

The sweat came back as she realised it was the man she was running from who had come up behind her. What did he mean by “I have found you again”? The answer rang in her head; she had been caught. She could no longer stand straight as she felt some weaknesses in her legs. She bent a little bit to prevent her from falling.

“Do you need help? Are you alright?”

She got confused as she heard the man. Had he seen her or he had not?

“I’ll be alright. Thank you. I... I just need some fresh air.”

She could feel him drawing closer and wished he would stay where he was. Just then, they heard a big bang. Some drunk had hit his car into another man’s car. They both turned their attention to the accident and the man rushed to the place. The drunk had hit his car. Seeing this as an opportunity, she quickly left the place. Unfortunately, this situation was not enough to deter her.

So as she looked at herself for the last time in the mirror, Asantewaa could feel within her that she was going to hit it big time this evening. It had been six months now as she went out on such jaunt and had therefore taken her time in picking out her dress and putting on her makeup. She had opted for a wine boob straight dress which was three inches above her knee. She accessorized herself with gold (chandelier earrings, chain, bracelet, belt and a four inch shoe). She was what would be described as dressed to kill and she was, in every sense of the expression. She felt good as she stepped into a sleek 4x4 Toyota range rover belonging to Oforiwaa. That was the gift her father had given to her for her 23rd birthday. Asantewaa was able to persuade Oforiwaa to give her the car. She sat in and drove to the newest pub, Escape, which was a fifteen minutes drive from the international airport.

She lingered at the entrance for a while scanning the place for the kind of person she wanted. She had seen a couple of people who fitted her kind of prey so she entered and found herself a seat. She ordered for a wine and sat down to wait for her victim.

He had seen her at the entrance; standing and gazing into the room for awhile before she made her way to her seat. She was breathtaking and looked loaded. He had gone past her into the parking lot. He had been successful to find her car by bribing the guard. He was happy with his findings.

Owusu had moved away from his friends and had made his way towards Asantewaa’s table. He was a half-caste (a Ghanaian father and a French mother), tall and lanky. His dressing and perfume portrayed him as a foreigner and he had the accent of a Frenchman. She had seen him coming towards her and she knew he would make a move on her. His body language and the twinkle in his eye as the light shone on him convinced her.

As he got closer, he fixed his eyes on her. She could feel the excitement within her. She was not too sure if he fitted the kind of person she wanted to claw. There was one way to find out and it was just some minutes before she was sure. She lowered her gaze and could feel that his steps had slowed as he got nearer. She started to count his steps...one, two, three, four, five...nine, and the last one, ten. But he did not stop. He kept moving till he got to the next table that was occupied by two hotties and there he stopped to sit and converse with them. She felt like cold water had been poured on her. She felt angry, stupid and disappointed at once.

Owusu knew she was expecting him to stop by her table and so he had led her to believe it would happen and pulled a fast one on her. As he sat talking to the two girls, who proved to be quite foolish and naive by their line of conversation and giggles, he made sure he was able to see her reaction from where he was seated. He had seen the look of disappointment and he felt quite good about it.

Asantewaa recovered and continued sipping on her wine. As she waited for someone else to come around, she fidgeted with her bag which fell off the table. She drew her chair back to pick it up and she heard someone curse. Ooops! She had hit someone with her chair. She quickly turned to attend to the person and she saw that it was Owusu. While she was sorry for hitting him, she was glad it was him. It gave her some satisfaction because for some strange reason, she knew he had purposely passed by her table.

The excitement within her was back and her heart beat faster. She kept on saying sorry so much that it irritated Owusu. Then she offered to buy him a drink. He had refused but she passionately insisted. Eventually, he gave in. She had him where she wanted. She smiled triumphantly within. Owusu also smiled within himself. So far things were working for the better. The chair had not touched him but pulling it backwards just when he got there had helped matters for him.

They hit it off talking about themselves. They had both given false names. Owusu had talked a lot about himself and his “businesses”. He had opened his wallet to pick out something, making visible the amount of money he carried. Asantewaa’s eyes had bulged at the sight of the money. Can someone really carry that much on him? She had not taken him too seriously when he kept on about his businesses. She needed to see some evidence and it was as if he had read her mind. At this point she cared less about whether he was lying or not. All she wanted was to get her hands on that money.

Owusu had also sensed her mood and knew exactly what to do to perk up her interest. Noticing her interest after displaying his cash told him that he had succeeded and it was only some few minutes before he got what he wanted. He had told Asantewaa that he had come with some friends in their car. He had made suggestive comments to show that he would like to be alone with her. Asantewaa was in a hurry to get things done and over with. Having sat talking for an hour, they got up and headed for Asantewaa’s car.

They arrived at the hotel some few minutes to midnight. Asantewaa was all ready and perked up for action. Owusu could sense it and he felt excited as well. She had yawned a few times on their way but Owusu did not think that would hinder the activities planned. Thinking through the situation, he knew he was going to kill two birds with one stone. He had made sure that her chain, earrings and bracelets were pure gold as he had sat talking with her. He had an eye for precious stones.

Asantewaa started faking sleepiness. They had signed up for just a night. As soon they entered the room, Asantewaa slumped onto the bed. Owusu went into the bathroom to freshen up. He had left his wallet on the table with the dressing mirror. Asantewaa had given another fake yawn as Owusu went into the bathroom. She had smiled to herself as he entered the bathroom. When he came out after five minutes, Asantewaa was fast asleep, or he thought so. She had also removed her accessories and placed them in her bag. She knew his intention was to have a ‘good time’ with her. But she did not play like that.

At 2a.m, she woke up and tipped toed out of the room. The receptionist had looked at her with a scowl on her face. She hated girls who sold their body just for money. Asantewaa got into the car and drove away. She kept smiling and whistling as she drove off.

A few minutes after she had left, Owusu woke up. He could not feel her beside him. He heard that the shower was on. Thinking that she was in the bathroom, he dressed up and left the room. When he got to the reception, he took out his wallet to pay for the room. He only brought out papers which had been cut out like money. The receptionist was not amused. Owusu went back inside and the shower was still on. Then he started laughing. He could not believe what had just happened. In his hands he had a paper bag which was filled with Asantewaa’s accessories. He laughed out so loud that tears filled his eyes.

Asantewaa got to her room with a big smile on her face. She removed the wig from her head and changed into a house dress. She emptied the contents of her bag unto her bed. A stone fell out of her bag plus the money. In her hurry, she had not checked her bag to see if she had everything. She burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that her eyes were filled with tears.

Two months later, she went back to the pub. As usual, she scanned the place before making her way to an empty table. As she sat down, she turned her head and their eyes locked. He raised his glass to acknowledge her and she did the same. He made his way towards her table with a smile and twinkle in his eyes.