Bayo and Kunle were sitting in the university's noisy cafeteria, both with eyes half-closed from the unbearable heat and yet another day spent pondering the future - or lack of it. The air was thick with the smell of beans and rice, and the clatter of plastic trays on metal tables filled the space. If you listened hard enough, you could almost hear the collective sigh of every student who'd been talking about "japa" for the past six months.
Kunle bit into his fried plantain and looked across at Bayo. "Guy, I swear, if those people in the 1700s had just hopped on those slave ships willingly, we'd be Americans by now."
Bayo raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? So you think if we had all 'japa'd' back then, we'd be flexing in L.A. by now, huh? Imagine - no NEPA, no 'hold-up,' no jam-packed buses... just sunshine and free WiFi."
Kunle nodded with mock seriousness. "Exactly. We'd be getting free healthcare, complaining about bad coffee, and they'd probably have made us celebrities by now. You know, those 'self-made African immigrants' they put on TV."
Bayo leaned back in his chair, slapping the table as if the thought had just hit him. "And no more this rubbish. No more strikes. I'll be in an office in America right now, sipping on my iced latte, laughing at Nigerians still trying to get the government to do something!"
Kunle grinned, his voice dropping to a whisper as if he was telling a secret. "Guy, if I had the power, I'd go back in time, beg them to let me in the ship, and then say, 'Please, take me to America!'"
Bayo chuckled. "You think those guys in the 1700s were any smarter than us? You'd have probably been the one they'd throw off the ship for trying to 'negotiate' with them."
The conversation was interrupted by Cynthia, a law student sitting nearby, who had overheard them. She couldn't help but throw in her two cents.
"Do you even know how to fish?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "You think you'd have survived in the 1700s? You'd be the first to be eaten by a tiger or something."
Kunle laughed, shaking his head. "Cynthia, please! I'd have been in America so fast, I'd have had them introduce me to Oprah. Me, on TV, telling Americans what to do with their lives!"
Bayo snorted. "Yeah, sure. You'd be the one talking about 'how to survive on water and leaves' in your documentary."
Before Cynthia could shoot back, Tunde, the campus gossip, leaned in from the next table, a smug smile on his face. "You guys are just talking nonsense," he said, his eyes wide with fake intrigue. "If you want to go back in time, I know the perfect way."
Bayo raised an eyebrow. "And what do you know that we don't?"
Tunde leaned closer. "There's this professor? Professor Ajakaye. You've heard the rumors, right? About his 'secret project'?"
Kunle leaned forward eagerly. "What secret project?"
Tunde glanced over his shoulder as if making sure no one else was listening. "Word is, he's working on a time machine. A proper one! I overheard him telling someone about it in the faculty lounge. They say it's been under wraps for months. People are scared to even go near his lab, but? I think it's real."
Kunle sat up straighter, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "A time machine? No way!"
Bayo, though skeptical, felt a spark of curiosity. "A time machine? That's ridiculous. It's probably just some rusty old experiment to test our patience."
Tunde grinned. "You never know. I heard the machine's down in the basement, locked away. But if you guys really want to see it? well, I might know someone who can help."
Kunle's mind was already racing. "Bayo, this is it. We've been talking about 'japa' for so long, why not just take the time machine to the 1700s? We'll show them how to 'japa' to America, and maybe - just maybe - we'll get the best seats on the ship!"
Bayo let out a long sigh. "Kunle, this is madness. But? what if it actually works?"
Kunle's grin grew wider. "Exactly! We could go to 1780, walk up to the village chief, and say, 'Hey, there's this place called America, and you'll want to go there.' Imagine the looks on their faces when we start talking about Wi-Fi and online shopping."
Bayo chuckled, half-joking. "And then we can tell them about Instagram. Maybe start a social media movement for their 'japa'."
Kunle slapped him on the back. "Let's do this!"
After their last class of the day, Bayo and Kunle waited for the campus to empty out. They sneaked down the winding, creaky hallway that led to the basement, dodging security guards and stray students who were probably lost themselves. The door to the basement had a big red "DO NOT ENTER" sign on it, but Bayo wasn't one to be intimidated by warning signs.
Kunle whispered, "You sure about this?"
Bayo, grinning, pushed the door open. "We didn't come all the way here for nothing."
Inside, the air was musty and stale, like no one had bothered to clean for years. The dim light flickered as they walked into the lab. It was exactly what you'd expect from a mad scientist's lair - old machinery everywhere, wires hanging from the ceiling, and spiderwebs filling the corners like they were part of the d�cor.
Then, in the middle of it all, was the machine. It looked nothing like what they had imagined. It was a giant metal capsule, with buttons and flashing lights, like something straight out of a low-budget sci-fi movie. Stuck to it were various hand-written notes, some of them barely legible.
Kunle leaned in and squinted. "What does this one say? 'Do not touch without lab coat?'"
Bayo laughed. "Oh please, who's going to stop us? Professor Ajakaye? The guy who talks to himself in the elevator? He's probably off taking a nap somewhere."
They approached the machine, their excitement building. A nearby note read:
"Type in the year you wish to travel to and press GO. Do not exceed 5 minutes in any one time period. Power loss may occur."
Kunle cracked his knuckles. "1780. That's the year. Let's get this done."
They typed "1780" on the keypad, their hands trembling with excitement. The machine hummed to life with a low, mechanical growl. It was like the world was holding its breath.
Kunle turned to Bayo. "Ready?"
Bayo, half-sarcastic, half-nervous, nodded. "Born ready."
Kunle slammed his hand down on the red button.
Everything went white.
There was a sudden, terrifying lurch. A flash. The machine's hum grew louder, shaking the entire room. Then - WHAM! - the floor vanished beneath their feet.
For a moment, there was nothing but darkness, spinning, and an overwhelming sense of vertigo.
"Kunle! What's happening?" Bayo screamed, his voice swallowed by the chaos.
"I don't know! Hold on!" Kunle yelled back.
The sound of crackling energy filled their ears as they were thrown through space, their bodies weightless, the world spinning around them. And then - nothing.
To be continued?