The Series Of My Life - Season 2 - Episode 26

4 years ago

The Series Of My Life - Season 2 - Episode 26

THE SPORT STARS
Some Journalists and media vehicles were
packed across the road in front of the hotel
when I came down.

I approached the lady receptionist and asked
why the Journalists were there.

”Tennis tournament” she had said.

It began to make sense to me. There was a
Tennis tournament coming up, The Erste Bank
open. Roger federer had won it in 2003,
Feliciano Lopez in 2004, Ivan Lubicic in
2005 and then the 2006 games had come
up.

I sat at the bar and watched the big screen
TV showing the stars who had registered for
the 2006 tournament.

Roger Federer, Ivan Lubicic the defending
champion, Novak Djokovic, Juan Carlos
Ferrero and numerous other stars.

I had started liking tennis since the emergence
of the william sisters back when I was in
Africa but the problem in Africa was that the
TV coverage was very poor and frustrating.

But back in Germany, I had followed every
major tournament especially the grand slams.

As a result of the sudden discovery of the
Erste Bank open of Vienna, I decided that I
was going to watch Atleast two major games
before going back to Germany.

Money was good to make but drug business
was never something I was in a hurry to run
back to. Joe was even taken care of things
as much as he could. It was a very nice
move to help him out. The gesture had started
to pay off. It meant that my presence was no
longer needed all the time.

I decided that I would leave the Kaiserin
Elizabeth hotel and locate a new cheap one.

My cash was running down and I depended on
cash. I had no credit cards or bank cards of
any form. If my money finished, then it
finished. It was true that I could call money
from Germany or even Nigeria but I hated
calling money.

There, Novak Djokovic and his entourage were
being followed by Journalists outside the hotel.
They had just arrived with a black Mercedes
car. I wanted to scamper out of my seat and
rush to him for autograph but the other people
at the bar didn’t move. I was an African
ambassador at that moment and I figured it
would be a let down to My mother continent
if I had done that. I just sat there and
watched them like others.

Djokovic and his group came into the hotel
and signed for their own suit and went up.

The whole experience was like a dream. I
went to the receptionist and asked her where
I could purchase tickets for the games. She
said I could buy it online.

I asked her to buy for me since I had
forgotten my credit cards in Portugal. She
was a chatty excited girl. She didn’t know
who I was anyway; as far she she was
concerned, I could have been the son of one
king in Africa. Little did she know that my
father, a primary school teacher was being
owed 6 months salary by the Chimaroke
Nnamani led Enugu state government of
Nigeria.

She agreed to buy the tickets for me through
the hotel reception computer set.

I bought two tickets, one for the Match
between Novak Djokovic and some guy I had
never heard of. The other for the game
between Roger Federer and One Jo-Wilfred
Tsonga, a half french half African boy.

About an hour later, Roger Federer and his
group came out with their sports kits. They
were going out for training. I wanted to follow
them but on a second thought, I decided to
stay back, I believed some other World big
names could come to the hotel.

Some moments later, Djokovic and his
entourage came down with their training kits
and left too.

It was amazing how these guys just play and
train and play. When did they even enjoy the
money they were making? Probably when
they get old or stopped playing.

Based on my own philosophy, money was such a wonderful thing only if you enjoy it.

I was sure I would begin to envy those guys when they retired and start living like kings and queens but I loved my life the way it was.

The only thing I ever regretted was my rush
into trading business without getting a
university degree. Life was a lesson anyway,
no one can have it all.

I sat at the hotel bar drinking expensive
whiskey at the rate of €10 per shot. It was
nice to see Federer and Djokovic at the same
hotel, the same day and on the same
tournament.

Jennifer called. She had been posted to a
town near Bremen called Achim. She said
she was going to the town the next day and
that she would register there and come down
to Berlin the same day. I told her that I was
in Austria and asked her to spend At least
two or three days at her HEIM in Achim
before coming to Berlin. She didn’t like it
but I expected that. I had to make her
understand that she may not see me someday
in the future, she had to start learning how
to live her life without me.

I called Joe in Berlin and asked how business
was going. He had sold off the one kilogram
of weeds I left for him. Bolaji had taken
200, Marko had taken 400, he himself had
taken 200, and allen had taken 200.

I had called my supplier to meet with Joe
that evening and gave him another one
kilogram. I knew it was bad business and bad
move allowing them to meet with each other
since it was apparent that they were going to
exchange numbers and start dealing but I was
going to leave the business soon anyway. I
was planning to go to Nigeria and rest in a
few weeks time. I had tried enough.