Falling deeper into the pit of destruction. II
Hello my lovelies, wishing you all and your beautiful families a pleasant new month from this end.
So, yesterday, I decide to take a short break from writing based on personal experiences to try my hands on storytelling. . To my dear friends who haven't read the first part of the above title yet, you can read it here and thanks alot.
Tayo had never engaged in gambling all his life. As a matter of fact,he had always been warned by his parents, teachers and pastors about it's dangers for as long as he could remember. Therefore, he knew next to nothing about it dynamics of sport betting and he never cared. By the way, he was one of those young men that didn't have an interest in football.
Femi also was never a gambler just like Tayo. He only gave it a first and only try and he stuck gold. Tayo began to wonder whether fortune could also smile at him just like it did to femi. Afterall, there was absolutely nothing special about femi. He was just another undergraduate from an humble background.
"I would try out sport betting just once and see. Wether I win or lose, I wouldn't care. I would only engage once and forget about it. I might or might not be lucky. Even though I don't get to make as much as Femi, atleast I could be able to get something substantial then I would stop there........... " Tayo kept talking to himself before he drifted into a soundless sleep.
The following morning, Tayo could hardly get his mind to focus on what the lecturer was explaining. As soon as classes was over, he hurried out of the school premises . Destination : A betting shop.
He arrived at a very prominent gambling at the centre of the town. The whole place was swarming with other veteran gamblers. Some where screaming at the top of their voices, others were laughing or cursing a particular paper which Tayo got to know was called the " bet slip".
Tayo felt really awkward in thier midst and for a split-second, he had a premonition to turn around and run back to the school but his legs reflexly continue to carry him forward till he got to the counter. He was too shy to tell the shop attendant that he was a first time gambler who didn't know how to play. So, he gambled blindly with a sum of $5 and quickly turn around to leave.
Later in the evening, Tayo got to know that his preferred team had won and his $5 had fetched him almost $30. This really came as a pleasant surprise to him. "Not bad for a first-timer", he said to himself with an impressive smile.
Tayo used his earnings to replenish his food supply .Ever since Tayo became a student at the University, he had only been eating twice a day: a lunch and dinner. This was a very common eating timetable for alot of indigent students in the university due to the meager monthly allowances that their parents could afford to provide for their upkeep. Nonetheless, Tayo never complained, as a matter of fact, he really appreciated his parents efforts towards his educational pursuits.
But For the first time in a long while, Tayo was able to feed three times a day everyday in a three weeks stretch, all thanks to a single earning from sport betting.
Tayo thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea if he considered betting as an alternative source to augmenting his paltry student allowance. Ofcourse he would only use part of the money realised from a previous successful bet to make a fresh bet. He was very certain that he would never dip his hands into his personal income in making a wager. He thought this was a brilliant idea. Tayo had completed forgot his initial resolve he made about only a one-time participation in gambling and leaving it at that.
In the next three weeks, Tayo had won about seventy percent of all his gambles. This earnings ranged from $$30 to $60. He thought that this was Indeed a remarkable feat. The bet attendant was also full of praises for Tayo. He mentioned that he had been more successful on his bets then lots of gamblers who he had known for a longtime. This compliment really made a big impression on Tayo's ego and he started to think that he was a genius.
Tayo eventually convinced himself that betting was not as bad as people would love to believe. It could be real good if only you knew the secrets. Tayo begin to think that he knows most of the secrets of a successful wager. Needless to say, he became popular among the older gamblers within this short time. As a matter of fact, he started giving tips any time he had landed a successful bet and they would sing his praise.
Some of the older gamblers tried to persuade him to make bets on thier behalf since he was the one with the Midas touch. But Tayo had declined, he told them that he was more comfortable playing with his own money. With such a statement, they all thought this boy was a wise one and their respect for him doubled.
Tayo became less passionate about his studies . As the day goes by, he found classes boring sometimes became too lazy to attend. He began to think that it was only the unwise that would spend so much time at the books when there were fantastic opportunities out there. Afterall, it's not as if immediate employment was guaranteed no matter how good your grades were. He have heard true stories about graduates with first class honors who still struggle to feed. It's more important to pursue other things and diversify . Tayo thought.
With a confident smile, He also thought about the day that he would win such a huge sum as $14000 from betting just like Femi did.
From his earnings, he was able to settle most of his needs as a student. He soon started buying unnecessary stuffs. In a short while, the once shrewd Tayo became extravagant. You wouldn't blame him though, he always had money in his hands.
A month later, he started soliciting the services of scarlet girls..... A dangerous vice he had never thought possible to engage in, just like he never thought he would ever be mixed up in gambling .
To be continued ................
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Thank you very much for staying with me.
I promise to write the concluding parts of the story tomorrow πππ
...and you will also help the author collect more tips.
One thing I could pinpoint here is that once you have tasted a freebie for the first time, it will not be easy to opt out because you would want to keep trying it until it will dawn on you later. At that moment, you will go into extinction once it is not favoring you again. This is his case though. CanΒ΄t wait for the next.