Deeper

T.J sighed as his father sorted out their luggage at the baggage claim. The bustling noise and passengers in a haste held a cryptic message yet,he didn't care to find out why.

Murtala Mohammed airport was located in Ikeja, the central of the ever bustling Lagos state. If Lagos were to be compared to a state in the united states, it would be New York city.

But that didn't make T.J feel at home.

All that went through his mind was the dreadful Idea, scratch that,the reality of leaving the comfort of New York city to live in Nigeria. Unbelievably Nigeria!

Words couldn't explain all he felt at the moment. All he wanted to do was turn back to the pilot and order him to fly him back to New York City or better still, teleport there.

Last few weeks at NYC were unforgettable Nightmares to him. Saying goodbye to the guys and trying to get Ruby understand that, he was returning back to NYC after a year. Yet, all Ruby did was to walk out on him, that was, after spilling her cherry vodka on his shirt.

Every incident that followed suit were all out of his control. The plan to win homecoming King, of course with Ruby, which broke Ruby's heart, to go bowling with the guys and of course,get himself a new wheel after working at Cool Beans.

They all came crumbling down.

He felt the urge to punch something, anything to ease off the heaviness encumbering his heart. All that he planned for years came crumbling down, just to complete his high school in Nigeria. He couldn't even Imagine himself having a life in Nigeria. Well it was already too late.

He felt hands on his shoulder and turned, only to be met with his fathers shit eating grin.

Tasie for a man in his late forties was quite fit and healthy. Tall with Dark chocolate skin, lively dark eyes with the perfect set of dentals a man would want to  own.

T.J rolled his eyes.

"Come on T.J, cheer up! You are in your father Land Naija! I can't believe things have changed a lot in few years."  Tasie. exclaimed, leading his son to a man smiling with open hands.

"Tasie! Tasie onye ego! The man." the smiling man hollered, bringing Tasie in for a bear Hug.

T.J just stood, watching the old men exchange pleasantries,face in a staunch scowl.

All he wanted to do was speedup time. If he was to spend a year in the bright and sun scorching Nigeria, He better start it now.

"Good day." he greeted the bulky man who towered over him and his father when he finally noticed his presence.

The bulky man sent a cryptic stare to Tasie who cleared his throat.

"This is Africa T.J, you address an elder like one." he chastised. T.J fought the urge to roll his eyes,but thought otherwise.

"Good day sir." he said instead, bowing slightly, a sick polite smile on his face. The bulky man laughed immediately like nothing happened, grabbing T.J's poor head to give it a squeeze.

"My boy. You have grown so well." he said still laughing.

"Tasie you remember when he was still crawling and how he played ball with Elo. Nna rate umundia ji zi eto these days."

"Nnah gwa gi nwannem. Umu na ta aja,eri pia wa onu." Tasie replied,while  both men cracked up again.

T.J walked awkwardly along with them,as they made jokes he couldn't understand but was sure were about him.

They reached the bulky man's car,Who T.J found out was named Jide and a lanky man immediately came out of it, prostrating in greeting  immediately he saw them.

"Eze ego, I need to run back to the office. Eze here will drive you back to my house. Nne is around, the kids too. Feel at home. Ama bata soon."said Jide,giving Tasie one last side hug and T.J a squeeze on the head before walking away to another vehicle.

Eze took their luggage, kept them in the safety of the car's boot before opening the car's door for them.

"That man Dad,is he the one I'll be staying with?" T.J asked after few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, he has kids your age. They are actually twins. You'll like them."

T.J scoffed. Kids his age? Like he needed playmates.

Tasie noticed his son's expression. "Look bud,Jide is like a brother to me, which makes him your father also. We go way back to highschool and University. I thought we've had this discussion before." Tasie felt uncomfortable.

He wanted his son to have the best experience as an African child, which was to know and act like one. He was deprived of having a normal childhood as a Nigerian, due to situations he couldn't handle.

But T.J's reaction wasn't what he anticipated, he expected a little teen drama, but not such cold attitude.

"Dad I... You don't expect me to really chill in a strange country with a hyperactive guardian..." he quipped, a brow up.

"Come on. Nigeria is not strange at all, it's got everything a black child dreams of. It's your home. Where your roots lie."

T.J snorted. "Dad my home is NYC not this__" he looked out the window, to a bustling Lagos city, captivated but couldn't give in yet. "__place."

"You'll like it here trust me. Naija is fun and this is Lagos. You will never get tired T.J.  Hey look," his gaze was directed outside the window.  "this is where I met your mum." Tasie said, excitement and pain lurking his voice.

T.J looked out, looking at the old but strong Lagos bridge, with it's hustling habitants. Everyone seemed to be working nonstop, diligently and content.

"You miss her don't you?" T.J asked, still facing the bridge.

"Yeah."Tasie said quietly.

His mom of Nigerian decent too had died of Blood cancer 5 years ago. She was of the past, both men had mourned her, moved on, but she was still in their hearts. T.J still remembered the story of how his parents met on the infamous Lagos bridge. It was a hilarious story, one that brought a smile to his lips.

He felt his lips twitch and saw his father smile too. Both reminiscing till something, someone caught his attention.

He felt his heart thud in his chest, like it were making it's way to his stomach.

The tiny figure climbed on the rails of the bridge, no one paid her any attention.

God no! Were people that ignorant here? he thought.

He wasn't about to watch someone die. Suddenly he watched the girl turn, a can of coke in her hand.

So strange. She stretched out her hand, fingers showing a peace sign and a camera light flicks.

Holy Lord! Teenage girls take everything as a Joke these days.

He sighed.

"You Okay?" Tasie ,who has been blabbing about his homeland and all that asked.

"No biggie. I just__ I don't know, I feel unnerved__" he said rubbing his head. He was overreacting and he knew it.

"Son, you're going to do just fine, trust me." Tasie assured rubbing his son's back.

T.J sighed again. If doing just fine was almost having a cardiac arrest by watching teen girls strike dangerous poses just for a selfie, then he was as well as damned.