Twenty two

I woke the next morning to heavy knocks on my door. I knew who it was and with the decision of not letting his face be the first thing I see in the morning, I rearranged my pillow and lay more comfortably but the mammal was determined and I didn’t want my mom coming down on me about being inhospitable.

‘What?’ I said as I swung the door open.

‘You should brush before leaving your room’.

‘I’m in my room, genius’. He smirked, unfazed by my hostility.

I watched him take a peek at my room.

‘What, no motivational quotes?’

‘I keep them under my pillow so they can diffuse into my brain’.

He chuckled.

‘Ah. So that’s how you do it, not that much of a mystery after all’.

He took another glance at the room.

‘Why am I not surprised your igloo is void of life?’ He began walking away, hands in his pockets but spun back around. ‘Your mom needs you at the table’. He moved backwards until he disappeared into the parlor.

I took my time brushing my teeth before going out to the dining room where we were having a ‘family’ breakfast of moin-moin and pap. No one was eating, mom and Kunle were chatting heartily, Marcel had his face in his right hand that was propped on the table and was staring at them boringly.

‘Hey princess’. Mom chirped as soon as she saw me. Her cheerfulness wasn’t good for my recently awoken body.

‘Good morning mom. Uncle Kunle, good morning’. Kunle nodded.

‘We’ve been waiting for you. Since it’s a Saturday, I wanted us to have breakfast together, as a family’.

I cringed, hard enough that Marcel looked down to hide his amusement.

‘You didn’t have to wait for me’. I mumbled.

‘Babe please bless the food’. She asked Kunle and he did, briefly, thankfully.

The first couple of seconds were quiet save for the sound of the utensil as mom shared the food but the serenity was lost immediately she sat back down. First she talked to Kunle about things I blocked my mind from comprehending, then I had to drown out another of her and Marcel’s pointless conversation. I was enjoying the taste of the moin-moin when she finally decided to include me in the conversation.

‘Amanda. How come you never told me about that?’

‘About what?’

‘That you were sports prefect’.

‘You didn’t think I was senior prefect, did you?’ she sighed

‘I know you love sports, I just thought you’d want to share the news with me’.

‘Right. Now you know, it’s such a big deal’. My pap was getting extra soggy.

‘What did you guys do all week?’ She changed the topic.

Marcel looked at me and we both faced our plates.

‘Nothing’. The lack of effort in our replies made Kunle roll his eyes.

‘You didn’t go out?’ The question was directed at Marcel.

‘I don’t really know anywhere’.

‘Oh. Amanda could have taken you’.

‘Yeah, your favorite local tour guide’. I said

‘You were new in town once too’. She tried to guilt trip me.

‘Technically, I still am. I don’t really know my way around’.

‘Then you two can figure it out together. You have mouths, you can always ask for directions’.

‘Why not just ask Ekpe to do it?’ I proposed.

‘Amanda’. She said sternly.

‘Fine’. I spooned cool pap into my mouth.

‘You can go after breakfast, I will take care of the chores’. She was too excited about us leaving the house.

      Mom was already far gone with the chores when we left. Marcel was waiting for me at the door eagerly tapping his foot. He was dressed in good ol’ cut out jeans and a black polo which was disastrous since I was dressed in a straight mid length black gown that I topped off with a jean jacket. We looked like an attention seeking couple going for a photo shoot.

‘Jeez, can you be more excited?’ I said as I walked pat him by the door and he followed closely behind.

‘You haven’t been indoors all week’.

While I didn’t mind sitting at home, I understood how it could be for a workaholic like Marcel to be stuck in an overly adorned room for too long.

‘So, where are we going?’ He inquired.

‘I don’t know, the plan was to walk around aimlessly until we got tired’,

He laughed.

‘You can’t be serious’. I just shrugged. After overhearing his conversation with Chris yesterday, I was nowhere near the mood of talking to him.

‘I know a place we can go’. He stated with a grin.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when he boarded a taxi heading towards the stadium, only a few things got a smile out of the boy and sports looked to be the most effective. It had been quite a while since my last and only visit to the stadium, so excuse me for being awed once again.

Marcel didn’t seem to notice my amazement, he was occupied with admiration of his own. I watched him scan the vast space; Marcel Keshinro Wurade in his natural habitat.

There were a good number of people working out. A group of already fit teenagers were doing aerobics and basically showing off to those who were running the tracks. A muscular guy kept screaming out instructions to a group of elderlies who struggled to keep up with him.

After watching the man at the back dance around to his own tune for some seconds, I turned to see Marcel watching me. His expression quickly morphed into a daring grin.

‘Let’s run’.

‘What?’

‘Let us run’. I looked around.

‘No’.

‘Are you shy? Don’t tell me I misjudged you’.

‘You usually do but I’m not’.

‘Good. Let’s run then’.

‘I’m wearing a gown’.

‘And I’m wearing jeans’.

‘Different things’.

‘Same discomfort. Come on browny’. He got into the tracks and I followed him slowly.

‘You remember when you made Bassey cry?’ He began jogging.

I laughed lightly.

‘I did feel bad afterwards, she really wanted to win’.

‘You needed to win. Their school owed us that much’.

I thought back to Bassey’s boyfriend, whatever was his name. He was the only person I had seen bully Marcel and I know Marcel let it go because there wasn’t much he could have done without implicating the school. Still, I wondered what he would do if we ran into him here.

‘Your mom seems scared of you’. My head snapped towards him.

‘Your dad avoids the path you walk on. You don’t see me calling you out on that’.

‘I think you just did’. His smirk was faint. ‘Seriously, she always appears like she doesn’t know what to do with you’.

I considered it.

‘Story of her life’. I mumbled and we were quiet for the rest of the race, picking up speed and letting our grunts fill in the silence. He probably realized I didn’t like talking about my issues with my mom any more than he did his with his dad.

The sun was beginning to scorch when we left the stadium. He said he needed to get some supplies so I took him to the mall which wasn’t far from the stadium. He made a comment about having seen bigger malls and I wondered what his childhood had been like. He always did come off to me as a spoilt rich kid and maybe he was, mom said they had been displaced because of the bokoharam insurgences.

Maybe his dad used to take him shopping and playing at the park, no one said anything about his mother.

We ended up spending two hours hidden behind the stall in a bookstore because Marcel didn’t want to pay for lord of the flies and decided to read it there.

He chuckled when I picked up Take me home but I am a slow reader and the book was moderate, how was I supposed to know it had too many sequels. We left the mall after he got his supply of whatever, he didn’t let me come with him because it was ‘private’.

I understood why girls on the street gave me envious stares; I was walking with Marcel. I didn’t know why guys were scowling at him though until a conductor hanging off a moving bus screamed; U for carry am for back na, so we go know say una de straf.

Embarrassment isn’t word enough to describe how I felt but it will suffice. Marcel wasn’t moved though, he just smiled and asked how far we were from the beach market. I wasn’t even sure we were on the right track but he said Ekpe had told him it was my favorite place in town and he wanted to check it out.

We walked into Egerton Street and after a couple meters, the beach came into sight.

The market was buzzing as usual, market women advertising goods and unyielding customers, inconsistent in their bargaining. Marcel took a lazy glance around.

‘What’s so special about this place? It’s just like any other market’. His tone wasn’t degrading but I ignored him and walked down till I found what I was looking for, he saw it too and nodded with a faint smile.

‘Seafood, figures’.

‘Yeah, seafood. Cheaper than anywhere else. My mom loves them plus everything is better at the beach’.

He laughed.

‘So you are not a witch, just a marine spirit’. I didn’t realize when the chuckle left me. ‘I’ll let my dad know about your mom’s seafood kink, maybe it will score him some points’.

I couldn’t hide my surprise, my head whipped around to face him.

‘Didn’t know you were shipping them’.

‘Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?’

I folded my arms and arched a brow.

‘Okay fine but you can’t knock it till you’ve tried it’. I grimaced and he laughed.

‘Come on browny, let’s go shopping’.

‘I don’t have money’.

‘Your mom gave me some’. Big shocker. ‘She’s really cool’. He was already walking ahead. ‘I’m trying to think of a ship name’.

I watched him from the corner of my eye.

‘Nnele? That has to mean something in Igbo. What of Kunka?’

‘God, no. It sounds like some ancient deity’. This time I laughed along with him.

Maybe he was right. What’s the worst that could happen that hadn’t happened already?