CHAPTER FIVE

Beep beep!

Beep beep!

The shrill sound of the alarm clock placed on the cabinet very close to Mirabella's bed side woke her. She groaned, she was enjoying her blissful sleep before the alarm came beeping. She struggled to get out of bed. Beep beep! Came the sound again.

"Seriously, Michal has to throw this thing away, it keeps disturbing me. What's with you and beep beep? you won't disturb Michal's sleep, but you love to disturb mine." She muted the clock and turned it over. "Rubbish! Now let's see if you will beep beep again." She yawned heavily, she finally got out of bed and walked directly to the bathroom she stretched and faced the mirror on the wall, she looked at herself her hair was in a mess "Whatever" she muttered, and scratched her itching scalp. She yawned again and bent to wash her face but something caught her attention, her palm, it was stained with blood. She looked closely at the mirror and saw blood stains on her nose. She had bled

"Oh no, I had a cut last night." She cleaned up, she sashayed her way into the kitchen

there, Michal was preparing breakfast she sat on the counter and coughed out to attract Michal's attention.

"Is that the new way to greet your elder sister?" Michal asking not looking at her.

"How did you even know I was the one, it could have been a thief you know." Mirabella retorted.

"And you are the thief." She finally looked at Mirabella.

"Good morning though." She greeted.

"Good morning though too." Michal replied.

"You are so impossible Michal."

"Says the one who can't greet her elders without being told."

"Arrrrrrrrhhhh" Mirabella groaned out in frustration. "Will you eat my greetings?"

"At least show a little bit of respect." Michal continued with her work, she sliced the onions first something she loved doing, then she set the pepper and tomatoes out she rinsed all of it and poured the pepper into the manual blender she turned it for a while and poured the grounded piece into a bowl, she did same with the tomatoes and the onions. Mirabella just sat back and watched.

"Michal?" Mirabella called.

"Yes baby?"

"Why is mom never around? Today is Sunday and she's still busy with work. Do banks open on Sundays too?" She asked her sister.

"Mira." Michal called out softly, she hesitated before speaking on. "Mom is," she looked at her sister not sure if she will be able to handle the news, she spilled it out.

"Having an affair."

"You mean she's seeing someone?" Mirabella asked surprisingly.

"Something like that." She bowed her head feeling sad.

"How do you know this, Michal?"

"I went through her phone and I also trailed her once to confirm and it turned out to be true."

"Wow! Wow! Wow! Mom doesn't love us a bit, she literally left us to be with some man. This is bad, Lekky mom loves her so much....."

"Hey," Michal shushed her. "Don't compare Lekky's mom with our mom and I want you to know Mom loves us so much." She said uncertainly, she wasn't sure cos if she really loved them she won't neglect them.

"So why?" Mirabella asked with teary eyes. "Why will she leave us to ourselves?"

"I don't know Mira but we are good..aren't we? I take care of you so much and I promise to always be there for you. I've tried to talk to her but she won't listen to me maybe she needs the man more than she needs us." Michal wiped a stray tear with her elbow. "She left some money with me before going out this morning she said she will be back tomorrow."

"Where was I?" Mirabella asked.

"You were sleeping then." She told her.

"Hmmmmmmm."

"Are you okay?" Michal asked.

"Yeah, just stunned." Mirabella told her. "Michal!" She yelled.

"What?" She looked at her.

"That thing in our room that keeps crying beep beep! I want you to throw it away! It keeps disturbing my sleep." She complained.

"What's that?"

"The freaking alarm whatever!"

"Oooh." Michal smiled, I didn't remember to switch it off when I woke up, sorry it disturbed your sleep lazy ass." Michal smirked.

"I'm not lazy!"

"Ooh I give up." She wasn't in the mood to argue with Mirabella, but for real Mirabella was really lazy.

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Michal served her food and dropped the spoon for Mirabella to serve hers, she noticed she took little portion from the bowl of rice.

"Will that be enough for you?" She asked.

"Yeah for now, I'm not really hungry."

Hearing about her mom's affair with another man has made her lost appetite.

"Alright." Michal looked at Mirabella and smiled. "Hmmmmm did Hammed tell you and Lekky anything else about me?" She asked blushing. Hammed will be the death of her.

"Why are you asking me that, what do you care. I thought you said you don't like him?"

''Actually, I don't really..... Please tell me." Michal clasped her hands together and begged Mirabella to tell her more. "Please baby."

"I can't talk much, I'm tired." She rolled out her tongue to mock Michal.

"Please babe." She was really desperate.

"Okay." Mirabella clanged her spoon on the ceramic plate and drank some water, "He actually told us something and I promised not to tell you but since you won't let me rest I will tell you. I think he likes you, he mentioned something like that once while we were discussing you."

"Likes me?" She questioned. 'How can Hammed like her, of all the girls drooling over him in the class how can he pick her' she blushed inwardly.

"Well, I don't know. I'm not sure though he didn't say it directly." She touched her forehead, "Michal please can you get me paracetamol? My head is aching."

"Sure." She went to get the first aid box and picked up a sachet of paracetamol, she took  it out of the sachet and gave it to Mirabella.

"Thank you." She swallowed it and gulped down a glass of water.

"Sorry, maybe you should rest." Michal said.

"If mom was around she'd have known better." Mirabella laid on the couch and slept off. Michal watched her sister as she slept peacefully.

"Don't be ill." She whispered. " I really wish dad was alive, I wish he was here to watch over us, I wish he was here." Michal sobbed, she stood up and went to pick up the family portrait, her father was smiling in the picture, she stroked it and sobbed. "Rest in peace daddy, I miss you so much." She clung the portrait unto her chest and cried softly, so that her sniffles wouldn't wake Mirabella from sleep.

Star❤