REMOULDED

Chapter Three

"Hi" She simply raised a palm in greeting.

"Come in" He gestured her in and hid his amazement behind her,it is true Daisy live a stone throw away but she had never visited him over their five years in the college.

"How was your trip?" She asked when he had resurfaced at her front.

"Exciting. You knew about my trip?" Earnest could not remember telling anyone about how he was going to spend his holidays. He gestured towards the almond, touched a seat for her before relaxing himself on an adjacent wicker chair.

"Yeah,Timothy told me about it" She had met with Timothy over the holidays,and Timothy, if you know him,will never be elusive, even when you try to hide from him,he finds you out with his bicycle. He had also found her out that night when he cycled into their cottage and was unlucky to meet her Dad having a taste of his stogy in the compound. He had challenged him as he would normally do with any black boy that stray to his house, the big reason Earnest would not visit her,or the more reason she would not allow him to do either.

But as for Timothy, you can't stop him. He cycled into their compound that night,bold and calm,and he met with that unusual favour,Mr Roberts permitted him to have a talk with his daughter after a little confronting,and it was then that Timothy told her about Earnest's trip to Nigeria.

"He's a good traitor, isn't he?"

"You did not want to tell me about it?" Daisy should be a little surprised, Timothy had told her something different. Timothy had told her that Earnest wished he could tell her before he left but it was an urgent call,Timothy had even said it was Earnest who sent him to tell her about it and it was the same Timothy who had cycled to her this evening to inform her of his return to the States.

"I didn't want to tell anyone" Earnest clarified, as a matter of fact he didn't tell anyone in the college but he told Timothy. Timothy isn't anyone to him. Timothy is his best man.

"You told Timothy" She accused lightly.

"Aggh" Earnest could only grumble in response to that.

"You hate it that I heard?"She sounded apologetically

"No,not that"

"You count me as a rival, don't you?" That took a low,sad girlish tone of hers which apprehended Earnest's inner man and he had no idea of how to respond to it. Zero. It was still something that baffles him,who Daisy really is to him is a question that will always elude any sensible response within him. Everyone knows Daisy to be his arch rival in the college, that white girl that  always overshadow him in academics but Earnest has a feeling Daisy could be something different from all that. The look presently on her face testifies to that, Daisy never saw him as a competitor. There was something more than tense feeling of rivalry which Earnest could still not decipher.

"Kids,it's here" Intruded,Kemi's voice as she appeared towards them with a salver of sausage and tea. Her voice had come duly to bail Earnest out of the spell causing him to give a sigh of relief and smiles towards her emergence.

"Meet her,Mum" Earnest said after she had dropped the salver on the pine table.

"I thought it is Timothy" Kemi had thought it was Timothy but she had also doubted it was him. If it had been Timothy, it wouldn't have been so silent,the noisy Timothy would not fail to whoop and ha at one time in their banter.

"No,it's Daisy"

"Waoh," Kemi exclaimed, "The white girl?" She had heard the name countless times,she had heard a lot about her,from Earnest and even Mercy.

"Yeah" Earnest nodded.

"Good evening ma" She gave a bow.

"Hey,beautiful you and intelligent. Earnest had told a lot about you" Kemi smiled and her smile met strongly with Earnest's accusatory glance.

"Thanks ma" She bowed again, a bit shy with her complements.

"You don't always want to visit us" It was the first time Kemi would see her around even though she has a bagful of news about her already.

"No ma,I --"

"Hey Mama" A shrill voice called from afar followed with whizzing of a bicycle. Who else. It was Timothy pedalling skilfully towards them. Damn it,Earnest had forgotten to lock the gate behind. Not that he would ever hate Timothy's visiting him, but this was a wrong timing, a time when he had seen him with Daisy and his mother. And Timothy for all his life had been a great teaser on cases like this.

"Timo boy,how's Mum and Dad" Kemi greeted back when Timothy had rested his bicycle on the almond.

"They are fine,'ama"He replied and beamed meaningfully towards Earnest and Daisy and then towards the table," Egg sausage and tea"He gave a whoosh.

"That's for the night, you need some?" Kemi asked,not expecting a no as an answer. Timothy would never be shy,it was something literally missing in his life.

"Of course,with a jam if possible"

"Alright, I'll get that" Kemi assured as she offloaded the teacups and plates from the salver,"You kids should enjoy yourselves, school resumes very soon"She said and started to leave to grant Timothy's request.

"You pretty Daisy, I don't expect you come this night" Timothy screamed after Kemi was well out of sight.

"The man isn't around,so I took the chance"

"The man. Your Dad?"

"I won't be here if he is around"

"That's strange,no one locks their kids indoors in  New York" Said Timothy in one of the rare sensible tone of his. He had taken his position on a stool rightly under the almond, enjoying the undiminished grace of the cold evening breeze that surges through the wet leaves.

"He doesn't either, he just doesn't like the black" Daisy explained in a manner that showed she hated that she had a racist father.

"Oh" Earnest gave a dull exclamation.

"But you seem different Dai,you like Earnest,don't you?"

"I'm not the only black boy here, man"

Earnest's eyes burned and Daisy's face blushed.

"Let her answer the question rather" Timothy fired back and then directed an expectant smile towards the now restive Daisy.

"I don't hate anyone,you guys are black and you're my friends,it's as simple as that" She smiled, gently tearing off the nasty feeling that had engulfed her recently. She finds it hard to judge it right,why she felt so uneasy with that simple question, she likes Timothy and yes she likes Earnest too. Just 'like',but that would still fail to clear her conscience.

"You mean you like Earnest and I just as friends" Timothy's inquiry was getting too tough,too deep.

"Timo ---" Earnest blared and stopped.

"I will like to take my leave" Daisy found herself rising hastily.

"So quick"

"I have something to fix at home"

"You'll be here tomorrow?" Timothy continued to infuriate Earnest the more.

"If he is not around" A slim promise but it was enough to save her out of Timothy's sudden detective act. She waved a bye and paced briskly towards the gate, not stealing a chance to look back.

"I always doubt it that you don't need a mental check up" Earnest blurted when the gate slammed behind her.

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