Brown Skinned Bet

Chapter XXXI

•Daryl•

         I settled into a nearby stool,watching through the windows of the mathematics laboratory as the day went dimmer over our await for Yomi. I felt grazed,each time I recalled what had transpired back at home the previous night,I felt so out of place,like I wasn't meant to be here when all sorts of things could happen in my abscence from the house.

          Although it'd been nice to see the glow on my mother's face which faded as quickly as it got there,seeing my dad's car pull up in our driveway had been very far from a thing of delight to me. Why did he have to come back? Was he tired of spending nights away from his family even when he was in town? I doubted.

          And I'd been right. He hadn't taken four good steps into the house before his voice fought for dominance with the softer one of my mother,who seemed to only wish for a listening ear. They threw charges at each other,my mother questioning my dad over his being lackadaisical towards the affairs of our home and my father,taking offence in the allegations thrown his way and in turn accusing her of never listening to him and going ahead to do whatever she wished,as  she'd made me register for the JAMB examination in the end.

          Before I could dash out of my room and to where they stood,my father's hand had come in contact with my mothers face,the sound of the slap resonating through the walls of the living room thereafter,causing me to pause in my tracks over the stairs as I watched my mother grasp unto the arm of a nearby couch in order to maintain her balance.

          Rage engulfed me in a split second as I looked to my father whose hand already towered over my mother again. Before he could reiterate the action,I rushed to his side,taking hold of his wrist and yanking him away from my mother. "Don't you dare touch my mother again" I'd yelled,resisting the urge to shove him harder as I threw his hand against him chest.

         Thus ensued the heated argument between my father and I despite my mother's consistent pleas as she tried to hold me back,beckoning that I stop yelling at him and take my younger siblings,who now sat at the base of the staircase watching the drama unfold,away from the scene but I'd been far gone.

          Of course,our squabble had no happy ending. My father had stormed up the stairs and into his room while my mother plopped down into a couch,salty water wetting her cheeks as her breathing grew overly erratic.

          It was only then,that my anger became subdued,only then did I realised that Yemisi was now cradling Jaden in her arms as she tried to hush his cries down,taking to her feet as well and rushing for the playroom in her attempts to make him happy. Only then did I realise,how much I should have held back,they didn't deserve to witness what they had.

          I sighed again,burying my face in the cradle of my palms and wishing the images and the thoughts would all go away and that was the primary reason I'd made the decision to do what I was going to do this evening,I just wanted a while away from my memory,just a little while away.

         "Bastard!" Yomi's voice boomed through the walls of the lab,earning my attention as I lifted my gaze up to meet him and Sele walking into the lab. "How e dey be na?" Sele greeted and I took to my feet to accept his handshake as we bumped our shoulders against each other.

         "I just dey abeg,everything just dey." I attempted to chuckle. "Where Temi na?" I questioned Yomi who'd taken a seat on the chair opposite me and Sele beside him on the long rectangular wooden table which had been clad in a violet velvet fabric.

         "Na them Whiteney and John Boko dey hold am oh,on top all this mumu junior students matter" Yomi explained to me. I nodded in appreciation of his information before turning to Sele "Did you bring it?" I questioned.