Do I Know Love?

Chapter 2

Home was boring the first few weeks. The generally used DVD had spoiled, the cable subscription just finished too and nobody was ready to subscribe. My brothers won't talk to me except on serious matters. They wouldn't give me their laptops to watch anything or to operate at least. I sucked too cause I became a fusspot. Tried bringing in school life as "the boss lady" inside our home which just wouldn't work because am the last baby. No phone to keep me company, even favour wouldn't give me his Nokia E62 at least he had an Infinix note 3 too. I was stuck with the itel phone my mum bought for me when I was in class 4. The phone sucked too because it was only useful for making calls and who am I calling? No interesting person to call. Not my parents, they were outside the country and the charge rate would be increased, besides I wasn't really missing them, they could even stay for the whole year. I cared less, all I wanted was to be free, at least. Not my friends, I mean, you get na, sometimes I just can't imagine calling my friends, I think they should be the one calling me since they gat the gist while am stuck in a house full of boredom. I had no friend in our neighborhood. They were all tattletales and scandalmongers. Oh! Except the girl that lives next door with her family. Olivia, we are just um, acquaintances not yet friends. Yea that's the perfect word. Although we were close when we were much little but something came up. Can't really recall what happened, not interested in recalling what happened or rather, am not in the mood of recalling what happened because everyone around me just sucks.
The only reason I'd wanted my parents back was the gifts I was going to receive. The clothes, the shoes, the body products and lastly the phone!
The phone because, in my house no phone until you are done with secondary school and must have made your O-level result. Although the law was altered when the Nokia E62 and the Itel was bought for me and favour but still the phones had little to offer so I guess the law kinda stuck and I despised it. Finally, it was August 31st, the day my parents were to come back. I was half happy and half sad. Half happy because new possessions were coming my way, half sad because restrictions to a lot of things would resume with full fire brigade force. No keeping late nights, no laziness, no excuse. I guess this is the point where I need to elaborate more cause you don't seem to understand. My house is full of rules. Useless rules that sometimes I wonder if I was really meant for this place and if this place was a home or an organization. Even at the minutest thing there was a law for it. I must be home before 6.00pm, I must sweep 4 times a day, plates? Every minute because someone is always using a plate. That's it, everyone is so lackadaisical in stuffs like that. I just couldn't fathom. You wanna know the worst? Am just the ~last born. Phew! Am not done with the rules yet. I must sleep with my mosquito net down and damn! I hate nets! I mustn't keep my phone around me whilst sleeping. You can understand me now when I say *useless* rules. Am not done yet. I must sleep before 11.00pm and trust me that's when watching movie gets interesting. No stale foods or stored foods except meats, fruits, juices etc. So if a food was cooked and it wasn't finished, the food can't be stored in the freezer or reheated or thrown away, the cook has to finish it. This simply means that before you cook, you get the accurate number of people that wants to eat that particular food, how much interested they are in the food and every other data so there won't me remnants. I have to satisfy everybody's needs and wants concerning food so sometimes I get to prepare 6 different meals a day, that I wonder why being a girl is just so difficult and frustrating. The kitchen must be scrubbed 3 times a week and when I mean the kitchen, I mean the wall, the floor, the door, the windows and window panes, the utensils, virtually every facility inside that kitchen. The rest works were for my brothers. Sometimes, I wish I was back in school. Now, all these must be resumed. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, I ran to open the door but Favour overtook me. With his eyes closed, he hugged her. I just stood there looking at him, I gave a tickle as he backed off. It was Olivia not my mum. Olivia was thrown off balance from the look on her face.
"Hey, sorry for that, I was expecting someone, a Lady too." Favour apologized.
"Its OK, you mean your mum?"
"Yea, exactly" he rounded off while leaving the balcony to his room. He'd embarrassed himself and if there's anything he hates; its embarrassment.
I ushered Olivia to the sitting room and served her a drink because right from when we were little, the essence of hospitality was being drummed into our heads. Treating and handling people with care, showing love to people except ........one thing was lacking; I lacked love hospitality within me.
I wasn't very much interested in what Olivia was saying at the moment. She seemed to be talking too much that is required of her.
"Mary! you are not listening"
"Oh! What? I mean, yes"
I guess that got her furious, eww! Because her face turned red.
"You've not been listening for close to 5mins?"
"Am sorry dear, but am not just in the mood, I think you need to go now" I said rudely. I just needed to be alone at the moment. I didn't need any console or any cheerleader around me now.
"OK, fine! I'll go, but I think you need to strategize your actions." She just hit it. My mom wouldn't hear that I made someone leave the house just because I didn't want to entertain him or her, but i cared less, she's out anyway. I waved her goodbye which she didn't notice. She left our house all moody.
Well, I highlighted her on the problems I've been facing in my house the last few days. I just needed to pour my anger, my fears, my insecurities, my sadness into someone to make me feel better. I couldn't trust my brothers on that, they'll worsen the case, not my friends, they were all far away from me and they wouldn't understand or rather won't give me the satisfaction I needed at the moment which was being happy really from the depth of my heart once again in two months. Not even God, we were not really that close, besides I can hardly hear him talk, so whats the need of talking to someone you ain't seeing his facial expressions or someone you can't hear his voice. Then, I guess I just made the wrong choice because, damn! She talks too much and if there's anything I hate about people, its talking too much. Talking too much for me means saying more rubbish than more useful things to me. The first day I went to her house, it took the grace of night for me to leave because she kinda held me bound with the poverty infested stories of her life. I mean, I needed her to tell me what to do to solve my problems not some outdated story of her life. The second day was hell. She bored me to death with her jokes. If the stale stream of words formed in her mouth could be called a joke, and here she is again, to do what? Nah, am not in the mood. I need time alone with me. Besides who needs her again? My parents were coming back today. I slammed the door and went straight to the kitchen to eat.

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"Sweetie, won't you wake up? Am back here for you"
I noticed someone was stroking my back, then I heard voices both strange and familiar, they were all drumming in my ear.
"Wake up fruity head"
"Wake up joor, you sabi sleep ooo"
"Chy, mum and dad is back"
"Baby, hakuna matata, am back"
Aww! It hurts, my head aches, I wanted to shout at them all for screaming, yelling, shouting in my ear, am too young to have an ear problem.
Well, that was until I heard this one; "bae, this your phone make sense oo"
Amidst the blur pictures and gestures I was seeing I raised my head.
"Wow! Somkene? Kcee?" This vacation wasn't gonna be bad after all.