CAGED ✔

《 Chapter 20 》

I went straight into my room immediately Ahmed dropped me at home. I was so upset, I felt like crying. I sat on my bed and folded my arms. I didn't even think of the whipping I was to receive immediately grandma returned. All I thought about was Peter. He was only trying to help me and then I got him into trouble. I wondered what his father would do to him. His father looked so scary and I couldn't imagine him hitting Peter.  If it was possible, I would ask to be punished on his behalf. It was heartbreaking that I wouldn't know his fate until I went to school the coming week; that felt so long. I wondered how I would cope till then.

I bent low to unbuckle my shoes. I held it to my face and examined them. Iyanu had whispered into my ears earlier this morning that they were all mine: the shoe, wig and dress. I was very grateful to have met Iyanu. To grandma, this was a bad omen but to me, this was a sliver lining to my dark cloud just as meeting Peter was. It gave me hope.

I pulled the dress from my body and folded it neatly on my bed. I couldn't tell the fate of the dress. Grandma could seize it just as she had done with the rest.

I walked into the bathroom to have my bath and also to wipe away the makeup from my face. This was my first time cleaning makeup and to be honest, I didn't know how to. It took a long while to get the makeup off my face.

I changed into my nightgown and covered myself with my bedspread. The housekeeper came into my room then to tell me about my food which she had placed on the dining for me. I didn't have any appetite for food so I dismissed her.

Grandma was not back yet and I wondered why.  It would be nice if she could just punish me so I would forget all about it quickly. 

The morning light shone on my face blinding me more often than not. I stretched myself on the bed as I sat up. Just then, a knock came on my door and I shivered. Then I remembered: Grandma never knocked at my door, she barged in.
"Yes?"
"Your food is ready.  Grandma is asking you to come and eat." The housekeeper informed.

I stood up from my bed and walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth quickly. It was still strange to me how coolly grandma was taking everything.  I had expected her to barge into my room in the middle of the night to wake me up or to hear her yell my name but she did nothing.  She was strangely quiet and I didn't know if I should be glad or scared about this new change.

Grandma was sitting at the dining table slowly eating her food. I sat opposite her and dragged my food closer to me.
"Good morning grandma!" I greeted her. She didn't reply. That wasn't surprising. That was just like grandma.

I ate my food quickly before grandma changed her mind and collected the food from me. I was hungry and therefore couldn't afford to starve.  I could see grandma watching me with a frown on her face but I pretended not to have seen it. 
"Why didn't you wait for me as I told you to yesterday?"

Here we go. I sighed. I grabbed the last grains of rice and shoved it into my mouth before I replying.
"You wanted to take me home and I didn't want to go home." On a normal day, I would have apologized for my disobedience but right now I didn't. There was a strange feeling toward grandma that I couldn't understand. It filled my heart as I sat opposite her. 
"Why didn't you want to go home?" She asked quietly.
"Home is boring," I replied simply.

Grandma raised her eyebrow as she exclaimed. "Home is boring?  Wow! Just after Friday night,  home became boring."
"Nope! Home has been boring for as long as I can remember." I didn't know where the courage to reply was coming from and I wanted to stop; I wished I could stop but I couldn't.  The words were at the tip of my tongue, waiting to fall out.

Grandma who had been fiddling with her spoon dropped it and folded her arms. She was staring at me like she couldn't recognise me anymore; like she was trying to figure me out.

"Okay. . .Home is boring so you decided to go to a boy's room and warm his bed, right?"
"I've told you nothing happened between me and Peter. We were only talking."
"Why should I believe you?  The last time, you said you two were only classmates and you didn't know him. Now, I see you in his room and you're telling me you were only talking?  Indeed!"
"I will say it again, grandma. It's left for you to believe me or not. I and Peter are only friends. I didn't lie to you that time. We were just classmates then but now we are friends."
"Just listen to yourself. Listen to yourself, Beatrice. We were just classmates but now we are friends." Grandma mimicked me. "You're a disgrace. After everything I've done for you, you stab me in the back like this. Everything I do is for your good but as the ingrate you are, you choose to throw them away. Just a month, only a month and the truth will surface. Just bear this in mind: you can never bear a child in my house. You and that useless Peter would get married and__"
"Enough!" I slammed my palm on the dining table and stood up. The table shook due to the hard way I struck it.

Grandma gasped as she brought her finger to her mouth. The housekeeper who had been in the kitchen ran out to check what was going on.