Chapter 43: Snake plant
Annabelle
I stared at my reflection in Suzan's compact mirror. What I saw was indeed beautiful but I was never going to truly admit that to myself. It was what got me into this shit in the first place, I daresay. Perhaps if I was born ugly, I wouldn't have been a rape victim, committed homicide and been on the run ever since.
I dropped the encased mirror on my bunk bed just as Suzan walked in clad in towel.
"Seriously?" I snapped, "You just had to spend the whole day in the bathroom."
Suzan waved me off and took the towel off her body, leaving behind her pink panties and nothing else.
"It's first day of resumption girl, relax. Even if it wasn't, I would step into that class with my head up and Mister Austin won't do shit." was her response as she applied lotion on her dark skin.
"He's our English teacher. At least pretend you respect him, maybe?"
She gave me a side glance and slid on her skirt with her breasts jiggling on her chest. "Look who you're talking to. Have you met me?"
Fair enough.
Her phone started ringing on our bedside table and while she picked it up and accepted the call, I picked up the mirror again and applied some gloss to my lips.
"Alright, I'll try to be there before noon... Yeah, bye."
"Who's that?" I asked once she dropped the call.
"My fucking editor. He wants me to be there to review some last minute changes. I won't know for sure unless I get there."
Her school skirt was down again and I watched as she hurriedly got a jean miniskirt and armless shirt from her wardrobe.
"Are you sure you're fine with the changes?" I asked in concern, "I mean you don't have to feel pressured by the company."
"Oh, I'm absolutely fine with it. I have total trust in my editor. Besides, I wrote that shit when I was fourteen. It needs a lot of work."
Suzan took off her bonnet after getting dressed to let out her afro, and then crouched to select a pair of high tops from the shoe rack.
"When will you be back?"
She looked at me and smiled. "Missing me already?"
"Girl, shut up and tell me."
"You're so gonna miss me." she concluded and smirked hard, "Well, I had to check in at the Porter's just to keep our mom's nose off my trail. To complete the whole process before coming back, I might take up to two to three weeks in Lagos. Do me a favor and get my syllabus from my class. I'll handle the rest when I get back."
"Stay safe, okay?"
"Will do." she grabbed her backpack stuffed with her clothes before coming to give me a peck on the lips. "Dream about me."
"Goodluck." I said after her and she was out the door.
Silence greeted me after that as the others hadn't resumed with their things yet. Shame. Suzan and I had been happy to have the room to ourselves for at least another day. Looks like it was just me now.
Taking a deep breath, I closed the foldable mirror and threw it in my bag before zipping it up and leaving for school. I considered taking a shuttle on getting to the roadside but then decided against it. Might as well take a refreshing walk and enjoy the scenery without the obstruction of tinted mirror and lousy kids.
Chrisland had a captivating landscape, exquisite structures and a lot of greeneries. It was my third year here but it still got me every time just like the first.
The breeze out here was delightful against my frizzy hair as I treaded softly on the sidewalk in my brown gladiator wedges.
A few minutes later, I was stepping into the senior school building.
The students paved way for me as I crossed over to the hallway from the lobby. Whispers of taunts fell from their lips like a morning prayer but I did well to ignore them. They knew better than to say it to my face anyway. I just had to get my physics text from my locker before heading to class.
The little square lockers materialized on opposite walls of the hall in a variety of colors, adding to the aesthetic sense. Most students didn't use the lockers but a number of us still visited it.
I took out my ID card from my breast pocket and as I edged closer to my locker, my steps slowly came to a halt on sighting a boy unlocking the green safe next to mine.
He was hot and coming from me, that was saying something, considering I haven't acknowledged a guy's looks in years.
He definitely knew what to wear to get a girl drooling. The white Jordan sneakers he had on got me envious and his multicolored t-shirt complemented his surrounding and yet, singled him out.
Oblivious of my presence, he glanced down at his wristwatch and mumbled to himself, "8:30 am? And yet the first period or at least orientation hasn't started yet... Oh, maybe additional time has been added to get new students to school in time."
A small smile carved my lips momentarily. He was definitely a new student. I could feel the nervousness radiating off him but I absolutely found it cute that he'd question the system and yet back it up with a reasonable assumption.
I went up to him but turned to my locker before speaking up, "Nope. It's just first day of resumption ritual. No one's rushing and all."
From my peripheral, I noticed he turned to look at me but I didn't meet his gaze and instead fished out my text. Closing my locker, I finally looked his way and found him with his eyes closed and head bowed. I hadn't taken him to be the religious type.
Taking a moment to ogle, my heart melted to a pulp at his good looks. He looked white but seeing his kinky curls, I decided he was a mulatto like me.
Smiling at his goofy act, I went past him and hit the stairs towards class. And also very unlike me, but I prayed he showed up again in my class as a senior.
~~~
Christopher
Just like every other day, I woke up late in the morning and freshened up before heading downstairs for breakfast.
A frown knit my face, seeing granny, Aunt Lydia and my father quietly standing next to each other in the living room.
"Um... Am I in trouble?" I questioned and eyed them warily.
Aunt Lydia stepped forward and came up to me while beaming mischievously.
oh oh.
"We have a surprise for you."
There was my dad trying to keep a straight face and granny failing to meet my gaze so as not to give anything away, I presumed.
"We?" I was stupefied.
My stepmom maintained the smile but gave me a scornful look and replied through her white set of teeth. "Yes. We."
We were not about to pretend my father agreed to any sort of surprise stunt, right?
Leaning down a bit, I whispered into her ear, "What did you do to him?"
She suddenly pinched my arm and I was befuddled. "Ow?"
"Don't do anything stupid. I went to hell and back to get him on this." she whispered back.
Finally, I sighed a sigh of relief. It all made sense now. Then I cleared my throat and spoke up,
"What's the surprise?"
"Darling, you have to close your eyes." she told me.
"Huh?" I deadpanned and she pinched my arm again. "Ow! Will you please stop doing that?"
"Will you please stop making this weirder than it already is?" she clapped back and I huffed before closing my eyes.
"Alright. Honey, come here." I heard her say until she aggressively whispered after a static silence, "Get your ass over here, Mark."
I barely managed to hold in my mirth and so much craved to witness the shit going down in this room. I heard a pair of feet shuffle towards me and my dad's cologne filled my nostrils as he stood next to me.
"Don't open your eyes, Christopher. I'm watching you." Aunt Lydia warned but I could tell she was walking away.
"I won't. I swear." I hollered and chuckled to myself. "This is weird."
"Tell me about it." my father agreed.
Unable to see his face, I didn't know how exactly to react but his words stung, somewhere in my chest.
"She forced you on this?"
I got no response.
"Father."
"I won't be here if I didn't want to."
At that, I allowed a small smile. "What's the surprise anyway?"
"You'll have to wait and see for yourself. Lydia will find us out if I tell you."
"Scared of her, huh?"
"Me? Scared? I spent sixteen years in military. Define scared." he boasted.
"You're scared."
"Yeah, I am." he admitted and I chuckled again.
"But it's not much of being scared of her. I'm scared for her."
"Why?"
"This is déjà vu, son. She's pregnant. I want to have a baby with her but... I'm not ready to lose her too."
I understood his fear and felt pressured to assure him as he's never opened up to me about anything before.
"Nothing will happen to her." I assured, "She's a strong woman."
"And your mom wasn't?" he quipped.
"Dad, she's not Alicia."
I waited for him to rebuke me for calling him dad but it didn't happen.
"You're right, she's not."
"Alright! You can start coming now!" Aunt Lydia yelled from somewhere.
"Where are we going?"
"Stop pushing." he replied.
I tsked and gave up on finding answers from him. His large palm clasped my wrist as he led me out and I followed him blindly until I hit my toe on something hard.
"Ow!"
"Watch where you're going."
watch where I'm going?!
I heaved at his childish play and blindly followed him again. The sun felt warm on my face while the wind made mild swooshes around me as we stepped outside. I was just dying to know what they were up to exactly.
After a few more steps forward, my dad let go of my hand.
"Open your eyes." granny said and I opened them and stared blankly.
"Okay..? We finally mowed the lawn. Looks neat."
Granny shook her head in disappointment and Aunt Lydia's smile fell.
"Not the lawn, dummy. The car." my dad snapped.
"Car?" I finally saw the white Lexus RX330 parked in front of the house. "Well, it's bitching."
wait a damn minute...
"Hold up, for me?" I gasped.
Aunt Lydia climbed back up the front porch and waved the car key in the air, wearing the brightest smile I've ever seen.
My hands flew to my mouth. "No way."
"Yes way! It's all yours."
I screamed along with her and hugged her at the same time. Then I carried her up in excitement and my dad jumped in to collect his fiancee.
"Fuck! I can't believe this." I said, staring at the car with wide eyes.
"Thank your stepmom. It was all her idea." my dad smiled at her and she blushed in return.
"Oh please, it's nothing." she said and wrapped an arm around my dad's waist, "Besides, you won that scholarship from your jamb result so you can just consider this a token for making us proud."
"Wow, thank you so much." I went to hug her again.
"Go on. Check it out." my dad urged and I quickly went down the short flight of stairs and circled the brand new car in awe.
I did it all. I opened the car door and slid in the driver's seat, toyed with the horn and kept cussing to myself at the unexpected yet thoughtful gift. Then I persuaded granny to enter the car and drove her to and fro the driveway, circling the water fountain until she begged me to stop because she got dizzy. For another hour, I tried all the driving techniques I learned from driving school and returned to hugging the costly machine until my stepmom pulled me away from it.
Somehow, she convinced me to go back inside and not keep watch over the Lexus till nightfall like I initially planned to. It was my first and biggest present ever.
After happily having breakfast, I went up to my mom and dad busy watching a telenovela on the Tv.
"I'm off to the hospital."
"Now?" my dad demanded.
"Yeah, it's visiting hours in a few."
The couple exchanged a look I couldn't decipher.
"Alright then. Should I call on Tobi to pick you up?" he asked.
"Of course not." I scoffed, "I have my own car now. Remember?"
"Boy. I can still seize the keys." he threatened lightly and Aunt Lydia laughed out loud.
"You're not going to the hospital?"
"Nah." the old man placed an arm around his wife's shoulder. "I rescheduled the appointments. Today is just for my wife and our baby."
"Aw." Aunt Lydia cooed and he smiled back before kissing her on the belly and lips.
"Ugh. Get a room." I muttered in disgust and left them, already feeling queasy.
"I heard that." my dad hollered after me and his wife's laughter followed.
__________
Christopher
On my way home from the hospital, my car timer read thirty minutes past three and I pulled up by the roadside on getting to the restaurant.
The commercial center had transparent floor-to-ceiling windows so I simply rolled down my window and squinted to find her amidst the few waiters attending to the customers. Not long, I caught sight of her in apron with her locs loosely held back with a bandana, busy tending to a bald man seated by the window.
With a crooked smile, I wind my tinted window back up and headed straight to her house. My only bother was my plan falling through if no one happened to be home.
On getting to the bungalow, I turned off the ignition and stepped out of the car with a little pot of snake plant and a squeezy bottle of peanut butter in my pocket. Then I entered the precinct and walked up the steps to buzz the house.
Tracy's mom appeared in no time and I subtly exhaled in relief. "Good day, Ma."
"Oh, come, come on in." she ushered me in with a warm smile, "How are you, dear?"
"I'm well. And you?"
"Fantastic. And I hope all is well? How's mom and dad?"
"They're alright. I just decided to stop by and say hello." then I remembered the plant in my embrace and gave it to her, "Oh, I got this for you."
"A snake plant! How thoughtful of you."
"It's a natural air purifier and it doesn't need to be watered all the time. I also read somewhere that it's a lucky plant that attracts positive vibes and I immediately thought of you."
"Oh dear. You're so kind." she took the plant to the dining and placed it on a stand by the window to give it direct sunlight. "I should be the one getting you something. Are you sure you don't want me to pay for the tutorial? At least, let me compensate for the time and well.. stress."
"At all. I've always wanted to impact on someone else. I heard it doubles one's knowledge as well."
The woman clasped her hands and cooed loudly. "Tell your parents if they don't act right, I'm adopting you."
Smiling, I decided to humor her, "Will sure do."
"Hold on, let me check the soup I left on fire."
"Um. Can I use a bathroom around here?"
"Of course, darling. Just go into the room down the corridor and to your left. You'll find the toilet with ease."
"Thank you." I gave her a sweet smile and made for the room.
I took my time appreciating the neat hallway with a lot of photo frames up on the white walls, only stopping in front of a recent birthday picture of Tracy with a cone hat on her head and a big frown on her face, her mom and brother smiling widely behind her.
I found the room with a sign up on the door saying restricted, and just like that, I knew it was her room. Her mom had directed me to the right place. I turned the knob and went in, half expecting the room to be girly, full of colors, stuffed animals maybe.
Instead, the room was so blue themed, I thought I'd stepped foot into a nursery. Not to mention, it was messy to a T. Seeing the headphone set on the desk, no doubt the room belonged to her.
Not wasting any more time, I set to work and was done in little time. On my way to the door, I stopped again and came to an impasse on whether or not I wanted to do this. Eventually I caved in and went back to clear the mess. After managing to put everything back in place, I pulled out my phone and checked the screen for the time.
"Shit!" I cursed and hurried out.
"Chris, I cooked some rice and–"
"Actually," I cut her right off, "I.. I need to get going. Maybe some other time."
"I thought you'll be waiting for Tracy. She'll be home soon."
On the contrary, I needed to be long gone before she arrived.
"We'll meet for the lesson tomorrow." I quickly said.
"I hope she's not giving you any trouble. I know she can be a lot of work."
oh, not at all. She gave me a little sprain from rendering a selfless service but nothing close to being a brat.
"Not at all." I answered instead.
"Okay, let me see you off then."
I nodded and led the way out with a goofy smile. My job here was done. All that was left was for her to get my message.
Tracy
I've been in a big mood since I left Christopher's place the day before. It was high time someone dealt with that unruly creature around here. My only worry was giving him a fracture from that fall. That hadn't been a part of my plan but I just had to stay in character to leave the impression I wanted. He asked for it anyway.
By the time I got home after my shift at the restaurant, I was tired and craving for a cold shower before dinner so I headed straight for my room. Dumping my tote bag on the floor and undressing as I went, I was naked by the time I got to the bathroom.
Saving my hair for last, I gave myself a long delightful wash until my skin felt raw. Humming to myself, I went on to grab my shampoo bottle and squeezed some on my head before massaging my entire scalp for optimum coverage.
At the absence of lather, I applied more to my locs and went back to massaging. After going through the same process two more times, confusion and fatigue hit me. I grabbed a small towel off the railing and cleaned my face to check the product out.
The expiration date at the bottom of the bottle was still a year ahead but when I turned it over and looked into the container, I dropped the bottle in shock.
Feeling for my head, I checked the smear on my hands and continued to gape at it until I slid down the wall. The bottle had been filled with a brown goo and taking my hand to my nose for a sniff, I found it was peanut butter.
"Peanut butter?"
As soon as it clicked in, I got back up and put on my bathroom robe before stepping out. And like that, I bolted out of my room and crossed the hall to knock impatiently on Tristan's door.
"What?" he grunted once he opened the door only slightly to reveal his face.
Once he took in my appearance, he burst into a fit at the state of my locs. "What's up with your hair?"
"You tell me." I shot him a deathly glare and his chuckles died out.
"What are you talking about?"
"Cut the crap, Tristan." I fired, "I know this is your doing. Why did you replace my shampoo with peanut butter?"
"What's my business with your shampoo? Look, I'm kind of busy right now. Nice hairstyle by the way." he attempted to close the door but I stopped it with a firm hand on it.
"What's your problem?" he snapped irritably and opened the door again.
This time, I went under his outstretched arm and got into his room, putting my arm up in akimbo to show I meant business.
"I am dead serious, Tris. Did you or did you not empty my shampoo bottle and refilled it with this... goo?"
"No!" he yelled, "I wish I had the time for all that but I know nothing about it."
I was almost convinced but it had to be him. He was the only immature one of us to do such.
"Well, I left my shampoo in good shape this morning and you're the only one in this house capable of pulling such a stunt on me."
"And I'm saying it's not me. I have tests to read for, okay? This accusation is pointless and time wasting."
"Hey hey." my mom came into the room and looked between us. "What's the noise all about?"
"Your annoying daughter says she found peanut butter in her shampoo which is why she's got this interesting hair makeover. I'm out here trying to convince her it's not my doing."
Tristan passed by me and went to lie on his bed while I glared after him.
"No, it can't be. Tristan wasn't home throughout the day and he left before you did this morning. Are you sure you didn't mix them up or something?" my mom said and I became more agitated at the anonymity of the culprit.
"No naw. My shampoo was just fine this morning but now it's filled with this disgusting paste. It's going to take at least an hour to get it out of my locs."
"I would've suggested you asked Chioma but she didn't stop by today. The only visitor I had was Christopher so who could've done it?"
My ears perked up at the mention of my latest archenemy.
"Chris was here?"
"Yes, he came by to say hello but left shortly after since you weren't home. He must've been here to see you."
oh, you are so dead Chris. So dead!
He had knowledge of my work shift so he must've stopped by before my return. And there was no way he dropped by just to say hello.
"I'm sure it's just a mix up. You can use my shampoo or your brother's till you get a new one, okay?" my mom said but I barely caught on.
My thoughts were preoccupied with ways I could get back at the infamous jerk.
♪♫♪sαчlσ bítch, чσu cαn't fuck wíth mє, íf чσu wαntєd tσ...
Happy new year, y'all. Hope 2021 favors us all.
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