Ola sat there, biting into his fingernails with his legs crossed into each other. He was beneath the stage, which held up some of his classmates—
—they were rehearsing some school play to present during the annual christmas party. He sat there, with a book in his thighs as he looked at Obi. He was on his phone, his left knuckle holding up the side of his face. He was in the usual school uniform but with his Adeline jacket.
Of course no one could say anything, because he was a prefect as well. Not that he even did much, but Obi was the class captain of Arts.
"What are you reading?" Obi asked, peering into the book in his hands. "For a test" He shrugged.
"Damn" He replied, as hark the heralds angels sing, played behind them. Even though it was just the start of November. It was the first, and Obi hadn't even see Abdul ever since the Friday night.
"Why are we doing so soon?" Ola nagged, but not too much. He was in the middle of it because as much as he was happy that the rehearsals meant free periods, he also hated anything drama or play.
Any presentation, and Hillway High loved those.
Be it a Christmas drama or an Easter sing along, even the Valedictory service at the end of each session, they were all made up the same elements.
"Take ten" Bade said from across the stage. She was something of a leader. And at that statement, Ola took it as his queue to stand up. He'd heard enough off-keys to last a lifetime. Obi followed.
"I don't blame them really. From halloween, everything's a downslide. Soon it would be November and then thanksgiving and Christmas and then we'd be shouting happy new year" There was a sheepish smile across his face.
"It's why i like the Ember months" His hands reached for the handle of the door before someone pushed it open from the other side. It wasn't a hard guess, it was the same people that seemed to be everywhere when they were not training.
Ayo, and the team.
Asides their muscled steroid-enhanced bod, another thing that made them all seem alike were their egos. And frankly speaking, the mustaches.
"They got to lose them" Obi whispered, stepping aside. It was an inside joke between him and Ola.
But in a world were body hair was the primal sign of masculinity, the chances of them ever shaving the awkward mustache were less than zero. Non arguably, the only person he thought it suited however was Abdul Faruq. And his mind dashed to the night of the Fest, when he ran from him.
It was stupid, now that he thought of it. But then, who could blame him? He didn't have anything to say. Perhaps if he had started off that conversation, he'd have some sense of control. But when Abdul pieced it together himself, he realized he didn't plan for that outcome. So he froze, and went down the ferris wheel with him by his side.
When it stopped however and the belts unhooked from him, he didn't look back at the call of his name. "Obi" Abdul called. He didn't look back.
He just ran, ran till he reached Fiyin's arms. And that was how that day ended, with three of them in messes. Luckily they had the whole weekend to clean up, and for some, sober up. And Mary and Akin were too busy to notice Ola was even drunk.
Back to the present, Ola shared an intense stare with Ayo as he walked past. His toes clenched the sole of his feet in anger. "Son of a bitch" He cussed. "You think he's still mad about the fight?" Obi asked, noticing who he had referred to.
"Of course he is" Ola gritted through his teeth, remembering his own share of incidents that night. "The bastard made me think ghosts were after me. And he fucking threw a snake on me"
"What?" Obi chuckled, now walking out of the door. "Did you see his face?" He asked.
"I was fucking drunk Obi. But i fell one time, and i heard the laughters that came from the bushes"
"That doesn't mean anything. It could be anybody" Obi countered. "Anybody that has a sense of humor" Ola rolled his eyes back.
"Yes, because i have that much enemies" He said and Obi shrugged his shoulders. "You don't know" He added, and received a punch in his gut.
He groaned in pain, pushing Ola away from him.
"Now that's a sense of humor" Ola muttered, with a chuckle escaping his lips. Obi cupped his chin, succumbing to the pain before he suddenly bumped into someone. He knew that because books fell to the ground, and they were not his.
One however, he had seen before.
THE GHOSTS FROM OUR PAST
by Onyemaobi.
His eyes slowly darted from the book to the person who he had hit. Of course, like fate had it, it was Abdul. "Sorry" He muttered, reaching for his books which Obi helped him with.
For an awkward moment between when he handed them and when he walked away, they stared at each other intensely and Obi shook his head. "No, i'm sorry. Really" He whispered, and Ola pieced in his head that something happened.
"What was that about?" He asked as Obi turned around to watch him walk away. His dry lips parted slightly as he pushed something down his throat. "It was nothing" Obi replied after a while.
"Come on Obi" He went on, holding his arms.
"It's a really long story" Obi made an attempt to continue walking but there was his hand that was around his. "What did we say about no secrets?"
Obi rolled his eyes before they fell on Bade.
"Remember, be back by lunch" She pointed sternly to her watch. And though, she might have come out with a stoic persona, she was deeply enthusiastic about having being put in control.
Most people wanted that. But not Ola. He just wanted to know what was up with the ship he'd made up in his head. "We have time" He whined.
-
There was a knock on the door, as Mary counted the stack of cash Akin had left on the counter. He spoke of how he was visiting a friend that day—
—while she had to get some things at the local market. It was how she'd envisioned her day, but however she didn't expect her husband to leave thirty thousand naira for her. Ten, would have been fine. But thirty. She held it in her hands, before she looked at the note beneath it.
Get yourself something nice also. x
A smile found its way to her lips. I mean, she might not have been materialistic per say. But i mean who didn't like nice things? Besides it was the thought and the letter that quite struck her.
She tossed it aside, slipping the money into her pockets. The truth was, ever since they sold the honda accord to Collins, it was a breath of fresh air. They could finally catch a break, and Mary could finally stop worrying. But it came at a cost.
The cost, which was Ola.
He might not have been speaking to them, ever since the fallout. Akin, no. But Mary, he only said a few words which was very unlike the duo.
As she let go of the money, she realized she missed talking to her son about the very unnecessary things, she missed sticking her hands into his hair.
She missed when he'd spend the evening with her while she made dinner. She missed walking into his room solely to pull his ears. Playfully. They might not have been as bad as he was with Akin.
But still, things were different.
Her eyes went to the picture of them against the walls as she walked towards the door. She hadn't expected Akin back this early, before she even left. After all, she wasn't expecting anyone else.
Her hands adjusted her gele before she pulled open the door, and there, she was met with Titi. She let out a frantic scream upon seeing her sister and the two gave each other a lasting hug.
"What are you doing here?" She said, less offensively and Titi pulled away, her jewelries dancing around her wrists. "I just wanted to give you a surprise" She replied, before stepping in.
Titi didn't have her car parked in the driveway, so it meant she'd come with the public bus. As she stepped in, Mary was still hit with shock, and the ostentatious fragrance of her perfume. She was dressed traditionally in the iro and buba, and a much fancier headtie that you'd think she was off to an owambe, which was a fancy word for party.
She turned around with the thin eye pencil she'd drawn across her face, and a hollow bag that hung from her arms. "What have you been up to Mary?" She asked, making her way to the couch.
"How have you been doing?"
Mary's lips parted, but she couldn't find the words. How was she going to tell her that she was too busy having a heart attack?
"I've been here" She settled on, which wasn't exactly a lie. She'd been indoors ever since, an advice from the doctor's as she recovered.
Titi fell into the old fashioned couch before she noticed Mary's handbag sitting across the table.
"You don't even stop by to visit" She replied. "It's just with Ola now, and Akin home, there's really not much time" Titi nodded. "Akin home?" She echoed and Mary hummed.
Of course, she wasn't going to tell her that Akin fell out of his job, and they were now poor that they had to sell of their car. She wasn't going to tell her that, because as much as they were sisters, there was always this competition between them.
This competition to always have their lives together. Titi had a car, with her husband doing some logistics service in Port Harcourt. She didn't have any kids, so she spent most of the time alone in her big apartment. She was living—
—she had been ever since they were kids. And she had not always been a fan of Akin, and Mary settling down with him. It was why she couldn't tell him of their bad fate now. She feared Titi would run an i told you so, in her face.
"Yes. He does this thing were he works from home" Mary lied and Titi nodded. "Freelance?" Mary had no idea what that was yet, she just nodded. "That's terrific" She flashed a smile and Mary walked closer to her bag, with the cash still in her pockets. "Are you going somewhere?"
She looked at the clock above her.
"Actually i wanted to go to market before Ola gets back from school" Mary tilted her head and Titi's lips circled. She let go of her bag as she stood.
"Is it the one at Ojoba?" She asked, which was just a bike away. Mary nodded, and the other stood. "Alright. We'll make it quick. Besides, i need to get some fruits as well" Titi said, as she walked in front of the parlor mirror to adjust her gele. And when she was done, she turned around.
"You sure?" Mary asked.
And with a chuckle, she moved in front of her.
"Come on, i've missed this. We always did this for mum when we were young" She grabbed the basin from Mary's hands and soon they were in the driveway. She was standing atop the pavement where Jazzlyn had murdered but she had no clue.
Out of the million people that had passed there ever since, no one did. It was almost as if they'd forgotten about the incident, moving on to the next big thing which were the state wide elections.
Or maybe christmas.
It was always one thing over the other.
She might have noticed the empty spot in the driveway but he was most likely to assume that maybe Akin had gone somewhere with the car, rather than the fact that they'd sold it.
"We can take my car" Titi said, pressing the keys till the car locks clicked. And then she walked to the other side. It might have been the latest model of Toyota. It was grey with church stickers across her bumper. She wasn't exactly religious, but it didn't mean she didn't go to church. twice a week.
"My year of Praise and Thanksgiving" Was what was on the sticker. And it was often ironical to Mary who read it. She was often the closest to God in her family but circumstances had drifted her apart. She wasn't proud of it, it just happened.
She stepped into the car before Titi switched on the air condition. And soon, they were reversing out of underneath the shed. And unto the roads.
-
"Hark the Herald's Angels Sing—" The voices of amateurs filled the room as Fiyin sat still. She was in the earlier round and she had already balanced her tune to the song from the stereo.
They had to be done with rehearsals by the end of the month, and that meant two plays and a sing along. One play about the birth of Jesus christ, and the other, about the visit of the Wise men.
"Glory to the new born king"
Being the end of the year party, it meant everyone had to take part in it. And no matter how much it went against Abdul's religion, he himself was one of the wise men, the one that gave myrrh.
But he didn't mind, afterall there was only a thin like between both religions. Fiyin watched them react the scene from the bible and she almost let out a laughter to echo in the halls. Perhaps it was because of the ridiculous scarf around Abdul's head. He fit the exact description of a wise man.
But then all of a sudden, someone halted beside her. And slowly she turned around to see Deborah. She didn't budge, especially when she sat beside her. Instead she waited before asking.
"What do you want?" Her voice went dead serious and defensive. Deborah was meek, biting into her nails. "I'm sorry" She apologized.
"I'm sorry that i seemed to pry. But it was concern and it's what friends do" She added and Fiyin let out a scoff. "We're not friends" She replied, and in that moment she knew she had been harsh. But harsh wasn't new to someone to Deborah.
"I know" She said. "But you're mine"
"I'm not going to force anything on you, i'm just here whenever you want to talk" She shrugged her shoulders as if she was about to stand then she turned around. "And by the way, i accept your apology too, for the things she said" She added.
"I didn't apologize" Fiyin said, not in a any way offensive now. "That's the point" Debby said, before she stood. "We're reading Amebo next"
"For literature" Her voice faded away, as she did not bother to turn around. Fiyin placed her hands to the ground to wedge her up as her eyes went back to the ongoing play on the stage.
"And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother. And they fell down and worshipped him" The narrator said, and at that, Obi and Abdul fell at their feet. Ola, and this girl, Bade were Joseph and Mary respectively.
"And opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh—"
-
"How were we?" Ola said, his arms around Obi and a smile across his face. Fiyin stood, shrugging her shoulders like it was a mid performance.
"Fuck you" Obi was always quick to say as he let go off the scarf around his head. And then the white gown he'd worn over his uniform. He'd really gotten into character. Far more than Ola.
"I do make a fire Joseph" He smirked, with Bade brushing past his shoulders. "You were average" She said, letting out a shrill laughter. And Ola wrapped his arms around her, drawing her back.
She was once stern, but right now, she was flustered as she pushed him away. Fiyin cleared her throat, feeling something weird in her stomach. She saw the two, not that she had any right to be jealous. But she did feel something.
"Let me go" Bade pleaded, between laughs as she almost kicked his groin. "Watch it lady" Ola teased back with an accusing finger before he backed away. He let go of Obi simultaneously.
And just then Abdul walked over to them. He had his play costume in his hands before handing them to Bade. She picked up the rest before walking away, reverting a side glare back at Ola. "Sup" He said to him, with a nod. And Obi looked away.
It was an awkward second.
The time while he reached for his arms. "Obi"
His name was sweet coming from his lips, and he felt a shiver go up his spine.
"Obi" Ola called, like the enthusiastic middle person friend, trying so hard to bring two people together. It was what he was, shamelessly.
"Hi" He said, faking a late realization. "Can we talk?" Abdul said softly, gesturing out of the room.
Obi looked to Ola who collected his scarf from his hands and with a wink, he pulled away. "Are they a thing?" Fiyin asked, moving closely to Ola.
"Honestly—"
"I don't even know" He leaned his head, with arched brows. Anyways, as much chemistry as they had, he still didn't know. He watched them saunter towards the door and then through it.
"But they'd make a bomb ass thing" Fiyin darted her eyes to his outlined lips, and she pushed a lump down her throat, shaking off any thoughts.
-
"Hey" Abdul reached for his hands to draw him back. But then he let go, realizing they were in public. Damn him if anyone saw him holding another boy so intimately. Obi turned around with his pupils dilated. Some part of him liked that Abdul held unto him, but another part was scared.
He'd gotten himself accustomed to the fact he would never got to experience his epic high school story. He'd never get to hold hands with a boy in the hallway and he'd never win prom anything.
Because of who he was. He'd gotten accustomed to the fact that society hated who he was. But it still hurt. He looked around, ensuring no one had seen. "What do you want?" He asked, having no right to be angry at Abdul. But somehow, he was.
"Obi, i tried calling you. I reached out over the weekend" He said, pulling him behind the storage closet door and they shut it. "I don't care, Obi"
Whenever Abdul said name, he felt those butterflies. Every single time, like it never went old. "I don't care. Besides i already knew" He let his hands fall to his side. "It's what i've been trying to tell you, if only you picked my calls"
Obi's voice melted. "What?" He asked.
"I literally knew you were Neighborguy118. But only recently" He said. "I don't talk to a lot of people so when I got your actual number, i figured you were texting a lot similar to this other guy i met on an app. "For real, you're the only i know that capitalizes LMAO, and uses that the colon and bracket face thingy" He scoffed slightly.
"When i figured, i wasn't exactly mad but i wasn't surprised either. At least it wasn't pretend stranger that was going to jump my ass if ever we did meet up. I was happy, because i knew you" Abdul said, walking closer to Obi who leaned against the wall.
They were inches apart, and so close that their heated breathes mingled in the air. "And you, Obi are different. You're unlike anyone i've ever met"
His body pushed up Obi's inner thighs as his lips went for his neck. "Shit" Obi cussed. "I messed up twice" He let a smug laugh, and then Abdul pulled away. Resting his back against the wall as well, they looked to each other for more than a minute.
And then they burst out laughing.
"I'm a fool, aren't i?" Obi asked. "Yeah, no doubt"
And Obi did that thing where he bit into his shoulders. "Fuck you" He said his favorite line. Don't blame him, because if everyone around him wasn't such an asshole, he wouldn't get to use it.
"You wish" Abdul remarked and in that second, Obi turned pale. "What?" He asked. It was ridiculous to Abdul who pulled away. "Too soon?"
Obi smirked, as he held unto the door.
"Come to my sister's wedding, will you?" Abdul offered and Obi raised one leg against the wall. His eyes scanned Abdul's face as he remembered how close they were a minute ago. He pushed a lump down his throat as he nodded. "Sure—"
"And bring Neighborguy118" He smiled, a metaphor that dared Obi to be like who he was online. Neighborguy was flirty, wild, and queer.
"I'll think about it" He smiled back at him and even when he had closed the door, Obi was still there, biting across his lower lip, embarrassingly love struck. This was that part of the movie.
-
Mary reached for an apple, placing into her basin.
She knew Titi was initially here for fruits but she had her cart full as they walked across the dirty portholes along the intersection of the markets.
"I remember doing this as kids" She started.
"Oh i remember the day you fell in one of these things and you got yourself all soaked and messy" Mary cringed at that memory. "Why would you even bring that up?" She frowned slightly.
"What?"
"It was hilarious" She said. "For you. Because you weren't the one that got to go home all dirty and embarrassed. People looked at me with disgust that day and you knew i have self esteem issues" Mary said, but it was all thing of decades ago.
The nostalgia hit her though, but she wasn't quite sure she wanted to be that ten year old again.
The one that fell into the gutter, or the one with self esteem issues. She didn't miss getting rejected by boys. It was grief, grief for that part of her. Grief for who she once was.
"What, Mariam?" Titi teased, calling her muslim name before she converted. "Shut up" They had a nice laugh, resting under a shed for a moment.
She grieved for the days that had gone. The times that she got to spend with her sister, no matter how self centered she was. She missed how much of a duo they were, them against their parents.
And them against the world. But it was all gone when she met Akin. And she married him. Titi met David years later and she also married him.
Both of them went their ways to forge the next chapter of their lives. But they failed to include each other. Times passed and they only spoke like once in a blue moon. Until Ola got back, and it was an excuse for them to see each other.
The last time they did, was when he was about to travel and she loaned them some money. She sat there, with a smile across her face as she looked at Titi.
Why did she lie to the closest person she had?
The one person that was left out of her actual family. One could lie to a friend, or a priest. But never to your sister, so she halted her laughter as she pulled off her glasses. Titi still went on.
"I had a cardiac arrest" She said, like announcing some big news and Titi nearly choked. It took a while for her to get herself back. "What?"
"I had a cardiac arrest and i spent two days in the hospital. Ever since Ola came back, our relationship has been thinning. And he gets into these constant fights with his father" She gestured to Titi to hold on while it morphed into a rant.
"And Akin isn't working from her. He's broke and we had to sell our car, he's also changed. And i'm not sure he's what's good for Ola now that he's back. I'm clueless, and i don't know what to do. Don't talk, or don't answer or don't give me any sympathetic look. Don't even t—" Titi cut her short by pulling her in for a hug. Her cart fell into the porthole, and splashed dirt against them.
But they didn't care.
Titi just wanted to have a moment with her sister.
"Why didn't you tell me? Oh my God, i'm so sorry" Her eyes were moist as she pulled back.
"Because i didn't want an i told you so. Besides i knew you never liked Akin anyways. Things are just getting tough now, it's better but you got to always think, for how long?" Mary whispered, and Titi held unto her palms. "I'm here" She said.
"You might not like asking for help, or reaching out. So i'm putting myself out there. I'm here, if ever you need anything" Titi said. "Sisters"
"Sisters by chance, friends by choice" She said.
And Mary nodded, she didn't know how much she needed that hug from Titi until she got it. And her lips molded into a smile. "Thank you" Came a subtle voice as her eyes went to the cart with the apple peering from beneath. "That one is on you"
The thing is, many people will walk in and out of your life but everyone's got that person. Those people, your people. The ones that make it abundantly clear that you could always run to them in times of need. In times of love and care.
It was the definition of true friendship. Or family.
Knowing you have someone who you can share it all with, the good days and the bad days. The ugly ones as well. It's knowing someone has your back.
Whether it's in the shape of family, or a friend that becomes family. Or a partner for a school project in the name of Deborah Albert. Or it's through an application on your laptop, and fate.
It doesn't matter how it started, but real friendship is truly a journey without an end.
To be continued...