Question: longest time you've kept a workout for?
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DANIELLE H--8
____________
Danielle,
Principles,
We're all taught principles,
Some more different than others.
______________
RING. RING. RING.
My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out to see it is my mummy so I quickly nod at Howard and take the call.
"Why haven't you called yet?" Mum's voice brings back the memories of a plump woman, with an Afro full of flour, baking cupcakes with vanilla icing, that smell like sugar and flour mixed together, and placing them on the bakery rack, ready to sell and open for hungry customers.
"Sorry, mum-"
"Ew, she says 'mum'." Danielle says and sniggers in the background as she plops herself beside me on the couch, the cigarette smell even heavier now.
"I've just been so busy..." I get up from the couch and open the doors to the balcony that has a cigarette smell wafting in the air. The air is very chilly even though there was previous burning flame which had probably made the air warm a few minutes ago.
I thought it would've been gone by now.
"Busy with Marcus I see? Shall I be expecting babies in a few months, dear?" I snigger a bit at my mum's normal forwardness then I remembered the brown haired man - my boyfriend - storming out of my room in anger with pink footsteps following his path.
Should I tell mum that my boyfriend whom we all love so much was so angry at me? Angry at me for not listening to what he said, purposely disobeying him? It's Nasedo culture for the man to always be the head of the house; I will never forget my big bellied father yelling at me and my brothers in a stern tone, his eyebrows scrunched up as we all sit at the dining table and he towers above all of us who listen attentively to the mighty quote: "The husband is the head of the..."
"Head of the wife!" We would all say in unison and he would continue the rest of the quote, nodding proudly, "wives should obey their husbands..."
"In everything." I would look to my mum who was sat opposite to my father, who says this profusely, as if no amount of strength could break what she believes.
A few years later after my eldest brother would come back from his boarding school, it was no longer dad who towered above us all during our celebratory dinner, albeit dad still said the quotes from the Bible standing up, but it was our eldest brother, who now sat opposite dad, and who spoke about how men and women should be equal and how light couldn't appear out of nowhere.
I will also never forget the look on Dads face as Samuel interrupted the prayer "you've got to be kidding me! Science debunks the whole of a Genesis. Animals can't just come because a voice said so." My brothers voice was strong and it was as if all Dad's prayers before dinner, for years, had left no meaning in my brothers head.
Dad's lips were scrunched up in fury, face as red as a tomato, eyebrows shrivelled in annoyance (though probably more for the fact that it had not been plucked in years, I tried to get him to pluck them but he always said: "do I look like a woman to you?"), his cheeks were puffed, similar to a chipmunk, and I thought they would pop any second then and that we'd have to rush to the hospital to save my dad from being cheek-less.
Thankfully we didn't.
"Get out of this house." His tone was low and threatening, he was like a python, threatening their prey to make a move so they could grab them by the neck and suck them up.
Samuel should've treaded carefully.
"W-what? I'm just saying, you're sexist." Samuel stood up now, "I don't care anyway, I'm damn tired of whatever you're always teaching us in here."
"Samuel!" Mum warned sternly, her eyes blazing in theory and Samson shook his head in disappointment as he looked at our brother who was making his way to the door; I could never tell what he was thinking.
"Get out! Get out! Get out and don't come back here, you wayward trash!" Dad's voice had thundered and the whole house was silenced by the slamming of the door.
That was the last time I'd actually seen my brother, Samuel, maybe he'd tried to contact Samson and I but we'd been forced to cut all contact with him. Probably for the best; he was tainted. That night mum and dad had told us to write the whole of Genesis 40 times until we were allowed to go to sleep.
I know the whole bible like I know Marcus.
I won't become another hated child to the family; I won't tell them I'm deliberately disobeying my future husband and breaking a Nasedo curse. I won't be another Samuel. So I lied through my teeth: "No mum, haha," I strain the laugh at the end, focusing on the traffic light, feeling the light breeze caress my skin.
"I've been busy with Marcus, though babies won't be popping out any time soon. I've moved to a new house and I'll be getting a job soon. London is so great! There are so many people in one place! I-it's wow! There are sliding doors! There's also this thing called a debit card!"
"Dear girl, let me stop you right there. Me and your father have loved you a bit too much if you don't know what a debit card is!" My mums soft laughs vibrate from my phone and my eyes widen in shock as I look at the red car hastily stopping at a red light.
"You knew what that was? I thought I had discovered something new..."
"Sorry dear, maybe we should've taken you out more..." I can imagine my mum wrapping her chubby ring finger around her thick curly hair in thought, "you should post a picture on your snapchat so I can see the house. How have you been finding moving in?"
"It's been much easier than I'd anticipated," should I tell her about Danielle and the others? Should I tell her about them? Should I-
"It's been with the help of my roommate and her friends." I blurted out, sometimes it's as if my mouth has a whole mind of it's own.
"Amazing dear! You have a roommate and have already moved in! It's as if luck is following you as you make your way through London!
"I know right!" I try and busy myself and pick at the black paint on the railing, trying to not realise how wrong she is.
"What are their names? Can I talk to them now? I know, time zones! What are their names? How are they?"
Name, name, name...
"Gertrude!"
"Pardon?" Oh my mouth once again, why did I think of such a name? "Her name is Gertrude, her friends are called Howard and RM."
"Goodness me! How can someone name their child RM, as if they were born to be some type of failing underground rapper! You better not be hanging around wayward people! I know Marcus will make sure you don't anyway. See, your brother has been doing as well as ever! He has a girlfriend! Her name is Delilah! Imagine that? Though of course Samson won't receive the same fate! She's gorgeous, can't wait to get my grandkids from both of you! They'll be working at my bakery! Has he called you? He said he would call you. They're having awards evening soon, expect him to be getting the 'Student of the Years award, darling." Sometimes I wonder how my mum can talk so much in one breath, then I remember I talk as much as her.
"How amazing, congratulations to him." That really is amazing, Samson finally has a girlfriend; I was beginning to think I would never have any nieces.
"I know right!" Mums tone is laced in proudness. As the sky begins to darken even further, my mum and I talk even more until I hear Danielle shout a "Goodnight" to me from inside of the house and I hear shuffling coming from the inside, more likely from RM than anyone else; looking back into the house I see the lights dim and then the inside is dark.
"Bye, mummy, love you so much! Talk to you soon!" I say, the darkness already making me already feel tired.
"Night, Dear." The phone cuts and I rest my elbows on the railings, the barely lit street is calming to me unlike the rowdy nights of Nasedo, with people coming back from nightly worships and talking about the latest sermon as they walk home in their flip flops; it is peaceful here.
"So... Gertrude, huh?" A husky voice and the soft breath on my ear makes me jump in surprise, it's almost as if my heart had stopped beating.
Danielle was there, watching me with her monolid eyes; amused. She was also there being a trouble maker.
"Don't you dare look amused! You should know why I didn't tell her your name." I defended, my hand over my chest to calm my rapid beating heart that was beating so fast it was as if I'd just finished running a marathon.
"Sh." She places her ring finger over my lips. Oh no, I didn't realise I was shouting! Ripping her finger off I say: "seriously Danielle, you should know why."
"Of course I do, especially with that hissy fit Marcus threw this afternoon. Who wouldn't know?"
Hissy fit? I'll ignore that - for now.
"Exactly," I egged her on, expecting her to be on my side and ignore the name change.
"But what the fuck is Gertrude? What possessed you to think of such a name?" She laughs: her eyes slightly creasing at the side, her mouth wide so I can see all of her pearly white teeth and of course with her pig snort. Her eyes peer down at me as she places her arms on the sides of the railings; me in the middle of her arms-
"Ugh, I know," I push my way out, my back on the sliding door leading to the living room, which makes me realise how small this balcony is.
"Well, now know you're a horrible liar - so don't try anything." She smirks with her plump lips and leaves the balcony, giving me the 'I'm-always-watching-you' look with her two fingers.
God actually help me.
***
Hope u liked it :)
~𝙿𝙻𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙴 𝚅𝙾𝚃𝙴, 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚂𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙴! 𝙸𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎, 𝚘𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚚𝚞𝚎 𝚖𝚎 - 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎 :𝟹.~
Lol, thanks guysss.
Thoughts?
This was a short chapter...
Stay safe!