Yaa Dufie stirred, opening her eyes to the sharp glare of a moving white light in the darkness. “Ah!” She groaned, blinking repeatedly. “Get that thing out of my face. What at all are you doing at this time of the night?”
The light flashed downwards and Yaa Dufie could just make out Steph’s face in the dark. “Oh sorry,” Steph began softly. “My lip gloss fell on the ground and I was just searching for it. And also, it’s not night. It’s already 5AM.”
“But why are you up this early?” She groaned again, but weaker this time. “It’s not like we have classes today.”
“No, we don’t. But since it is Sunday, we have a church service this morning. I already asked Olivia and she’s coming. Would you like to join…?”
She didn’t even get to complete her sentence and Yaa Dufie yawned loudly, rolling to her other side to continue her sleep.
Sighing in resignation, Steph resumed her search for her gloss, making sure to keep her phone flash on the ground and away from Yaa Dufie.
She found it later on, under her bed. She picked it up and stood to her feet, putting off the torch of her phone. Light from under the bathroom door lit the ground, along with the shadow of someone moving around inside. She walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door, then whispered, “Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Olivia’s barely audible voice answered from inside.
Steph made sure to open the door only a little more than an inch so as not to allow even a glimmer of light to shine into the room, lest it wake Yaa Dufie up and make her even more annoyed.
Olivia stood in front of the mirror, putting on her make-up, which she had been doing for more than thirty minutes already. “Just give me a few minutes,” She said, applying her mascara. “I’ll be done very soon.”
“That’s what you said a few minutes ago. We only have about ten minutes to spare before we leave.”
“I’m sorry. I’m almost done.”
Steph, standing behind Olivia, stretched her body and neck so she could see her reflection and then began to apply her lip gloss.
“Should I help you with your make-up?” Olivia asked Steph’s reflection in the mirror while applying her own lip gloss.
Steph quickly shook her head and capped her lip gloss in a flash. “Please, I don’t want to spend another hour here when we’re almost late.”
“We’re not late. The service doesn’t start until about forty-five minutes. Relax.”
“Yes, and it’ll take us a forty-minute walk to get to the church. So,” Steph began to place Olivia’s things in her make-up kit. “it’s best we set off now.”
“Fine, I’ve heard you.” Olivia rubbed her lips together and then popped them out, before taking her kit and following Steph out of the room.
…
Olivia leaned her back against the wall of the entrance of the Students’ Centre Building, waiting for Steph who was still under the church canopy behind the building most likely chatting with someone. After the church service, while Olivia was very eager to leave, Steph, on the other hand, was very eager to stay, saying she had to meet someone for a moment. That was twenty minutes ago.
Olivia was thinking of leaving her behind and decided to allow her ten more minutes, after which she was deserting her.
“I had hoped you were going to show for the evangelism yesterday.”
“Remember I told you I had a previous engagement; I honestly couldn’t cancel it.” Steph nodded, and Max gave a small smile while gazing directly at her eyes. “Why? Did you miss me?”
“I think Minister Evans missed you a lot more than I did.” Steph said, referring to the Minister who had invited them to the evangelism, while also swiftly swerving the question, and his intense gaze.
“So that means you missed me too.” He folded his arms, his smile growing wider. Guess she didn’t really swerve.
“Maybe, just a little.” She illustrated it by holding her thumb and index finger together with a little space in-between.
“I guess that’s better than nothing, I’ll take it.”
Steph tried her best to stifle a giggle. “But seriously, you missed a lot. The evangelism was really fun. We visited a number of people, Minister Evans bought drinks for all of us and we even had a Ga kenkey party after the evangelism.” (Ga kenkey is a traditional Ghanaian dish made from fermented white corn and wrapped in dried corn husks, usually served with soup, stew or pepper sauce and fried fish.)
“You really want to make me feel bad for not making it, eh?”
“Oh no, I’m just saying, so that the next time you’ll come.”
“Right. Don’t you think that this is a strategy they’re using to make you guys show up for the evangelism? At some point in time, this is going to stop, trust me.”
“Oh I know, but till that time comes and even after, I’m still going to be attending these evangelisms. And you should too. There’s a lot you can learn, as well as you will also be leading people to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus.”
“Wow. I’ve just closed from service and yet I’m having another sermon being preached to me right now.” Max joked.
“Oh, please. I’m just saying.”
“Right. So, I’ll be seeing you again this week, right? Church meeting?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Well, I was thinking,” He scratched his small moustache. “how about we meet up this week, but not –” He was cut off by a loud vibration from Steph’s purse.
“Oh sorry.” She excused herself, and reached into her purse for her phone, answering it. “Hello… I’m still here…What? You’re leaving? … Now?... Fine, fine. I’m on my way…I said, I’m coming. Just give me a second, I’ll be there… Thanks.” She ended the call and looked at him with an apologetic smile. “I have to leave. My roommate’s on my neck.”
“Oh.” Was all he could say.
“I’ll see you later, at this week’s meeting, okay?” She said softly and left, but not before giving him a wink, unintentionally of course.
He looked on, with a bit of disappointment, as she walked away, through the thinning crowd, out of his sight.
“What took you so long?” Olivia asked, as Steph joined her and they walked away from the building.
“Oh, come on. I didn’t take that long. And what’s the hurry? It’s not like you have somewhere to be today.”
“No, but I have something to do. And there was someone who I didn’t want to see me.”
“Who are you hiding from? An old sweetheart?”
“Of course not. It’s just my brother; we’re not on talking terms and I don’t want us to see each other.”
“You have a brother? Where is he? I want to see him.” Steph looked back, searching as if she could identify Olivia’s brother even if she saw him.
“No,” She stated straight-faced, and grabbed Steph’s hand, pulling her away. “let’s just go. You’ll see him later, or maybe never.”
“Never? Why?”
“Just never.”
“Is he older or younger? Is he handsome? Do you guys look alike?” Steph bothered Olivia with questions as they walked across campus.
“We’re twins and I’m older by a few minutes. And no, he’s not handsome, at all. We’re also fraternal, so we look nothing like each other.” Olivia said flatly.
“Wow, it must be nice to have a sibling, especially a twin, even if you don’t get along very well. Being an only child can be very lonely. As you already know, I’m speaking from experience.”
“If you had my brother, you’d prefer loneliness. He’s the perfect definition for annoying. His entire existence bothers me.”
“You must really like your brother.”
“Says who?”
“That’s what siblings always say about one another but they are always quick to come to one another’s rescue. You don’t have to say it for me to know.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Fine, if you say so. But seriously, why are you in such a hurry?”
“Like I said before, I have something to do. You’ll find out when we get back to the apartment.” She stopped and looked at Steph. “But honestly, I'm not really rushing you so why the fuss? Who is it that you were speaking with that you decided to waste my time?”
“Nobody.” Steph whispered, not meeting Olivia's eyes.
“Indeed." Olivia said, and continued walking. “You were speaking with the wind and I was foolishly waiting for you.”
“You know that's not true, right? I'm not mad to be having a conversation with the wind. It was someone, you wouldn't know the person even if I tell you.” Steph said and Olivia just rolled her eyes.
They walked in silence for a bit and then Steph spoke up. “What are we going to eat when we get back?”
“I’m sure we’ll find something to eat once get there.”
“There’s no food in the apartment.”
“Isn’t there leftover rice from the day before?”
“Jackie and I ate that last night.”
“What about the banku we bought last time?” (Banku is a traditional Ghanaian dish cooked by a proportionate mixture of fermented corn and cassava dough into a smooth whitish consistent paste which is made into a round shape, and is usually served with soup, okra stew or pepper sauce and fried fish.)
“Oh, that one is long gone. But there’s Yaa Dufie’s egg stew in the fridge.” Steph offered.
“What’s the use of egg stew if you don’t have anything to eat it with? How about Ga kenkey? I know where we can buy some delicious balls of kenkey, with tasty fried fish.”
“I ate some yesterday after evangelism with my church.”
“So you’re not interested?”
“I didn’t say that.” Steph grinned, and locked arms with Olivia. “Where is the place we’re buying the delicious kenkey from?”
…
“You’re really into this sowing thing, eh?” Steph said, returning to the room after washing the dishes in which they ate the kenkey and fried fish. It had been hours since they came back from church service, and after eating they ‘rested’ for a bit before Steph decided to wash the dishes if they didn’t want them to pile up later on.
“I’m just trying it out.” Olivia said, sending her threaded needle through a piece of cloth. There were other cloth pieces of different colours and patterns on her bed beside her; she was testing herself by sowing them together into a little dress she had designed herself.
“Just trying it out? Yeah, right. Are you sure you’re not waiting to watch the Met Gala when it’s released on YouTube tonight? When you said you had something to do, I hope you weren’t referring to buying airtime and data bundling it so you could watch the show.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Olivia said, feigning ignorance.
“Sure, keep pretending. Let’s wait till 7PM and see.” Steph said and put the dishes at their respective places.
“How did you even know about the Met Gala?”
“I used to enjoy watching the crazy and weird fashion styles people managed to come up with. After a while I just lost interest.”
“But how did you know that I was waiting for it?”
“I saw that you had highlighted it on your to-do list. But wait, don’t you have a test tomorrow morning?” She said, then quickly added for clarification, “I also saw that on your to-do list.”
“I do, actually. And the lecturer promised that it will be very difficult.”
“There’s enough time from now till the Met Gala will be on YouTube. You can study a little bit for the test now.”
“It’s okay. I already prepared during the week. I’ll just brush on it tomorrow morning before the test.”
“Are you saying that you’re going to keeping sowing till it’s time for the Gala?”
“Why not?”
“Wow, your sewing must be really important to you.”
“It’s not just about the sewing. It concerns my life too.”
“Your life?” Steph repeated, not understanding.
Olivia just shrugged, and went on with her sewing. And when the time came, she put away her materials and her sewing kit, and picked up her phone, finding a comfortable position to lie in on her bed so she could watch what she had been patiently waiting for. She plugged in her headset and pressed play.
Steph retreated to a corner of her bed and began to study vigorously. That tactic failed though as she pushed her books away and dozed off into slumber in less than an hour.
Yaa Dufie walked into the room few minutes later, with a shopping bag from Sugary Cravings, a popular bakery in Accra. She nodded in Steph’s direction. “Was she supposed to be learning?”
Olivia sat up and took off her headset to answer. “She started but fell asleep soon afterwards; I don’t think she even lasted an hour.”
“What about you? Don’t you have a test tomorrow?”
“I do, but the Met Gala is on and I can’t afford to miss it.”
“Good for you. I brought some cupcakes from Sugary Cravings. You can have some when you’re ready.” Yaa Dufie said, and took out the pastry box from the bag and put it into the fridge. “Where’s Jackie?” She asked on her way to her locker.
“Don’t know. Maybe, her night classes.”
“She has them on weekends too?” She asked rhetorically, and opened her locker, taking out a change of clothes and putting them into an overnight bag. She added some underwear and one or two cosmetics.
“You’re not spending the night here?”
“No.”
Olivia nodded. “Okay.” She simply said.
Yaa Dufie added a pair of shoes and closed the bag. “See you tomorrow.” She said, and carried the bag and her purse, quietly walking out, just as she had come.
Olivia went back to her show, which thankfully she had only missed a few minutes of.
It was very late, almost midnight when Jackie entered the apartment. The room lights were still on even though both girls were fast asleep; Olivia must have forgotten to switch them off before she succumbed to slumber.
Jackie, in order not to wake the girls, tiptoed around the room while she prepared to take a bath. In the bathroom, she took off her blouse and brought it to her nose, specifically the part which had a large yellow stain, standing out against the plain white colour of the blouse.
The foul smell of spoiled food mixed with the stink of fish hit her nose and she quickly put down the blouse, while pinching the bridge of her nose. No amount of bleach, detergent and/or fabric softener was going to help; the dress was ruined. And so was her pride. She had been humiliated and her self-esteem trampled upon, just because of the circumstances she found herself in.
She had to dispose of it, before the others found out, because there was no way she was going to find the right explanation to give them. She had already told enough lies; she wasn’t planning on adding another to the pile. And she wasn’t bold enough to tell the truth, to destroy the image she had created of herself and reveal what was really beneath the façade.
With a deep sigh, she crumpled the blouse and threw it on the floor. She would put it into a black polythene bag and throw it straight into the big Zoomlion dustbin outside, along with her secrets. Hidden, if possible, forever.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to vote and/or comment. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐