Always be a gentleman– Diane
Usually this is the part where I give up and leave whoever is stressing me alone. But as I watch Osas run off with my cardigan, her long braids flying all around her, I feel an overwhelming sense of dread for her. Our neighborhood is dead at night, but it doesn't mean it's empty.
With a loud sigh, I sprint after her, trying hard not to shove anybody in the process. I always knew Osas was fast, Jibril calls her the Ghost Runner, but I consider myself fast as well. So I figured it wouldn't take much time to catch up to her.
Boy was I wrong. By the time I'm able to grab her shoulders I've ran for about 5 minutes.
"Ahan, you even ran after me!" Osas yells over the crowd. Her face contorts with disgust every time someone's skin touches hers.
"Chill, this is my route home," I reply, staring ahead.
"You can always walk behind me."
"Now where's the fun in that?"
Defeated, Osas doesn't say anything again and we walk in a comfortable silence, or as silent as the streets allow us to be. People everywhere are clubbing and eating and rushing home like us. It's nice to see the nightlife like this, without the tinted windows of my mum's Jeep obstructing me.
Speaking of mum, I hope she's fast asleep and not waiting at the door for me, although I have a feeling it's the latter. What could I buy to bribe both she and Mercy?
As if she read my mind, Osas stops in front of one of those suya grills and peers down at them.
"Give me 1000 naira own," she tells the mallam.
"Ahan, only you wants to eat 1000 naira suya," I exclaim in shock. She hisses very audibly at me but I can see her smiling at herself.
"I'm going to share it with my sister," she retorts.
"Which sister? So you have a sister?"
"I have two actually. One is in Kano and the other is...well with me," she continues pointing at the meat she wants in her suya. "Add onions abeg."
"What are their names?"
"The onions?" She frowns.
"No ode, your sisters."
"Oh, Winnie and Tiwa."
"Winnie?"
"Short for Iwinosa," she supplies. The mallam packs her suya in the newspaper and then in the nylon and hands it over to her.
"Give me suya 2000 naira," I order next.
"See this one o. After mocking me before!"
"Rest jare, it's for my mum and sister. I don't eat suya this late at night."
"But that's when it's the best."
"You'll suffer from indigestion."
"Pele o, doctor."
"Ode." The mallam hands me my suya and we continue walking down the road.
"I thought you were Edo though, how come your sister's name is Tiwa?" I ask after a moment. Osas seems to hesitate, she sizes me up, as if deciding whether or not I'm worth the story and then, having convinced herself that I am, she goes on.
"Tiwa's my step sister. Her father's Yoruba," she explains. Oh, so the man who came to pick her up was her step dad. So what happened to her biological father?
"Oh. I'm guessing you're cool though, since you're buying suya for her."
"Something like that." There's another moment of silence that I quickly break.
"My mum also has a step sister. But surprisingly she's closer to her than her biological sister," I tell her.
"Really?"
"Yeah, my aunt Diane is my favorite aunt but she and my mum have a stale relationship, I'm not sure why. Because of that I can't spend as much time as I would like to with her, so I don't anger my mum."
"You really love your mum," she observes.
"Yes. She's been an active part of my life. I mean I love my dad but my mum is way higher."
Osas's expression grows thoughtful and I want to ask her what she's thinking, I experience an impulsive desire to hear her thoughts but I force myself to push it down.
"I have a question?" I ask instead, because for some reason I'm not okay leaving her to her thoughts.
"What is it?"
"What's your full name? I've always known you as Osas. And like, nobody ever calls you anything other than that." Osas's lips quirk playfully.
"I'm not telling you that," she refuses. We turn the corner leading to our street.
"Why not?" I complain.
"And why should I tell you? There's no collateral."
"I'll tell you my middle name," I offer.
"Huh, what am I supposed to do with your middle name abeg?" She laughs. I huff in defeat, for now though. I'll definitely find out her full name.
We stop in front of Osas's grey mansion and she rings the doorbell. When I'm still standing she turns around and raises her brows.
"You can go Yamíl, the gate man will be here in a bit," she prods.
"I know." But I make no move to leave until said gate man appears a minute later. Osas gives me an electric bright smile before she walks in.
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By 10:30 I'm cleaned up and finally resting on my bed. According to the texts on the group chat, everyone else is home as well. I quickly reply to every text message I ignored through out the day and check my mail like I usually do before I sleep. It seems like I've got nothing new but once I refresh my mail I find a newsletter post from SOHL. The results of our online voting are in...and Ara won.
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P for Perfect
Teen Fiction6 high schoolers battle the expectations from their parents, their school and the society at large. Faced under such pressure each battle with their demons differently. Some lashing it out on others, others burying it deep inside of them. Follow the...
