The Externals Chapter Eighteen

From the far end of the food shed, Khadijat saw Janet speaking with Johakim so her focus shifted from the conversation we were having. More than anything else, Khadijat would have loved to confront Janet at that time, but I didn't allow her to do that since she had no evidence to prove there was a relationship going on between them. I wanted us to end the week peacefully so we would have enough energy to prepare for our upcoming midterm test.

It was my tradition to observe a fast on days I had tests or exams so I didn't cook the following Monday, to avoid getting tempted. Once I made sure the materials I needed to write tests for the three subjects on my timetable were in my brown school bag, I wore my black moccasin shoes on my not-so-white socks and headed for the second route I took to school every weekday. Since I studied my books overnight, I was confident about writing something meaningful in my scripts.

On my way to school, I met an angry Omma. She was angry at Master Gbenga for sending her home because she had not finished her school fees payment, even though her mom called the proprietor and pleaded with him not to send her home. As if that wasn't enough, she said our remaining classmates were also sent home because they were yet to complete their payment as well.

Indirectly, she was telling me not to attend school. She knew if I did, the teachers will make me answer our test questions alone and once they do that, they won't bother redoing it for others whether or not they pay up their debts later. In less than a minute, Omma convinced me to follow her home if I didn't want my neighbors to assume I was sent home because my dad couldn't afford to pay my school fees.

I felt guilty because I knew it was wrong of me to do what she wanted me to do. My dad struggled to pay my school fees so the least I could do to reward him was to avoid skipping school under any circumstances. I would have accorded honor to myself if I went to school that day. Any student who can stay behind in a classroom after others have been sent home for owing school fees is believed to be the richest among them in GMC.

"So which Korean movie do you want to watch?" Omma asked me when all that was left on her was a black tight and blue singlet, after putting off her school uniform in her room.

"Legend of the Blue Sea", I said while staring at her childhood pictures which were on a wallpaper.

"That one is with my neighbor. Let me quickly get it for you", she pulled out a red top from her Ghana-must-go bag and wore it as she was walking to the door.

"Wait for me oo", I didn't want to be left alone because her street was known to be filled with thugs and she was the only one who knew how to deal with them.

Unfortunately for me, her neighbor's stepson (the guy who paid for the printing of Jess' sportswear) was friends with her boyfriend and they were both chilling at his place so she decided to spend more time with him there. I wasn't comfortable sitting at a stranger's house yet couldn't bring myself to leave the apartment without looking back.

What the heck stopped me from doing so?

"Lily, are you alright? Is there anything you would like to eat or drink?" I still hated Omma's boyfriend but he was still nice to me.

"Nothing", I replied him but the worms in my stomach weren't taking things easy on me.

"How can you throw away a blank cheque like that? You should have passed it to me", Omma chided me.

"That's why I like her. She's not greedy like you", He said to her.

"Your words cannot stop me from asking you for my rights", She stretched out her palm."Baa kudi?"

"You'll not kill me, babe. I bet you learned Hausa so you can be manipulating those malas selling pepper to give you more fisi" He shook his head.

"Na you sabi. Just give me my money", She gave him a stern look.

"What money? I gave you money for food this morning now" He reminded her.

"You said it yourself. It's for the morning. Afternoon own nko?" She stood on his neck.

"I would have given you if I had but right now.."Before he finished talking, she started searching his pockets but didn't find anything.

"How can you claim to love me and not trust me?"

"You and I know you're lying so give me the money before I start checking your boxer" She wasn't willing to give up.

"That's enough!" The quiet guy placed two thousand naira notes on the center table in his sitting room. "It's enough to fix us all a nice lunch, right?"

"I'll manage it", Omma took the money.

I was very grateful to the quiet guy for putting a stop to the annoying conversation between Omma and her boyfriend, although I didn't utter any word of gratitude to him. I didn't understand why that silly guy asked if I wanted to eat or drink anything when he didn't have a dime on him!

After collecting the money, we went back to Omma's room where I changed into one of her casual wear and got the ingredients we needed to cook at a nearby store. When we got back to her neighbor's house, I expected her to do the cooking but she claimed to be tired and begged the quiet guy to help me with it.

It was hard for me to cook in a stranger's kitchen, but I just had to go with the flow!

"Thanks for agreeing to help me..." I told him as soon as we entered the kitchen.

"Don't mention...Everyone calls me Zach", He said the first statement shyly and finally told me his name.

"Oh. I'm Lily", I replied.

"That's a nice name", He smiled.

"Thanks. Can I get a bowl?" I asked because I needed it to watch the peppers and tomatoes we got.

"Sure", He quickly gave me one with purple stripes.

"I know most guys hate being in the kitchen so I'm going to let you choose what we're going to cook because you stayed with me. So, do you want Jollof rice or rice and stew?" I was already peeling the onions to use in grinding the peppers and tomatoes with an electric blender.

"Rice and stew", He answered.

"Thank God. I'm not good at cooking jollof rice", I confessed.

"Well, I'm glad I picked your choice", He grinned.

Zach was very helpful to me in the kitchen. He eventually blended the peppers and tomatoes we used in cooking while I was slicing the onions which I later poured inside a pot of hot oil to fry the stew. He also diced the plantains we fried to garnish the rice and washed the utensils I used in cooking when we finished as I was serving the food.

"Wow! This tastes so good! I never knew you could cook so well", My heart suddenly melted for I.D because he complimented my cooking.

"The stew would have been perfect if you added more salt to it", Omma said.

"Not everyone likes salt as much as you do. Don't mind her, Lily", Zach gave me an encouraging look.

"Thanks", I smiled.

"I can't believe you guys! You said to say my food tasted better than anyone else's!" Omma said jealously, abandoned her food, and left us in the dining room.

"Honey, I assume you're filled up", I.D shifted her plate to his side.

"If a grain of rice is found missing from that plate, I'll kill you!" Omma rushed back.

I couldn't contain my laughter until I choked.

"Oh my goodness!" Zach rubbed my back slightly."Do you feel better now?"

"Yes. Thanks", I took a sip from my glass of water and passed my leftover meal to Omma because I was filled up.

Luckily for me, there was still power supply when we finished eating so we could return to the living room to watch the movie I came for. Though we didn't have access to 3D effects or hot popcorn, Omma and I still enjoyed the movie. The boys weren't too satisfied with it because they were the action type but still tolerated it for our sake.

A few hours later, we experienced an interruption of power supply, which encouraged me to return home. For unknown reasons, Zach wouldn't let that happen so he suggested a game to keep me around. Truth or dare, my foot! It had to do with cards and thankfully, I wasn't good at playing them.

"Sorry, guys. Wish I could stay but I don't know how to play cards", I told them my plight.

"It's okay. I can teach you", Zach insisted.

"Now, sit down my friend", Omma pushed me back on the sofa I was sitting on before.

Despite being taught the rules of the game, I failed woefully at it several times. Omma and Zach won at intervals because they were pros in the game, while I.D maintained his third position. Towards the end of the final batch, Zach gave me a tip that made me win because he didn't want me to go home feeling dejected. Then, they accompanied me home.

"Thanks for today, guys. I enjoyed myself", I told them.

"Thanks for listening to me, baby girl", Omma hugged me.

"Don't I deserve I hug too?" I.D moved closer to me.

"You wish!" I pushed him aside.

"You're free to come to play with us anytime you're bored", Zach told me.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks", I said politely.

"Okay. Take care!" He waved at me and started chasing his friends who had gone ahead of him." Wait for me na!"

I didn't sleep well at night because the events that happened during the day kept replaying in my mind. I was tempted to ditch school again but just couldn't do it. As soon as my phone's alarm clock rang, I jumped out of bed to have my bath, ignoring the cold weather.

My school uniform was still neat since I didn't wear it for long yesterday so I didn't bother washing it when I returned home. The socks I wore had little stains, yet I wore them again because the other ones had more stubborn stains. I also wrapped Omma's clothes in my bag hoping to return them to her home if she didn't come to school.

The road to school was muddy because of the heavy rain that fell overnight. Still, it didn't stop drizzling even though I was begging it to stop because I didn't want my school uniform to get drenched. Besides, I hated walking on wet roads, and writing tests on a rainy day was the last thing I wanted. My shaky hands will definitely not be able to hold a pen steadily.

"It's alright. You're safe now", I felt something shielding my body and bag from the rain.

It was nothing more than an umbrella from the person I thought I wouldn't set my eyes on for the next few months.

"Zach! What're you doing here?" I was shocked to see him.

"I know this looks awkward but I'm not stalking you. I had to get some drugs at the pharmacy over there", He explained.

"It's fine. I trust you", I smiled."Thanks for the umbrella but how are you going to get home?"

"It's okay. I'll see you later", He dashed off.

The morning assembly wasn't really interesting because the annoying boys in my class weren't around to remix songs to their taste. Besides, Jess wasn't around to ginger me so I didn't sing many songs for our praise and worship session. Speaking of which, I completely forgot to go check on her at home since I was too busy having fun at Omma's the previous day and it was too late to make up for what I did.

After we finished the assembly routine, I ordered one of my juniors to pick a song and they started marching to their classrooms. When it got to my turn, I wanted to do the same but my principal wouldn't let me. He invited me to his office with a look that said, "Lily, you're in big trouble".

AUTHOR'S NOTE
Oh, no, our dear Lily's trouble again! What do you think she's been called to the proprietor's office? Do you think she did the right thing by doing what Omma said or not? Don't forget to drop your opinion in the comment session.

Thanks so much for reading!

Shout out to my K-drama fans out there as well. If you've watched legend of the blue sea, signify in the comment session🥰