The Externals Reloaded - Chapter Twenty

 

"Lily, what are you doing here?" Quinn was shocked to see her standing near his hospital bed.

"I....", She was speechless at first but soon began to speak properly again. "You were the one who helped with Dad's hospital bills.."

"It was nothing. I never wanted you to find out", Quinn sighed while guilt danced around his eyes. He never wanted to find out and felt she wouldn't have if he was more careful.

"I'm forever indebted to you. I don't know if I can ever repay you. Thank you so...much", The last word came out weak because she her emotions were intensifying.

"It's alright" Quinn found a golden opportunity to hug and comfort her.

"Anyways, girls. This is to inform you my mom gave birth to a bouncing baby boy on Sunday", Khadijat announced at school the following morning.

"Where's that your house sef? We must come and chop semo there on Sunday", Kenny who wasn't part of the conversation jumped right in.

"FFO oshi", Khadijat laughed. "We are not making noise oo. Money no dey ground".

"Even if na cabin and water una share, we go reach there, no yawa", John insisted.

"Congratulations oo. May he live long on earth", Lily was extremely happy for her friend.

"Thanks, dear", Khadijat smiled and responded to greetings from other friends.

The first class they had was English but the subject teacher got stuck in traffic so Martha suggested a past question contest between both classes. While Johnson's students were cool with it, Grace's students only agreed on the condition that Quinn shouldn't be made to participate. They felt it would be unfair to them and their opponents agreed after a few grumblings. Although, he later volunteered to coordinate the quiz which went well until GMC students lost but they didn't dare to complain. And of course, Johnson's students couldn't stop mocking them about it.

During biology which was the second class for the day, they forgot about their differences and strived to answer the questions their teacher asked them correctly. Even Quinn who was usually silent during the class spoke and Lily known to keep answers to herself participated her quota in saving their lives. The king of recitations otherwise known as Dare recited the first twenty elements without using acronyms as a guide like the teacher demanded. Martha, the mother of drawings drew a full diagram of the male reproductive system on the blackboard with no aid, making Quinn wonder if she had been sneaking up on him in the bathroom. Very funny!

Yeah, everyone did the best they could to shush the biology teacher who taught they weren't ready enough to tackle WAEC but still didn't admit they exceeded his expectations. Surprisingly, he got them scoops of ice cream from a local vendor, which made them happy. They laughed over the instrumental those ice cream carts were fond of playing and enjoyed the crunchiness of the ice cream cones and the creaminess of the insides.

"Guys, it wouldn't be nice if we don't do anything for Khadijat's naming. What do you guys suggest?", Omma said as they were walking home in the evening.

"Yeah. I was thinking of that. Contributing money to buy the baby a gift is the best thing to do, isn't it?" Lily replied.

"I also think we should look uniform there to honor the ceremony even if it's not so big", Omma added.

"That's a good idea. I think we should go for one of those latest Ankara designs. I can already imagine the style I'll sow with mine", Aminat exuded excitement. 

"Thank you my dear", Omma revealed the best of her smiles.

"Isn't that a bit too much? Khadijat said..." Lily objected the idea.

"There you go again, Lily. You always object to things when it comes to spending money", Omma alleged.

"Fine. Do whatever you want. Here's my contribution", Lily gave Omma one thousand naira note and walked away.

"That's the coolest thing I've seen today", Kenny made fun of Omma.

Lily was glad the day was finally over and she'd get to see Quinn. However, she was disappointed that she didn't find him when she got to the hospital. As if that was not enough, there were guests around to see her dad so she had to wait till they left so they wouldn't have her a reason to question if she was really looking after her dad as expected. She actually felt bad for not paying him as much attention as she used to since she met Quinn but there was nothing she could do about it.

"You seemed troubled, Lily. What's wrong?" Mr Allen asked even as he scribled some words in his jotter. The past few weeks had afforded him enough time to study and know his daughter.

"Nothing..." Lily's guilt heightened to the point that she gave up the idea of visiting the kunbis' to check on Quinn.

"I know being here has denied you the right to live a normal teenage life and it's not my delight", he lost interest in the book.

"Dad, I don't want you to worry", Lily moved near his bedside and held his right hand reassuringly.

"Then do whatever it is you want to do", Mr Allen concluded.

Omma was so excited about the idea of choosing an outfit for Khadijat's party that she branched the market on her way home and three shops in search of the perfect design. For the first two shops, they had nice designs but they were too common. Fortunately, the third had variety of unique designs which brought a smile in her lips. Therefore, she made the seller promise to keep enough for them. However, she also contemplated going to a wholesale market to get it at a much lower price.

Eventually, Lily made it to Quinn's temporal home where she met Martha standing by the door side.

"Good evening", Lily greeted, hoping to reduce the tension in her eyes.

"What are you looking for here?", Martha refused to make way for Lily to pass through.

"I just want...to check on...Quinn", Lily stuttered.

"You didn't have to come here!" Martha increased the volume of her voice.

Meanwhile, Quinn heard their voice from his bedroom, especially Lily's and came out immediately, "this is no right way to treat a person martha".

Martha felt bad after being reprimanded by Quinn but wouldn't admit she was wrong, "Why is she coming here to disturb....?"

Quinn didn't wait for her to finish before leading Lily out of the compound.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be stressing you...but why are you here? You should be in the hospital", Lily said as they were walking outside, her eyes were on Quinn, trying to figure out if he had fully recovered.

"Comeon, I'm an African boy. We don't spend a day in the hospital", His eyes were radiating pride. "Ibi lile la n bomo okunrin".

Lily couldn't help but laugh at how he murdered the Yoruba expression, "Please don't kill me. I'm too young to die".

"So how was your day?" Quinn was eager to get a response from her.

"It was cool...I'm really happy for Khadijat's mom", Lily said with a smile.

"Wow...that's good. How much is the ankara they picked for the party?" Quinn's question surprised Lily who thought he'd be against the poor Yoruba people's ideology of spending excessively on parties when they are not financially stable.

"Omma will be more than glad to tell you that", Lola shook her head.

As the only white boy in the group, Quinn didn't escape paying more for the baby's gift and fully for Khadijat's outfit but he didn't mind. He couldn't wait for his first Nigerian naming ceremony experience. He was so committed that he gave out the first outfit made for him because he wasn't fully satisfied with it and requested for another. In addition, he refused to reveal his outfit for the day and also tried learning more Yoruba words so he'd be able to better enjoy the party.

"Khadija oo...khadija oo", Khadijat heard her name for the umpteenth time on her brother's naming day.

"Ma, I'm upcoming!" She had not even finished with the chairs she was arranging yet they already wanted her to dig out the coolers her mom uses to reserve food for important guests.

"They won't kill you today, pele", Lily who was just arriving said out of pity for beloved friend. "Let me help you with this".

"Thank you so much", Khadijat attended to the other woman who needed her attention.

"Wo..hurry up oo..the guests will soon start arriving", Khadijat's uncle who was busy doing nothing yelled at Lily even though it wasn't even her job in the first place. How thoughtful!

Regardless, Lily enjoyed one of the perks of arriving early at a party which was being able to taste the smoky hot jollof rice before it started sitting in coolers for hours, waiting patiently for the clergyman to finish his 'serene' and give the baby his name. "Why make such a big fuss about naming someone when my mom gave me one as soon as I born and didn't host a party for it", Lily was able to read the meaning to Quinn's bored face after he had spent hours under the hot tambourine.

Few minutes before the main ceremony started, Quinn had arrived with the twins in a rented old-school Benz car with the twins. On a long-sleeve shirt and trousers with a dark flat shoe, Lily couldn't help admiring Quinn especially because he looked like a man she would take home to her dad and there'd be no single objection...a guy she had grown to admire having lived with him for years.

"You looking stunning", Quinn's comment made Lily's mind trail off as he gave her a hug. Her off-shoulder dress had a long slit, giving an over-protective girlfriend vibe.

"Thank you", Lola blushed as she inhaled the pleasurable scent of his perfume.

"I can't believe you're here!" Khadijat interrupted their romantic moment and jumped on Quinn whom Lily had let go of upon hearing her voice.

"Eku ewu omo or however you guys say it", Quinn was already used to being laughed at so he didn't get angry about the reaction that followed.

"Thanks...what will you like to eat and drink?" Khadijat was ready to go any length to satisfy him. Even if it entailed stealing from the special wines her dad kept from his friends.

"I heard Nigerian jollof is the best..that will do for a start", Quinn was preparerd to eat to his heart's content.

"You will never forget this party for as long as you live", Khadijat braged.

Following the pleasantries, Khadijat led Quinn and her other classmates to greet her mom in the bedroom even though she was shy about their one-room situation. Quinn definitely didn't expect that from a man who had enough to throw such a party but didn't want to ruin the mood so he maintained a happy face. As if that's not enough, Mrs. Mohammed made him hold the baby for long because he stopped crying while in his hands and she wanted him to have Quinn's complexion...how realistic! It was an experience Quinn wanted to as well as not remember.

While his other classmates were still in the room, Lily was sitting beside Quinn by accident so Aminat commented, "You too look like a couple and feels like you had the baby".

"Ohh...really", Quinn didn't know what else to say.

"Raising a kid here will be difficult for you because of your background", Omma was focused on safeguarding Zach's position in his abscen3.

"What if we decide not to raise our kids here?" Quinn started imagining settling in an American countryside where they can enjoy a peaceful and quiet life.

"Why should the woman always be the one to leave her home? That's so unfair!" Omma raised her voice.

"This isn't your business, omma. Lily has the absolute right to live her life however she wants", Aminant said, avoiding Lily's gaze all through.

Even though Johnson's students didn't tell Khadijat to her face that they were coming for the naming, they did and wore the same ankara they picked for the event despite not getting it from Omma directly. As if that's not enough, they stole the spotlight from their counterparts by spraying "mint" on the celebrant who wouldn't stop dancing upon seeing those. Asides that, they also brought expensive wines which only circulated round their table.

Lily couldn't let Aminat get away with what she did so she verbally attacked her while others were on their way to the canopy stand, "After what I saw you did, you still have the audacity..."

"Geez..." Aminat cut in. "I was only trying to help. Are you just going to let that guy slip off your fingers?"

"So what's going to happen when he goes back to his country. You'd be happy to see me hurt, won't you?" Lily uttered through gritted teeth.

"It's part of life", Aminat sounded sure of herself. "You think I don't have second thoughts about my relationship either.."

Aminat was going to keep talking but Quinn appeared, "You called for me, ma'am. What's the problem?"

"You two should take pictures together. I already spoke to the photographer", Aminat smirked, she really enjoyed getting under Lily's skin.

"That's so kind of you", Quinn shook hands with her.

Meanwhile, under the canopy, Dare kept looking around to see if there would be any lady worth walking home with. Eventually, he found a glowing fair one with full lips and endowed buttocks sitting beside John. That should have been a cue to leave her alone yet he still went ahead and said, "You deserve better, gorgeous, mind if I steal you away?"

"You again!" John couldn't control his temper and soon had his fist on Quinn's nose. He was trying to be a good samaritan yet ended up getting hurt.

"Good Lord...who fights over a girl?" Quinn said amidst his dilemma.

"Not everyone is a doyoyo like you oyinbo", John tried justifying his action.

"Does she even want to be with you?" Quinn said while cleaning his nose with a tissue.

"Exactly", Dare smirked and turned to the girl. "What do you think gorgeous?"

"Everyone wants the best", the lady said as she approached Quinn then sat on his legs, generating murmurs from different parts of the canopy.

Lily was returning to the canopy with cotton wool and methylated spirit when she saw what the lady did. Of course, she wasn't pleased so she sent Kaira to deliver it and offered to help Khadijat's mom watch the baby so she wouldn't have to be outside. Even at that, she wouldn't stop thinking about what happened. On the outside, Quinn had already declined the lady's offer and was now enjoying palmwine with elders. During this period, they also educated him on Yoruba's original naming ceremony rites.

As much as Quinn enjoyed their company and the local wine, he wanted to be with Lily so he asked everyone who could know where she was and finally found her even in his drunken state, "Hello there, dazzling African woman. May I rescue you from the dread of loneliness?"

"Do you really want to?" Lily sighed.

"Yes and I'd do whatever it takes", Quinn took the baby who immediately started crying when it got to its bed.

"We can't leave the baby here!" Lily laughed even upon realizing Quinn was drunk.

"Sure we can", Quinn took her hand and by the time they got to the door, Aminat was waiting.

"Enjoy", she whispered but only Quinn replied her.

Quinn's drunk state was pretty funny and interesting. The first thing he was did was complain that Lily wasn't there when he needed her, "You weren't there to defend me when I got hit and you let that girl harass me".

"Am I your bodyguard?" Lily pondered aloud.

"You're my super woman, aren't you?", Quinn held her hand. "I definitely wouldn't have survived this shithole if you weren't here".

Lily's heart sank in but she stood still and didn't let go of his hand, it was hard to let go of the warmth it offered.

"We mustn't miss the band completely", he finally dragged her to the dance floor. Even though he made a complete fool of himself, she couldn't leave him because she wanted to be with him and he was enjoying himself.

After assessing the dresses their seniors wore for the occasion, the Juniors concluded Fatty Acid was the best dressed female and Quinn the best dressed male partly because they needed to support their own. Still, they admitted the fact that Lily and Quinn had the cutest couple video. As for Grace's Juniors, they voted Lily and Kenny. However, the noise her classmates generated didn't come without repacursions. Khadijat had to spend to use her own money to get drinks for teachers who saw their posts and felicitated with her.

Having seen how much he embarrassed them the previous day, Quinn didn't have the courage to face Lily until Scitist asked to see both of them in the lab. Then, Lily had to break the silence with, "Hey..."

"Hi, Lily", Quinn started with an air of uncertainty then slowly gathered courage. "I'm really sorry..."

"It's fine", Lily said then remembered his weird dancing steps and started laughing. "I'm sorry".

"I really messed up", Quinn avoided seeing her as much as her facial features brings him happiness.

"It's really fine, Quinn. I'm just happy you enjoyed yourself", Lily smiled.

"Yeah. Having you there is one of the reasons I enjoyed myself", Quinn finally got the courage to look her in the eye and hugged. "Thanks for making me the happiest guy in the universe".

"Thanks for making me the happiest lady in the universe", Lily blushed.

"So, we have to", Scitist entered the laboratory with a smiling face which changed into a frown due to the position he met them.