The Externals Reloaded - Chapter Twentyeight

 

The box of chicken nuggets, fried rice and orange juice Lily's sister got her from their hangout spot was something she had hoped to enjoy privately. This hope was shattered into pieces when they got home and found Khadijat waiting outside. It seemed like she had been waiting for a long time so it would have been unfair to eat without her and it didn't seem like she was going to leave anytime soon...lol. Why don't we always get what we want in life?

"Thank you so much, bestie. I haven't tasted something that good since my brother's naming. You can remain for me if you can't finish it", Khadijat said when she finished her share of the takeaway. In response to her statement, Lily gave an unsincere blush.

"So how did last night's kiss go?" Khadijat asked.

"Nothing", Lily was happy to disappoint her hyper friend who she knew must have come all the way to know how a mere kiss was.

"You should know better. I don't take anything from the family of no as an answer", Khadijat gave her a devilish smirk.

"What do you expect out of a kiss that almost made my sister disown me?" Lily wanted to play the victim, forgetting how Khadijat knew her.

"Hmm, you still can't say you didn't enjoy it now", Khadijat tickled her.

"Please stop it, khadijat", Lily giggled like a little girl. "Fine. It was spectacular, felt very special".

"Awwn..." Khadijat jumped excitedly. "So, you two are now officially a couple?"

"I've not even heard from him since then", Lily sighed heavily.

At about 4pm, the Kunbis arrived at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport to bid the newest members of their family goodbye. Mr Kunbi was the first to start the welfare speech, "Even though I hate to let you guys go so suddenly, I wish you the best in your endeavors".

"Hold on, Wale. I need to discuss something urgent with Tokunbo", Mrs Kunbi dragged her stepson to a corner. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes, mama", Quinn smiled.

"Oh comeon, silly child. We both know you're just forcing this sudden trip on yourself", Mrs Kunbi was greatly displeased with his sudden decision to leave.

"Clearly not. I've spent my whole life over there and barely spent up to a year in this stuffy country", Quinn reminded her.

"Fine but you should at least apologise to Lily in person for what happened and say goodbye properly", Mrs Kunbi tried hard to make him do the right thing.

"Isn't it praiseworthy when a child follows his father's footprint after criticizing it so much", The minister's wife said sarcastically.

"Say whatever you want, little mummy. I don't care", Quinn played the hard guy but her words really touched him. It was one of the time he wished no little mummy ever appeared in his life.

"Come guys, it's time for a family selfie", Martha said as she assembled everyone.

Obviously, Mary hated Quinn's presence in their home so Martha expected her to even throw a party over his departure but to everyone's amusement, she started crying when they returned to their dad's car and saw his seat empty. All through the evening, she locked herself up in the room and refused to talk to anyone. She sought comfort from some of the American songs she had stolen from Quinn's playlist. But of course, she wasn't the only one that missed him. Neither her sister nor her mom could cook that evening. Even Tayo who always seemed to have something to complain about was quiet and the twins couldn't play as much.

When Quinn arrived in the United States, a couple of friends were already waiting for him at the airport with balloons and handmade welcome banners. The first person he saw was Mart, who he was always grateful to God for everyday of his life. Thereafter, he saw other familiar faces from school and lastly, Bert whom he least expected. He thought he was dreaming at first or the person he saw only looked like her but it really his ex-girlfriend. Nevertheless, her presence didn't make him feel troubled or threatened. He enjoyed the importance his friends attached to his homecoming. After leaving the airport, they dropped Miss Claire at home and went for a party at Mart's home.

Breathing in the air in his home country again made Quinn feel alive again. Seeing his old friends and playing beer bong with them surely made a difference compared to how he felt when leaving Nigeria. Still, he didn't party as hard as his friends expected him to. They sensed how morally conscious he had become that he would cringe at the sight of a kiss and scold his friends for making out publicly. Everyone couldn't help but make fun of the new Quinn. They understood that the visit to Nigeria must have affected his brain and would soon regain his senses in due time.

Lily was hopeful Quinn would appear at her doorstep in seconds with a sorrowful face and apologetic lips. Unexpectedly, seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days, days turned into a week. Yet, he didn't show up or reach her through any of her social media accounts. Like every normal person would, she felt he wasn't alright and needed to ask about his welfare. Then again, she felt he was ignoring her. Confused about what to do, she sought advice from Omma. And of course, mother hen advised her to forget about him.

Not having Quinn around was devastating for Lily. She longed for his comforting hands when things were hard but they were no where to be found. She was really tempted to visit his home to find out what was going on with him but her friends wouldn't let her "stoop so low". Lily was so lost that her mind easily wandered off. One time Fatty was standing right beside her but she didn't notice until the girl roared her name, making everyone else in the homeroom turn to look at her.

"Why did you have to shout my name like that?" Lily felt embarrassed.

"I clearly wouldn't have to do that if you've not been thinking about a white boy who used and dumped you", Fatty chuckled.

"Come on, Fatty. Why are you being so mean to her", Khadijat stood up for Lily.

"She has to face reality. Pampering her won't help matters", Fatty rolled her eyes.

"What you're saying is not true", Lily summoned the courage to speak up. "I'm sure the reason why he's not in school today is because he's embarrassed about what happened".

"Fine..fine", Fatty didn't let her finish speaking. "Do you have an extra pen I can borrow?"

"Check my locker", Lily stood up for a crying session in the restroom.

"Oh my God!" Fatty saw a handwritten letter there and read it to the whole class.

Clearly, Quinn didn't have the courage to face Lily or the emotional strength to tell her goodbye so he wrote her a letter with a element of poetry, hoping to convey his thoughts properly to her. Well, he was able to achieve that. Lily understood everything but they weren't just enough to take away the pain she was feeling. It was a pain she felt was going to scar her for life. Lily couldn't withstand her pain alone so at every opportunity, she transferred it to anyone that reminded her about it. Mary and Martha weren't spared because they didn't inform her earlier that he had left the country so she wouldn't have said those words to Fatty. At the end of the day, she actually looked like someone who was used and dumped.

"Good morning, Mr Spencer", Quinn greeted as he entered his principal's office.

"Good morning, Quinn", Mr. Spencer smiled and shook hands with me. "It's so good to see you again".

"Same here", Quinn took a seat.

"So for how long are you going to be around town?" Mr. Spencer asked, thinking he only came back for his mom's wedding.

"I actually came back here to begin my transfer", Quinn surprised Mr. Spencer with his response.

"Are you serious?" Mr. Spencer was actually a fan of his advocacy for a better educational system in Nigeria.

"Yes, I'm moving back home permanently", Quinn said with a sad smile.

"Is everything all right? You can talk to me about it", Mr Spencer saw the sadness in his eyes.

"There's nothing wrong, Mr Spencer. If you'll excuse me, I have a class to catch", He got up.

"Okay, son. Have a nice day!" Mr. Spencer watched him walk out of his office.

All through the day, Quin was quiet. After school, he arrived home to find his mom giggling yet it didn't have any effect on him. Still, he joined in the discussion about her wedding dress then they started talking about what suit would look perfect on him since he was yet to pick one. Along the line, Mrs Claire remembered how much he loved traditional wears. Then, she imagined him wearing the most ridiculous one to her wedding and started giggling. Beth didn't understand what was going on until she showed her his cultural day pictures.

"Hey, baby. You don't look alright", Miss Claire was scared her son would return to his old self.

"I'm okay, mum. It's just school work. I just need.....something to cool down", He replied, not knowing what else to say.

"There you go", Beth got him a glass of cold mango juice.

"Thanks, miss", Quinn emptied the whole content in his stomach and sighed. "I'll be upstairs for the time being doing some school work".

"Do you need help?" Beth was desperate for an opportunity to be alone with him.

"No, I'd rather be alone", He left for his bedroom. 

Quinn couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the whole family in the United States. He thought the day he left Nigeria was the last day he was ever going to see them but his mom had been kind enough to invite them for her wedding without informing him prior to their arrival. Never had he imagined he would have to share their crammed apartment with his polygamous Nigerian family.

"It's payback time, brother", The twins smirked as they started unpacking their travelling bag in their brother's room.

"Excuse me, there are lots of hotels in the United States and my friend's dad happens to own one of them.

"What's going on here", Mart came out of his bathroom with his bare chest, making Mary gulp.

"Hey, how can you go about naked in someone else's house?" Quinn threw a shirt at him and got a puzzled look from Mart.

"Trust that you're going to welcome us to town tonight the American way!" Martha brought out her special party dress out of her traveling bag.

"Sure, girls", Mart replied seeing that Quinn showed no interest in that.

Come evening, Mart drove the girls to "The tunnel" where Quinn struggled to curb his sisters' drinking habit, only for him to use the bathroom and return to find them wasted.

"Mom, why is Claire's hair so soft?" One of the young twins asked as she braided her stepmom's hair.

"I don't know. God made it that way", Mrs Bolanle took a sip of the green tea miss Claire made her.

"Why didn't he create mine that way? Doesn't he know how much combing hurts? Does he hate me?" She further bombarded her mom with questions.

"Comeon, honey. It's past your bedtime", Mrs Bolanle made the twins tell everyone goodbye and led them to miss claire's bedroom to avoid further questioning.

"God, I can't believe the kids didn't deem it fit to invite their own father to their party", Mr Kunbi scoffed as he poured himself a glass of cold water to calm his nerves.

"You seriously expect your kids to take you nightclubbing with them", Miss  laughed.

"Man would think of anything not to feel old", Mr Kunbi lamented.

"I think I have the perfect solution", Miss Claire smiled and went into the kitchen. There, she made some caramel popcorn and brought out big bottles of coke from the fridge. All night long, the adults watched movies and shared memories of the special moments they had with each other.

Miss Claire's beach wedding occured right in the presence of just fifty people, including her new family. Many thought it was a weird thing to do but she made her ex-husband hand her over to the new one. For her, that was the perfect way to forget about everything that happened in the past. Quinn on the other hand couldn't get the image of his dad and mom walking down the aisle out of his head. He still blamed himself for his parent's separation. After the usual wedding rites, the happy couple sailed away for their honeymoon. Quinn wished something unusual would happen and make his mom stay with him forever but his desire wasn't granted.

Lily purposely checked her Instagram account to know how Miss Claire's wedding went and most especially, Quinn's happiness status. Despite everything that happened, she pitied him knowing it would be hard seeing his mom leave him for another man. Still, she was happy seeing the pictures and videos that affirmed that miss Claire had the best wedding. The only part that made her cry was seeing a picture of Quinn smiling with his ex. She got even more sad after seeing the comments about them being perfect for each other. Considering the fact that Beth was above her in several aspects, she felt inferior.

Rather than enjoy the rest of the party with his friends, Quinn secluded himself. Still, Beth invaded his privacy and apologized for everything that happened, including his mom's wedding and their breakup. Quinn didn't seem so thrilled about her doing that because he had long forgotten they ever had a relationship but still accepted her apology. Again, Beth tried findinh her way back into his heart by telling him stories of how her new boyfriend used her; got her pregnant and refused to take responsibility for the baby so she had to abort the pregnancy. Unfortunately, Quinn got away before she finished her story because he saw an unknown guy flirting with his sister.

"Hey, man. What's wrong with you?" The unknown man who turned out to be Mart reacted to Quinn's punch.

"Mart, what the heck are you doing?" Quinn got angry at his best friend.

"Relax, brother. We were just having fun", Mary wasn't pleased with her brother for acting so uncivil and took Mart with her to get some ice for his injury.

"Hey, son. Are you okay?" Mr. Kunbi had his eyes on Quinn like always.

"I can't believe someone thinks I'm the bad guy for protecting her", Quinn felt like he was dreaming.

"Welcome to brotherhood, son", Mr. Kunbi laughed. "Too bad you don't have brothers to share the role with".

"Well, it's not too late for you to have another son", Quinn teased and directed his gaze to a woman who was sitting alone amidst the crowd.

"Are you kidding? I'd rather die than allow another woman in my life", Mr Kunbi sighed.

"Seriously, dad? I thought this was only the beginning...that I would exceed your legacy by having five for a start", Quinn poured him a drink.

"No, son. You must never make the mistake I did or you'll regret it for the rest of your life", Mr Kunbi said with a regretful look. "I think I made the biggest mistake of my life by giving your mom to another man".

"You'll be fine, dad", Quinn held his hand tightly.

"Will you return to Nigeria to make sure of that?" Mr Kunbi got the perfect chance to make him do his bidding.

Typical of Nigerian women, Quinn's stepmoms went to meet the caterers in charge of the party for leftovers so there would be something for everyone to eat when they get home. The caterer who had never been asked for such told her no and the angry women almost pounced on her. Mr Kunbi and Quinn had to stop them to prevent a war from occurring with a promise that they'll stop by at a restaurant to eat on their way home. The women found it hard to accept the fact that they would still have to buy food after paying a huge amount for catering but had to let things slide to protect their patriach's image.

It would have been unbearable for Quinn to live with his mom and stepdad so he stayed back at their old home. Indeed, the house was quiet without his mom around and Mart couldn't visit him just yet because they had not completely resolved the issue between them. Soon, Quinn got the job of an attendant at a Nigerian restaurant that just opened close to him so he wouldn't have to stay home alone after school hours. Yet, he felt lonely. The restaurant which reminded him a lot of things about Lily and Nigeria didn't help matters but there was no other job opportunity available then. He could withstand things until the restaurant owner played Southy Love by Fireboy and Peruzzi.

Girl I wan see you tonight
I would catch a flight to come see you tonight
Eh woo girl I wan see you tonight
I would catch a flight to come see you tonight
Cause this instance is killing me for sure
So give me ponmo
Give me meat on top
I want this your love oh
Say for this instance I'll do anything for love
Anything at all you're feeling this or not
Make I know what's up oh oh oh
Get dem

I go take flight and I will fly to you
As you dey waste time I fit dey run to you oh
I go take flight and I go fly to you
As you dey waste time I fit dey run to you oh
Get dem

Southy love oh girl you got wanting more
I can't get enough of your southy love
Oh girl you got me wanting more
Má ṣe bayi má ṣe bayi get dem
Ige bu
Kill e person
Ige bu

I don't wanna lose you you get style
Me I don shigbangban I don no no so no time
And if you say you no do I go wan die
Me I don kpalanga I don no no omo na red eye
Get dem

I go take flight and I will fly to you
As you dey waste time I fit to come to you
I go take flight and I go fly to you
As you dey waste time I fit dey run to you oh
Get dem

Southy love oh girl you got wanting more
I can't get enough of your southy love
Oh girl you got me wanting more P
Má ṣe bayi má ṣe bayi get dem
Ige bu
Kill e person
Ige bu
Má ṣe bayi má ṣe bayi get dem
Ige bu
Kill e person
Ige bu

Southy love oh girl you got wanting more
I can't get enough of your southy love
Oh girl you got me wanting more P
Má ṣe bayi má ṣe bayi

Lily was still nursing traces of pain about Quinn's departure but she was able to get by each day with support from friends and focusing on her upcoming exam. Their first paper was scheduled for the next day and despite preparing well for it, she was scared what happened in the previous weeks might affect her performance. Yet, she hoped God would intervene in her matter and make her efforts count. If she didn't pass her WAEC that year, she was afraid her sister will never forgive her.

The following morning, Johnson College was filled up. Besides students who came to write WAEC from other schools, there were sellers who came with different educational wares to sell to  parents who came to wish their children well. Lily wished her dad could be one of those but he had already returned to the federal capital territory with his wife. Still, she was grateful to her aunt who woke her up with a prayer call and her sister who sent her money to get whatever she would need for the examination during the weekend.