It Started with a BET

Chapter Eight

Dedicated to Teda_Maria

      

                                  ~

Zemela's POV:-)

I walked home after work in annoyance, a stupid customer annoyed the hell outta me, I don't understand guys, I'm not interested is I'm not interested, money or no money...

The embarrassment and annoyance from earlier in the library is still ever green in my memory...

Arggghhhh!! I hate today so much.
Like my cousin would say, "my village people are after me today".

I chewed the wooden stick from the popsicle I just finished harder as I arrived the bus station, the amount of people made me anxious, I can't handle large crowd alone, I brought out my pen, started playing with my already destroyed pen cover.

~

I closed the door behind me happily realizing my dad wasn't home. Oh! so much peace. I hummed one of Burna Boy's new song, I barely even know the lyrics I just hear Skyler singing it, she said it's one of Burna Boy's new hit.

I took my school shoes off, placing them neatly, my siblings had their shoes scattered around. Arggghhhh! How I hate disorganized places. I arranged the the shoes.
"I'll have to tell daddy about your recent excess sugar consumption" Pamela's voice came, that girl, "It'll be fun seeing you gulp down a bottle of Abgo" I could tell she was smiling, why is she so evil?

"Mind your business" I yelled stepping into my room.

Not sharing a room is the only form of enjoyment I get in this house, Pamela shares one with Lucinda while my dad shares one with Louise.

My Aunty-step-mom; it's that complicated? died when I was nine, Pamela was four, Lucinda and Louise were new borns. She became my step-mother few months after my mom's death, I must say my dad is a stubborn man, he withstood the family pressure and all. My Aunty-step-mom is the cause of my mother's death. My mother, Grace Arike Muhammad Olufola died when I was five, the day Pamela was born, the day my father presented my mother with divorce papers, the day she found out her husband has been cheating on her with her dearest younger sister Mercy Abike Muhammad Olufola, the day her sister, the girl she took care of from the small age of ten, the girl she gave up everything for, the girl she had struggle to train and educate, the girl she turned into a person people like my father would get attracted to, gave birth to a baby girl, a child that belonged to her loving husband.

My mom was so in love, culture and home training has it that you love your husband no matter the situation, wives act like slaves to their husbands, never raising their voices at their husbands, taking immense care of their husbands, your husband becomes your mini god. I don't disagree with some part of it, a wife has here duties towards her husband, yes, but that doesn't mean she'll almost worship him, there are times were my father would come back home late, he'll complain of the meal prepared no matter how late it is my mom would prepare whatever meal he wants, I felt it was totally inconsiderate of him. I can't recall a time where my dad would show my mom as much care as she showed him, it's always her taking care of him, all he cares about is paying house rent, giving my mom money to buy food stuffs, paying my school fees that's all nothing more nothing less.

My mom couldn't stand the thought of the community seeing her as a divorcee; another major problem, in my mother's family widows are better than divorcees no one would want to marry a divorcee talk more of one with a child, not to say the reason for her divorce was her sister, her beloved younger sister, the girl she defended when everybody rebuked her, the girl she dropped out of school to educate, the girl she hawked to feed, it was just too much shame for my mother. If you ask me, it's quite heartbreaking but, I see no cause for cardiac arrest leading to death, I guess she loved her husband so bad and trusted her sister like her life that she found it necessary to drop dead in front of me, breaking my arm in the process, she gave me a befitting good bye gift.