Chapter 12: Chapter 12

"Isabella Ene Smith! Get down here right now. We are running late," mum yells from downstairs. I would laugh at her bad pronunciation of my middle name but my mind is too clouded with worry to sense humour.

I throw pillows around but still cannot find my phone. Picking the bag I took for yesterday's shopping, I empty it on the bed once more, hoping the phone will just pop out but no, it’s not there. My heart rate picks up and I suddenly need air.

“Calm down, you'll find it,” I told myself. With two deep breaths, I make up my mind to go to Church without my phone.

"Ene, could you give me a shot with your phone?" Kemi asks and my eyes bulge. Kemi is a am acquaintance I made at St. Peter's parish. The moment she knew my tribal name, she decided to refer to me by it.

"No," I blurt.

"Why not? Come on, use it joor. I like your camera. Mine's rubbish," she whines while I rack my brain for an excuse.

"Are they taking pictures? I'm in," Caleb chips in from where he is standing before jogging towards us with his friend. When we first came to the parish, I did not make friends but the moment Kemi and I started to talk, I was automatically friends with many other people. Now, some of the boys won't stop calling me.

"Shift jare. I don't want to take any picture with you," she orders with a scowl when Caleb tries to put his arm around her waist.

"Why na? Okay, okay, I will make it up to you. Today," he cajoles her but she ignores him. I am just standing there, wondering which camera they want to use to take the pictures.

"Girl, where is your phone?" she asks, referring to me.

"I did not bring it today," I finally declare.

She frowns, "why? Don't tell me you committed an offence and your mother took it from you," she rambles on and Caleb and Osita begin to tease me.

With an eye roll, I let a lie slip off my tongue. "Today is no-phone day for me, so I left it at home." I am not sure they are buying my story but I shrug it off and walk off to find Nes.

"Hey, Nes!" I call out when I see her and walk to her. "Oh, hey Fletcher," I greet with a smile and pass Nes a mischievous smirk. She glares, signalling me to quit it and I chuckle.

"Hey, Bella. You look gorgeous today," he complements my outfit and I blush. Okay, the boy is a real gentleman. No wonder he has Nes trapped.

"Um, Nes? I'll see you around," he says before flashing me the million-dollar smile he has been feeding Nes and walking away.

Ooh, cute! Okay Bella, stop being weird. With wide and curious eyes, I turn to Nes.

"Duh," she deadpans and walks off.

I let out a short laugh, "I haven't even said anything!

***

"Guys, Bee can't find her phone," Melody announces and everyone looks at me. We are eating ice cream at pink bubble ice cream shack.

Kevin clears his throat after swallowing a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, "since when?"

"This morning. I woke up and could not find it," I pause to look at their faces. "I still can't." Jasper lets out a sigh that draws my attention.

"So that means you were robbed," Melody states, distracting me. Almost everyone at the table rolls their eyes at her point and she shrugs.

"Did you see it when you got home yesterday?" Jasper asks, looking intently at me. I try to avoid the stare but fail woefully.

"No. I was very tired and in dire need of a hot bath and blankets that I forgot to even check for it," I reply still looking at him. His stare tells me that he knows what is on my mind and is confirming it to be true. But I don't want to believe it. My phone can't be stolen. Not by that innocent looking boy he almost beat up yesterday. The phone is quite expensive. My uncle had given it to me as a present when he visited us in Texas months ago.

"That guy took it," he finally confirms it in words and I almost start crying. My sweet phone. Just before my birthday!

Alice drops her spoon into the empty ice cream plate and places her hands on the table, saying, "how are we going to handle this?"

"Have you told your parents?" It is Ayo. I immediately shake my head.

"If I tell them, I’m in trouble. And I won't be getting a new one until graduation," I whine.

"What?" Lima and Kevin exclaim at the same time. I am taken aback by the shock on their faces but I roll my eyes and continue to talk about how screwed I am.

"Just keep it to yourself for now. We may be able to find it before tomorrow," Jasper says, placing his spoon on the table and leaning back in his chair.

"Are you sure? Because you don't want to hear the ridiculous excuse I gave some people earlier today," I gripe.

"Now that you've mentioned it, I definitely want to hear it," Lima grins. Melody changes the topic and we converse till 4p.m. before going home.

***

The low music playing from the stereo is meant to calm me down but it has done little to nothing so far. I press the power button on the remote before throwing it on the bed. My sweet phone. I try to avoid the thought of mum finding out. I don’t know the kind of excuse I will give her; the major reason why I suggested that we go and eat ice cream. But now I am home and still without a phone. Just then, I hear a knock on my door and mum peeks in.

My heart drops into my stomach. "Mum!" I say a little too loudly.

Her expression changes to one of mild concern as she moves towards me. "Honey, are you okay?" I gulp as I adjust on the spot.

"Yeah. You kind of startled me while I was soliloquizing." the lie slips out of my mouth so easily, I am surprised.

She sits beside me. "Any problem?"

"No. Is there anything you want me to do?" I ask and she nods.

"Could you watch Mary while her mum and I go evening shopping?" Mum and Mrs. Lawrence have become close friends over time and practically do everything together.

With a smile, I reply, "sure." She sighs and stands up to leave. "See you later. Buy lots of birthday stuff for me,"

I call and she turns around, "for you and Mary, you mean?"

"What?"

"You and Mary are birthday buddies. She'll be nine tomorrow," she explains and I raise my brows in surprise. I did not know this.

"How come I did not know?" I ask but she only shrugs and walks out. Then my misery returns. My phone is still missing.

Ten minutes later, Mary and I are seated on my bed and I am braiding her hair. Her hair is quite like mine; black, frizzy, long but softer. I laugh as she tells me of a girl in her school who is prone to tripping over stuff.

"They call her Trip," she says amidst guffaws. I can't tell which is funnier; her laughter or the story she is telling me.

"And we're done," I announce, patting her hair and she rushes to the mirror to take a look. Looking back at me, she giggles, lifting the end of the braids and letting them fall back on her shoulder.

"I love it!" she squeals, making me furrow my brows playfully.

"Your turn," she states, hopping back on the bed and giving me an expectant look.

"No. I don't think I need―"

"Come on, I don't have a sister to play with like this. And Jasper―" she stops there.

"Jasper…?" I ask, urging her to continue. "You can talk to me, Mary."

"Jasper hardly has the time now. He used to braid my hair and leave his door unlocked at night so I could enter whenever I got scared," she explains solemnly.

Sorry who?

She waves her hand close to my face to bring me back to reality and I realise my mouth is hanging open.

"Sorry. Wait, Jasper?" I ask in incredulity. Wait till I catch that boy. A wicked smile starts to creep up my lips but her next words make me snap out of it.

"But now, he locks his door at night and never answers when I knock. Even though I know he is usually awake." The sadness in her voice makes me slap myself mentally for being so insensitive and I suddenly feel like crying. Instead, I hug her. Every thought of mocking him has disappeared.

When we let go of each other, I say, "don't worry, you can always come over. Even if I am not around, Nes will be." She nods before motioning for me to get down from the bed and sit. In surrender, I climb down and she begins to braid my hair.

A thought pops up in my head and I ask, "did you braid Jasper's hair too?"

"Yeah, but only the front. He cuts the back too low for me to catch," she answers.

Another question rolls out of my mouth, "what does it feel like?" BANG! My eyes almost pop out of their sockets when I realise what I just asked. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"What? Jasper's hair?"

Shit, she got the message. It feels like a hammer just smashed into my tummy.

"Well, it's sleek because he got my mum's hair," she actually starts to explain. "And it's really soft and smooth to touch. The braids hardly last a minute before they loosen. You'll love playing with Jasper's hair," she explains in laughter, probably proud of herself for having such precise descriptiveness for a nine year old.

Is there a pencil nearby? I need to die before the embarrassment kills me.

"Um, Mary?" I manage to say since dying does not seem feasible at the moment. "Could we, you know, keep our conversations a secret? As in, girl secret and not tell anyone?"

Please say yes.

"Okay. Girl secret," she affirms and I exhale the load of air that has been stuck in my lungs.

***

"Kids! We’re home. With a big surprise," mum calls as she and Mrs. Lawrence walk in

"Ooh, I love surprises," Nes chirps, standing up from the winged chair she seemed to have been glued to ever since her return from Eno's house.

"I thought you'd never get up," I mutter but before she gives her reply, the ‘surprise’ walks in. Aunt Oya. Nes and I shout in excitement as we run to meet her. Aunt Oya is our favourite aunt. We got really used to her back in Texas.

"Look at my sweethearts!" she shouts, hugging each of us.

Pulling Mary closer, I introduce her, "this is Mary, Mrs. Lawrence's daughter and my birthday buddy." Aunty hugs her with a smile.

Later in the evening, we all sit at table and say the grace before meal. "Oh my gosh, I have missed this!" aunty exclaims, to everyone's surprise.

"What do you mean you've missed this? You were the one who practically ripped my head off with your keep-your-culture-alive lessons," mum states and aunty bursts into laughter.

"Oh please, I did you a favour. And you were a pretty bad student," she jibes, causing all of us to laugh at mum. Mum shoots us death glares and we start to clear our throats and cough.

"Only at learning the language," mum defends.

"Yeah, you were like that pupil with a block in his brain. No offense," aunty relentlessly taunts. Another round of laughter erupts and this time, mum joins in too.

After a few more minutes of discussion, aunty declares that she is engaged and will be getting married in December. It turns out that that is why she came to Nigeria; to prepare for the wedding. Her husband to be, according to her, will be coming in December. The whole evening is so spiced up with happiness that I forget the fact that I have a phone to find.