Chapter 32: Chapter 32

THIRTY ONE- XMAS HOLIDAY

The soft breeze of the harmattan caressing the air, the lively environment bursting with energy and the home theaters standing near the wide 48inch T.V which wouldn't stop singing the jingle bells Christmas Carole all gave the feeling that yes! It was Christmas.

And needless to say, it was also holiday.meaning, the first term exams were over and for the record, I aced it.

Yea.yea..I'm proud of myself

Christmas usually came with lots of bustling activities. Extended families usually visited during this time and sometimes, even cousins which I never knew I had, showed up during this time.but then, Aunty dara, my mum's extended cousin was coming today with her daughter Niniola.

Yup.Aunty dara and her daughter were like the closest relatives I could relate and vibe with.they were crazily funny and knew just when to make you happy.while aunty dara had a wide heart, niniola's dislike for pizza was something that gave me the assurance that I wasn't the only weirdo in this world.

Everyone was so busy preparing for the celebration,while kelechi was touched by a kind 'spirit' to do the decorations, mum was cooking the dishes, Uju was baking deserts and I was assisting anyone who needed help.

Awon Personal assistant...my subconscious teased.I chuckled lightly.adding whipped cream to the chocolate pancakes which Uju did.

"All this food, are we even sure we'll finish it today?" I asked looking at the set of fried rice, roast chicken and beefs, jollof rice and salad, red velvet cupcakes, sugar pancakes, chocolate chips, chocolate pancakes, Apples, pineapple juice..heck! They were much.

" mum and aunty dara plan to visit the orphanage home with somepeople from the church.so it's all tomorrow's preparation also." Uju replied

I formed my mouth in an 'o' shape, before stealing some of the chocolate chips and skipping away to join mum who was still busy over pots of chicken waiting to be roasted.

*******

Few hours gone, and the table was set.though that didn't stop the stereo from skipping to another Christmas song, Felix navidad. I smiled happily as I sang along while setting the plates on the table.

" merry Christmas lil sis "kelechi said behind me and I smiled

"Merry Christmas big bro " I cooed and he grinned

" oshey award winning brother of the year "

I snorted in reply "you wish"

No sonner had everything been set than aunty dara's car pulled over to the house.hooting continously causing mum to run out of the house wearing a huge smile on her face.

I watched them in amusement as mum kept teasing them with greetings while she laughed still hooting the car horns.I'm sure they knew they were disturbing the peace of the neighborhood

Well who cares? When she was tired of blaring the horns, aunty dara and her seventeen year old Nini came out in all their glory, engulfing mum in a bear hug.

" oh my gosh! Anna..." aunty dara called in excitement and that minute, I caught mum freeze in her spot.

She quickly gave her a sharp look, the latter bit her lips in realisation before she resumed greeting but not calling the name Anna again.

Mum's name wasn't Anna..i knew that cause I've seen her I.d. her name was Racheal Amaka Johnson, at least that was what the I.d all said..I decided to shrug it off, maybe it was just a slip of the tongue.

" see my baby of yesterday!!! " aunty dara sang out as she engulfed me in a hug, she smelt like flowers, freshly cut flowers.

" thank goodness I've grown " I replied hugging her back.she snickered

" because you're sporting this curves, that's what is giving you airs that you've grown shebi? Just so you know you're still my baby" she replied with a teasing smile

" merry Christmas to you dear stranger cuz " niniola said,with a small pout.she called me a stranger cause we both barely talk when we on phone

" same to you..dear stranger"I replied snickering and she huffed a smile as we both hugged

Admist the loud greeting and talks, Nini had gone to talk to kelechi and Uju for awhile aunty dara kept mum busy with her gist.

*****

Few hours into the meal, aunty dara, Niniola, Uju, kelechi and mum, had been discussing random issues which I had unknowingly zoned out on cause I was caught up with staring at the picture dozie and I took in the wedding dresses, he had earlier sent me a christmas message and when I asked if he would like to have lunch with us, he said him and his dad were going out for lunch.

Pretty cool, I guess.

" ahh mehd ooh !" Niniola exclaimed as she peered at the phone screen before handing it to her mum who in turn stared at the phone screen with huge smiles resting on their faces

Of course, I forgot to tell you that Nini could be a heartbreakinly evil ...even though she was fun to be with

" Maky, you didn't tell us that you've gotten meera married already " aunty dara said smirking at me.she had shortened mum's name from Amaka to maky.

Mum glanced at the both of us in confusion, Uju was grinning widely and kelechi looked like the elastic holding his lips will soon wear off with the way he was smiling like a total douche that he is.

" as in..I don't get?" Mum asked still befuddled. Just as aunty dara wanted to show the phone which she snatched from me earlier on to mum.I moved faster, snatching it back from her, making her smirk widely

" don't worry mummy is nothing " I said.mum looked at me with a raised eyebrow

" you really think I will believe you saying it is nothing?"she asked and I shrugged.i glanced at Uju who held her hands in mock surrender

" don't look at me!! " I rolled my eyes at her- way to go.Uju

" fine! He's my friend and I..."

" you mean your boyfriend?" Niniola asked and my cheeks slowly heated up as mum looked at me wide-eyed.I glare at a smirking Niniola who had a pleased look wearing on her face.

" Meerachi Johnson so you have a boyfriend? "She asked, calling out my full name

I scratched the back of my neck nervously, trying to force out words from my mouth at least to tell her something, but the words wouldn't come out.

" since when? How? Why?"mum asked all at once

" all this questions is just too much sha.."kelechi chirped in and lord knows how grateful I was that minute

" what do you mean by too much?..meerachi has a boyfriend under this ceiling where we all live together and I just knew about that" she queried.then turned to kelechi

" did you even have an idea about this?"

" mummy calm down. It's not that a big of a big deal..you're trying to just escalate the thing " kelechi spoke up and mum shot him a glare.I was so sure that looks could kill, kelechi would have died a thousand times and he wouldn't even arise on judgement day.

" but mummy I didn't say he was my boyfriend na "I intervened and my mum sighed

" a boy that is your friend. Isn't he your boyfriend? "She asked making all of us laugh then she added in a more serious tone

" I have Ayo as a friend, then there's Adam, priye and dozie. does it mean I have four boyfriends? "I asked jokingly

" oshey!!! Na dem dey rush us " Niniola hailed and I flick my middle finger at her, making kelechi roar into laughter, Nini,faking a gag and mum scowling at my action

Aunty dara gingerly sipped her glass of juice with a small mischeviously smirk on her face and one hand resting on her bosom while Uju dugged quietly into her meal

" anyway. Wait for me later.." I knew she was going to give me the lectures about why I should stay away from boys and all that..sincerely, I dreaded that lecture cause it could run into hours and mum wouldn't get tired of talking.

But it's all for the best.

" so have you two smooched abi made out..." nini asked asked and I felt my face flush as she plastered a knowing smile.

" yea.." I replied in a low tone and this time she smiled widely

" did you two go beyond...yunno"she paused, wriggling her eyebrows

I stared at her for some minutes before I finally realized what she meant.I covered my face in embarrassment as I yelled.

" jeez. Niniola!! No.....I mean..no..we only make out and stuffs "

Aunty dara raised her eyebrows "stuffs?"

" yea stuffs..as in making out, cuddling and nothing past that " I replied with a blatant look

" thank goodness..I'm relieved " Nini replied, placing her hands on her chest with a sigh of relief.

" you should be.not everyone is on loose ends like you " I retort and she snaps her eyes towards me

" what's that supposed to mean?"

" it means don't get me started on the last Christmas when you had that fling with- "

She covered my mouth with her palms as the rest at the table looked at us in confusion, probably trying to figure out what I was about to say.

Sha .I wasn't planning on putting Niniola on the bridge cause she's tad a bit annoying.I just wanted her not to spurt out rubbish again.

" what happened last Christmas?"Uju asked

" nothing.." Niniola replied in a rushed tone giving me the eye signal not to reveal anything

" she had to fling a knockout at some guy's fence making their son relapse into panic attack cause he thought it was a gun shot " I replied, using the quickest lie but not totally lie.to cover up.

Truth is, Niniola once had a fling with some random guy last christmas when we went to a holiday villa, my mum and her other relatives prepared in lagos. She claimed she was drunk and besides it was a one night stand..she basically told me about it cause we were agemates and I was the closest person to her then.

But then, the story about the guy with the panic attack was real.cause there was this guy who kept asking Nini out but she wouldn't give him a chance and he wouldn't give up. So she told me and we decided to mess with him.hence the knockout story

Maybe nini and I are evil sha..

Aunty dara and mum seemed to buy my story cause soon they started talking about people with panic attacks. Aunty dara was a nurse so she easily found delight in talking about things like this.but then Uju and kelechi still gave us the suspicious gaze while Niniola hideously gave me a thumbs up and i found myself rolling my eyes at her.

Dozie

I sat in the fancy looking eatery with dad, he decided that nanny shouldn't make any dishes today since he needed to spend an alone time with his 'son'.

Frankly, I still don't get how he remembered all of a sudden that he had a son.cause the man I knew, was never at home during christmas season.

I stared at the food which laid in front of me looking untouched. I didn't even have an appetite to start with. While,dad was eating with relish, I punched the keypad on my phone in a bid to keep myself busy.

" don't you like the meal?...we can other something else " he said, looking up from his food

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly "I'm good "

" you've not touched your food"

" that's because I don't feel like eating" I replied sharply.he narrowed his eyes at me a little, not saying a thing

I looked up at him, just in time to see his eyes trail at the sight of a man who was haggardly dressed.

His eyes hardened and he abset-mindedly clenched his cutlery hard as he stared at the man, walking out of the eatery.what the heck was wrong with him.

" are you thinking of doing a charity case for someone ?"I asked in a bid to cut the hard stares

Dad swiped his attention towards me, Coughing a little as he gulped down the water in a glass cup

" why did you ask?"

" you're glaring at someone discreetly but not no discreet " I retort and he shrugged

" did you quit the visual arts ?" He asked out of the blue and I raised my face at him again

" is that why we're having lunch outside home?"

He sighed deeply, running his hands through his face as in exasperation

" No! I'm just trying to get to know my son better..sort of looking out for you" he replied and I scoffed

" does looking out for me include me quitting visual arts?"

" I'm interested in anything that will help your future " he snapped

I felt my insides burn with rage as he spoke.he just had a knack for showing off what a jerk he was.only that I had to keep it low.

" my future...?"I crooked out then bit my lower lips in annonyance

"Dozie...."he called gently "you're getting to your second terms of your final year..I'm trying to do what i can do for you"

I stood up abruptly from the table. He was getting worse each freaking day and i just needed to leave that environment before I get suffocated sitting with him

" where are you going? "He asked and I mentally roll my eyes at him

" home.thanks for nothing anyway " I replied, grabbing my jacket as I stalked off.leaving him to call out my name.

A small light creep up to my phone screen and I swiped the message open.from priye..

Hanging out tomorrow with sola and the others. Make sure you show up

I shrugged in reply even though he couldn't see me.I ordered an uber and proceeded to go straight home before putting a video call to Meera.

Meera

" so do you want to gist me about it?"nini asked as soon as we were alone in my room.she was staying for a week frankly, wasn't a bad idea

" share what? There's nothing to say" I replied her.she has been going through my gallery of pictures and trying to get gist from me when she came across most pictures that dozie and I took.

" you mean he just came to you, told you he liked you and you being the stubborn head that you are, just agreed ?"she asked sneering

I laughed "if it was like that..then I'm sure by now, pigs would fly "

She raised her eyebrows at me "of course I knew men would have to be in the labor room if it happened like that "

" ahah nau "I replied feigning a hurtful look as she burst out laughing

" hey, I like this picture "she said referring to the day dozie and I wore matching shoes and shirts and deemed it fit to pose like super-dope couples that we are

I smiled at the memory "yeah..I like it too "

" and this guy.who's this?"She asked. Showing me the phone screen

" oh that's Ayo..my best friend " I replied and she cooed

" aww..see as you're just surrounded with fine guys meanwhile some of us have toads and frogs around us" she whined with a pout and I burst out laughing so hard

Seriously? Frogs and toads??

Last time I checked, Niniola's frog and toads were dudes that made you think if she used some kind of vudoo to enchant them. Cause they were all screaming sexy and hot.

"Hmm hmm.tell me about it " I said in between fits of laughter

" not frogs as in frog's frog ooh.."she said laughing "they just know how to piss you off that's it "

A small message chimed on my phone screen, cutting Nini off.I swiped the screen to see a message from sola, asking me to hang out with them

Definitely

I glanced at Nini, she was still scrolling through my pictures. "Hey Nini..tomorrow I'm hanging out with my friends. Do you want to tag along?"

She titled her head as if in deep thought

"Umm..so I really want to meet your friends tomorrow but I guess, mum may just tell me to tag along with her and aunty maky visiting the orphanage " she replied

I puckered my lips and nodded in understanding

" aww...anyways.I owe you a gist sha" I replied and her eyes chimed with delight

"Yass..lemme not- "

The sound of my ringtone vibrating from my phone had cut whatever nini was going to say.I glanced at the screen and subconsciously smile at the caller Id

" hey dozie!!!" I called out excitedly as his handsome face graced my phone screen

"Damn..dude is hot !" Nini whistled behind me and I glare at me for a moment before channeling my attention to dozie with a huge grin resting on my face

" see her looking hopeless.abeg ooh" she teased and I flick my middle finger at her making her laugh as she strolled out of the room.