Chapter 10: Chapter 10

: Ratchet

→Narrator: Kam

Asa's best friend, Kosi, worked at Ratchet, a beauty/clothing store that sold everything concerning imperial femaleness. It was a spa, waxing, hair and make up salon and clothing store, wrapped up in one huge elegant complex.

I walked into the building and my senses were immediately assaulted by the scent of jasmine and lavender and essential oil. A sickly sweet scent that didn't let me breathe properly.

I found Kosi immediately, battling with a mannequin.

"Stay, you stupid life sized doll!" She shrieked, totally manhandling the poor mannequin, with exaggerated aggression.

"Uh, Hey-"

She immediately turned to look at me with a fake close eyed smile, adopting a professional stance, letting the mannequin fall to the ground. "Ho ho ho, I'll be your hoe for the dough. How may I help you?"

I cringed. "Uh... What?"

The moment she heard my voice, her eyes flew open and the professional smile she had painted on, melted off her face. "Oh, it's you, Kam. Sorry about that, they pay us to say that to all of our customers. All." She shivered, then beamed back at me. "So what do you want?"

If Asa was the moon, Kosi was an infectious star. She was a bright and energetic person that never let anything get to her and I was glad Asa had someone as confident and bubbly as her for a best friend.

She was very beautiful, with shiny dark cocoa skin, a round, almost child-like face, and clothes that emphasized her assets. Kosi was pretty famous as this huge social media influencer and brand ambassador. I know she started her own clothing line at fifteen under the help of her mother. At her age, she was already a self-made millionaire, insta model and afro-pop culture icon. She was amazing in her own right, and I wondered why she worked at Ratchet, when she already had so much going for her.

Her outfits usually showcased how edgy and confident she was. Right now, she was wearing a very tight, white, off-the-shoulder crop top, the words, Sassy, Moody, Nasty, in bold prints in front. She had suspenders, hooked to her body hugging skirt, placed a few inches under her belly button, where her belly piercing peeked out. Her hair was always in long black braids with pink tips, rhinestone clips, holding them away from her face, long boots that ended around her thighs. Her name tag, read Kosy, in cursive.

"I need your help."

"Not helping." She quipped, turning to walk away from me.

"Wait, what?" I followed her as she started sifting through clothes on the hangers.

"You heard me."

"Why?"

"It's girl code. You break her heart, I break your kneecaps. Except, I'm waiting for the right opportunity, you know? Gotta do it when you least expect it."

She said it with a neutral expression as she removed a shirt from the rack and placed it in a different rack.

I didn't know whether to take her seriously.

"Kosi, I'm serious."

She turned to look at me, her face, a hardened glare. She folded her arms and stuck out her left leg, giving me sassy attitude. "You think I'm joking? You think all this is a fucking joke to you? You hurt my best friend, Kam and I don't know the full deets but I swear to God, I'll take on anyone for her, man or monster. So you can take your no good, Golden boy persona and stick it where the sun don't shine."

She scoffed, flipped her hair in my face as she turned and left.

I was left shocked at her.

"Kosi, please. I'm sorry about what happened."

"Yeah, you should be." She snorted and I noticed how she gazed forlornly at an outfit she was replacing on the hanger.

"I'll buy you that shirt, if you help me out." I said, quickly, before she left again.

Her eyes narrowed at me. "Don't string me along like that, DeAngeles. That's rude."

I cocked my head to the side and waited, letting her know I was serious.

"Shit, you're serious!" She realized.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I'll throw in a Prada collection too if you'll agree." I added.

"Add some Jimmy Choos and you got yourself a deal." Kosi said.

I grinned at her. "Deal."

"So, what do you need help with?"

"My grandfather lent me his vacation villa offshore, for the Christmas break and I think it'll be good if you, me and the rest of the gang, take some time off and unwind from everything. I need you to convince Asa to come along...."

"Oh my God!" Her eyes bulged. "Offshore!"

Everyone knew Offshore, a huge, man-made island, off the west coast of Lagos. Where the richest of the richest spent their vacations and partied, sometimes, resided. You were not at the top yet, if you didn't own at least, one property Offshore... And my grandfather owned thirty percent of the properties offshore. Offshore was lit.

She stroked her chin, in deep thought. "Well, I'll be an idiot to pass up such an opportunity. I bet it'll look good in my CV."

I let her believe that.

"And you offered me the latest Prada collection... Hmm."

"Please, Kosi. I need you to convince Asa to come along... I need to put things right with her... I love her."

Her eyes softened as she smiled softly at me. "Yeah, that's what I told her, golden boy... You got yourself a deal. I'll convince her, Kam. I'll do my best."

"Great! I actually saw this Kylie lipkit I think you'll like..."

*

I found Jemi shooting hoops, on the basketball court in the park, after dark.

He was completely flawless as he bounced the ball all around the court, shooting from various distances, never missing the hoop, not even once.

When he noticed me watching, he dunked the ball one last time, jogging over to where I stood.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked.

"Yeah. About Asa."

Asa was determined to avoid me at all cost. I had only gone to Haliya's party because I thought she'd be there... But she never even showed up. I'd call her and text her but she wouldn't answer, I even drove to her home on the mainland three times already but got turned back by her apologetic cousin, Yanis.

"She'll come around." He had said, a worried, almost understanding look in his eyes. "Just give her time."

Time I spent on sleepless nights, running out of my mind.

Jemi frowned, growing defensive. "Bro, do you have a deathwish?" His golden eyes narrowed.

I held my hands up in surrender. "Well, since, I don't see you picking anyone's side-"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Kam. Even if the whole world were against her, I'll still pick her side. Right now, I'm just feeling you out. Trying to see if I can get away with killing you. There's a body bag right now in my car and I think it'll fit perfectly."

His playful grin made me know he was joking.

Jemi was all lean muscle, tall height, with strong arms, made stronger from playing basketball. I had more in the muscle department, compared to him, and I knew I could take him down in a fair fight. But he looked like he would kill for his loved ones. His loyalty, I think that's what I liked best about him.

We sat at the bleachers, as the evening melted into night, crickets chirping as we drank beer and just goofed up.

"How did you meet Asa again?"

He shrugged nonchalantly and guzzled down more beer. "You know how Kosi and I were best friends, long before Asa came into the picture?"

I nodded.

Jemi and Kosi were an iconic duo. That quintessential set of best friends that were attached at the hip. The type where you couldn't find one without the other, who slept over at each other's houses, even on weekdays and whose parents knew and trusted in their friendship.

"Well, it was all Kosi's fault that Asa became our friend. She wouldn't leave her alone, even though she made it clear, not too subtly, that she wanted us to fuck out of her life. I didn't like Asa. Not at first. She scared me, that girl. She looked at me and I felt like she was looking at my soul. Like she could see through crap. The rumours about her were bad enough and I usually don't roll with that shit, but she legit acted like the ice witch they made her to be. There was something cold, frozen about her, she was mean and bitter but I tolerated her, because Kosi liked her."

I listened as he leaned back against the bleachers, his gaze, looking up to heaven as stars twinkled and shooting stars whizzed past. "I didn't start feeling protective of her, until I saw her cry."

"You saw her cry?"

"Yeah. She had a bad day at school that day, you know, with the rumours and low key bullying. So I made her come home with me and Kosi and we were sharing this big tub of ice cream... And a call came in. And she just broke down and started crying."

A soft wind took up between us and I shivered, grateful I had brought a hoodie along.

"I guess, that was the first time I realized she wasn't an ice witch. She wasn't just a character in people's stories, in people's gossip. She was human. She was vulnerable. She was somebody's daughter and she had a heart and a soul. Kosi, being the damn lovable creature she was, went and bought friendship bracelets for the three of us."

He held up his hand, where a band of bronze with an infinity sign, sat smuggled around his wrist. "It sort of cemented our friendship. I felt bad for not liking her at first and no matter how difficult she got, I just let it slide, you know? Whatever brought her here to Lagos, that shit messed her up pretty bad, Kam. She's been through shit that she wouldn't tell anyone and I admired it about her. Her ability to take shit quietly. Never once losing her temper. God knows I'd have gone berserk on anyone that tried to ruin my image. No one deserves that kind of crap, no one. 'specially not her."

He grew quiet for a while, knocking back a bottle of beer. "I guess, I'm grateful to you, Kam."

"Me?"

What the hell for?

"She was our friend, yes, but she never confided in us about anything. She never opened up. I rarely even saw her laugh. She'd smile, once in a while, but that was it... But she opened up to you, Kam. You saved her in a way me and Kosi couldn't, and I'm grateful to you for that."

I said nothing, only drank more beer as I became vaguely aware that the nightlife was just about to start. A group of boys walked past, holding up a speaker, where Pepper Dem, by Zlatan Ibile was currently playing.

"My point, DeAngeles, is that you saved Asa from whatever black hole was consuming her. She'd never say it to your face, but she loves you, Kam. Never doubt that."

My heart twisted painfully. Stomach churning as I remembered our argument again.

"You can't even say it, can you?" I had shouted at her.

I regretted all my words and actions now. I should have been more patient.

What have I done?

He looked at me, dead in the eyes. "When it comes to Asa, all bets are off. I can't beat up the entire fucking world for her but God knows I'll die, trying." His hands tightened around the bottle of beer in his hands. "I'll take on the world for her, Kam, but you're the world to her, in her eyes. Better believe it."

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