"You know what? I am sad as a bitch and it won't hurt to do this for once. Where's the molly, Maya?"

A small translucent leather with three star-shaped pills was thrown at the querier's face. She caught it right before it fell off her chest. Throwing half a pill into her Caprisun drink, she watched it dissolve before gulping it all down.

She picked up Maya's phone and swiped her eyes in search of the owner's phone. When she didn't find her, she shrugged, pressing play on the shuffled playlist she had memorized.

Her fingers rose in the air, questioning no one in particular.

Why men great till they gotta be great?

She picked the bottle of water off the kitchen island, brought it up to her lips to mimic a microphone, and sang.

I just took a DNA test turns out I'm a 100% that bitch, Fingers pointed at her chest, Even when I'm crying crazy!

She swiped to the side, shrugging her shoulders, Yeah, i got boy problems that's the human in me

Bling-bling, then i solve em that's the goddess in me

On cue, Maya kicked the door open and danced in while singing along with Laila. You could have had a bad bitch non-commital

The duo threw their arms in the air, Helped you with your career, just a little

You posed to hold me down. They squatted in sync, But now you're holding me back

And that's the sounnndddd of me not calling you back. They stood back up, high-fiving each other. Ow!

Laila folded her arms, her expression turning into a serious one, Why men great till they gotta be great?

She shook her palms. Don't text me, tell it straight to my face

The song suddenly changed when Maya pressed next on her phone.

The jump-off by Lil Kim started to play and Laila let out a scream. The intro continued to play while Maya ran off to grab a scarf and was back in a second.

Whilst still rocking to the intro, Laila's hand lifted to her forehead. "God! My head feels like shit. Let's gooo!"

I been gone for a minute now I'm back at the jump-off

Goons in the club in case something jumps off

And back up before the hive Let the pump off

In the graveyard is where you get dumped off

Laila offered the circle jig, encircling Maya as she rocked up and down.

All we wanna do is party

And buy everybody at the bar bacardi

Black barbie dressed in bulgari

In synce Laila and Maya's backs whined against each other, each lost in ecstasy.

Their arms went in the air, hard, screaming. I'm tryna leave in somebody's ferrari

Spread love that's what a real mob do

Keep it gangsta Look out for her, people

Laila had no idea how Maya worked it, but a shot glass cup was being shoved at her chest. She took it in her hands, her body's movement slowing down over the lyrics blasting as she looked at the cup and Maya in suspicion.

"It's just champagne!" Maya explained with a shrug.

They pointed fingers at their chests, I'm the wicked bitch of the east

You better keep the peace

Or outcome the beast!

The two best friend's rocked backward, Laila's arm wrapped around Maya's waist.

We the best

Still, there's room for improvement

Our presence is felt like a black panther movement

Seven quarter to eight

Back to back with em'

And I'm sitting on chrome

Seven times platinum! The best friends screamed in each other's faces, laughter erupting from both of them at how nostalgic they both were.

Peeps with the bentleys, the hunters, the benz

Escalades twenty-three-inch rims

Maya handed Laila another shot of champagne and they both gulped the content in one go while sustaining their jig.

Jumpin' out the jaguar with the tims

Keep your bread up, their arms spread in the air, And live good!

Indian style, they jumped up along with their arms, rocking their backs against each other. East coast, west coast, worldwide

Laila took the lead. All my playas in the hood, stay fly

Maya took the chorus. Stay fly, baby!

And if you're ballin let me hear you say right

Say right, baby!

The lyrics ended and the ending soundtrack continued to play. The buddies continued to dance and grind against each other when Laila's blurry view landed on the couch with piles of clothes on it.

Her eyes were becoming heavier and heavier every passing second.

Guess taking molly a few minutes after she had taken painkillers and night aids at 1 in the afternoon wasn't such a good idea.

She staggered to the couch, throwing herself on it, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep with a big smile.

***

Pacing back and forth, the tall, fair man ceased in his tracks. "If this is true, I'll make sure she regrets being born into this world."

Three beeps indicating the line has gone dead came again. The woman who looked to be in her late forties sighed, her grip on her phone tighter than she'd normally hold it.

However, this was also not a normal situation. So, she'd make an exception.

She puffed out air and sank into the couch.

The room went devoid of any sound aside from the older man's shoes hitting the carpeted floor repeatedly, back and forth along with the faint Ac sound.

"I want to ask you a favor." The woman held her breath after her words, dreading what his answer would be. She was so sure he was going to decline even before she asked what she wanted his mercy on until he didn't.

"Ina jinki."

"If she picks up our calls, please, let me talk to her. I know you're angry, I am also angry at her, but let me do this. Let me make her talk."

He stared at her, eyes squinting with anger. "No. We're doing this my way. Keep calling her."

The dark and short-seated woman wanted to scream at him. To put things through his thick skull. Except she couldn't.

She took her view off him to the phone secured in her palms.

Minutes went by until there was a knock on the double doors.

"Come in." The rough high pitched sound of the man came and soon enough, the man at the door was crouching to his knees a few feet from the distorted duo.

"It is confirmed, Yallaboi. She has been awol from the house for over a month now. She had only been seen there to get a few items and then she leaves with the driver. That also hasn't happened in two weeks." The middle-aged man finished, his eyes still cast down.

The tall man's footsteps yet again filled their ears before momentarily stopping. They had thought it was over until the sound of the show glass made contact with the un-tilled part of the room. The glass board and its contents shattered into pieces resulting in the flinch of the two other adults in the room.

The man's chest rose up and down in lack of breath before he turned to his slightly frightened audience. "This stays between the 4 walls of this room. If it gets out, i know who did it." He added the last part in the plural, but he was only referring to the other man in the room. The woman, he had absolutely nothing to be worried about for. Besides, she was his wife and the mother of the person causing his anger to cloud his judgment. "Go." He waved the man off.

Avoiding his view at all cost, the woman was thankful for the low sound of her ringtone that came to distract her. Her confusion disappeared and she finally looked at the angry man. "It's her."

He stretched a hand, "Give me the phone."

She shook her head, "Don manzon Allah ka bari inyi mata magana. I will even put her on speaker."

The man considered her request and nodded in approval. "Tell her to come home immediately."

A small smile of gratefulness lifted her lips before she answered and did what she said she would; put the phone on speaker.

"Mami!" A cheerful female voice came through after a few seconds longer than usual.

"Assalamu alaiki-"

"Assalamu alaikum." The still fake cheerful voice on the other side cut through.

Almost in sync, they returned blessings to themselves.

"Wa'alaikis sala—"

"Wa'alaikumus salam...Mami the server is shaky."

"Ai naji, Laila."

"Ina wuni, Mami."

"Lafiya lau, Alhamdulillah Laila. How are you?"

Fewer seconds than usual and Mami was planning to repeat her question, suggesting that the server was shaky and the lady on the other side didn't catch what she said.

At last, she replied. "I'm doing okay Alhamdulillah. What about you? How's Daddy? And Mama Adda? And the rest?"

Mami's view left her lighted-up screen to that of her husband who tapped his palms furiously, mouthing for her to do what she was supposed to; Talk to her. Mami raised her palm at him. "Everyone is ok Alhamdulillah. What about you? How is everything? You're not going to the clinic anymore ko? I heard doctors of your clinic went on strike and your phone has not been going through."

A loud sigh came from the other end. "Toh Alhamdulillahi. Doctors of BTH are their usual selves. My phone had to get its screen changed...a-and..well I'm just setting it up now that it has returned and your call came through."

The mother threaded her next words carefully. Only they could determine how this phone call would end.

"I and your dad are going to be in Abuja by maybe 5 pm today. He has his checkup and we just wanted to let you know that they'll also be a family dinner tomorrow, Insha Allah, with your siblings, i hope you can reschedule around that?" It was a psychological question. Her answer would determine if anything were wrong or not.

There was silence for a while until Mami started to talk again. "But if you're busy with—"

"Errr...i will—i am busy today and tomorrow. And uhh—but I'll see. We'll see."

Mami and Daddy's wide eyes met.

It was true.

Daddy raised his index to his lips to shut his wife up. He mouthed 'say goodbye.'

And she did.

"Okay then. I will let you know when we're there."

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Then a response. "Toh, Thank you, Mami. Ki gaida kowa."

"Zasu ji." The call had ended before Laila heard what the woman said.

Mami shook her head, her eyes starting to become slightly pink. She sniffled, "Something must have happened."

Daddy nodded, "She is not in the country."

Mami's peep snapped to her husband. What was the man saying? She had been talking to the girl every other day for the past two weeks with the same server problem.

"She is not in the country. These kids undermine me because they think i am starting to age but they forget i am well educated...She's not in the country." He repeated it, hoping he didn't have to explain further.

He did have to explain further though because of the look she was giving him. She was confused. "I say that because it's the most obvious thing. She has a habit of keeping things from us. She has a habit of wanting to be far from us, especially when in trouble. And, the server is not shaky. She is just in a country that doesn't brace the server," He let the 'ohhh...' look overtake the woman's expression before moving on, "The voices are coming late because of that. I am talking from experience."

Mami only nodded her head in realization.

The senior man stared rigidly at the door far from where he stood, "Summon Shehu. He is the only one who will certainly know her whereabouts. And, i repeat, keep this low."

***

Panic. Fear. Realization.

All 3 emotions hit her square in the face.

Despite ending the call almost ten minutes ago, her phone had all her look on it, but her mind was occupied by something else. Someone else. Shehu.

He would know what was going on.

She contemplated her next actions. It'd determine her entire life now.

She decided on calling him.

3 attempts and all it said was, "The number you called is switched off."

In frustration and out of her damn mind, she tossed the phone to the other side of the bed.

Her hand flew to her chest, her foot touched the wood floor and she ran to where her phone fell off to.

She raised the upside-down phone to a sight of an ugly cracked screen. "Babbar magana." Her right fist hit the floor and she revived, wincing in pain.

She had just lied about having a cracked screen to her mum and the phone took the honor of making her lies a reality.

The switch button seemed to be doing nothing but adding to her anxiety by not lightening up.

The door to the dorm room burst open and in came in a light skin lady that looked around 5'6 with 2 white cold stone leather bags in each of her raised hands. "Ice cream and popcorn for girls' night!"

She kicked the door close with the hill of her boots, her excitement simmering down at the sight of Laila on the floor, deep in thought.

"Laila!"

The frightened lady on the floor, phone clasped to her chest with a distant look flinched at the intrusion. When her slow-moving eyes settled on the lady, she shook her head, water already crammed at the bottom of her eyes. "I think they know."

The lady's small smile dropped. As if there was someone she didn't want listening to their conversation, she dropped the four bags on the mirror adjacent to the door and proceeded to lock the door before angling at Laila.

"You think what?"

"I don't think-Maya, i know." She took a sharp breath in dread of her next words. "They know."

Maya looked at her companion. She lifted her fingers, hoping it wasn't what she was thinking. "You mean..."

"Mami...And daddy too. Since she won't just sit down and not say anything to him." Laila facepalmed.

At once, Maya was in a similar position as that of her opponent; Only hers was Indian style. "How do they even know?" Her hands flew in the air in irritation.

Laila's lip had begun to tremble when she confessed. "I don't know...I don't know..."

Maya felt her breath hitch. She couldn't stand it. She knew Laila her whole life and things that made her cry. Well, there were few when you exclude school. As such, she wasn't a sight to behold.

Maya moved closer, wrapped a hand around Laila's frizzy-dyed head, and pulled her into her chest.

***

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Whether it was Newton's third law in physics or not, it still had an effect beyond the physical theory he was talking about.

Laila took an action, and her dad gave an equal and opposite reaction to it.

Caught in a dilemma, Laila clutched Maya's phone to the rawness of her thighs below her shorts, while Maya stood over her, soothing and massaging her shoulders.

52 hours afterward her dreaded call with her parents, Laila's head was stuck.

No. No. No.

Daddy was impulsive, but this? Na ment.

"I have to go." Even if she hated every iota of the words, it had to go through.

Laila had to return home.

Home.

She scoffed at the word, shaking her head, and lifted her eyes to meet Maya's wide ones.

"You know Daddy, he's going to do something really..." she treaded her choice of words thoroughly, "Really really unpredictable."

"And he's going to do something more unpredictable to innocent Shehu who rots in a cell because he knows my whereabouts and won't say a word," Laila smiled sadly and squeezed Maya's shoulder. "And, I'm sure that's going to cause you some commotion too. Considering they must know i am somewhere around you." She pulled the short girl to sit beside her and draped her arm around her while Maya's arms responsively draped around Laila.

"Now help me book the nearest flight." Laila undraped her arm from Maya's shoulders, "Get me my phone."

Maya's nose scrunched up, "You'll never stop ordering me around."

Laila cocked an eyebrow, two natural hollows in the form of oval dimples appeared on each of her dark honey skin cheeks. "Before nkoh? Me and you have turn mate ba?"

Maya lightly hissed at that, her head shaking. She ignored Laila and unplugged the device with a new screen from its charger. She handed the device to her friend and went back to their previous position while Laila began to search for the nearest flight available.

There was one set to leave in the next 10 hours and only a few slots were left. She booked the flight, packed, and used the remaining hours to grief watch grey's anatomy with Maya as they reminisced their childhood.

Maya-Halima Yakubu Sunusi, a 22-year-old cousin sister of Laila who got her nickname; Maya from the last two and first two alphabets of her name and her late dad's name which started at school, was Laila's only best friend. She had known her even before she knew her name. Her little sister is from another mother.

She had grown to take the girl under her arms, more especially, when the girl lost her dad 16 years ago.

Just like Laila, Maya had started a university back in Nigeria before she had a sudden change of mind which lead her into switching courses and schools.

Now, in Malaysia, she was a year from her graduation, while Laila was looking at roughly 18-19 more months of clinical before graduation. Na she fuck up go carry 6-year course.

Under the care of her Dad, El-Amin Sunusi, Maya and her siblings were sponsored for every need and want of theirs by their dad's side of the family despite the different households they had.

Exactly twelve hours after booking her flight, Laila gave her best friend one of the most bone-crushing hugs of the season.

The best friends said their goodbyes to Maya promising to come flying back as soon as her exams were over.

Uneventful and full of dread. That was what sated her flight.

She met the driver she had texted to meet her up just outside Nnamdi Azikwe international airport FCT Abuja.

Laila was halfway to the car when the older man took her bags after they exchanged pleasantries.

If she let the driver do his job, she knew exactly where he'd take her. Her business wasn't that much private, she had realized. Fiddling with her fingers, she glanced at the driver who was already looking back at her in the front mirror. She cleared her throat and pushed her medicated specs further up the bridge of her nose. "Yana gari ne?"

The driver shook his head and she eternally sighed at that. "Yana fada."

"Take me to my place." He had already put the gear on the drive when she added, "Quarters." The slightly older man raised his eyebrow and she did the same. "You have anything to say?" He seemed to have forgotten how easily she could be ticked off. She didn't just have her dad's name, she had his temper too. He eventually shook his head, "Then do what you're paid for."

She hadn't needed to be that rude but come on, she was hanging by a thread.

The drive to the quarters wasn't a long one.

Her bags were trolled into the house that looked a bit too rusty for her usual taste but come on, she knew the house was devoid of anyone.

She announced. "My flight leaves at 6 pm. I'll see you then."

It was a few minutes past 11 Am. She at least had the time to freshen up and brace herself.

After Another 45 minutes flight, at about 8:11 pm, courtesy of the usual delayed-African time, she was in the back seat of the car that passed by the rainbow roundabout, the government house, the state's central roundabout, and finally, the unfinished roughly 60 by 70 meters building with a large elephant painting atop the gates of her home.

Laila took a sharp breath in as the car parked just at the door to the chamber with most likely empty-or at the least empty of people capable of penalizing her.

Draping her bag on her shoulder, backing her backpack, she groaned and dragged the medium-sized bag with her. She strolled through the double doors which were opened by two men.

The familiar earthy smell of the vestibule she almost missed hit her nostrils.

Keyword; almost.

She didn't.

She maneuvered around the familiar large doors and high ceiling window length curtains that measured at least 12 feet themselves before finding herself on her mum's now empty patio. She sighed another grateful one.

Maybe. Just maybe she could prolong this talk.

Barefoot was simply the best way to go about this. She ejected her flats and went in.

A maid salaam-ed in respect and endeavored to collect the things Laila had on her. She rejected her at first. Just before the maid could walk out the door, Laila stopped her.

She had changed her mind. Listen to Mami's scolds, rants, or even some beating for the night and brace herself to collect some more from Daddy the next morning.

She gave the maid everything on her.

It was Friday, her dad should be spending time with his friends by now.

With that thought in mind, she rubbed her palms agitatedly as she walked down the lounge, another lounge, a smaller one, the lobby, and finally her mum's suite.

She had expected to find the now-aging woman on her bed with a tray full of fruits by the side as she listened to the low sound of qur'anic recitation by Abdulrahman al-Sudais play in the background like usual.

Instead, a sarcastic voice welcomed her. "Sannu da zuwa ranki shi dade. How lovely of you to heed to your mother's words." The fair man with an iPad stationed in his hand, seated on the large canopy bed stared hard at her, drilling holes through her and every wall she left behind.

This was not what she had anticipated.

"Your disappointment of a daughter decided to bless us with her presence." The man's glare softened as he turned to her mum's figure on the Sofa sleepers as she rocked back and forth but hinder her flow at his words.

Laila's hand gripped the wall to support her wobbly legs, she shook her head as she finally gave in.

Her mum was in front of her in a flash, palms outstretched. "Your passport."

When Laila didn't attempt to heed her mum's words. The woman yelled. "Your passport, Dallah!"

This was it.