Saturday January 12, 2019

               When Enoch stepped out of Eli's apartment, the sky was a sunset orange. He had known he couldn't stay there forever but hadn't wanted to acknowledge it. Not like Eli's father would allow it anyways. A honk from beyond the black gate announced that his chauffeur was around and ready. His stomach dropped uneasily.

              "Your driver is here, rich man." Eli teased as they climbed down the stairs together.

             Enoch shoved him and laughed when he crashed into the banister. The sound of the gate opening cut off whatever retort Eli had ready. A girl walked in and it took Enoch a while before he recognized her as Betty. She looked sterner, somehow. He had always seen her as warm. Fluffy. But now she looked like she would murder anyone within a ten centimeter circumference. Beside him, Eli stiffened and clamped a hand on his shoulder.

                "Bye man. See you, Monday." He grunted and climbed up the stairs.

               Enoch only had a vague sense of what had happened between the siblings. And with the little he knew, he was certain that Betty's anger was justified. But some of her actions weren't. Having beef with her brother didn't mean she had to hate the rest of the crew.

                 "Hi Betty." He greeted as she walked past him.

                 "Hey." It was a whisper. One he wouldn't have heard if she wasn't so close to him. Within a blink of an eye, she had vanished up the stairs.

                 He stood there for a full minute staring at the stairs. When had everything fallen so out of place? Out of balance and control?

                 His chauffer honked again and he sighed irritably. Left to him, he would rather find a sinkhole and be done with it. But he could never be as brave as his mother who welcomed death as a relief. Relief from pain. From the past. Relief from everything. Perhaps it was because he hadn't reached the yielding point yet. But he was close. He could taste it. Feel the pulsing in his veins.

                 Stiffly he walked out of the compound, threw a quick backward glance at the Tokunbo's flat and slid into the black Mercedes.

                "Take me away."
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                 The house was eerily quiet when Betty stepped in. The TV was switched off and no cackling was heard from Eli's room. The time was well past six but it seemed her father would be arriving later.

                Thank God.

                 Tired and achy all over, she dragged her feet to her room, dropped her purse on the pink bedside drawer and collapsed on the bed. Maybe later she would soak her feet in nice warm water. She closed her eyes at the blissful memory. Lately all she had were a few moments of peace and Betty was determined to enjoy every bit of it. Tokunbo had been right. She ought to live for herself.

              The delicious aroma of melon soup wafted into her room and she smiled tiredly. She was so hungry she could eat a horse. Trying to diet, losing weight and become her dream self was all too exhausting. Girls like Tokunbo didn't know or realize how blessed they were.

            At least she doesn't get to starve herself.

             Ripping off the plain black satin dress she had worn, she slipped into a loose pale pink chemise and exited her room. The door opposite hers opened as she stepped outside. Eli's eyes held hers for a brief moment until she turned around and walked away.

              Say no to bad energy.

                "Good evening ma." She murmured as she walked over to her mother in the kitchen. She knelt down before her and rose up when her mother nodded dismissively, eyes focused on the pot of bubbling egusi soup. From the corner of her eyes she saw Eli stand at the entrance, looking like some castaway.

               Good. Let him stew in misery. 

              Silence hung on the trio like an expensive necklace. No one was brave enough to breach through. No one wanted to. Things were better that way. They didn't need to act like some sickly happy family. No, they were fine with civility. Civility that suddenly became imbalanced when the man of the house arrived.

               Out of practice, Betty grabbed the chopped pumpkin leaves that sat in a bowl on the cabinet and proceeded to wash them. She couldn't for the life of her reach a tangible reason why a Skylar member would approach her other than revenge. He was even way too old to be in highschool in her opinion. Yet he paraded the school grounds throughout the past week. Why wasn't he in prison with his other gangmates? She knew that the three months after the incident, Tokunbo's father had rounded up a lot of the Skylar crew. Why was this one still running free?

                 Revenge. Thats why. 

                 "Don't over wash the ugwu Eliza. That is enough." Her mother's timid voice crackled from disuse. The poor woman spent all day at home with no one to talk too. Betty hated that she lived a life of recluse. Her mother collected the bowl of leaves, drained them in sieve and mixed them up in the bubbling soup.

                  A car zoomed into the compound. The silence morphed into a blanket of uneasiness. The change was so thick, it was terrifying. Elijah shuffled on his feet, staring warily at the front door, Betty's mother speedily stirred the soup and motioned that Betty prepare another pot and Betty's face became a wiped slate of emotions.

                 Her father was home.
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                "Shoot! Max I'm home." Enoch groaned into the phone eyeing the tall  lilac painted building as his driver swerved into the garage.

                "Yeesh! Remember what I told you. Don't freak out. He's most likely just here to check how things are and maybe a few adjustments to his company. He'll be gone before you know it. Like always."

                Enoch winced and nodded. "Yeah. I suppose he has a right to check on his house after two- Oh my God!"

               "What?" Max inquired, his voice rising a pitch. "What?!"

                "There are two huge men by the front door. Like bouncers in black suits. Oh no. What if he's gambled away all his money to some loan shark and now they want to take the house?!"

                 Max guffawed. "First off that is impossible. Have you met your father? And even if it were true, I survived my first seventeen years in the getto. You can too."

                  "That's you. I've lived my first seventeen years in a mansion and I'm crazy. What'll happen when I get on the streets?!!" Enoch hissed and alighted from the car.

                    There was a brief silence on Max's end before he spoke. "Personally I feel the house is really responsible for it all. You might as well move. Bird and fake glass remember? Not everything is as it seems."

                "Move into some place with a roof and certainly not out on the streets." He took slow small steps towards the front door, eyeing the two Goliaths warily. "See if I text you "Bird", it means I'm in a major wahala and you need to get me."

                Another hearty laugh escaped Max. "Bird? No jor.  Let's use Fake glass? No... Or Free Bird. Yeah Free bird is dope."

               "Gerrout." Enoch laughed and cut the call. His eyes scanned the wide spaced compound for anything uncanny. Aside from his father's Hummer and the two Giants guarding the door fearlessly, everything looked normal- Dry and deserted. The bouncers opened the door when he stepped in front of them and with wariness he entered the living room.

 Dun dun dun! What are your expectations concerning Enoch's father 😁?