Emily's POV

 There was a little traffic jam along the way. It lasted for about twenty minutes then, our drive home was free, fast and uninterrupted.

 I was scared as it was dark but grandma's chauffeur drove quite well to my uttermost surprise.

He turned on the radio while I munched some cookies as he drove. I was really hungry.

We reached grandma's house by around 10 pm. A young lady who looked like she was in her early twenties opened the gate and he drove in.

A part of me just wanted to remain in the car but her chauffeur opened the door for me and I knew I had to come out.

The young lady took my luggage in while I followed behind slowly into the house. Grandma's house wasn't so bad after all. It was a white and maroon duplex. The fence was red and artificial flowers adorned the entrance. I couldn't see some parts of the house clearly but I knew three months was enough time for me to explore it. I loved the interior. The wall was cream and another part was sea blue. It was just beautiful.

  "Take a seat, I'll call mama and let her know you are here." The lady hurried upstairs.

She seemed nice but I couldn't be too sure. The couch was quite comfortable. It was a light brown. The air conditioner blew cool air on my skin causing me to shiver slightly. I quickly put on my black jacket.

My dad must be worried. I had forgotten to call him as soon as the plane landed. I phoned him and he quickly picked up. He must have been awaiting my call.

"Emily, James and I were really worried—we kept waiting for your call. I even started calling grandma."

"I'm so sorry dad, it totally skipped my mind. You are supposed to be sleeping dad. I didn't expect you to pick up my call. I just wanted to let you know I'm in grandma's house now. Don't forget to keep a watch on James. I haven't told you this but he watches movies at night while you are asleep. Dad I-"

"Emily we'll be fine just text me from time to time okay"

"Alright dad, goodnight." I ended the call and quickly put my phone in my pocket.

  Some light footsteps were approaching me. I looked up to see my grandma. She hadn't changed much from the last time I saw her. She was ageing gracefully. I guess when your child is taking very good care of you that's normal. She was 5 feet 6 inches tall—my exact height. Unlike many people her age; she was very fit. You'll never believe that she is sixty-four years old.

My grandma got married when she was 18 and had my dad a year later. I didn't understand why she married so early and how she only had my dad.

I knew asking her would only make her spend hours narrating her entire youthful days and by the time she was finally answering what I was interested in, I would be sleeping or distracted.

She wore a long flowing loose orange gown. It gave her a youthful look and she appeared taller. She was dark-skinned and she had a pointed nose. Her eyes reminded me of my dad's eyes. They were small and dark brown. She wore a black turban so I didn't know if she still went on with shaving her hair. She had once said she wanted to be on low cut. I told her not to go on with it but I don't know if she listened to me.

"Emily, welcome home my dear", she drawled.

She quickly hugged me and I was immediately engulfed in her signature perfume. I always forget the name but the scent can never be forgotten. I almost choked then she let me go.

"Sit down dear, make yourself at home. It's late, go ahead and freshen up then you could come down and eat dinner. I prepared something special for you."

She still has that authoritative tone. Her words were more like a command than a suggestion.

"Okay, Ma."

I quickly went upstairs to freshen up but I caught a look of disappointment like she expected me to say something else.

There were three rooms upstairs and I didn't know which was mine. I should probably have asked her earlier but I didn't think of it.  She'll probably scold me if I went down. I decided to search for where my luggage was myself.

The first room was the master bedroom. It must be grandma's room. I caught sight of some newspapers and grandma's shoes. I quickly proceeded to the second room.

On opening the door, I saw the lady from earlier. She was putting on her nightgown. I was so embarrassed and I quickly shut the door. I hoped she didn't see me.

The last one must be my room, I thought to myself. I struggled continuously to open the door, then I discovered it was locked up. Where exactly was my room?

The young lady approached me. I didn't hear her coming and she tapped me lightly. I nearly screamed but I held it back in time. I hate it when people startle me.

"I'm Chioma. Mama said you'll be staying in my room. Your luggage is in there but don't worry I'll be staying in the room downstairs." She paused and looked past me.

"She wants you to be very com-fort-a-ble."

The way she said the last part was really odd. She stressed the word "comfortable" but I decided not to overthink it.

If grandma had told her to change her room, why was she dressing there? I didn't understand this.

She quickly added. "Don't tell grandma about earlier, I just wanted to use that room one last time."

Immediately she said that I knew she had seen me and my cheeks were red. Before I could say anything she went downstairs quickly.

Why did she hold sentimental value to a room? I wasn't buying her reason. I didn't mind staying in the room that was downstairs but I knew there was a reason grandma wanted me here. It's probably to monitor my activities. I wanted to have a fresh start with my grandma. Life would be easier if we weren't at loggerheads.

The room was not as beautiful as my room in Minnesota. The bed was small and I had just a single wardrobe. The walls were painted a dull blue. I was so glad it had its bathtub and toilet. I can't imagine having to share that with anyone. There was a nightstand but it was small. There was no nightlight and no air conditioner but there was a standing fan and an extension. This was all new to me but I could make do with this.

I had my tablet, Android phone and laptop with me. I couldn't leave any of my gadgets behind. The bathtub was quite small but it was neat at the very least. I quickly unpacked some of my clothes and wore my yellow shorts and big yellow shirt with poker dots. The nightwear came together with my yellow flip-flops and I wore my hairnet.

As soon as I approached the dining table, my grandma gave me a questionable look while Chioma chuckled softly. Maybe it was because of my shorts.

"I'm going to sleep now, Deppe enjoy your meal."

"Alright, goodnight grandma."

I hated it whenever she called me Deppe. It was my native name and I didn't like it. Grandma always called me by that name whenever she was angry at me.

Chioma served me a bowl of pepper soup and catfish with a plate of rice. The food was delicious but I don't like peppery meals. I was choking when I noticed there was no bottled water present. I found my way to the kitchen and hurriedly took a bottle of water and gulped down the contents quickly.

Did she intentionally not serve me bottled water. I ignored this thought and packed the plates in a big basin and I went up to my room. The minute I put on the fan, the power went out. I was shocked and scared there was a blackout and I rushed downstairs only to see Chioma.

"What happened, my fan went off", I complained.

She laughed. "I switched off the inverter and I'm going to change over to electricity. They just supplied power."

I was just amazed. She explained to me that there was a schedule for the supply of power in this estate. They supplied electricity from 11 pm to 5 am and then from 11 am to 5 pm. The rest of the time, there was no power supplied. If not for the inverter they had, we would be in darkness. My mind was a bit relieved now.

  I couldn't believe that electricity was not supplied 24/7. This was new to me. I recalled my dad had sent money to my grandma sometime ago for her to purchase something relating to electricity. It was a lot and I was quite angry. I felt my grandma was extorting him but I'm glad she did so now.

"Thanks, goodnight", I said.

She just smiled but she didn't respond. Chioma is taller than I am but she was also chubby. She had round lips and big eyes. Her nose was quite small and she braided her hair. Her hair was shorter than mine but it was curly too. I quickly went upstairs.

They left the lights switched on. I didn't understand why but I didn't bother about it. After reading "Speak up", I struggled to sleep as I was not comfortable, it was a new environment and I left my teddy bear at home. Everything seemed peculiar and foreign to me but after counting from 1-3000, I eventually slept off. Maybe my stay here won't be as bad as I reckoned.

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Another chapter is completed.

Have you ever had to move to a different environment? What was your experience?

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