I had not thought of this when I walked through the door into the VIP section. I had not even thought of it when I saw the girl pretend to be focused on the stage. Leaving the hall had only been as a result of the discomfort that highlighted the mermaids face when her friends had asked for pictures. She had looked like someone that would have passed out before the end of the dance performance by the people who had been on the stage. What made me know she needed to get out of there was the constant play with her Jean jacket. Plus I also needed some break from the compressing amount of fake loves from the people who would begin to locate me and to also breathe real air, not the one mixed with the sweat of hundreds of people.

I looked behind me to be sure the presenters and camera crew had not thought to follow us. Everywhere was silent, except for the music that played out of the hall we left. I hoped I satisfied Small Bola enough for him to not invite me to another mentally tasking show. Or satisfied Jide enough for him to not agree to shows for sometime. I wondered if he would be able to survive the mermaids friend I had sent his way. She looked like someone who would do anything to get what she wanted. Anything.

"I don't get you," the petite girl who looked like a gypsy but without a scarf on her head, a jacket and inner top instead of a fiesta blouse, a flare skirt stopping above her knee instead of a maxi skirt and regular sandals with a flowery clip attached to the side instead of gladiator sandals. And very much without jewelries. I had watched a fair share of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and really admired the character, Esmeralda.

"You don't have to get me, just come with me." She looked nothing like Esmeralda. I dipped my hand into my trousers back pocket and pulled out the green bandanna I had taken from the hype-man.

This would do.

"That's the thing to where? To do what in the night?" She argued but followed me and stopped when I did.

Glad she was shorter than me, I stretched my hand—with the bandanna now folded in a triangle—over her head and tied it behind the braids she had allowed to fall. "Makeout?" A smile found its way to my face while hers had a frozen expression as she looked up at me. Her breath touched my face, it was warm and her semi-large eyes—underneath the medicated lens—were on mine. I began to move my hands from behind her head so I could take off the glasses and see her eyes directly but she moved back, hitting my hand away and stammered.

"W-what?" I found the shock on her face amusing and laughed.

"I'm joking, calms, you should see your face."

The expression on her face relaxed but her eyes were calculative.

"But if you change your mind we could." I said and as a reaction to my statement, she put some distance between us. I laughed again and tucked my hands into my pocket, she was cute.

"Why did you tie this on my head?" We began to walk on when she asked, her hand on her head and a worried look etched on her face. I wanted to know what went through her mind at the moment. Was she the superstitious type who would begin to think I had done something to the clothe in order to steal something from her? Was there a way to do something like that? Wisdom, Destiny, Life? If I could use a clothe as simple as that to steal a life in order to give to the lifeless, I would do so. Not hers, probably her bright skinned friend.

"Wasn't this what you used to wipe your face?" Her question moved me out of my thoughts but I did not understand.

I asked, "Wipe?"

"Yes, after jumping around on the stage in the name of dance?" She stretched the bandanna to me and all I did was stare at it and her. She thought it was the handkerchief I used to clean my face?

"Nah uhn, you look incomplete without it." I left my hands in my pocket and spoke to her. Her face had an expression I could only explain to be disgust. I laughed, "I don't keep handkerchiefs after I use them. Germs."

She still did not believe me, although her stretched hand went down a bit. "Honestly, I promise you that has not been used for sweat or anything relating. Collected it from Small Bola just before I came to meet you."

Her hands went to her side now, she looked at it and then me. "How do you know he has not used it before?"

"The green shines, hints of perfume plus he pinned it to his shirt in some form of fashion. Easy for me to drag." Even as I told her the truth, her face still carried disbelief. I chuckled and asked for it, stopping our movement a second time.

"I promise you Bola is a neat freak..." I knew this from the number of times I had visited his apartment. Never a single litter on his floor, a single stain in his sink and never a dust anywhere. He also always sprayed a kind of bleach with fragrance in his house and he had a sanitizer for when he touched anyone. According to rumors—which we called Media, he had some kind of disease that could be heightened by coming in contact with bacteria or virus. I did not buy that so I asked him and his response was far different—his mother was a nurse who instilled the art of having everything squeaky clean and free from even the tinniest bit of germs that could linger. It was just his habit.

I tied the bandanna around my head, I would be the gypsy then. "...and this is super clean."

She chuckled and we resumed our walk. The night was dark but the street light erected by the school made the road—empty of cars—orange. I looked up to see the sky full of tiny lights, glittering, faint and all kinds. I pushed myself up with my left foot and stretched my right hand like I could touch the sky and grab one of the stars. I had a long way to go before I could reach there.

"Why do they call him Small Bola when he is, you know..." I turned around, since I was now in front, to see the girl lift her hand up to portray the height of the hype-man. She had a long way to go before she could reach there.

"I don't know, maybe he used to be small and puberty helped him?" Now I wished I knew about him and the origin of his nickname so I could tell her. I let myself walk on but with my front to her and my back to the road. She raised a brow at me but talked on.

"Wouldn't he hate that name if it was so. Maybe he is the last child in his house and so they call him small?" I wondered why she tried to analyze the meaning of his nickname.

Note to self: Remember to ask Bola.

"Maybe," I responded and looked at her. Silence brewed among us, a comfortable silence—on my part. She looked around her, careful to avoid my face. There was nothing else I, on the other hand, wanted to have my eyes on. I liked how she unconsciously pushed her glasses back onto her face and I was curious as to how she had chosen such a large frame. It made her look like Harry Porter to be.

"How old are you?" I was curious to know now, usually its children who chose these kind of frames.

She looked at me finally, a cautious smile on her face, "Why?"

"Frame." I pointed to her glasses and she furrowed her brows underneath it. There was no way I could tell if her brows had been full with how some of it had been chipped away in an attempt to make it into a shape. Sometimes I wondered why females did it—cut out the original to make a shape and then use a pencil to add to it in order to look full.

"Huh?"

"Most people who I have seen this kind of frame with are either children..." Tired of walking with my back, I turned around and let her meet my pace, "...or people who like to cosplay."

"Oh," the mermaids face lit up with understanding, "yeah, I just liked it. Easy to look around in, you know." She cleared her throat, looked at me and kept her eyes back on the silent road.

Not a common reason for choosing such frame, but works. I bit my upper lip and then questioned again, this time to know for real, "So, how old are you?"

"Isn't it wrong to ask a lady her age?" Her cheeks puffed up as she laughed.

I had always hated that statement, "Well, age isn't a disease you hide from people."

"But its a very touchy aspect of a womans life, you know." I noticed she made use of the words, 'you know' a few times.

"Yeah, you all care too much about what people would think about you, like if you tell you are thirty and you have a small body, people would laugh or if you were younger and had a larger body people would have another negative thing to say." I snorted, my mother always reduced her age during her birthday parties which made me a bit mad. You're old and look young, deal with it.

"Its not that, its more like..." she paused briefly, "...society expects you to be some certain age for some things. A woman is expected to be in a husbands house by twenty five, expected to have kids before thirty...also expected to be like old thirty to early forty in order to be politically active. Its just a mark placed on the female gender and so, it is better for you not to be told the age, than for you to be told and then begin judge."

I still saw it all as caring about what others thought. "Uh..." I shoved my fingers into my thick hair before I brought the hand down, "...its all comes down to caring. If you don't, you wouldn't do so. You'd yell 'fuck society' and be proud of whatever goddamn age you are."

We passed a dusty abandoned car that had no issue we could see, except for the flat tires and dented back. It was sometimes used as bedrooms for students who could not hold themselves, but tonight it was empty.

"You wouldn't understand, males get free passes, whether young or old." She avoided my eyes again.

"I don't know why you think that, but I tell you I don't get free passes. Being nineteen and singing comes with statements such as 'I haven't finished secondary school and I'm singing about the ladies'..." I chuckled and looked ahead, remembering some comments on my social media page. "...or 'Kiishiju knows nothing about life and he keeps tweeting like he has experienced it' and many many more."

Taking her eyes back to her, I found her face full of an unreadable expression. "What?"

"You are nineteen?" I wondered why she was shocked.

With a raised brow, I asked, "I thought everyone knew this?"

"Not me." She laughed and spoke, "Wow, you're just a child."

Another statement I hated that came with telling my age. "Bah, bah, bah," I shook my index finger at her, "Age doesn't determine most things in the life of a person...including maturing and childity."

The mermaid laughed and I enjoyed the sound. I wondered if there was a handbook on how to make her keep laughing. "Childity?"

"Yes, a term I came up with after people started calling me a child just because I had some new reputation as a musician." I remembered how there had been some critic from the campus media close to the end of my First Year when the first official single I had released became a school anthem. They had used terms like; 'irresponsible fresher', 'idiotic sounds', 'wayward child', just because my age had been told in one of their interviews. My brother had been their saving grace.

"You don't seem to act like a child though."

"That is because I am a grown, fresh, gentleman." I dusted my shoulder and remembered 'Gentleman' by Ric Hassani. I wondered if it would be awkward if I began to sing the lyrics to her. Her laugh was music to my ears and I smiled at the thought of hearing it everyday. There was something about her that made me want to make her keep producing laughter, genuine laughter.

"So, how old are you? I was a gentleman, I told you mine." I asked again, I saw her bite her lower lip. Was it such a big deal for females to tell their age?

She sighed at first before she spoke, "Twenty."

She wasn't even old. "So that's why you call me a child?"

"No, you are a child, mostly because you don't have beards."

It was my turn to laugh, "Beards are a criteria now?"

"Always have been, boy." She managed to relax even after describing age as a touchy aspect. I liked that.

"Gentleman," I corrected and noticed we had gotten to the back gate of the school. The gate was always locked except for the small entrance that was promptly watched by a security personnel. We passed through it and were with a busy street. Tricycles, motorcycles and cars moved around, people who sold various items such as foods, clothes, rubber plastics chattered around causing additional noises with their small generators. Everyone was hustling.

Some distance away, I spotted a man roasting meat. "Suya?" I asked and I found her rubbing her body like she had a sudden cold. But that would be impossible because she had on a really thick jacket.

"Are you okay?" She must have forgotten I stood there because her body jerked a little when I touched her.

"Were you saying something?"

"Yeah, two things. Do you want Suya and are you okay? You're acting cold." I felt a frown on my face.

"Uhm, can we go back?"

This time I deepened the frown. "Why? We just got here."

"We walked a long distance, I never thought I would be able to get here without a vehicle," she gave a short, light laugh. I knew she was lying, it wasn't so long as to take a vehicle except when the sun was up above you and made you want to faint. But I decided to respect her request.

"Alright, but first, I need to get that." I pointed in the direction of the roasted meat man and saw her bite her lips again. If she kept doing that, I may just have to bite it for her. I had the urge to giggle at the thought. She nodded briefly and I half walked and half jogged to get to the place.

There were four people surrounding the man and I was recognized by all. I should have requested for a cap from Gabriel, my new security personnel shoved into my face by my father. Or maybe taken his glasses.

The girls among squealed, complimented my shirt, trouser and the bandanna that was still on my head, and began to ask me to let them take pictures with me. There were two things to do in this situation; disagree and be rebuked by the media which would affect my reputation and affect Jide, agree and waste my time and the mermaids.

I looked back to check up on her but could not spot her. Disagree, it is.

"I'm sorry, I'm kind of in a hurry. I promise you, when you see me next time, ask me for it." I hoped I would never have to see them. Their bright faces fell, they nodded but still had their back cameras raised at me. I was going to be the talk of the night.

I asked for the amount for a piece and was told it was a thousand five hundred naira. In haste, I brought out the bundle of money I had collected from my manager and some notes fell to the ground. They all tried to help me and I knew what to do to save myself from the media. I was not doing it because I cared what would happen, I just knew Jide would get mad if I added another bad name to myself.

"Oga," I called the man boss after I had retrieved the notes, "how much is five thousand?" The man wore a shocked expression before he arranged the meat and identified them in his English-Hausa pronunciation.

"Alright, give it to them and then give me the one five own." I stretched out seven of my one thousand naira notes. The people cheered and began to thank me. I had no time for that, I looked behind me again and I was sure the girl had left.

"No, don't...just wrap it." I ordered the man as he was about to cut it. It would be a waste if I did not find her. I collected the plastic bag and turned away, to head back to the gate.

"Change," the man called out but I did not respond. He could do whatever he wanted with it. I rushed to the gate, she really was not in front of it. I looked around and felt my face fall. Sighing, I walked through, back into the school. I wasn't sure if I had prayed for her to be around but I knew I thanked the heavens when I sighted her seated by the security man and her eyes on her phone.

My mouth widened to show my teeth. "Mermaid," she looked up, her face carried a smile too. She got up just as the security man thought it wise to make a comment.

"Come, are you an Aje?" I walked towards her just as he asked if she was a witch. She shook her head at the elderly man.

Would anyone agree to being that? I wanted to ask but he questioned again.

"Are you a Satans child?" The girl gave a cautious chuckle and shook her head.

"Baba, would she say yes if she was?" I got the opportunity to ask which earned me a look from her that I could not decipher due to the lack of good lighting.

"But she will agree she is a Mami Wata?"

"Sir?" Confusion laced Fumnanyas voice.

"This boy called you Mermaid which is Mami Wata if you don't know and you answered like it is your name. Is it your name?" The man clarified his question. I held back a laugh that threatened to explode in the face of the man. He would never see it as being a result of his statements instead he would assume it was people he was older than being rude to him. I could tell the girl too struggled to hold back her laugh.

"No sir, that is not what he meant—" she tried to explain to the man but there was no way I would let her say I did not mean what I said the way I said it.

"Baba, I meant it that way," she stepped on my foot, using all the force she could muster. I was glad the shoe I wore had a solid top which prevented her action from being felt in full force. Still it hurt a bit. I laughed and moved my foot away from her side in case another round was to come.

The man sighed and shook his had just a group of people walked out of the school compound. "Children of these days would never know what they are calling on themselves. Don't you think you are calling demon on her?"

I knew this was the direction he was headed and let my smile back on my face. "Don't worry Baba, we are protected."

He turned to her, ignoring my word like he did not trust me. "Young girl, if I were you I would avoid this kind of boyfriend..." I chuckled, boyfriend? "...and face my book. Look at the way he is dressed, be careful o. Your family sent you here to read your book and not to let someone call you Mami Wata."

It took a few seconds for the girl to register all her had said. She thanked the man and promised to get rid of me. I laughed, causing the man to be more suspicious of me but thanked him for his concern. I also promised the man she would not be able to get rid of me.

"Here," I gave her the bag of Suya after we had left the back gate area. More people walked passed dressed in stylish outfits which told me the show had ended.

"How much meat do you eat?" she asked while I checked my phone to see the time was a few minutes to ten, seven calls from Jide—which I had not heard because I had muted the phone—and five messages from him asking where I was, telling me to answer his calls, warning he was going to abandon me one day, asking about the stunt I had played with the girl and asking what was wrong with me.

"As much as I can, most especially since I hate fish."

The mermaid sounded surprised, "You hate fish? People who hate fish are not to be regarded as humans."

"Actually," I raised a finger using the other hand to drop the phone back where it was, "People who eat other living things should not be regarded as humans, therefore, we both are not humans."

"You're trying to tell me vegetarians are the humans?" She held up the uncut meat and stared at it as we walked on. I could tell she was confused as to why it was that way.

"Yes."

"Plants are living things too." She managed to laugh, "This isn't cut."

I knew that. "Yes they are, but they don't have blood." I collected the bag from her, took out the piece and noted it was really large but there was no time to regret not letting the man do his job. I carefully took a bite out of it as a demonstration of what she needed to do before I gave it back to her.

"If that's what you mean you should correct your phrase. Humans are those who don't eat blood." She chuckled and I shook my head.

"Thinking about humans is tiring, lets talk about you." I watched her do what I did, but with more struggle. "Why did you go to the Lagoon?" The question must have startled her because she stopped mid-biting. I did not mind, I wanted to know what made her choose to go 'white garment dipping' into the water regardless of the fact that it might have been dirty and polluted with semen of students that have no concern for the environment.

"uhm, nothing really." She gave me the bag of meat, only a small piece had been cut out by her. Her hands rubbed her jacket like she was cold again.

"I think a better answer would have been curiosity, if this was a lying contest." I bit into the meat, "But I can guess it has to do with the person you told I was a wrong number to. Boyfriend." She looked at me and squinted her eyes.

"I don't have any problems with my boyfriend."

"And I am an angel," I smiled at her, chewing more meat in the process. "Its nothing to be ashamed of, we always have problems with everyone around us."

"I don't have problems with my boyfriend." She insisted and began to walk faster.

"Okay, okay. Maybe you don't have problems with him," I increased my pace to catch up with her and handed the bag of Suya which she collected reluctantly. "But he has problems with you."

"Why are you so adamant on Derrick and I having problems?" She growled and pushed the bag of meat back into my hands, increasing her speed again.

Derrick.

I sighed and caught up with her, "I am not saying you both have problems..." what was I saying, that was exactly what I was saying, "...okay, I am saying that. But its not like something you both can't solve. But...if its what made you go to the water shouldn't you be trying to get out of the proble--"

She was angered. How she spun around to face me told me so, and how her jaw clenched, and how she took off the glasses. "My life does not concern you. You barely know me and you're acting like you know everything in my life?"

"Well, I am sure I kn--"

"We are strangers. In fact worse than strangers. So, do me a favor and take your mind off what you think you know about me...because you know nothing." With that, she continued her fast walking, avoiding the eyes of the people making their way to hostels around and off campus. Some waved at me but I ignored.

I rushed up to her again, "Okay, fine. I am sorry."

She did not respond but kept on walking. I did not want to end the night with her being angry at me. That would make it hard for her to want to go out with me again. Very hard.

"I mean it, I am sorry. Cross my heart and hope to stay out." That made her look at me briefly before she took her eyes forward again.

"Okay, to make it up to you, I'll show you somewhere."

"Kiishiju—"

"Kiishi, my name is Kiishi. Although Kiishiju still is like Kiishi, I prefer if you called me K--"

"Kiishiju," she growled and I let her use whatever name she wanted to call me, "I am tired and need to read. I don't have lecturers kissing my ass like you."

"Won't that be illegal for them to do?" She glared at me and I laughed.

"I promise it won't be long," she sighed while I waited for a response.

"One minute," With a smile, I pushed the bag of meat to her and grabbed her free hand, turning into the next bend headed for one of my favorite places on campus. 

°°°
first a/n, yaay.
I just want to thank everyone reading this special project of mine.
Thank you.

Also, I'd like to know what you think of the characters so far, mainly Kiishi and Fumnanya.

And how you think the book is gonna go ;-)

do share and maybe tag anyone who would love to see this book.

lots of love
omo