How are we all doing today? First, I apologize for the slow updates. Mixing up Law School and writing was near to impossible and during the first weeks of my externship, I was still piecing myself together. I announced a break but that didn't stop people from demanding updates. Anyways, I am back now. And hopefully, I keep a sound mental health to enable updates of Too Many Broken Things to be consistent every Sunday.

That aside, if you follow my A/Ns and teasers on my IG, you should know that there is something VERY special about this chapter. And yes, you probably already know it. This chapter introduces our NEW POV🥂

You have ONE LAST CHANCE to guess who this NEW POV is going to be here👇🏾

After guessing nonsense, we begin this chapter without much further Ado. Ladies and Gents, our new POV for TMBT Book Two is none other than...

~NANA~

School Resumption Days always terrified me.

I didn't have many fears. Even as a child, not many things phased me. I didn't cry when I got my first braces at nine. I remembered that day vividly because while my Mum cried profusely beside me, I felt rather calm. If anything, I felt more pity for my sobbing mum, than my own predicament. I remembered holding her hands to calm her down, while staring into the dentist's soul in quietness as he aimed that long, shiny needle into my mouth with all focus and seriousness. It was a sharp pain and sure it had hurt for the second it did, but afterwards, it was just dust on my shoulders.

I didn't cry when I got water baptized at the age of two either. Of course, I have no memory of the event, but my Mum always praised me with the title 'agu nwa' because according to her, while other people's children were screaming and shrieking, I was rather curiously braiding the pastor's beards into cornrows as he bursted out tongues, right before dunking me into the water.

I vaguely remembered one unforgettable 25th from my childhood though, when 'Father Christmas' paid a visit to us - the children - and the entire church scattered into a catastrophe of terrified, screaming children. And, I just sat there on my little seat in quietude, knocked over seats of the other kids who previously sat around me littered all about me as I stared at that white fake beard taped over a charcoal-black face.

That aside, I was also a little taken aback by how skinny our 'Father Christmas' looked in that overly bogus red and white costume. More so, I was genuinely lost at the other kids' fear. Little me was no fool; I could easily see that it was Lanre from the church's ushering department behind all that gimmick.

From time to time, it creeped my mother out just a little though. How unbothered and unphased I seemed to be, throughout my entire seventeen years of living. How odd a kid I was. She used to tell me that I started speaking late, but she didn't feel it was because I was a slow kid, but rather the opposite. She felt I knew too much for a child. Saw too much and heard too much too. And maybe that was why God withheld my tongue a little longer than normal.

Of course, I never fully believed her when she would tell me stories of how I would sneak out of bed around midnight and head to the dark corridors of the house with the house lantern. Apparently, after being the kid who never socialized or spoke to actual people, that dimly lit corridor was the only place where I would play and laugh, all by myself.

It sounded made up. But, a part of me had faint memories from childhood of being in dark places... That was the closest thing to me believing it just may have been true after all. And for a fact, even before I had given my life to Jesus Christ, I had never been afraid of the Dark.

Frankly, for the longest time, I felt it was a disorder of some sort. Some undiscovered underlying issue that caused a kid like me to not be able to feel the emotion of Fear. It wasn't normal, I wasn't normal. Or at least, I thought I didn't use to be. That was, until, I grew past that odd toddler and officially met secondary school.

• NEW WHATSAPP MESSAGE •

I ignored the notification sound, subconsciously weighing my priorities as I focused on the slides on my laptop screen for that moment, skimming through over a ten pages in a nanosecond.

School Resumption was tomorrow.

And as much as I had a lot more things that bothered me about resumption, the entirety of the preparation for the Media Team was on me. That meant that for every morning assembly, school program, visitations, interschool competitions, or even sports events, anything that needed the services of a projector and an organized, preplanned preparation of events, I was the man in charge.

In order words, I had very little time.

• TWO WHATSAPP MESSAGES •

I wouldn't have had as much distractions if my data was turned off, but I needed to share my hotspot with my laptop if I wanted to work efficiently. However, the second time that I heard the notification sound, I couldn't help but turn my head to towards my bed, eyes lingering on the phone that laid there as my intuition tingled.

You see, I didn't have many friends. My contacts were not up to ten in number, and all Whatsapp notifications from any group chat that I was in was muted, the chats archived too. I was not the most active person on any social media, and Chiedozie and Kelechi knew me well enough to call if they didn't get a text from me two minutes after a Whatsapp message from them had delivered. That was it. They didn't double text. Never.

• THREE WHATSAPP MESSAGES •

That was my cue to stand up from the seat of the desk drawer. With an instinct, I could already predict who it was in my DMs.

•FOUR WHATSAPP MESSAGES•

I couldn't help it, the soft whirl of warmness that bubbled somewhere in the pits of my stomach as I headed towards the duvets where my phone lay recklessly, a soft smile playing on my lips. Subconsciously, I gently closed the lid of my laptop, dumping the slides I could have sworn I was so invested in some seconds ago, and moving towards that phone like a spell was cast on me, controlling my movements.

A fifth message dropped when I reached my short destination, my phone vibrating in my hands in effect and I shook my head, chuckling at the persistence. This girl has a mission to get my attention, and needless to say, her plan shamelessly worked.

PEACHY {5 Messages}:

Hey again, Handsome.😏
-----

Haven't heard from you all day. So, if I don't text you in a day, you won't hit me up first. Na wa for you o.
-----

Anyways, I forgive you. Check your telegram though, I sent something. I think it will make you laugh. 😂❤️
-----

Oya oya, it's me again. You know, you're actually my favorite person to talk to, these days. I don't know, just try to keep on touch, eh? Even if I don't text you, TEXT ME! I'm joking. But I'm not joking. Anyways, lemme wait for you response.
-----

Wait, wait, before I go, I have something else to tell you.😂😭 Come online first! Come online now, Nnaemeka! You'll LOVE this one! I'm waiting for you!
-----
Sent 6:43pm

It just stood out to me how she was so bold in text, but the most tame person when I spoke to her in person.

It was a mystery to me, how people could have two different and contradicting countenances in text messages and in person. She would playfully berate me with messages, use so many emojis to express her excitement or fake rage, and even threaten to wrestle me into submission when she saw me again. But when she did see me again, she could barely look me in they eye. Talk less of putting me in a headlock.

I didn't understand why she was like that.

Needless to say, I found it cute.

ME:
Hey...

I'm sorry. You know, with resumption tomorrow, I'm a bit swamped with work load. Being the head of the Media Team is no joke... But, I'm here now. I'll get back to work later. Tell me everything you want to tell me, I'm listening. ❤️

Sent 6:43pm

Her response came before I could even hit send, if that was even possible.

PEACHY
Should I humor you?😏
Wade off some stress off your body?
Sent 6:43pm

I smiled, cuddling into my mattress and rolling over to the side of my bed as I responded her message.

ME:
Please. I'd appreciate that.
Sent 6:43pm

Inside of me bubbled again when I saw that she was typing, and with that never fading smile on my face, I awaited her response. I didn't understand what it was, why that happened everything I saw her messages or talked to her, both in person and on text, but I liked it. It made me enjoy her company, a lot more than anyone else I hung out with.

PEACHY:
Okay, wanna hear a Fun Fact?
Sent 6:43 pm

Fun Facts...

She was the first person that I had met who, like me, also googled 'fun facts' from the Internet for no reason. She shared the same random guilty pleasures as me, like watching egg peeling ASMR videos and listening to the sound of dripping raindrops for pure enjoyment. When I found out we both enjoyed learning odd and useless information about anything and everything: the human body, animals, bugs, rainforests, the solar system, and even Jesus' favorite color, it was the icing of the cake for me.

ME:
Hit me, lol.
Sent 6:44pm

Again it came... That seemingly overwhelming feeling inside my chest when that 'Typing' icon appeared right after she had seen my message.

PEACHY:
Did you know...
That it is IMPOSSIBLE to hum while holding your nose?
Sent 6:44pm

Reflexively, my hands travelled to my nose and my fingers pinched the bridge, but just before I was about to attempt humming and debunk her, a new message dropped into my phone.

PEACHY:
Get your hands off your nose,
Nnaemeka!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sent 6:45pm

I had only a second to be dumbstruck and the next, I was subtly laughing at how easy it was for her to get me to fall for something so silly. In all honesty, she was right when she suggested she could wade off stress off me. I felt a huge chunk of pressure leave me in that instant that I was able to laugh.

PEACHY:
Speaking of humming,
I was humming a new song I wrote today. Would you like to hear me play it for you?
Sent 6:45pm

My eyes lit up at the message, my fingers busily delivering her a response.

ME:
Most definitely.
You know I'm down.
It'll be my new ringtone, lol.
Lemme hear it...
Sent 6:46pm

She reacted a heart emoji to my message, and it caused me to raise my eyebrows in slight surprise. No one ever reacted to my messages with that kind of emoji before. Kelechi would end conversion with me with a 'thumbs up' or a 'prayer' emoji and once my messages had ticked twice and I hadn't gotten a response from Dozie, I immediately knew he had read my messages. But... A heart emoji reaction?

Everytime she did that, it took me slightly aback.

PEACHY:
I meant in person though...
I want to play it to you, in person.
Sent 6:47pm

Oh...

Oh.

PEACHY:
So,

Are you free tonight?
Sent 6:47pm

This was definitely a test.

As much as I had so much to do, I wanted to hear the new song she wrote.

ME:
Frankly, no,
but I can make out some time.
My friends want to meet at Gomery, you can come and join us.
Sent 6:48pm

She delayed a bit with her response and it almost made me wonder if I said anything wrong.

PEACHY:
Your friends?
No offence,
but I'm not sure your friends like me.
Chido is a little cold towards me and my sister, and Kelechi and I got on the wrong foot.
Sent 6:54pm

Oh.

ME:
I'm sorry if I was insensitive for suggesting,
But if it makes any difference, Chido naturally seems cold to a lot of people on first impression, but he is actually a very nice guy once you get to know him. I promise he is.
And, Kelechi is the kindest person I know. She really doesn't hold grudges.
Sent 6:54pm

However, my attempt at reasoning with her seemed to fall on adamant ears. I had long associated her with stubbornness and even if I hoped she would give me a listening ear, she remained fixed in her assumptions about my friends.

PEACHY:
Nah,
I'm certain Chido just doesn't like me.
He just doesn't, I'm sure.
And you don't know what happened between me and Kelechi though...
Sent 6:54pm

She was still typing a second message when I started to respond to her first message, both of us typing at the same time.

ME:
I am still hoping you can tell me what happened between you and Kelechi...
I don't want to ask her about anything, especially since you told me not to. You know you can be comfortable enough tell me anything right?
Sent 6:54pm

She stopped typing.

My fingers stopped too, a part of me hoping I didn't say anything wrong. When I waited more and I didn't see a message from her or a sign that she was even typing one, I decided to look for another way to salvage anything I must have done wrong.

ME:
Forgive me if I am pushing you away.
I really don't intend to.
I just thought I was helping...
But, I'd understand if that is a sore topic for you. Talk to me at you pace, okay?you don't want to talk about it now, I completely understand. Tell me at your pace. I won't ask Kelechi anything, I promised. And, I never break my promises.
Sent 6:56pm

She started typing again.

And I hadn't even realized how much I had been holding my breath until I had emptied out my entire lungs with one overwhelming sigh of relief.

However, no message ever dropped. Soon after, she stopped typing again, throwing me into another lost cause of wondering where I went wrong again.

ME:
One of these days,
we can all hang out together.
God willing.
And of course, if you'd agree to that. Maybe even tonight? I could bring you along, so that we can grab soda and fries in Gomery. Sorry, I forget. Maybe just water for you, since you prefer healthy. I promise to not have any soda or fries with them, if it'll make your more comfortable in our midst.

I can't convince you that they are nice people, unless you see for yourself. Come on. Meet us there. Please?
It's just a bit sad to have any sort of enmity, be it a misconception or misunderstanding, lingering between people I care about.
You know you all are my friends.

Sent 6:55pm

Her typing resumed and I fought the huge smile that almost plastered on my face. It blinked. It was safe to assume that all these while, she probably had been typing paragraphs and then, deleting them to start all over.

But... Why?

PEACHY:
Lol, you called me your friend...
Sent 6:56pm

And, after waiting forever for her to finally send a message, that was all she had to say. Reflexively, my shoulders slumped in subtle disappointment.

Not because I expected anything particular from her as a response... But because my intuition still hinted out to me that something was still wrong.

She used 'Lol' in sarcasm. This was something she probably did subconsciously, but I picked it up about her. Her words became clipped and direct when she got upset. I had read her enough, in person and text, to know how she operates. She wouldn't 'lol' unless she was upset or disappointed about something... So, I stared at the message, trying to figure out what about calling her my friend was enough to get her upset.

ME:
I'm not sure what I said wrong,
but I'm still interested in hearing your song though. I mean, if you're down.
And don't worry,
It'll just be me and you. No one else. Only me and you.
Sent 6:57pm

Quite quickly, she reacted my message with another emoji that I found interesting: the one with soft puppy dog eyes and a pout. And I imagined she had the same look on her face, equating those big eyes of the emoji to the hopefulness that was probably filling up her brown eyes as she stared at my message.

PEACHY:
This is a first...
You have never been the one to ask to meet privately.
Do I take this as a date, Nnaemeka?😏
Sent 6:57pm

I laughed. I couldn't help it, I actually laughed. Shaking my head and sighing, I responded to her message.

ME:
Dates are for couples,
aren't they?😂
Sent 6:58pm

She was quick-witted with her response, not missing an opportunity to throw a jab at me.

PEACHY:
Oh, really? Yet, here you are, shamelessly asking your 'friend' out on a date?😂
What are you implying?😂
That we are a couple, Nnaemeka?
Sent 6:58pm

I chuckled under my breath and while an amused smile played on my lips, my next message intended to casually clarify to her that it was not a date and we were not a couple. However, before I could construct a full sentence to send to her, I was immediately distracted by a faint knock on my bedroom door.

It was more like a soft tap, to be honest. As faint as a feather dropping in a graveyard. But I heard it. Clearly enough for me to freeze on the spot with my phone paused in my hands before flashing my gaze towards the door with a sharp head turn.

It was only after I heard it a second time that I relaxed, my realization setting in. It was something I still was getting used to, the fact that since Christmas, me and my Mum were not the only ones that were living in this house anymore.

"Big Brother," I heard one of them faintly call before I even had the chance to fully open the door. All I could hear from the other side of the door was his tiny voice shaking from desperation and frustration and faint sobbing sounds, "Big Brother, she won't stop crying. She just woke up and started crying and she has refused to stop! Tell her to stop crying, please!-"

Courage's whining momentarily paused when I opened the door. He just sort of stilled as though a breeze of calmness had whooshed past him the second the door opened, big brown eyes moping at me in tender innocence through those large pointdexter eyeglasses that were almost bigger than his face. His little hands, playing with the silk material of his SpongeBob SquarePants pyjama shirt as he just stared up at me.

Whatever spirit of calmness that possessed the little boy had little to no effect on his younger sister. As far as she was concerned, whatever bereaved her was 'the end' for her. She was absolutely finished. The little girl stood there beside him, hands in the middle parting of the two little puffs on her head, pressing down on her head in despair while pouring tears out of her eyes.

Matter of factly, it seemed like the second she saw me, she got even louder and bolder with her crying. I knew how how fragile and sensitive this two year old was, anyone else watching her could have insensitively concluded that she was trying to get attention.

And, the more I stared at her bawling her eyes out, the faster my heartbeat seemed to pace. It started with chills running down my back and soon, my whole body was overwhelmed by a feeling of pity I couldn't control.

Naturally, it was hard for me to watch anyone cry. So, without much of a choice, my hands travelled towards my sore chest, all my fight and strength weakening at the sight of my baby cousin in tears as I squatted down to her level, making sure to caress my hands on her little face, hoping it would start by calming her down even a little.

It worked...

Physical contact initiated eye contact, and that was all that was needed to get her sobbing to morphe into little sniffs.

"Glory," I let her name flow through my tongue the second I felt the nudge to do so.

And when I saw her eyes light up, a soft glow emanating in them, I knew it was safe for me to act according to what I was hearing and feeling within me concerning the cause for her tears.

"You had a bad dream, Glory," I said, tilting my head to the side as I carefully observed her reaction to my intuition, "Didn't you?"

She nodded. I was right.

Acting on reflex, I let that tear falling drop unto the tip of my thumb, before I wiped it gently off her face. The words came to my mouth, the exact procedure for her cause, and along with it came a certainty that when I was done, she would be okay.

"Glory," I called her name again.

"Yes, big brother," she quietly answered me, her little voice had a note of dependency lingering in her American accented tone. Like she was about to latch onto my every word with her entire life and passion.

It gave me the courage to continue.

"What do we do when we have nightmares, Glory?" I asked her.

I didn't cut eye or physical contact from her, as I knew it was helping her to open up to me. Even though, hesitantly.

"Come on," I gently urged her, "Tell me what you are supposed to do when you have nightmares, Glory. Tell me how you should deal with your bad dreams."

Glassy eyes remained on mine as her tiny voice hesitantly started to come out, her response shy and quiet:

"Isaiah 41 verse 10."

I smiled, hoping it would even encourage her all the more.

"Will you be a good girl and recite it for me, Glory?" I asked her permissively.

"Do not fear for I am with you," she started to speak, lips quivering softly as she recited the verse, "Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

I held her hands, my impressed smile showing her that I was proud of her. But not clearly yet done with her.

"Psalms 94 verse 19," I insisted.

Glory nodded, her lips reciting.

"When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, your comforts delight me," she said, bending her head to wipe tears against her shoulders as I held her still.

"You're doing great," I assured her with my words, helping her wipe her face as I further insisted, "Deuteronomy 31:6?"

"Be strong and Courageous," she said with a shaky voice, following me to aid her in cleaning those tears off her face, "Do not be afraid or terrified because of them..."

"Yes?" I urged her to continue.

"The Lord goes with you," she carried on, her confidence picking up with her every word, strengthening her demeanour, "He will never leave nor forsake you."

"And, finally, hit me Psalms 23 verse 4," I challenged playfully.

She giggled sweetly through the remnants of drying tears that lingered there around the lids of her eyes.

"Easy," she sassed at me, sniffing before she started to show herself, reciting the most popular prayer point in this household, "Even if I walk through the Valley of Shadow of Death, I fear no evil-"

"- For you are with me," I joined her, reciting along side her, "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." She burst into laughter at the end of the verse, throwing herself into me in a tight excited hug around my neck.

"Easy, Tiger," I laughed as I hugged her back, letting us both sink into a short quiet time afterwards.

A quiet moment that worked like a meditation, letting all the holy words that we had just spoken purify into the air.

"Be still," I whispered to her, as her face rested against my neck, "Be still, Glory, and know that I am God." I recited another verse, just as I felt the nudge to do so. To let her hear it. Again and again, if she needed to.

"John 14:27," I said to Courage, her brother, letting out the verse that specifically dropped inside of me, "You and Glory take that as your homework. Study it together, and make sure you remind your little sister of God's peace the next time she cries from a bad dream. You hear me?"

Courage nodded in eagerness.

"And, you," I let my focus go back to smaller one, "Glory, learn to apply everything you know about God to your life. Remember, until you apply what you know, you don't know it yet. Understood?"

She nodded.

"And remember also," I continued, "You are a strong girl. And, with God, your are even stronger."

"Like Superman?!" Courage cut in, eyes wide as saucers as excitement leaked out of his every word, "God is our Superman?!"

"Incomparable," I answered him in a bid to match his excitement, "God is even stronger and better than Superman! Isn't that exciting, Courage?"

Even though those thick rimmed circles, I could see the pure elation in his eyes.

"Cool!" He exclaimed, jumping with uncontrollable joy, "Can he train me too? Eh, Big Brother? Can God train me to be like him too?!"

"Really? You don't know you are made in his own image and likeness, Courage?" I challenged him, shocking him the more, "You, my little warrior, can conquer the whole world!"

"I can conquer the world too!" Glory came in, jumping with her own excitement as well.

"Yes you can, my little angel!" I assured her, scooping her with an arm as I stood up, making sure to grab Courage along in my other arm as I headed for the stairway that led downstairs.

The two toddlers had the time of their lives while I carried them and walked down the stairs, discussing and laughing loudly, planning between themselves how to collect money from me to buy capes and write 'JESUS' SIDEKICK' and 'GOD'S WARRIOR' with one of the markers on my reading desk. With my money and my markers. All these 'secret plots' being done much to my hearing.

The second that I got down to the Living Room, they both jumped down from my arms and ran towards the toys that they littered on the tiles, nearly pushing down the centre table in all their childlike excitement.

Courage and Glory were the reasons that our house was crying for help these days. My room, for example, was a free space for them and an unfortunate instance. Courage said he liked the blue lights in room, but I didn't buy that as the only reason especially since every room in the house had both blue lights, along with the regular white. Glory liked to draw on the sticker notes that I pasted on the white walls of my room, whether or not I had already written my 'things to not forget' on them. Both kids said they liked the 'chewing gum smell' in my room, and no matter how much I tried to convince them that it was just strawberry air freshener, they had tried multiple times to throw my duvet on the ground and scatter the books and night lamp on the side of my bed in a desperate search for the chewing gum.

Furthermore, anytime that my sheets were was with biscuit crumbs or stained with zobo, I knew it was Courage and Glory. Anytime that gala or biscuit wraps, pinpop nylons or empty caprisone packs were littered on the porcelain tiles of my room, I knew it was Courage and Glory. Anytime my wardrobe or cupboards were left open, I knew it was Glory looking for more stickernotes to draw on. Or Courage helping her. Nonetheless, anytime that my room was a mess, I had my two favorite kids to thank - Courage and Glory.

The Living Room was not spared.

After chasing my Mum away from her usual reading spot on the large leather sofa, they turned the place into a sanctuary for their toy world. Colonizing the house into a scattered mess of action figures, dolls, dollhouses, toy trains and cars and everything that could make up that little world of theirs. From time to time, I cleaned up the mess they made. Discarded the wraps. Swept the house. Arranged the Toys. Especially because I feared for them the day that my friend, Chido, would pay a visit and walk in on them in the middle of the turmoil they created.

"Nnaemeka, I will help with Dinner. Maybe you should consider talking them back into going to bed."

I turned to the dining where my Mum had spoken to me from.

She sat there in the new location she found after Courage and Glory kicked her out of their territory. In the seat at the extreme end of the mahogany dining table. Thick blanket wrapped around her petite frame as she cuddled in, eyes fixated on the book in her hands. She only looked at me after speaking. Barely, I must add. She just pulled her glasses down her nose, glanced at me, and pushed the spectacles back up as she resumed reading.

"I finished making Dinner already," I told her, but she remained consumed in her book, "Are you ready for Dinner now?"

While her eyes remained on her book, I heard her response:

"No. Not really."

She barely gave a reaction. Just stayed cuddled in that blanket, reading peacefully as she bluntly shut down the idea of eating this night.

"Mum, it's Ofada Rice," I insisted, "I put very little pepper in the sauce and didn't use red oil. You'll like it. I promise."

"You can eat. I'm not hungry," she insisted, hardly paying me any mind.

"I have to meet a friend soon," I told her, "I'd prefer to have dinner when I come back home. But, you need to eat now."

"I'm not interested in the food, Nnaemeka." Her voice was a thin line between cold and frustrated, so I stopped talking.

With a sigh, I headed towards the dining. Her gaze stopped travelling between the lines of the page she was reading, so I supposed she was aware I was coming for her. She didn't react though, even when I sat there next to her on the free seat and reached for the book she was reading.

"Mummy, give me this."

And with that, I seized her book.

With all due respect.

"Look at me, Mum," I said to her, following her eyes as they avoided me, "Please? Can you?"

She fought it, but she did.

And when I saw her, I knew how weak a fight she was trying to put up. My mum was not a 'blunt' or 'difficult' person. She was the softest person I knew. The smallest person I knew too. When she tried to take her book back with those little hands, I didn't let her. And when she stopped fighting and stared at me with those tender eyes and soft stare that she tried to force a glare into, I could see right through her.

"Mum, Diabetes is not the end of the world," I said to her.

I wasn't sure if my statement touched her or broke her... But her already soft demeanor softened even more, her lips quivering along with it.

"You can eat," I continued, "It's okay. You will be fine. I told you I would cook food to benefit to your health, in ways you'd enjoy it still. And I promised to never make your feel alone in this right? I will eat the same things you eat, and I will enjoy it too. Can you trust me to take care of you, Mum?"

"You don't have to eat the same things I eat, Nnaemeka. Don't punish yourself because of me," she tried to argue.

"It's not punishment," I insisted, "Trust me, Mum, I enjoy it. Both when I cook it. And when you do it, with my help. And, I know you are scared, but depriving yourself of food? You are the one punishing yourself, not me."

She didn't argue. My Mum was not an argumentative person anyway, not in any sense. Even when I knew that she was not yet convinced.

"Take," I said, giving her back her book.

She took it quietly and gently. I was relieved when she didn't open it. Just dropped it face down onto the table as she sunk in my words.

"Please, eat tonight," I pleaded with her, "If you want, I can stay here with you and eat before I leave the House."

"No, don't do that-"

"-I will, if I have to-"

"-I will eat, Nnaemeka," she finally agreed. She looked at me and I knew she was telling the truth. She would eat. Even if she didn't want to. "I will eat. You can go for your appointment. I will eat, nwa'm. Don't worry."

I was convinced.

"I'll be back home before 8," I told her, promising her that, "And, I will put Courage and Glory to bed after bringing down your food. Is that okay?"

Mum nodded gently.

I stood up. Proceeded to turn around and head for the Kitchen when her next words stopped me right on my tracks.

"Are you seeing someone?"

I paused. Bamboozled.

When I turned back around, I saw my Mum with the cheekiest smile on her face, her cheekbones shining like a newly shaved head as she looked at me teasingly.

Frankly, I looked back. Even if I knew that there was no one behind me. The question just seemed out of blue.

"Seeing someone?" I repeated her words, genuinely confused.

"What's her name?" She threw the question at me, and at one glance at the Romance book in her hand, I started to wonder if all the fiction she was reading was starting to confuse her. "Tell me her name, Nnaemeka. The girl that you are seeing, hm?"

"What makes you think I am seeing someone, Mum?" I asked her, a sincerely amused chuckle coming out of my mouth.

"Nnaemeka!" She exclaimed my name, and there was it - the 'extra' coming out of her - as she playfully berated me, "You have been texting someone a lot recently. Tell me! Is it a girl?"

I was blown away as it occured to me, laughter drawing up from my chest as I immediately understood what she was trying to say.

Or what she was misunderstanding.

"No, no, no, no!" I tried to explain while laughing, "No, Mum. It's just a friend!"

"The only friends I know are Kelechi and Chiedozie," she fired at me, "And those other boys from school that come and visit here sometimes. Tell me the truth!"

"I am telling the truth," I said, laughing, "She's just a friend, but we recently started talking recently-"

"- And, coincidentally, she is the same friend you are going out to see by this time of the evening, right?" She cut me, trapping my tongue immediately and bursting into sheer laughter when she realizes she got me tongue-tied.

She laughed so much.

And irrespective of the misconception, I liked that she was happy and laughing like this. It was wholesome.

"I thought you said you were busy all day," she tried to feign a serious look to mask the laughter on her face, but I knew her better than she thought I did.

She was cooking up another clever taunt. I saw it in her eyes. Yet, I still humored her by answering her question.

"I am busy," I said.

"Eh, but not too busy for your girlfriend, ehn?" She started her jab, her eyes bubbling with the excitement to taunt me, "So, Nnaemeka, you're ndi 'Baby, I'm usually busy and I'm not always online, but I don't know, something about you'?" Before I even had the chance to properly defend myself, she burst into another round of laughter as she started singing 'President General Among The Nation' for me as I fought for my life.

I gave up. Let her laugh to her heart's content, if that was all it took to keep her happy. She didn't laugh as much as this these days, not after the Diabetes diagnosis. But everytime she slipped into that extra and unintentionally funny side of her, it made me very happy.

So, I let her think I was seeing someone.

"Just do and come back from your date early sha," she said to me as she wiped laughter tears from her lips, "You said eight, but try to be home by 7:30pm. Your cousin will be in Nigeria tonight and you know we have to get him settled in and you have to tell him all he needs to know since he will be starting school in Castron High tomorrow."

That kinda stopped me again on my tracks. Mentally, though.

"No qualms," Was all I responded. And hoped she didn't pick up the dryness in my tone.

"You know Ebenezer has lived his whole life abroad and he has only you, his older cousin, to show him that highschool in the U.S is not the same as secondary school in Nigeria. He needs your guidance as his senior to survive here," she told me, but I was aware.

I knew that. I had spoken to Eben all my life through calls and texts, having such long distance relationship with him. He was a year younger than me. And soon, would be a class under me in Castron High. I had been told that he was coming to start Ss2 second term here after his siblings were flown down here from Odessa, Texas to Lagos during the Christmas period. And, I had promised Mum over and over that I would look after him the same way I had been looking after his siblings, Courage and Glory.

"Your cousin, Eben, is just like his siblings. Social. Adventurous. Wild. And a little naive," she reminded me, "I get a little afraid of how he will cope here. Especially in a school like Castron High. But I don't have to worry since I have you. Right, Nnaemeka?"

"My cousins are my responsibility, Mum," I assured her. "Take my word for it."

And I would have used the opportunity to walk upstairs and dodge more of what she had to say, but I missed the chance when she stopped me again on my tracks.

"You don't say much when I bring up Eben."

Oh. There it was.

"Why?" She asked me, "Nnaemeka, is there something that happened between you two that I should know?"

I shook my head.

"No, Mum. He's my family. I love him," I answered her question.

"Then, why do you shut down when the topic of him is brought up?" She still wasn't convinced, I already started to hear the frustration in her voice.

In that instant, I regretted not being able to mask my feelings and just pretend like hearing Eben's name didn't thrust me into many emotions that I was trying to avoid. Many thoughts that I tried to avoid as well.

"Nothing, Mum, it's just that the whole talk of Resumption tomorrow just makes me uncomfortable," I told her. I felt it in me. That conviction that came with my little white lie.

Even if it wasn't completely a lie.

I did say I was terrified by School Resumptions.

And, yes, having her bring it up did make me a tad bit uncomfortable. But, it wasn't just the kind of fear everyone else who feared resumption day in Castron High had. For me, it was not the coming back to a world divided by class. It was not resuming into the hand of your bullies, or facing oppression in the hands of those who ran the school, or feeling unworthy if you didn't meet the requirements of social standards, or just choking in fake love and a fickle, unimportant strong hold on vanity.

And even it it triggered my peace, it wasn't the loud shrieking laughter in the Hallway by Class B girls or the rude, snarky remarks of Class C girls on others they saw as unfit of any respect. Or the guffawing of the Art boys from Class A. The rough shoving of weaker boys and junior students by Class F boys, and occasionally the prefects from Class C who abused power. Nor was it the pedestal surrounded by fear, obsession and idolatry that some Class A girls were placed on. Or the rumors. Oh, the rumors spreading like wild fire right now.

Oh, sure, this one may have bothered me. How difficult it was for me to make up my mind to walk to my class without any attention while classmates clogged the entirety of the Hallway, in all their charade. Hence, forcing me to be in a spot to say hi back to anyone who greeted first in order to not offend them. Or smile politely when I am waved at, so that they won't feel bad. Or look for a way to politely dismiss conversation and walk away when people like Winnie and her friend group try to engage me. The struggle to be on your own was insane, but again...

It wasn't even half the story for me.

It was nothing near what deeply terrified me about Resumption Days.

And even as I set the table for my Mum who was back to being soaked up into her book, I prayed in my heart. Silently asking God to let this cup pass me by tomorrow.

I was only snapped out of my reverie when the doorbell rang, the exact minute that my phone buzzed in my back pockets.

NEW WHATSAPP MESSAGE

PEACHY:
I'm at your doorstep, Nnaemeka.
Sent 7:07pm

I'd be damned.

She couldn't possibly be at my doorstep.

How could she be at my doorstep?

I had texted her and told her that I would meet her in Gomery, but she insisted she wanted to pay a visit to my house so that 'we can go together from there to Gomery'. I already debunked the idea, insisting i wouldn't be comfortable stressing her like that. I lived in one of the most remote and isolated places in Lekki Crown. And, she knew that.

So, I couldn't have possibly imagined that she was actually serious. Especially after the day we discussed our locations, she told me how she hated how she could see Crown Bridge from the window of her bedroom at home, because it reminded her how close she lived to Castron High. I mean, she swore that if she looked harder at night and narrowed her line of vision past the Crown Bridge, she could actually see the outside lights of our Ss3 class block that was always left on until the 10pm blackout. I didn't even know that they left the lights in the School building on until it was so late at night, until she told me.

My point was, she lived all the way in Crown Island — a distance that was nothing less than six miles away from my house. So, her telling me she was at my door step got me wonder? How she could have talked herself into taking such a long distance to be here with me, why she did that, and most especially, how she managed to get herself past the gates of my house, past the gatemen too?

It was easier to doubt it.

However, when the doorbell rang a second time, it was clarification for me that as a matter of fact, she was anything but joking.

PEACHY:
You're seeing my messages, Oga.
Don't keep me waiting o.
It's cold out here. 🙂🔪
Sent 7:08pm

My senses immediately acted as I headed for the door, a silent sigh of shame leaving me as I glanced at my Mum who had been looking at me with teasing side eyes as I went to check our doorstep.

"Don't do anything that Jesus wouldn't do o, nwa'm!" She shouted behind me, "Always keep space in between you and the girlfriend. Keep space for Jesus!"

I held back the laugh that choked me down there in my throat, but it was no use. I started cackling under my breath, practically dying with her, as she laughed out to her heart's content.

Nonetheless, I managed to reach the door in one piece. And it was a thing of wonder to me how my 'surprise visitor' was actually there, sitting right on the porch and waiting for me.

Completely unaware that I had showed up already.

I laughed, amused at how fast she was able to get herself comfortable even in my house. She just sat there, relaxed like she owned the place, shoving all the hair I guessed was falling on her face and forcing them behind her everytime she ran a smooth hand through her hair.

And, if her hair wasn't so beautiful flowing in uniformed chaos due to the wind, I would have been thinking how crazy she had to be to wear that sparkling new waist-length long royal blue human hair when she knew that school resumption was literally tomorrow morning.

But nah, all I could think was how pretty she looked even from her back frame. How part of her blue shimmering hair fell into the hood of that white hoodie before some of it sprawled carelessly onto the ground that she sat on. Also how the orange lights of the porch cast a fine glow on her side profile, glistening onto her facial edges and highlighting sharply features of her that I was just noticing for the first time. Like, for one, the radiance in her eyes when she hyper focused on the brightest lightbulb on the terrace. How her lips occasionally pouted, a childlike surprise in her expression, everytime a mosquito flew towards the light. It had me wanting to see what was on her mind. All the bizarre things that must be living in there.

And how she sat in all her ordeal,  a posture that showed class and just a little bit of insanity. Legs pressed together and hands daintily tapping against her soldier-green cargo pants. If she wasn't fighting her hair or running imaginations in her head with the mosquitoes and lightbulb, her sneakers moved around the tiles on the ground with 'busy body' fashion, making sure to kill every ant she caught in her line of vision.

Nothing needed to tell me she was having the time of her life.

And she only noticed my presence when I cleared my throat.

Immediately, she jumped up.

Like magic, I watched how all the superfluous energy in her demeanour instantly faded, replacing that fiery attitude she previously had with the ants (and with me over texts) with a more shy behavior as she almost stepped back in what I perceived as intimidation. Or something akin to it.

It worried me enough to want to move back in order to make her more comfortable...

But when I saw that her pursed lips stretched into a relieved smile, all the tension - or most of it - seemed to relapse. It was shy smile. One that caused her almond shaped brown eyes to crinkle at the lids, her full cheeks prominent in that cheeky smile. She could barely look at me, and I chuckled, amused and fascinated by the oddness of her.

"Um- I- You- I didn't know you were standing there," she wouldn't stop laughing awkwardly, shifting from one foot to the other and tucking a strand of her blue hair behind her ears everytime she felt more awkward after realizing she laughed out of context, "Sorry, I kinda got carried way. Carried away as in lost, not that I was bored by your house or anything. If anything, I am fascinated by you. Sorry. I mean, by the mosquitoes. Jesus Christ. I meant, your house. Your house which I definitely didn't track down on Google maps and—"

She stopped. Just completely stopped. Halted herself midspeech mid sentence and held her mouth together. I couldn't help my smile and that was all she seemed to need to burst into laughter. Hearty laughter at her own self. And needless to say, I laughed with her.

This was something she did a lot. Blabbing out of context. The only difference now compared to before was that she felt comfortable enough to laugh it off with me.

"Should we go now, Peachy?" she said, that sheepish smile on her face never leaving. I chuckled at the nickname. Especially since she had no idea that I had saved her name with the exact same nickname she occasionally called me. "The cab man is already waiting for us," she tugged shyly at her white hoodie as she spoke, "Sh-Should we go and meet him now?"

I laughed softly at the question. I knew this was just her struggling again with words, so it was my cue to make her comfortable enough to be free with me all over again. Hence, I made the next move by extending a hand to her, an action that seemed to catch her slightly off guard.

Frankly, I didn't need anyone to teach me basic manners. For courtesy reasons, I already knew I had to ask before I fully made the move to actually hold her hand. So, I looked her bright radiant eyes and popped the question.

"May I hold your hand, Ebube?"

Ouuuuuuuu.🥹❤️

I remember once upon a time when I posted some screenshots from Nana's phone on my IG and some of you wanted to cry in your desperation to know who Peachy was!!😂 Remember?? Surprise! It is Ebube Onuoha. And trust me, the way you will see things, personality traits, passions, and EVERYTHING that there is to know about this character who seems to be the most mysterious character in TMBT! Looking at Ebube from Nana's POV is one of the best things that you could have ever asked for! And trust me when I say, WE ARE IN FOR A TREAT! THESE TWO WILL MAKE YOU GO ABSOLUTELY INSANE — And hopefully, in a good way. Fingers crossed. Because them go give you one-two small sha. You will see sweetness and madness in all shades. Just buckle up and get ready. 😂🤲🏾

Btw, you wanted every secret about the mystery behind the Onuoha Twins and Nana's POV is going to dive into that. In Ebube and Nana's voice, "Fun fact!" No but seriously, fun fact: The Igbo Sisters and Dabeluchi will barely ever find out most of the mysterious behind the Onuoha Sisters. Only Nana Obi will.

And as we see things now, Nana looks at Ebube just as a friend. Ouch. Even if in many ways he finds her attractive, I mean obs. The twins are mofucking gorgeous, it's not a surprise. But, there is a lot to consider especially when you start looking at how deeply rooted in Christ that Nana is. If he would be willing to start something in the line of romance with someone who he's not sure shares his same passion for God? I don't know, what do you think? Does Nana look at Ebube merely as a pretty face with a great personality who he's ready to keep safely in the friend zone or do you see a romance being established between the two quite quickly?

Also, let's remember that Nana asked Prissy out for Prom in TLT. We are far from Prom era of TLT/TMBT, but this is just to put it out there. 😂 I won't say much. Or how this mess came to be. But, humor me, what do you think this entire Nana/Ebube thing is looking like in your eyes? All I'll say is that Nana is a nice guy, but he's very hard to get. Ebube may have a lot of work to do sha. 😂❤️

By this POV, tell me something that strikes you about Nana.🥹❤️

And personally, I absolutely LOVE his Mum. Ifubedi anything! That woman is the most unintentionally funny character I have we very written. Just wait. She hasn't even started. 😂✋🏽

With all said and done, what was your experience with this chapter?

While I am done with my meal of liquid Omo and I finish cracking rusted rod with my teeth Lagos Agboro style,  I will see you next Sunday. Oya! Zazu!!