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13: A thief lives with us
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2024-10-29 19:42:56My dress is missing.
First, my underwear. Now, my dress. Anger stirs within me, flooding my veins even as I try to stay calm.
I love that dress. I made it myself. That dress is the first complicated dress I ever got right on my own, and now, it's missing.
As I rummage in my bag, I'm on the verge of tears.
It has to be here somewhere, I keep telling myself. Yet, as I dig deeper into my wardrobe, search my bags and hanger, I realize that it's nowhere amidst my stuff. Even my drying rack is empty.
Storming out of the balcony, I try to think up a prime suspect amongst my flatmates. There's no way my dress could've grown wings and flown away. Someone must have taken it. But who? Who could've stolen my dress?
When I knock on Amanda's door, and she says to come in, I immediately strike her off my list.
The only furniture in her room is the flatbed she
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Finding Us 14: Yoruba Demond
“You still haven't told me why you threw that fine flower away,” Annie tells me while we're talking — with Amanda included — in the living room.I'm still contemplating my reply, when Diamond storms into the house, sending all of us to our feet.Upon seeing her swollen cheeks and tears leaking from her black eye, we run toward her.“Diamond.” I gasp as she covers her face.“What happened to you?” Annie asks.“Blood of Jesus,” Amanda says with her hands over her mouth.Diamond doesn't answer anybody as she goes straight to her room and locks the door.The three of us exchange puzzled glances, each asking a question of our own with no one to give us answers.***
Finding Us 15: “I don't owe you anything”
The men in the living room have every girl confused, except Diamond who's ecstatic as she tells them where to put the rug, chairs, TV and tables of different sizes.“Diamond, what's happening here?” Annie goes to ask Diamond while we trail her.“Can't you see what's happening?”“I can see what's happening, but what I don't understand is... Did you buy all these?”“No. Charles did.”Charles? Her boyfriend.I can't believe how easy Diamond is; this guy literally pounded on her, leaving bruises that prevented her from leaving the house until they were completely healed. Rather than dumping his ass, she's here smiling like it's totally normal to be pulverized by your fellow human being, as long as they've got money to satisfy your needs. It's quite s
Finding Us 16: From a different perspective
All that rings in my head is, “I don't owe you anything, so no”, thus, making it hard to grasp a word Eric is saying.Maybe it's true he doesn't owe me anything, but I simply can't get over his straight face and the tone he used. It's what's messing with my brain. It's what has me realizing Eric will never see me as someone more than just a friend. It's what has me understanding that I should just give this whole thing up.Eric lets out a groan, his eyes shut tightly as he leans back to look at him.I stare at the equation he's been trying to teach me for the past thirty minutes, refusing to meet his gaze because I know I'll only see the frustration I'm causing him.“What's wrong?” he asks, shutting the book I'm staring at, and it forces me to look at him.I return my gaze to the book.
Finding Us 17: What are you scared of?
I can't sleep.Not because Eric is right beside me, but because my latest revelation won't stop taunting me. It makes me feel stupid. No wonder Eric will never like me. I'll only be weighing him down.This thought has had me up for a long while, only staring at Eric when he takes a deep breath. Why in the world did I think a guy like Eric will like someone like me? My brain cells aren't even complete, neither are my facial features something to write about.If I'm a guy and I have to choose between myself and Mariam, I'll definitely go for Mariam. Not only is she beautiful, but her brain cells aren't as dormant as mine.“You can't sleep?” Eric's voice startles me.He inhales deeply as he turns over to lay on his side, his fist under his cheek.“I
Finding Us 18: Scared of the worse
The look Annie gives me when she opens the door prompts me to explain myself in details. However, she stops my rambling with a snicker and tells me I don't owe her an explanation. Then she walks away and starts to sing aloud.Amanda's voice is loud in prayer while Diamond's Bluetooth speaker is turned up so that it somehow overshadows the girls' voices. It's the usual noise I'm subjected to every morning, but this time, it doesn't annoy me. Instead, it makes me smile.I woke up feeling better. Although there's the fact that I'm a useless friend to Eric, I don't know, something about our conversation last night makes me feel a little... useful.The girls are all finished and are on their way to school by the time I'm done, so we leave together.“Ehen, Zhaki came last night to tell us that we should
Finding Us 19: Almost
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Finding Us 20: Be your brother's keeper
“It seems like you don't like to hear word,” Eric tells me. “Where did you drop your phone?”“It's in my bag.” I unzip my bag to take it out, then I see the ten calls I missed. Five from Eric. Two from my mom, two from my dad and one from my sister. “Yikes.”“What were you doing with that guy?” Eric nods sideways.“Who? Caleb? We were just talking.”“I thought Harry warned you to stay away from him.”I look over his shoulder at Harry standing afar, his hands in his pocket as he stares ahead.“He told me, but he never said why.”“So it's until you have a gun to your head or a knife close to y
Finding Us 21: There was a caught
My speech starts with a stutter, then a quick pause before it progresses with a ramble that has Annie and Amanda giving me looks.Diamond, who is the recipient of my advice, doesn't even move a muscle. Her eyes are trained on me like a hawk's, her arms folded over her chest. Though she remains still when I'm finished, it's clear a storm is brewing within her and I can already tell Annie and Amanda, who are standing behind me, hate me for dragging them into this.A chortle is what breaks out of Diamond first as she shakes her head and regards me with those stormy eyes.“Come let me ask you,” — she gestures at me before interlacing her fingers — “Did I, in any way, mention, even if it was by mistake o, that we're friends?”“Shebi I told you,” Ann
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Finding Us 46: Change happens II
Amanda's birthday is only two days away, and Annie and I want to surprise her. We told the guys, who are in on the plan, and so have been on a hush-hush around her. Although I suspect that Amanda knows we're up to something, Annie says I'm being paranoid.“What do you think Amanda would like as a present?” Dare asks as we enter the gift shop.“I don't really know,” I reply. “If you asked me what Annie likes, I'll tell you it's a headband straightaway. That, and lots of chocolate. But with Amanda, you can never really tell. She doesn't obsess over anything the way I obsess over music and Annie over novels. She's always this meh,” — I shrug — “kind of girl.”He exhales loudly. “That's the same problem I'm having. It's like she's hard to impress.”“Yeah.”We find some beautiful gift wrappings and balloons that we buy.Luckily, Amanda's birthday is on a Sunday (which is in two day
Finding Us 45: Change happens I
After Eric manages to have a bath, the guys disinfect the wound and help him to the bed where he sits.Because they're finished, I tiptoe into the room like the coward I am. Unable to stomach how bad he looked, I vomited in one of the bathrooms and was told to stay outside till they were done.Eric's eyes are closed, and I'm about to leave when he speaks, “This is why you should stick to sewing.”I turn to see his one good eye is opened. Chuckling nervously, I sit beside him.“Chai. See your eye. How are you feeling?” I ask.“Like I'm sitting on pins and needles. My whole body hurts.”“Sorry.” I pout and pat his shoulder. “Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?”He nods, takes my hand and interlaces our fingers. My heart skips a beat, but I don't pay any attention to it this time.“Why did those idiots beat you up?” I ask.
Finding Us 44: Beaten up
Annie and I throw ourselves at Amanda when she arrives at the door, almost making her fall back as she laughs.“You people should not kill me o,” she says before we pull away.“I was already planning how I'll come to your house and beat you up if you don't show today,” Annie says, and Amanda chuckles.Just then, Amanda's parents arrive at the stairs with the rest of her bags.“Good morning, sir. Good morning, ma,” Annie and I greet as we hurry over to help them.“God bless you, my children,” Amanda's dad says as they leave the bags for us.We take Amanda's bags to her room and come out to meet her parents — since she said they had something to say to us.“First of all, I want to thank you two for what you're doing for our daughter,” Amanda's dad says. “As a parent, I'm ashamed that I can't even provide for my own child and have to depend on you two.” His eyes water,
Finding Us 43: Good friends
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Finding Us 42: Amanda's plight
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I'm slumped on my bed, about to doze off when Joy wakes me.“Dad is calling you.”The journey back from the church's headquarters was crazy long. Although I wasn't the one driving, my body weighs like a bag of cement. And all I want to do is sleep. Not talk.Mom and dad are in their room, so I knock before I'm being told to enter.While mom is unpacking, dad is going through his drawer in search of something.“You sent for me,” I say.He looks up at me before closing the drawer. “Your mom said you're the one that packed my other bag. Where did you keep my shaving stick?”“It's in your bag.” I go over to the bed, open the side-zip of his bag and take out the shaving stick.“You'll be going back to school tomorrow, correct?” he asks as he collects the shaving stick.“Yes, sir.”He tilts the shaving stick over and over
Finding Us 40: Learning to forgive
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Finding Us 39: The truth that heals
“Forgiveness,” the Head-pastor says. “It's the hardest thing for any human to do, yet the easiest thing for our God to do. God forgives so easily, that it amazes me every time. He killed that person, yet the simple fact that he's remorseful is enough to make God forgive him. There's no sin our father in heaven cannot forgive. As long as you are willing to repent; as long as you acknowledge your mistake, and you're willing to turn a new leaf, he's willing to forgive. Do you know why? It's because He loves us. He loves us so much that He's waiting for us, despite all that we do. He's waiting for us to make that right choice.“Just like He forgave David for stealing another man's wife, He forgave the prostitute who saved the Israelite spies. He also forgave the woman who committed adultery and was brought to him to be condemned. Just as He forgave these people and more, He's willing to forgive us.”***While mom and dad are b
