"How Could You Say No!"

         "How could you say no!"

I winced and glared at my elder brother.

"I didn't say no, Lee. I said I'll think about it."

"Squirt, I know you. When you go 'I'll think about it', you mean 'I'm too busy being a nerd and ruining my social life, so the answer is no'."

I raised a brow.

"Okay, that was weirdly accurate. Except for the ruining my social life part."

"You have no friends, Squirt."

"Yes I do." I defended. He folded his arms across his chest.

"And they might be?"

"Tishe Adeleye-Micheal,Gazelle Taiwo and Caitlyn Blossom." I said without thinking. His eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at me.

"You're kidding me,right?"

I shrugged then froze as I realized what I had just said. I called them my friends. 

My friends!

I have friends now.

Wow.

Could I really call them my friends?

I mean, we talk and they do their best to defend me, but can I really call them my friends?

Do I really trust them?

"Hey! Earth to Squirt! Are you even listening to me? He's not listening to me! God, can you imagine? And I've been rambling on and on like a fool all this while.."

I looked at my dork of a brother.

"You'll have to repeat everything you said, Lee."

"You know I'm like three years older than you. Your mates are calling their older siblings of even a year, just one year o, 'brother' and 'sister', you're calling me by my first name. This is why Mrs Makanju said you're disrespectful."

"Are you done?" I asked, raising a brow. Lee smacked me upside the head.

"Ouch!"

"Anyways, how did you make friends with the Taiwos? How did you even remember them?"

"Remember them? What are you talking about?"

Lee stared at me incredulously.

"You don't remember them?"

I shook my head and Lee face palmed himself. 

"How could you-? You know what? Forget it. Later. Go to the club."

"No."

"Why?"

Cos I don't want to end up being utterly humiliated when I find out that Tife and Abella are just like the others.

"Cos I have a lot of homework to do."

It was the truth. Kind of. Lee groaned.

"Gooodddd!!! You're so boring! Okay, let's make a deal. You go to the club and I'll help you do your homework."

I raised a quizzical brow. Lee, do my homework? Ha! Like that'll ever happen.

"No. Thank. You."

"Oh c'mon Squirt!"

"Why do you want me to go to this club anyways?"

Lee smirked. He was the handsome brother. Dark glowing skin, moderate beard, athletic form, a dazzling smile and an attitude that made the girls swoon. At nineteen my brother was a fine young man. Popular too. Everyone noticed him everywhere he went. An alumni of my school, Lee was the star football player/captain, the head boy, the most popular and also the smartest. He was an outright nerd just like me, but had an aura of friendliness and smoothness that made you want to listen to him all day. It made me wonder why life was so unfair. How we could both be extraordinarily smart and yet he was liked much more than I? All of the trophies he had won in school were stacked up high in the 'Winners' Cabinet' in the staffroom. Sports trophies, academic decathalon awards, art trophies and even an award from the National Association of Nigerian Engineers. Sometimes I was jealous of him. He had everything. He was the first child, the most popular, the most handsome, the ome with the most girls around him, heck, he was even the smarter one! Other times I felt proud of him. But most times, like this one, I look up at my brother and realize over and over again, that he is just an overgrown idiot that says a lot of nonsense.

"Cos I want you to loosen up,Squirt. Have some fun. Stop being so uptight all the time."

I smiled at him. And then there was his caring side. The side of  him that enabled him to keep his relationship with his girlfriend for the past four years. 

"I'm fine, Lee."

Lee groaned again, louder this time.

"Just go already! Please! I hate seeing you like this on a Friday night when your schoolmates are out there having fun and vandalising stuff."

"Great way to convince me."

"Just go."

I closed my Estate History textbook and faced my elder brother. 

"Okay. Let's make a deal. I'll go-"

"Yes!"

"-if, you go with me and help me do my chores for the rest of the weekend."

"Deal." he said eagerly and I eyed him suspiciously. He was way too eager to agree, so un-Lee like. I pushed the suspicion away, he just wants the best. But isn't he supposed to be advising me not to go to places like that? Yup, it's official, my brother is weird. 

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          I never thought Mom would actually let me go out of the house at 9pm. But sure enough, she was sitting on her favourite couch eating eba and banga soup watching Legally Blonde and telling me to 'have fun and be home before midnight'. Maybe it was beause she had just gotten off the phone with Richard few minutes ago.

Stupid Richard.

Making my Mom act like a love sick teenager.

She's Not in love with him!

She loves Dad and that's the only man she'll ever love.

No one else has the right to take his place.

No one else dares to.

Except Richard of course, a voice at the back of my head snickered.

Shut up, I told it.

Abella wore a plain blue crop top, a pair of thick woolen black tights, a brown jacket and blue crocs. Tife wore a white hoodie, blue jeans and grey crocs. It seemed we were all rocking the crocs look cos Lee wore a black T-shirt, a blue jean jacket, black jean trousers and black crocs. I wore a white hoodie, white baggy jeans and white crocs. 

What?

I like white.

"Hey Jeff! Who's this?" Abella asked bouncing on her heel. The cowrie wristband was still on her wrist and around her waist were five waist beads made of cowries. I glanced at Mom, she was too engrossed in her show to pay us any attention. I was glad, I wasn't ready to listen to any lecture about how girls that wear waist beads are demonic and can steal men's destinies.

Extreme I know.

"This is my brother Lee."

Lee took Abella's hand and kissed it. She smiled brightly.

"Leonardo Davichi Adelanwa mademoiselle. A pleasure to meet you."

I rolled my eyes. Playboy.

"Hi. I'm Abella. This is Tife."

"All of you should go to where you are going and close my door! Can't you see that you're letting mosquitoes into the house?!" Mom said and we laughed.

"Bye Mom." Lee said.

"Close my door my friend."

"Bye Mom." I said.

"Bye baby."

Lee stared at her, mouth agape.

"Hey! That's unfair!"

"If I stand up from here Leonardo, you won't like what I would do to you."

I grabbed my brother's arm and dragged him out of the house. We walked out of the compound and to two black McLaren P1s.

"Blood of Zachariah!" Lee exclaimed and I stared at the 1.15 million Dollar cars in shock. 

"Is your father Dangote? There are only 375 McLarens in the world! How?!"

Abella smiled.

"Our parents have connections."she said getting into the driver's side of the first car. Tife took the driver's seat of the second and smirked at us.

"You coming?"

Lee and I shared a look and slowly walked into the cars. If this is what being rich is like, I definitely want to be rich. Lee joined Abella while I joined Tife. The car purred to life and I relished the feeling of the warm carbonfire seats.

"This is so cool." I said and Tife grinned.

"Just wait till she moves."

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen. Why?"

"Just making sure you're legal enough to drive."

He laughed as we started moving at a cruising speed.

"Abella is sixteen and she's one of the best drivers I know." As if on cue, Abella's McLaren zoomed past us with a loud honk. Tife grinned.

"Buckle up, Adelanwa."

The car roared as we drove at 70 miles per hour. We quickly caught up to Abella and Lee who honked in greeting. Tife chuckled.

"Oh, it's on, Abella."

I stared at him wide eyed. I was literally gripping my seat as we drove past houses and shops at an accelerating speed.

"Hope you don't have asthma."

I shook my head.

"Good. You might want to hold onto your seat a little tighter."

The car gained more speed and I felt myself sinking into my comfortable seat. We were moving at a crazy rate; 70, 75, 80, 90.....

"Slow down!" I screamed as we neared a curve. Tife merely snorted as Abella's car successfully rounded it.

"Piece of cake." Tife said as we got closer. I closed my eyes as we rounded the curve. I felt the car hit something with a small bump, swerve quite smoothly then glide back to a straight drive. I opened my eyes to find a clear sky and empty road ahead of me.

"We're not dead?"

"Nope, and we're in the lead. Plus we're almost at my dad's club. Nice, right?"

I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding and sunk into my seat.

"Yo, Jeff? You okay?"

"Mad." I whispered.

"What?"

I looked at him. There was so much excitement and dread bubbling inside of me I nearly couldn't breathe.

"Mad. That was totally mad! Epic! Where did you learn to drive like that? Can you teach me?"

 Tife stared at me like I was a ghost or had two heads. 

"What?" I asked, sheepishly. Can't a guy enjoy an epic car race anymore?

"Who are you and what have you done to our school nerd?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Just because I'm a nerd doesn't mean I don't have hobbies of my own. My brother and I usually have car races to settle arguments over stuff. He goes in his Toyota Camry and I go in my mom's Lexus RX."

Tife had a look of disbelief as he glanced at me then back at the road. 

"I like cars okay." I said, shrugging. "I like cars and racing and numbers. Those three go hand in hand, so, I find interest in them."

We were silent for a minute.

"What other things do you like?" he asked. I raised a brow, looking at him then I stared at the open road ahead. I could hear faint music coming from ahead and a spectrum of lights lit a part of the blue-black sky.

"Well, I love video games. Online, mobile, you name it. I'm also an avid reader. I read mostly science fiction, mystery and I guess a bit of teen fiction." I looked at him. "What about you?"

"Me? I'm your typical musical guy. I play every instrument I have managed to acquire. I sing too. I'm in the choir in my church. I play sports a bit too and-"

"A bit? You're a walking sports buff!" I said, stupidly. Tife grinned.

"Me? Nah. I mean, I play football and basketball but that doesn't make me a jock or anything. I play for fun, I don't depend on it like it's going to get me a sports scholarship in a university. Do they even do that in Nigeria?"

"I don't think so."

"Anyways, I spend most of my time at the club serving drinks or singing or in my room playing my guitar or chiling at Abella's place. I'm not that much of a people person. Guess that's why I like you. You mind your business. Not like those other guys with egos larger than their measly bank accounts. I mean, hello? Your father owns the cash you're flaunting, not you."

I laughed as we drove into the driveway of a livley and brightly lit club. Loud blaring ghetto-pop music  played and a few drunken people littered the front yard of the club. The walls were painted black with graffiti as added effect. Giant glowing letters stood on top of the building spelling the word; CLUB BAMBAM. Tife parked at a reserved spot right next to the entrance and we exited the vehicle. Abella's car drove in and parked next to Tife's and Tife smirked. Abella walked out of the car, a huge grin on her face and Lee came out looking like he had been molested.

"You cheated!" Abella yelled at Tife, still grinning. Tife shook his head.

"No. I used wisdom."

"You totally hit us. We nearly ran into a street light."

So that was the bump I heard. It could also be the reason why Lee looked like that.

"But you didn't."

She punched his arm as Lee walked over to me. He put a hand on my shoulder, the look of  dread still on his face.

"She's sixteen and drives like a skilled maniac!" he said. I smiled.

"Guess you've met your match bro." I replied as we walked into the club.