Chapter Five

Chapter Five 💕

Esther was at Rolape’s house with her phone on a video call with Ree, as they both sat on the long stool of the kitchen cabinet. “Rolape now, why now, why?!” Ree exclaimed over the phone.

“I don’t know o! ehn… you don’t know Danny at all. He is very heartless” Esther corroborated. 

Rolape sighed. The news of Danny’s house being blown up had been shared on the class group chat. Danny himself had shared it with pictures. Rolape felt sweats were in her armpit. And on her forehead too. And on her palm. Danny was lying, he was! He could have taken some pictures he found online and shared that. Or he was trying to extort and apply some blaspheme? “please, lets just focus on our assignment.” Ro’s voice sounded broken. 

“are you sure you can focus?” Ree asked.

Rolape felt she might need to go to the rest room. “I didn’t blow up his house, I just wanted to punish him, it was set for his windows that’s all. If he wasn’t lying, then why did he come to shake my hand in greeting earlier today in class?”

“he shook your hand?” Esther asked.

“yes.”

“Maybe he is trying to be the peaceful guy.” Esther said.

“or he is up to another one of his pranks, it’s probably part of his plan or something. I don’t even like him.” Ree answered and as she said that Rolape’s nerves calmed down for some reasons. 

“i go with the ‘peaceful’ analysis, because whatever type of implosive you said you used, then it is very possible that it blew up his whole house even if it was intended for the windows.”

Danny was lying, was all Rolape could think of. She wasn’t sure on what information. Or it was a not-yet existing information he was lying about, with his creepy smile. What ever plan he has would fail. 

“it serves him right!” Rolape blurted with a confidence that felt reliable enough to lean on. 

“so what are you going to do now?” Esther asked.

“What ever he dishes out, he would get back. He tampered with our plans for Saturday and caused Ree to be grounded. I’m tired of people feeling the energy of ‘I can get away with whatever I do’ and take advantage, serious advantage of those who can’t toughen up their skin and become heartless”

Temi had come into the house to pick something up. He stood in the other part of the house beside the wall behind the kitchen wondering whose house got blown up. He had asked the maids to go bring them lunch happy to eavesdrop. But now he was going to ask whose house got blown up, he'd just have to wait--- wait for them to finish up their meal.

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Rolape and Esther ate spaghetti and sauce that busted their tongues into wonderland. While Rolape drank milk, Esther drank from the glass of water in front of her. 

Temi concluded within himself that whatever she had done, her parents does not want to see her with nightmares clouding her judgement, "You know how much you can talk to me if you have any trouble, right Rolape? " That was Temi, 

"Temi!" Rolape looked up. 

"Hello, Esther," 

"Are you back from work? When did you get back?" Rolape was totally taken back. 

"So... Do you mind telling me?" Temi asked ignoring her questions.

Oh dear! What will she tell him now? 

There was silence and Esther didn't like it because it felt like spelling bee competition's tensed silence. Esther sighed. Rolape summed to speak up and speak the truth so things don't get worse than it is. 

"Well... I got upset. So... I er... decided to give a little punishment to somebody" Rolape started a little soberly. 

"By blowing up their house?" Temi found himself exploding. Esther knew Temi was furious, she wanted to take her leave but then again, she wouldn't. You don’t leave your friend just because things aren’t appearing comfortable for them. "And how does it have to do with Ree?" Temi asked again.

"You might not want to know that, it has something to do with her meeting up with the person Rolape punished on a date," Esther said and Temi chuckled.

"You already said it, you might as well just tell me what's in it," he said. 

"For some reasons, this date got Ree grounded by Alhaji, her dad. And it's ruining my plans on Saturday, I need help covering the local communities, I was trying to defend Ree as well, So I baked a cake and gave it to him to eat."

"What?! You poisoned the cake! Oh God! And..." Temi said stunned. "It was his house that got exploded not himself..." Esther filled him in properly. Rolape explained to her brother how she impulsively chose to protect herself and her friends by deceiving Danny with a friendly visit and a cake and scaring him by exploding off his windows. Rolape defended herself to Temi by telling him how unbelievable he still is as he still lied by posting pictures of a whole house being blown up, something she was so sure of that it was just his windows.

“it couldn’t have been his house” Ro expressed really sounding insecure. Temi saw it in her and knew the whole missing mum and dad was taking a whole new and serious turn. He had even had the idea of taking her to the office for dinner with their parents. And if they still didn’t welcome her? That would be something else and the effect is not what he was sure he could ever handle. 

“i don’t think so. People who lie about things like that will have to have a thoroughly upbeat game. Either ways we cant risk our name being exposed with someone who might think he has something on us.” Temi replied her, now gentle, although he had the feeling that his sister was right and that he wouldn’t like this Danny person but he was willing to do the right thing.

"Let me have this guy's phone number." Temi told Esther. He also had the idea "Er... For the record, I was the one who gave Danny’s address to Rolape, I don't want a role in aiding and abetting." Esther blurted.

"His phone number and his address, let me have them" Temi spoke ignoring what she said.

"Are you not listening to me?"

"You have to give me this information because I want to buy him a house and if I don't,... Wouldn't it be compensation for damages the court will be asking for eventually?" Temi replied.

"Fine!" 

Esther gave to him Danny's details by typing in on his phone. Temi walked towards the door, black suit in hand, flinging down, his phone on right ear. 

He stopped just when he was about to open the door to let himself out, then he turned back to look at the girls.

"Email your assignment to me and focus on your program on Saturday. I don't like your voice and- that -neck scarf " with that he left the house. 

Esther still felt that the air was stiff. But she wasn't going to leave her friend alone, "so uhn!..." Esther smiled mischievously with something to brighten up the atmosphere. Rolape cleaned her red-eye, tear smeared face. "What?"

"Send all those magnitudes killer assignments to him, uhn... K? K?"

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Sariana! Sariana!" He looked dirty, he looked panicky, trotting in the bush ruffles.

"Sariana! Sariana!" He yelled out again, almost in tears- turning rims of the thick bush, rumpling leaves and twigs snapping. 

And then...

He saw a building, one he would have to come out of the bush to see clearly, it was painted a pretty purple, a roof rough as time yet all quite still pretty; he got to the finish of the bush to access the house and found himself out of the stumpy path still quite unexpectedly without paying attention to the fly buzzing right next to his ear.

The ground has been weeded, the clay was clear, around the house- more like people reside in the house.

"Maybe I could ask them for water_ A glass- or three!" he fantasized.

"With just a foot ahead, he saw: sitting at the edge in front, on a fell tree beside the house, his wife, Sariana.

" Sariana!" This cry cut out her quiet sobs, raced into each other's arms.

"Oh, Jojo!" She cried and they kept on re-embracing even though they smelt like pits not scrubbed since cave age.

"Oh! I never was able to imagine loosing you after losing our son- our dear one and only son" she told 

"Our son!" He cried too. "Let's go find him!" And then said with so much enthusiasm.

"We can't find him, unless we get cleaned up first- I can't go so this unkempt," she told him. 

"We are as good as garbage - we can't get cleaned up"

"Well, yes we can" she insisted 

"I say we can't!"

"Yes! I said! We can!" Saraina said thumping like a child.

And then grip! Jojo grips her neck so tight she could die. "You pain in the neck whore of a woman!" He said through clenched teeth. Her hand also found its way through his shirt-torn bare chest to grip on his neck; digging into the skin of his beck taking advantage of her long unkempt finger-nails of hers.

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Rolape Wheezed, coughed, gasped, and practically forced her eyes opened. She fumbled with her yellow blanket and rolled on to the floor. She wanted somebody in the room, anybody, the green woman's face was so unpleasant,  and so was that stupid Jojo's, she wished they'd just kill each other and leave her alone.

"Oh God, uuuuuuuuhhhhnn..." And the coughing continued. 

Today was Saturday, all the more she was not going to allow this stupid episode ruin her plans. Rolape collapsed on the blanket on the floor in her room. 

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Temi doesn't have any particular special time to be sleeping in. He should be prompt to work, but it feels flexible for him. Odd then it is that the Air Condition is making a different effect on him this morning. It made the pores of his skin feel like frozen foods and the blanket over his body made everything more delicious. He could see Ree's face like she just came out from under a shower in a gray ball gown, she brought her face over his head; it made Temi smile while sleeping. "There is my man, I've been looking for you" Ree said in a whisper. 

The curtains blew, the thunder rumbled and he was either dreaming or awake. Or most likely half awake. He wondered if Ree got drenched in the rain. He doesn't want to wonder though, he wanted to sleep in and enjoy all this repose. 

The breeze blew more specifically and Temi couldn't help but to think about Ree. Temi jerked bright awake. No, it wasn't because of Ree, was the rain pouring? Temi asked rhetorically within himself. "No, no, no, no, no, no" Temi said as he pulled into his trouser, zipped up on his white lingerie and hurried out of his room.

"Not today, not today... Rain, you are not allowed to fall, just not today!" He ran down the stairs, her room was on the first floor. 

He flung the door opened. "Rolape! Hey! Ro!" Ran to beside her bed.

Rolape was helpless on the floor, he carried her up "hey Ro! Look at me! Look at me!" 

Rolape rasped.

"I...I think... Someone....'trying to...kill me!" Rolape pressed out of her lungs. 

"What! Who?" He left her on the floor and ran to check the window. Came back to carry her head up. "Where? Who?" 

"Call mum and dad and ask them who... Uhhhhhhhnnnn" Rolape gasped.

"Talk to me, Rolape"

"Who the heck is Ro---?"

"What?!"

"Sariana? Saria --Uhhhhhhhhhhn"

Temi looked at her and felt hot air in his stomach. 

"Call them now!"

Rolape felt like there was something shaking inside her. Something that didn't know whether to stay or come out. She shivered as Temi carried her unto her bed. She was going to get on to her plan today.

But was that what she really wanted. Rolape felt tired. 

 She shook, and felt sicker with the recent flashes of Danny's face smiling at her. The smile could mean mercy. Temi closed the door behind him running to get his phone from his room. He ran up the stairs and he felt something leaving him. Does he need a therapist? Because this isn't a normal life at all. It just isn't. He jabbed his phone from the dressing table, fumbled with it to get his mum's number and dialed. It rung. And kept ringing. 

He dialed Perry because apparently his parents would be glad not to help. 

He jugged back down the stairs, as he spoke with Perry over the phone, the Psycho therapist he met at Oxford University while they were both on their master's degree. 

"Sariana doesn't mean anything. It sounds like rubbish." Perry echoed over the phone. 

"It has to mean something, she keeps having it repeatedly"

"All I can tell you is it's not a name unless you mean Sarah?"

"No, it's sariana... Sariana in dreams, just make..." Temi noticed the call had gone off. 

He was still heading to her room knowing she'd wish to see him calling mum and dad. 

Madam Remi approached him from the hallway, "Sir, I have to tell you something, it's about Rolape"

"Madam Remi, I have to get Rolape to the hospital right now. Wait... What? What about Rolape?" Temi stopped.

"I saw her in the kitchen, then having left abruptly for some reason she dropped a knife on the floor. I saw it and picked it up. I don’t know I think- I think maybe she's having suicide thoughts." She looked up at him with a motherly worry on her creases. She spoke like she was educated, careful and sharp, living with the children of one of the toppers of Nigerian business mogul surely had rubbed off well on her.

Temi swallowed. Rolape would never want to kill herself; Temi said within himself feeling very sure of himself, but he felt frustration clung at his chest. "Thank you ma" he said dryly and quiet absent minded. Temi ran again. 

“and who is trying to take my life?” Rolape asked as if the words purring out were a risk she had to take releasing hysterically.

"Hello, does she know anyone named Sarina? Sarina's a name" Perry asked as he called back.

"Perry, I think my sister's having suicide thoughts. " his gaze still on Rolape, she shut her eyes for all she could see was disappointment all over Temi's face. 

And isn’t that person herself? But why? Why does the person have to be herself? All she did was stare at a sharp, slim and clean China steel knife wondering who she actually was. Had Madam Remi told Temi she caught her as the knife fell down and she ran upstairs? Should she try the clean steel? Or will it even ever be worth it?

"Hmm... Give her the phone let me talk to her."

"What?!"

"Just give her the phone" Temi placed the phone beside her ear and she held it from his hands as she was still on the floor. She began to pretend she could breathe, and even pretend to relax. 

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