Chapter 5

Nine thirty in the morning and Ace was still asleep, not even the loud honks, blasting street music from Papa promo's to and fro parade, and the chit-chats from random street passers-by could do a thing to wake him up. But one thing did.

His phone had begun chiming incessantly and disrespectfully at the corner of his head. He tried for the first two minutes to ignore it to no avail. It kept ringing non-stop. Ace knew there was just one person on the whole planet earth to bug him that way and he was going to give her a piece of him for intruding on his beauty sleep.

"What in the heckarooni is yo' problem El?"

"You, dumbass."

Eloise, his baby sister is definitely the kind of person you won't want to trade even for a buck. She was a pain in the neck--in his neck, the reason why he never regretted doing certain things to her during their childhood like cutting off her hair in her sleep and adding some chili in her cereals when she wasn't looking.

"I'm sleeping. Please let me be your problem later ok?"

"Don't hang up on me. I need to tell you something first."

"What? You finally got a replacement sexier than I am?" he mocked.

Of course, she had finally admitted, though not in the proper way, that he is good-looking despite the insults she threw at him every day. 

Well, apparently since he left for Cameroon, his crazy baby sister hadn't been able to get a model for her fashion show as perfect as him in all aspects.

"Yeah, sure. Well, that's if you ever consider a long-haired bulbous nose scarecrow sexy," she giggled.

"Goodbye," he tempted.

"Waittttttt!"

"What?"

She exhaled, "The reason I called is because yes, I finally found a model to replace you during my fashion shows to come but...I'm kind of...you know...falling and something tells--"

"Falling? off the tree or downhill which of them?" he provoked.

At this point, his eyes were sleep-free since it was very unusual for his sister to talk to him about matters of the heart.

"You hopeless romantic," he imagined her rolling her eyes. "In love of course. As stupid as that sounds," she muttered the five latter words beneath her breath, "But something about him is unusual." Her irritating squeaky voice resurrected.

Ace stretched his body and ambled to the little hotel veranda. He leaned on the cold steel railing with a free elbow resting on it. "Why d'you say that? Is he cripple?"

"Ace, be serious for once in your miserable life." She sighed in frustration, "I bump into him almost everywhere, the first time was at Marila's party, then backstage, and finally at the shopping mall I mean...how much of a coincidence could that be all of a sudden?"

He shrugged, even though he knew she couldn't see him.

"Perhaps he's a spirit." 

"You never take anything seriously, goodbye," she acted.

He knew she wasn't going to drop the call so he remained silent for a while, watching the busyness of the street below. Half a dozen boys his age or so waltzed into a pathway across the road.

He'd seen them close to often walk that path in the mornings and wondered what bone attracted their presence until a week ago when Mike, upon pulling his morning lazy ass to school, cut his inquisition with the disclosure of a gifted specialist--the horse's words--of 'puff-puff' and beans.

"Listen El, first of all, you know dad's going to be shit ass crazy when he hears this worst of all, to a ghost; total unknown. Oh, hold on. Have you both made acquaintances already?"

"Eh...yeah?"

"Since when?"

"Day one, which was about two weeks ago."

There was an equal proportion to the reason why his brows sunk; the grumbling of his stomach at the thought of the gifted lady's spicy sumptuous breakfast was nothing compared to his sister's tempting-to-snap-someone's-head confession.

"Jesus Christ!" Ace rubbed his eyes. "Two weeks only and you're...falling for him?"

"Don't blame me ok? He's so much of a gentleman, he's good with words, and has his ways with me which I can't understand either."

Ace sighed, "Hope he hasn't laid a finger on you yet."

"Jesus, no!"

"Don't Jesus it like you haven't done enough atrocity by falling for him," he emphasized the three last words then huffed, "Make sure you don't get a meter closer to him, his home, or anything that belongs to him until I come over and approve of him ok?"

"Huh?"

His wandering gaze settled on familiarity. "Good. Love you too bye." Click.

He kept his phone in his pant pocket whilst narrowing his eyes at the image below him. The girl's gaze met his too in an instant...as if she had been watching him the whole time.

He almost didn't recognize her if not for the deja vu tattered dress, her bleeding feet, some littered plasters on her body, and the huge bandage on her head.

She had in hand a mighty plastic bucket and on her face a genuine smile that irritated him beyond measure. She lifted her hand to wave at him but he was quick to exit the veranda and dash into his room.

Something itched to disturb him, Ace fought to reach the itch for a while to no avail, until finally, his mind had made up its mind to pick on the matter for some reason; the girl he just set eyes on earlier was no doubt the girl his friend hit the previous night. 

Now, as an invalid, why? Just why will she be standing at the tap with a bucket in hand ready to have it on a head which was supposed to ache very badly after a brutal fall? Didn't she feel pains at all or had she undergone an African voodoo healing ritual?

Wait a minute! Was she really his neighbor?!?

Ace returned to his previous spot on the veranda discretely, he stretched his long neck to peek at the area where the girl earlier stood but saw no such girl.

"You've got to be hallucinating Ace!" he consoled as he rubbed his temple. "You definitely have to abstain from alcohol before your brain gets completely fried."

He entered his room, had a quick shower, and prepared for a stroll. That's right. If anything? He definitely needed to air his head so academics could wait.

Ace, upon opening his car, met the same girl from his hallucinations looking the same way, just much more filthy on a closer look; her hair was all tangled up as if she hadn't seen a comb in ages. The dress she wore still had blood splotches from last night. She looked malnourished and as light as a feather. 

She was doing things with her toes, he guessed she was nervous about something.

He quickly rushed into his car praying for her not to see him or notice him unfortunately she called out from the other side of the fancifully decorated gate.

"Sir?" even her voice sounded malnourished.

He ignored it and hopped into his car. The security guard broke the gates open as he drove in reverse. As if he hadn't had enough embarrassment just by setting eyes on her, he heard soft thumpings at the passenger side of his car.

"Sir," she insisted still tapping. "Sir, please, I wish to speak to you."

His nerves were on the verge of explosion. Ace brutally exited his car with a yell, "what the hell! Get your hands off my car. Don't ever do that again." 

She shuddered in fear and apologetically lowered her gaze.

"If you're after me for your slippers sorry, I discarded them ok?"

"No, I--just want to thank you for taking me to the hospital and settling the bills, that's all."

"And who even told you I did that?" he scrunched his face in disgust. She looked so worn out that he could barely see her cracked lips shake or hear her from the other side.

"I had the doctor describe you to me as the nurse did to him."

"Of course, the nurse," he scoffed, rolled his eyes and got back into his car, shut the door ready to drive off but then, he halted from moving the car and rolled down the passenger's windscreen. She was still standing there like a monument.

He then pulled out a ten thousand francs banknote which he offered her. "Take, help yourself."

"No," she vigorously shook her head. "Thank you. I'm afraid I can't take it. You've done so much already that I remain indebted to you."

He chuckled, "I didn't ask for anything so keep whatever you have to yourself and add this to it," he outstretched his hand further, his patience wearing thin, but she still stood on her grounds.

"Look, if you are trying to act like those hopeless naive girls in your dumbass African movies well, it's not working; I'm not going to need anything from you if you take this money. Not today not ever. You definitely not a fraction of my type anyways" he muttered the last sentence to himself.

"So take it, get yourself a new pair of slippers, clothes, soap, comb, and something to eat." He deliberately listed what he thought were everyday necessities in case she must have forgotten. 

She took the money from him with both hands like a mendicant will do. He wanted to ask her so many questions he had roaming in his head but decided against it. She wasn't his cup of tea. He just did what anybody in his shoe would do.

He twisted the gear and sped off. Instead of him relaxing his mind, he was getting it all worked up with someone he didn't even know and didn't care to know.

After a tour in the extremely colder parts of Buea, he got to a carwash, had something to eat then returned to his hotel room.

Just one thing owned his mind the whole time.

Is she working for someone?

Because no child born of a mother will look that way.