Chapter 6

'You definitely not a fraction of my type anyway'

She never really thought she would be even a madman's fraction of a type of woman talkless of a filthy rich and gorgeous boy of his caliber.

All she wanted was to portray her gratitude.

The ten thousand note he offered her. An unforeseen act she must admit. She didn't want him to see her as desperate, unfortunately, her appearance flipped the coin against her. She wasn't going to use the money, she decided. She would keep it until when she laid eyes on him again--by a stroke of luck--and return the money to him.

She picked up her bucket to keep on her journey back home until it was cut short by a vibrating stinging sensation on the sole of her feet. Nora acting on reflex got her bucket tripping off of her head and breaking into three irreparable parts.

A sharp gravel had punctured her.

She winced and clenched her teeth in pain at the sight of crimson oozing out of a gravel-stuck hole in her skin which she set free by pulling out the pain and moving inhibitor. 

Perhaps I should buy a pair of slippers and give the remainder to him, came the thought. After all, wasn't that the first item he mentioned?

The closest local provision store was just eight steps away. With limping efforts, she reached the stout acne-scarred lady behind the counter who was busy watching a Philippine series until Nora walked in. She sprang to her feet from the back of the congested counter.

"How can I help you?" 

"Good day, a pair of slippers please." 

The lady's gaze diverted to Nora's feet. 

"What a pity," she said, fetching the slippers from a massive transparent plastic bag of varieties of them. "how I wish I had a first aid kit here. Wehh, make sure to take care of it once home lest you have any infection ok?"

"Thank you and I definitely will."

"What happened to your head?" the store owner quizzed, outstretching the slippers to her customer.

"A little accident." 

"Sorry about that dear." Her pitiful stares made Nora uncomfortable.

Upon inserting her feet into her new and comfortable pair of slippers, her belly growled reminding her that she hadn't tasted a sip of water since she was discharged from the hospital. She stared at the remainder of money she had in hand, reminiscing her earlier promise but then, she couldn't help it. After all, he mentioned she purchase something to eat.

"Ma'am, please could you give me a bottle of Coke?" Was that going to calm the storm in her belly? "Could you have my bread buttered as well?"

"Sure."

"How much is this packet of biscuits, I'll need some of it...and some of these chocolates too oh, add a packet of peanuts too. Do you have cheese balls?"

Don't be so extravagant. She reminded.

"Cheese balls are finished. You could take a substitute," she recommended.

"I'll do with this." 

She sighted an isolated corner of the store where she devoured her snacks, even though not satisfied, she still felt pretty energized and healthy, despite her thumping head, aching body, and the new friend pain beneath her feet, than she did before.

Again, she stared at the remainder of the money in her grasp: she had used an outrageous sum of it and there was left almost nothing to give her helper back.

Why did she even bother about giving him back what was all hers? She didn't ask for it and he promised he didn't need something from her in return--not even the remainder of it. But he never really said it was all hers, he just gave her the money to buy; specified what to buy. 

What if he needed the rest? Her stepmom always expected change back after sending her to buy some provisions and so will he.

She clenched her teeth. Hopefully, she hadn't used too much.

Nora inserted the money in her perforated pocket and leaped home ready to rest her head on her bed which was nothing but a thin straw-weaved mat located at the darkest corner of the kitchen; there was no difference between sleeping on it and sleeping on the cold bare concrete floor but she couldn't complain.

"What do you think you're doing?" Martha's infuriating voice echoed, her heavy body hovering over Nora like an iroko tree.

"I wish to sleep just a little." Nora's voice pleaded. 

"Stupid! Are you not aware of the fact that you have the floor to clean, food to cook, the compound to sweep, and woods to split? And you know I'm hosting the CWF in less than three hours."

"I'm really tired, please, let me have some rest," she begged. An act she had never done to the woman before.

She hoped for that reason her stepmom will consider but no, the woman didn't even exhibit a flicker of sympathy.

"I'm going to close my eyes now and before I open them you should be out of my sight doing what you ought to do. Rubbish."

Nora sluggishly vacated the mat with depression showering over her entire being.

"Come back here," the ugly sagging woman ordered. "What's in your pocket?"

Nora verified her side and saw a portion of a thousand francs jutted out of her pocket. "It's nothing," she quickly tucked it back in.

"Am I blind or was that a thousand francs? Come on, give it all to me, akwara thing."

Nora shook her head vigorously.

"By the count of three, all that money should be in my hand. One," Nora took a step away from her thick outstretched hand. "You've started sleeping around for small one thousand, cheap akwara. Two. Nora don't you dare move an inch again. I'm going to three and the money still isn't in my hand. Three. Nora, I said three. Hmm. Okay." She adjusted the loincloth around her waist ready for the chase.

Nora took on her heels despite the stinging pain beneath her leg, pushed the enormous woman out of her way, and found herself in the compound. 

"As you are out there, just stay there. Make sure not to dream of returning to this home until that money is in my hands, stupid thing!" She breathe heavily despite no physical effort exhibited.

The woman was true to her words because it was already night, after spending all day wandering around, and the door was locked. She knocked and called on her father to no avail.

Only at that moment, she was told by the next-door neighbor of her father's absence. He had traveled. 

The time danced between eight to eight-thirty, she could tell from the location of the full moon, her mom had thought her that, yet her stepmom won't let the door creak. Nora leaned her back to it and melted onto the cold floor, her knees bent to her chest as her arms engulfed them. There, she wept.

The night was getting colder with time, her thin fabric dress's efforts of keeping her warm weren't efficient. 

The night was as well noisy; hooting owls, cricking crickets, barking dogs, and blasting music from either a snack bar, electronic store, or club.

What can he be doing right now?

Her mind wondered. She had been at the hotel premises in the afternoon to let him have the money that put her into trouble but he wasn't around, that, she could tell from the absence of his car in addition to the security guard's report.

Is he in his hotel room by now?

She could as well return there but she was too exhausted and hungry to make a step plus the pains from her head and the untreated sole of her feet. In came a vicious cold breeze whipping her body as if she had nothing on.

She rubbed her arms to generate warmth and curbed her crouching body farther into the corner of the balcony, shivering profusely.

"When are you going to take me with you mother? It's all more than I can tolerate. I know you see all that is happening and think you can't do anything about it, on the contrary mom, on the contrary," She sobbed.

It's been a week, still, Nora hadn't set eyes on her rescuer and so too she had spent the nights in the cruel hands of the crawling cold. The recent routine had been to do her chores during the day and be kicked out by night.

In the mornings she would go there and was told he left for school. In the evenings, he was out with friends. Twice she had attempted to sleep in front of the hotel till dawn but was sent away by the guard and receptionist.

She didn't want to spend another week outside. Her mat, the thin loin she used as a blanket, and the coziness of the kitchen were much more preferable.

She was hungry, she hadn't even smelt food for six days, just water. Yet, she forbade herself from using the money as much as it tempted her.

Oh, God please let me see him tomorrow.

"Nora," Rose called. She was standing in front of her, arms crossed. "I really didn't think you could be this pathetic besides being ugly. I noticed you've been perching around the vicinity of St. Claire, why is that?" 

"Whatever it is I do there is none of your business."

Rose gasped in surprise, "The nerve of you, cheap prostitute."

"We both know who wears the name better," she spat.

"Shut up, idiot. Now, let me tell you something: I know who you've been searching for in that hotel, and be rest assured that you will never get whatever you're looking for in him why, because look at you, poor filthy thing don't think this is one of those Cinderella movies you watch or books you read or tales you hear. This is life. Real-life. And in 'Real-life' the rich never mingle with the poor and the filthy. Don't be someone else's ominous cloud. A word to a wise is sufficient."