The ride to Veronica's had been a silent one. Grace had nothing to say to her and neither did she. And she understood why they were all angry at her. She had lied from the very beginning and now it seemed like everything that was happening was her fault. She knew that Grace had been keeping a close eye on her since that night, and she had used it to her advantage, acting loose so she could figure out what they would do next.
She wasn't expecting a dead body when she trailed the girls from school to Margret's house, but she had hoped that this would help take some of the guilt away but it was clear from Grace's expression that that wasn't going to happen.
Veronica didn't bother calling Hakeem, he was always at home although often left the house when she was around to give her space. She was counting on the former and it was indeed so.
"Veronica, what are you doing at home by this time? The game is over?" Hakeem asked as Veronica and Grace barged into the living room.
He threw a curious glance at Grace. His wary eyes showed enough expression that he was silently asking them one more question. What is she doing here?
"There is no time Uncle, you remember Grace from the party. We need the keys to the car, like right now." Veronica said impatiently.
Her response did nothing to feed Hakeem's curiosity but it was no surprise to him. She had always been like that, revealing so little about everything from the moment they got to the town. Just like she had done when he asked about how the party went. He was worried then but knowing he was there for the money anyway, he just let it slide like he didn't care.
He shrugged. This time wasn't going to be different, he thought. He reached his left pocket for the keys then tossed them over to Veronica.
Grace let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure they were getting anything after Veronica's reply. But then it only made her wonder which guardian would release a car to a teenager without a real reason. Veronica was hiding something.
Heck! Like she wasn't already.
"Thanks, Uncle Kim, you are a savior." Veronica, she said cheering like a girl who got a new doll. She flashed the keys to Grace, indicating how proud she was of herself.
Grace forced a smile but rolled her eyes away in disgust immediately Veronica looked away.
"Yeah, sure," Hakeem replied, expressing no gladness to Veronica's cheerful display. "But don't you think a girl in a school uniform driving a car would be suspicious." He started seeing how eager they were to leave.
Hakeem's observation suddenly made them realize how oblivious they were to their dressing. The uniform for Ketu high's girls was a white shirt, a deep red checkered skirt, and a tie topped with a black blazer. Veronica and Grace looked at each other with stupid expressions on their faces, wondering why they didn't think of how stupid it was running around with a dead body in their uniform.
"He's right, we have to change. Come on." Veronica said and started to the stairs.
Grace didn't move. Veronica stopped and turned as soon as she realized.
"To where?" Grace asked, raising a brow.
"To my room silly, or you want to stay down here?" She raised her chin at Hakeem, reminding Grace of the awkwardness she would have to deal with if she decided to stay.
"Okay," Veronica added finally then continued her walk up the stairs.
Grace fumed. She hated how Veronica could act like nothing was happening.
She forced another smile at Hakeem who nodded and returned to the TV.
What the hell is wrong with this family?!
Reluctantly, she followed Veronica up the stairs.
* * *
Back at Ketu High, the football match had just ended all in Lakeville's favor with the home team suffering a three-nil defeat. For everyone else, it meant that Lakeville was still the reigning champions school cup but for John, it meant that he had let down his classmates and everyone else who believed his set could bring home the trophy that year.
"It's okay."
"It wasn't your fault."
"You guys tried."
The same set of words everyone all said as they took turns shaking his hands and patting his shoulder. Maybe they were right, John thought.
Lakeville put out a slightly too aggressive display, leading to the injury of Ketu's star striker, Ehimen and as a result, left John and his team all battered upfront. There were also rumors about Lakeville hiring players from outside the school to supplement their team too. But John knew better than giving himself silly excuses, Lakeville was the better team between them today and it would be up to another captain to try to win it for the school next year when he is gone.
John shrugged. He didn't need this right now. Beating himself up won't do any good. He needed his sugarplum.
He sighted a couple of his girl classmates chatting together and walked up to them.
"Hey, have you guys seen Joana?" He asked.
They all shook their heads except Folake.
"Last time I saw her she was leaving the field with June and Grace."
"Okay, thanks," He said, nodding as he left them.
Leave? She knew this match was important to me. Why would she?
He brought out his phone from a small pouch he was carrying and dialed her number.
* * *
With all the pressure of taking care of Baby Stanley and cleaning Margret's living room to wipe off any trace of Sylvester being there that morning, Joana had forgotten about her boyfriend and the promise she made about cheering for him till the end of the game.
Margret was rocking Baby Stanley who held the sippy cup filled with the cereal she had prepared to his mouth, oblivious to the crashing world around him. June was at the kitchen counter, cleaning the cups, keys, and other utensils. Joana was cleaning the center table and the remotes when her phone rang.
Her heart dropped immediately. She looked over at Margret and Joana who came rushing into the room. They looked startled too.
She picked up the phone with shaky hands only to find out John was the caller.
"It's John."
Margret sighed aloud. June started nibbling at her fingers. A habit that spiked up each time she got nervous.
"What are you going to do?" She asked.
Joanna wasn't sure.
"I have to answer so he doesn't sense something's up. Right?"
Margret nodded. She was more composed than she was moments before.
Joana drew a deep breath. She answered the call and placed it on the loudspeaker. Here goes.
"Hey, babe." She said, trying to steady her voice.
"Hey, where are you?"
She couldn't think of a reply.
"What should I say?" She whispered to the girls.
"I don't know, he's your boyfriend," Margret replied with a low voice. Baby Stanley was still quiet in her arms and she was grateful for the bottle still in his mouth.
"You better not tell him we're here," June added.
"Hello? Are you there?"
Joana whimpered. She had to lie to John for the first time.
"Babe is so sorry, my parents called us for an emergency at the pharmacy and we had to leave."
She threw a glance at June and Margret to see how she did. They signaled her to go on.
"Oh my, hope everything is okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine. You know June and how she mistakes records." She said scoffing at the end of her statement. They could hear him chuckle at the other end of the phone.
Just then, she realized the game must have ended.
"Hey, how was the game?"
"Bad. We lost."
"Awww, sorry." She said, trying to sound empathetic.
"Yeah Yeah. I've heard enough of that this evening to make me sick, I just need you. Where are you? I'll pick you up."
Their eyes got wide.
"N-No, I am still a little busy right now. You can't come."
"Really?"
"Yes..." She replied quickly but then remembered something. "How about you go home and catch up on the game of thrones series we were watching? Remember you slept through half of season 6."
"Oh, that's true."
June and Margret's faces brightened up again.
"Yeah," Joana said with a smug expression on her face. She had him. "So go home, eat something, and relax those perfect muscles of yours while you catch up on them. I'll join you as soon as I can."
"Hmmm, you just gave a tempting offer there, miss. Are we doing it tonight?"
June threw a look at her sister, expressing her disgust at what she thought John meant, sex.
"Relax," Joana said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, we are going to sing and dance along to Michael Jackson songs."
Margret chuckled.
"Yass!!" John had screamed like he won a lottery. "Okay, babe. I love you."
"I love you too. Bye." Joana said then hung up.
Once again they all sighed in relief.
"Phew that was close," Margret highlighted before they heard a knock on the door.
"Kpo Kpo Kpo! Margret!"
They didn't respond quickly to the knock, only just recovering from John's, and the person at the door wasn't thinking about waiting.
Margret was once again stunned by the presence of Francis, her neighbor's son in her living room.
Francis and his family had been in the neighborhood long before Margret and her mum moved in. They were as all good neighbors were, quiet and helpful but most of all nosy. Francis was a year older than she was, now serving as an apprentice in a barbers shop after he gave up on schooling, dropping out in SS2. Margret was surprised then that it took him that long to realize that he was wasting his parent's money. But then, he seemed to have the IQ of an eight-year-old.
He gave everyone suspicious looks.
"Margret wetin dey happen? When you and your friend's dey do here and why you fold your rug up the-- (1)"
Joana acting based on adrenaline and instincts had slipped behind Francis, grabbing a flower vase and smashed it on his head.
Francis fell flat to his face. What followed after was the sound of June's scream filling the room.
___________
Translations:
(1) Margret what's going on? What are you and your friends doing here and why is your rug folded up like that.?