Kalisha's POV
"We made it to my house," I told him, flailing my arms around in excitement.
He gazes his eyes at my house; he is surprised by how huge and lovely my properties look. He stares at it for a few seconds, blinded by its beauty, but I snap him out of his trance. He looks at me, being dazed and confused.
"Well, it looks like you're already in love with my house. Don't worry; I'm not jealous." I playfully tell him.
He clears his throat.
"It certainly caught my attention. I have never seen a house this big before." He responds with a gleeful smile on his face.
"If you think the outside is nice, wait until you see the inside." I teased him.
We walk up the steps. I am about to open the door until...
The door opens by itself.
"Oh, what do we have here, na? Also, why is your face so bloody?" A female voice asks and then sips on her drink.
I groan and roll my eyes.
He looks at me to figure out who is at the door.
"Kalisha... Who is that?" He curiously asks.
"Excuse my rudeness abeg (please); my name is Jymia, aka Kalisha's best fren (friend)." She introduced herself before letting me speak.
She is wearing a red long sleeve shoulder crop top, showing off a bit of her stomach. She compliments the shirt by wearing African print jogger pants. She has a fabulous physique with curves for days and muscular arms. She is 5'7" in height. She has a noticeable vampire bite mark on her neck. Purple lips and purple eyeshadow on her face. Her braids are latch hook; her nails are painted purple. She has on a heart-shaped purple necklace, diamond-encrusted earrings, and is wearing purple fluffy slippers. She is really into purple.
She puts down her drink on the floor and comes to hug me. He raises a brow witnessing how awkward I look by this unexpected hug. He wanted to laugh, but he held it in.
"Okay, Jymia, I think he gets it now," I told her and giving a signal to let go of me.
She stopped hugging me. But then she sucks her teeth in disappointment.
"Eh, wetin do you? (What's up?) Aren't you happy to see your best fren?" She asks while folding her arms and pouting her lips in frustration.
"Of course, I'm happy to see you. But I wasn't expecting you to come to my house." I replied to her.
"Why are you speaking English all of a sudden? You always speak Yoruba to me. Is it because of him? Who is this man?" She asks while staring him down.
"My name is N; nice to meet you." He said, positioning his hand towards Jymia for a handshake.
She gives him a side-eye and starts laughing hard.
"Kalisha, your boyfriend is cute, ooo," she told me.
"He is not my boyfriend," I try to convince her.
At the same time, I do agree that he is cute and would make a good boyfriend. But I need to spend more time with him and figure out what exactly happened in his life.
"Keep telling yourself that. How about we come inside and not be surrounded by cold air? You will love it inside." She told us.
She picks up her soda again and starts slurping on it as loudly as ever. She walks inside, then we followed and closed the door behind us.
I love my best friend, even though she can get on my nerves a lot. Right now, she embarrassed me. But I love her way too much to hate her.
*****
"What do you think of the place?" I ask him.
He is lost for words looking at what's inside.
Inside, the house is painted white and green. Everywhere is spotless, no mess to be seen. The brown sofas are glistening. The tables are filled with different African prints and artifacts. The HD-TV is more expensive than a king-size bed. All of the house's windows are sealed tight and boarded up so that no sunlight can get through. The wooden floor is shiny enough to light up the entire home. There are flowers and scented candles, which give a heavenly smell. The chandelier lights are slightly dim so that there is a balance of light and dark.
There are a lot of African paintings hanged on the wall: "Oya at the marketplace" by Karmella Haynes, "Yemaya Okute" by Liz Loz, "Inner Oshun" by Anoa Kanu, "Yemoja Ufo" by Stormm Bradshaw, "Aja Metal Print" by Bernadett Bagyinka, and "Virgin of Caridad" by Angela Yarber.
There are flags of the Yoruba Tribe, and Nigeria also hanged up the wall. Judging by his face, he is overwhelmed with joy by all the African culture inside my house.
I grab a couple of paper towels and wipe the blood that is on my face. I give some to Jymia and him, just in case I got blood on them. I threw mine in the trash after the towel painted red.
"You own this house, Kalisha?" He asks with a shocked tone of voice.
"Yup, I lived here since I was eighteen years old," I replied to him.
"Eighteen years old?!" He is baffled.
"Both of my parents are rich, and I come from royalty. They both were rulers of the vampires in Yoruba Tribe for centuries. But they moved away from the Yoruba Tribe since terrorists were assaulting and causing damage to Nigeria. Also, those terrorists were aware that vampires were lurking around, and they slaughtered a lot of our kind. Those terrorists brutally murdered my dad, and they took some of his riches. Thankfully, my mom was able to get out and take the majority of the riches they had. She, later on, became queen of the Yoruba vampire Tribe in Norfolk, Virginia." I explained to him.
"I didn't know that you are royalty. Also, I'm sorry about what happened to your country and your father." He said with a somber tone and his face looking sad.
"It's alright. The Yoruba Tribe and Nigeria are doing better than ever. Also, my father's spirit still lives among us." I told him, trying to make things better.
Jymia clears her throat.
"I'm sorry to butt in on your romantic moment, but I need to talk to my bestie." She said while looking at him.
She grabs my arm and pulls me away from him.
"Make yourself at home. If you need anything, then let me know." I told him.
He nods in agreement.
******
She takes me upstairs to Shani's room; she is my elder sister. Shani is startled that we barged into her room as she is painting her nails and listening to Simi's songs on her latest iPhone.
Inside, her room is painted pink. Her place is spotless as all her shoes and clothes are packed. Her queen-size bed is nicely put together. There is a poster of Sade and Simi hanging on her wall. She has "Birth of Oshun" by Karmella Haynes, her favorite African painting, placed on the wall. She got her own Yoruba flag plastered on the wall. She owns a lot of makeup products.
She is wearing a pink nightgown. Her Cornrow bun sat gorgeously and elegantly on her head. Her Earrings and necklaces are filled with gold. Her body is slim, but she packs a lot of punch. She is 6'0" in height, taller than Jymia, and I. Light pink lip gloss and peak eyeshadow for her makeup. The nails on her hands and feet are halfway done being painted pink. My sister loves pink and loves to express her femininity, but she doesn't fool around with any nonsense.
She stops what she was doing, got off her bed, and wanted to know why we were in her room. She turned down the volume of the music.
"Kilode ti ẹyin mejeeji fi wa ninu yara mi? (Why are you both in my room?)" Shani said with her hands on her hips and a face looking like it's ready to vex. Her Yoruba accent is thick.
Jymia and I look at each other, waiting for one of us to answer.
"Mo nduro (I'm waiting)," She tells us, tapping her right feet and being impatient.
I heave a sigh. I decide to answer my sister, even though I had a bad feeling about her reaction. I speak Yoruba to Shani since she doesn't know English all that well.
"Emi ati Jymia wa sọ fun ọ pe Mo mu ọkunrin kan wa ni ile mi. (Jymia and I are in your room to tell you that I brought a man to my house)" I tell her.
She slaps me on my face. Jymia is shocked and mouthing, "oh my god," while I hold my face to heal the pain.
"Kilode, kilosele?" (What was that for?)" I ask her.
"O to oṣu meji lati igba ti o fọpọ pẹlu ọrẹkunrin rẹ, o tun laya, o mu okunrin min wa si ile wa. (It's been two months since you broke up with your boyfriend, now you have the effrontery and audacity to bring another guy to our house)." She responds, being disappointed.
"Oun kii se omokunrin mi (He's not my boyfriend)," I try telling her.
"Ti ko ba se omokunrin re, ta wani? (If he is not your boyfriend, then who is he?)" She asks.
"Orukọ rẹ ni N ati pe Mo kan pade rẹ loni. (His name is N, and I just met him today)." I replied.
"HEII GAWD!" They both yelled in unison.
"Ewo na tin gba alejo okunrin wasi inu ile wa? Je kin pade okunrin na ti o n je oruko asiwere na!" (So you're welcoming strangers now? Let me meet this N guy, what a foolish name!)" Shani commanded.
Shani storms out of the room and walks downstairs to see him. Jymia and I followed her every move, just if she explodes on N or slaps him. He is sitting on the sofa; then he gets up, noticing that a woman is coming right at him. She slaps him.
"Ow! Why did you slap me? What did I do wrong? Who are you? Kalisha, what's going on?" He confusingly asks.
"Excuse her; she didn't mean no harm." I tried to calm the situation down.
"No, seriously, who is she?" He asks again.
"This is Shani; she is my elder sister. She tends to slap people a lot." I introduced to him.
"You don't say!?" He said while still holding his face.
"But she is a nice person when you get to know her better. She only slaps people whenever they do or say something rubbish. So she thought you were rubbish, and I guess me too as well." I tried to excuse her behavior.
An awkward silence and tension are surrounding all of us. So I think of an idea to get us all together.
"How about we eat something?" I suggest.
"Yeah, I haven't eaten anything at all today." He agrees.
"Jymia? Shani? Are you hungry?" I ask them.
"Sure," Jymia replied.
"Shani? Come on; I know you will never pass up on a meal." I tease her.
She sigh.
"Yes, ooo," Shani finally gives in.
"Great! Let me cook up something, and then we will eat. You three should get to know each other better while I'm busy cooking." I told them.
*******
Thirty minutes later, I get done cooking. I made Black Amala, gbegiri, ewedu, and hide and skin is popularly known as round pomo and poured red wine for all of us. I wanted to ease N into the Yoruba Tribe food because I know he never tried our food before. It is one of the best delicacies the Yoruba kingdom can boast of. Before we feasted, Shani prayed in Yoruba, and I translated that prayer into English for him to understand. We eat the food; he thinks it tastes weird since he is so used to eating human meat, but he grew to like it. Shani and Jymia talked about the embarrassing moments I'd experienced. I felt so embarrassed, but we all had a great time. Also, N mentioned that he taught Shani some English words; Shani taught him more Yoruba words. I'm just glad that they were getting along, and Shani didn't slap him this time. But she did warn him not to break my heart or take advantage of me, or else she will slap him so hard that his skin will start to come off. Nevertheless, I'm glad that he is getting comfortable with my best friend, sister, and culture.
We all cleaned up; he helped washing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen, and taking out the trash. Before we went to our rooms, we watched a movie together. Jymia wanted us to watch "The Guide" since that's her favorite Yoruba romantic drama. N and I snuggled up on each other while watching the film. I fall asleep mid-way in the movie since I have seen it a dozen times, including with Jymia. He carried me upstairs to my room, thanks to Jymia and Shani giving him directions. I noticed he is carrying me to my room. I cop a feel on his muscles, and they feel like mountains, which made me smile. They both stayed downstairs to continue watching the film.
He laid me down softly on my bed. He cuddled next to me on the bed, keeping me comfortable. It is not even daylight yet, but we ended off the night falling asleep together.