On the other hand, Sofia was watching. Seeing what had become of her nephew and the chaos she had caused in her sister's family was a successful mission. Not that she wanted to make things right but to make sure James and his parents do not come to a consensus.
On returning to school the following semester, James could not stop his habit. In fact, this time he went further and cared less about anything in relation to books or classes. At the end of the semester, he even failed to sit for the exam, which got him a free ticket out of school. He was rusticated from the university.
This did not mean much to him. He took the letter back home to his parents and gave it to them telling them that they had succeeded in pulling him out of school. He said that, finally, their dream and wish had come true and they did not have to pay school fees anymore.
After delivering this letter, he went to his apartment and packed all his clothes. He left home and promised the parents that he would never be coming back again. He left without telling them where he was ended. No matter how much they tried to stop him, James was not ready to change his mind or listen to them.
On the other side, it was Christmas for Sofia. After James was rusticated from the college, she was the first to celebrate. In fact, she believed to have won to the extent that she could never keep her mouth shut. She went around telling her friends and the people around her how she had foreseen James' failure and her sister's family breakdown.
Luckily enough, some of the people she spoke this to had a different view of things and told Debbie, James' mother of how Sofia was happy about the misfortunes in her family. James' mother could not help but wonder why her own blood sister would want such bad things for her. Blood wasn't thicker after all!
It was not long and the news were all over the village of how Sofia had managed to ruin her sister's family. James' mother could no longer hold it and decided to go and have a talk with Sofia about the issue. Furthermore, she had just learned that the accusations against James were just lies.
Upon James' mother arriving at her sister's home to inquire about it, indeed, she found her ready to receive her and with the right answers for the questions.
"My sister, I am deeply troubled. Do you know that James was expelled from college?" asked James mother.
"What! I had not heard about it, my sister. I am very sorry for you but you should have expected this. I told you he was a drunk and useless." Said Sofia
"My dear sister, watch your mouth: Do not call my son useless. He is still mine and cut the crap about you having told me," said James' mother.
"What's wrong my sister? I am sorry to offend you but I am just saying the truth. We both know that he is useless. And what is this crap I have to cut anyway?" asked Sofia.
"For many years, I have loved and respected you as my beloved sister but you just stab my back. How could you lie to me and make me believe that my son was a drunk. Damn you for ruining my son's life. Now he has really become a drunk because of you. Go to hell!" said James' mother.
"Come slow my sister…" James mother cut her short.
"Do not call me your sister no more you daughter of Jezebel!" said James' mother in anger.
"Whatever! However, what I am saying is that; do not blame me for your son's troubles. I did not force you to listen to me nor did I tell you not to believe your son. If you want somebody to blame for your son's messed-up life, just blame yourself," said Sofia.
"I regret ever having you as my sister. You are a devil. May you rot in hell! How dare you turn this on me now? What good do you get by doing this evil? The almighty God forgive you." said James' mother.
"Congrats my sister (as she claps her hands), I see now that you can even preach aah! When the deal is sour, you know have time for your God. Get out of my house this minute and I do not want to see you hear again. Go solve your family problems alone you pretender. I never want to see you in my compound," said Sofia.
James' mother had not another word to say to Sofia but just walked out in painful tears. As she was walking out of Sofia's house, one would see the much anger build up in her and the need to revenge for her sister's betrayal. Had James' mother had a gun at that moment, Sofia could just have been another M.I.A (missing in action).
One thing for sure that Sofia was right about is; if James' mother was to blame anybody for James' messed-up life, it was herself. She tried to make it right but it was too late. The storm had become wild enough that the boat was completely capsized and facing the wrath of nature at the bottom of the sea. James had already left home leaving no trace of his intended destination. All she had left was to cry and blaming herself for her ignorance.
James had already fled his home and had already found a place to be at Ruaki Market. He met one of his friends and rented a house together. As the wise men say, birds of a feather flock together. Indeed, he had found a friend whom they could share everything. They both had nothing more left of their life other than to just get drunk and fool around with women.
Next was for James to find a job that could get him money to take care of his rent and the alcohol bills. He was lucky enough to get a job at a nearby hospital as a statistics officer. This was the best news he had and there were no more obstacles between him and the bottle. From there onwards, it was just hugging and kissing the Bottle until the return of the Son of Man.
Meanwhile, on the side of James' parents, they were ready to apologize to their son and therefore they searched for him everywhere but to no avail. For months, they searched and tried to trace their son with no positive results.