Bella paced the living room frantically, moving back and forth. Mira clutched Bella's dress and gave her heart piercing looks with her tear stained face. "Mom will soon be back." Bella assured Mira and continued the long wait. "This is taking forever." Joshua, who she fondly called her twin brother, whined. Bella was in a fix. Her other brother Gerald had been howling in hunger until he slept off on the sofa. They hadn't eaten anything since noon. Save for their light breakfast consisting of two thin slices of bread, they would have been corpses. Their mom simply didn't have money for beverages or groceries, and one of these days, Bella was sure they would end up on the streets.
Shouts of "up NEPA '' suddenly rented the air, accompanied with screams of excitement from children in the neighborhood. Bella went to change the line, NEPA was way better than their smoky "I pass my neighbor generator" which they hardly recharge with fuel. The generator was popularly known for disturbing neighbors.
She quickly put on the telly to avert her siblings' mind from food. She was happy their eyes were glued to the TV set, wide eyed with jaws hanging open. It was terrific when kids watched the TV, most times they hardly heard their names at all.
Few minutes later, the rusty hinges of the gate creaked, and a pretty lady stepped in. She was carrying a bag containing two huge food flasks; one wouldn't believe she had four kids. She tapped the door lightly, it swung open to reveal her four excited kids. Mira the youngest took childish steps to hug her mom.
Grace looked at her little Mira proudly and took her up in her arms. Handing the bag to Bella, she gave Mira a peck. Mira was her favorite.
She couldn't help but laugh when she saw Gerald's face.
"Sorry I took so long, my schedule was tight today, I had so many things to do. "Being a housekeeper is more stressful than I thought."
"That's okay mom, you brought compensation after all." Bella said in smiles as she waved the bag at her hungry siblings' faces.
"Let's dig in.'
She declared excitedly as she moved toward the center of the sitting room. They had a dinner, but it was practically useless, it hadn't been in use for long.
She got plates and served the food equally among her siblings. "Jollof rice!!" Gerald squealed in excitement.
She went to massage her mom's shoulder right after. "Bella dear, won't you eat ?" Grace asked her in concern.
"I'm not hungry yet, I'll eat later."
"I'm not that tired dear, you can leave my shoulders and get yourself something to eat. "Mummy is fine."
"No mom, you first." She flashed a warm smile at her mom as she pressed her shoulder blades gently. "You promised to quit being stubborn, remember?
"I'm good, have something to eat, you must be starving."
Bella shrugged "if you say so!"
She took a spoon and occupied a spot beside Joshua.
She munched her food slowly.
"Mmmmh, this is nice." Joshua complimented the well garnished jollof between mouthfuls.
"You like it right? Grace smiled in satisfaction. "I was lucky to get it from the leftovers they were about to dispose of."
Bella kept her spoon and stared at the food, trying hard not to cry.
"Thanks mum."
She stood up and calmly made her way to the room.
"What is it Kainulia?."
Grace called after her in concern.
"Nothing." She muttered inaudibly, there was a clear pain in her voice. A new school session was coming, she was dropping out to get a job, she had no money to continue. She had no hope of going to high school. They were always feeding off rich people's leftovers, she was tired. She hopped on the bed and cried until sleep took her out.
The door groaned shortly after, and the silhouette of Grace leading Joshua and Gerald to the room outlined the old wooden floor. She laid them both on the bed they shared. She later came in with Mira who she laid gently beside Bella. The room was tiny, in terms of comfort it wasn't satisfactory either. Their family was living in abject poverty.
She took a long look at Bella.
Bella was a beauty, even in her sleep. In terms of looks, she could hardly believe her daughter turned out to be so beautiful.
"Life is hard my dear, but you can't understand ."
"And I pray you never do, I pray life goes your way. "You'll succeed."
Grace had made up her mind, she was going to make sure Bella doesn't drop out, even if it meant begging. She was going to do anything within her power to save her daughter's future.
She was going to beg her employer. It was not gonna be easy, but hopefully, it was going to produce results.
"I'm very hurt you let frustration keep you hungry." She whispered to the sleeping Bella and covered up her kids well.
"Goodnight."
She shut the door behind her softly.
Bella opened her eyes, and looked at the door, she slowly faced upwards and gazed at the ceiling.