A week later, Dimma invited Onyi to the house and Onyi only agreed when she found out that Nonso would be out of the house for an hour.
Onyi arrived and met the house empty; with that she knew Dimma had been called to the supermarket by her mother. She sat down and opened her clutch bag to get out a little book on which she wrote down her daily cash in-flow and out-flow and began to calculate.
“Oh great” she heard and turned immediately to see her nightmare standing at the door.
God! Dimma had told me he wouldn’t be home for an hour “What is it?” she asked as if it was her house.
“In my house, I’m being asked that question” he said with a laugh and closed the door. “So what errand exactly are you avoiding; farming, cooking, going to the market, doing the dishes, which one?” he asked as she glared at him. “Oh, I forgot one major option” he paused “did your mother tell you to read for the forthcoming JAMB and you refused? Is that what sent you out of the house?” he asked mockingly as she started to speak but took in a deep breath and left the house.
He scoffed as she left. She was just too lazy for his liking. He would have ended his taunting at house chores but she was also lazy academically. She would always tell his cousin that she was wasting her time in school when she could actually stay at home and enjoy whatever money came her way instead of spending on books and other endless school miscellaneous. He knew she always came first in secondary school (because Dimma always said it) but he always wondered how dumb her classmates must have been. The only thing Onyinyechi was good at was talking.
He turned to go inside when he noticed a small notebook on the sofa.
*****
Dimma was so furious at her cousin for taunting Onyi that when she got home, she did not care to knock on his door. She barged in and queried him even though she knew it would not change anything.
“I’m sorry Dimma. If it is okay, I’ll also apologize to her” he said as Dimma could not hide her surprise.
“What?” Where was this coming from?
“I said I’ll apologize to her” he repeated himself as she thought of what to say but no words came to her.
She just walked out of his room.
*****
Onyi pushed the wheelbarrow into the shed by the house. She had gone back to the market after the encounter with Chinonso that afternoon and it was already 6:35pm. She opened the door and saw her mother laughing with Chinonso Okeke.
“Good evening mama” she greeted and made for her room when her mother called her back.
“Am I the only one you saw here?” she asked as Onyi looked away from her mother to a corner of the living room.
“No…there is a little boy sitting in front of you” she replied as Nonso’s eyes widened. She always called him that when he extremely annoyed her –and that was often.
“Little?” her mother asked.
“Mum, it’s okay” he said and rose to his feet and walked up to Onyi. “Good evening” he greeted as she looked at him surprised but ignored him. “May I talk to you outside?” he asked as she looked at him once more in surprise but in a split second, she pretended to be unmoved.
She tried to sound nice in her mother’s presence. “Please, I’m tired and I have to –”
“I know, just two minutes” he told her as she rolled her eyes and walked outside with him.
She did not want her mother to force her to do it; she preferred doing things on her own.
When they were quite a distance from the house, Nonso turned to her angry face that was clearly not turning towards him. “Onyi, I’m very sorry for what I said this morning. I did not mean half of…okay, I did but I’m really sorry for saying that”
Suspicion and bemusement filled her face as she stared at him. “Did you drink?” she asked as he smiled.
“No Onyi, I didn’t”
He never even called her Onyi.
“Am I forgiven?” he asked her but all he got from her was her looking him up and down. “I’m never going to do it again” he promised.
“Good for you” she said as if she was in charge but he only smiled and that added to the bemused look on her face.
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow” he said as she squeezed her face.
“For what?” She asked immediately.
“I don’t know” he replied and put out a hand to shake her but she did not return it. “Good night Onyi and see you tomorrow” he said and left as she looked on wondering what Dimma must have told him.
She hurried back into the house and met her mother’s questioning gaze. “Mama, what is it?” she asked as her mother sighed and gave her a notebook.
“He said Dimma told him to give this to you” she said and gave her the book as Onyi stared at it.
Her diary.
That explained his attitude; her diary must have fallen out of her clutch bag when she had brought out her sales book.
*****
Nonso lay in bed with his arms under his head and his eyes gazing at the ceiling. He had been thinking about Onyinyechi Nwodo all day –the real Onyinyechi Nwodo.
He had always known her as a careless, lazy, arrogant girl. She had always claimed that school was for those whose brains and IQ were not well developed and those who could not be smart without listening to a teacher’s voice but the truth was that her mother was terribly ill and all the money they had saved up for her education, she had spent them on her mother and lied to her that she had failed JAMB.
Her mother’s condition required continuous medication and she knew they would not cope if she was in school and that was why she always pretended that school meant nothing to her but inside, she was dying to be in school.
She was not actually lazy –at first. She had used it as a means to keep her mother active and alive. She never wanted her to focus on her ill health and get depressed but to realize that she still had to live for both of them.
In order to meet up, she read Dimma’s notes and studied her textbook. If not that examinations had to be written, Onyi was as good as a second year mass communication student in the university.
He was thrilled to know that she was actually caring, loving, and really intelligent and was able to pretend that she was the exact opposite.
*****
The next day, he checked her at home but she was not around. He went to her stall but she had told him to get lost and not wanting her to feel embarrassed, he dropped the diary on the table and left. He waited for her and in the evening as she pushed the wheel barrow with the leftovers from the day’s sales, he heard her sigh with fatigue and felt for her all the more. She had so much responsibilities on her shoulders.
“Don’t worry; you’ll make better sales tomorrow” he consoled as he joined her on the path and she had turned to him in surprise.
“Chinonso, why won’t you leave me alone?” there was a kind of pleading in her voice.
“I want to talk with you”
“Okay. Tell me what you have to say. I’m very sure you read the notebook” he tried to say something but she stopped him. “Don’t even try to deny it Mr. Okeke”
“I’m not going to deny it…I did read it” he confessed as she looked down but back at him with a look that told him that he could definitely not bring her down.
“You had no right to do that? You have no shame”
“Why would you bring it to my house anyway?” he had said defensively.
“It’s always in my clutch bag. I never wanted my mother to come across it and then of all people that had to see it, it had to be you” it was obvious she was trying to control her feelings that were almost getting out of control. His eyes were fixed on her; as though she was so transparent he could see through her.
Then she thought of something. “Look, everything written in there are lies. I didn’t even write it… a customer forgot it at the stall a long time ago and I’ve been holding it since then” she lied.
“How is mum doing?”
“She’s fine” she replied with a frown and began to push the wheelbarrow.
“Onyi, you can’t handle this on your own”
“Oh” she said with a laugh. “I need the rich boy’s help now. I’m poor and I can’t afford it but you’re big and rich. You just have to click your fingers and my mama will be well” she paused. “Well guess what? I don’t need your help. I’ve been doing it on my own and I’ll love to leave it that way”
“At the expense of your education?” he sounded angry but she swallowed hard and looked away. “Onyi, you don’t have to feel embarrassed” he said as she scoffed.
“So how long exactly do you plan to make fun of me?” he started to speak when she spoke up again. “That’s why you read it…so that you could make fun of me” she had not sounded like she was asking but rather making a point; stating a fact.
“To be honest with you Onyinye, that was the reason” he had admitted as she bit her lips. She was still trying to pretend that none of it got to her. “But when I read it, I regretted it immediately and at the same time I realized that you’re loving, caring…you sacrificed your life for your mother; sacrificed your happiness –”
“I’m happy” she corrected and immediately looked down at the wheelbarrow that had clearly stopped moving.
“Onyi, I know you want to be…and you will be. You’re a wonderful girl…you’re a good girl and I…” he had paused “I really like that”. Onyi’s eyes were on the ground now. He then took in a deep breath and braced himself for the next action. “Onyinye, I could help you if you want” he added politely but she just shook her head with her eyes still on the ground.
He tilted her face upwards and saw how red her eyes had become. She shoved his hands away and scoffed. “Insult me as much as you want, Chinonso”
“Onyi, it’s not an insult” he was getting angry. “I can help you”
“No, I do not need your help” she had yelled as he kept his eyes fixed on her and then walked away.
*****
Four days had passed since he had seen Onyi but the day before, he had purchased drugs for her mother and given her five thousand naira for her upkeep while Onyi was at the market because he knew she would outrightly reject it. He was surprised she had not come the night before since she always claimed she did not need anyone’s help.
As he went through his phone lying on the bed, he scanned the news.
“Chinonso Okeke” she shouted and barged into his room.
He was wearing only a pair of trousers that was unzipped but she did not seem to care.
“I thought I made it clear that I did not need your help” she shouted but received no reply. He just sat on the bed staring at her in surprise. “Bloody show-off, answer me. Did I beg you to help my mother? I’ve been taking care of her on my own for two years now and I’ve been doing just fine. I never asked for your help” she shouted angrily but still received no reply.
When she finally stopped speaking, he rose to his feet and walked up to her. “If your blood is so hot, why aren’t you with the drugs and the money?”
“Mama refused to give them to me” she replied and sighed. “How much did you spend on the drugs? I’m very sure the prices escalated. They always do”
“It’s none of your business. I’m not telling you”
“Just tell me so I can pay you back …maybe in installments. I can take care of my mother on my own”
He could only stare at her. What was worse than her situation was the fact that she would not accept she needed help. He decided to ignore her and he sat back on the bed with his eyes fixed on her waiting for her next move.
Few minutes later, she bit her lips and said, “Please, just tell me how much you spent, I’ll try to pay up as soon as possible” her voice became calm, as if he was forcing her to pay back.
When she did not get any reply from him, she felt her eyes get wet but he was no longer looking at her anymore.
He finally turned to see her unbuttoning her shirt.
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