Chapter 3

Ntone did not see Agbor during the morning assembly. Several thoughts raced through her mind as she walked to her classroom. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she sighted Agbor already seated on her seat. She quickly walked over to her, hoping to have a moment with her before a teacher walked into the classroom. Ntone was flummoxed by her friend’s countenance as she walked towards her. On other days, Agbor would have been all smiles, but today, she didn’t seem to notice Ntone.

“I didn’t see you at the assembly.” Ntone remarked, playfully nudging her shoulder. “Don’t tell me you were hiding in the classroom.”

“I was late for the assembly, so I came to the classroom instead.” Agbor replied casually, fixing her gaze on the blackboard. She had a distant look that Ntone found both frightening and amusing.

“I saw your mother at the stream yesterday. She was worried that you had not returned from school.” Ntone said, bending over the other girl’s locker.

“I went somewhere.” Agbor replied, the tone of her voice suddenly rising. “Well, that’s past now. Isn’t it?”

“Your mother was worried about you. She denied sending you on any errand.”

Ntone’s voice had dropped to a whisper, even though the din in the class was too loud making it difficult to hear the next person. “Where did you go to?”

“It’s none of your business, and I think you should start minding your business.”

Ntone’s eyeballs rolled in disbelief at her friend’s outburst. The two girls had been friends since childhood and they had always minded each other’s business. “Is this some kind of transformation that came with adolescence?” Ntone asked herself, feeling mortified. Agbor had raised her voice and now they had an audience.

Ntone’s head was bowed as she walked back to her seat on the front row. Her ears stood on end when she overhead a group of girls loudly discussing with Agbor. They were the big girls in the class. Maybe Agbor had already found new friends. She thought further, straining her ears to catch what they were saying.

“Who does she think she is? She should mind her own business and stop telling you what to do.”

Ntone swallowed hard after hearing the insinuation from Joan, who had achieved notoriety as a thief.

“Of course,” the other girls chorused, and then suddenly, Ntone couldn’t hear them again. The pitch of their voices had dropped to inaudible whispers. Ntone also decided that she was done wasting valuable time on eavesdropping. She brought out a notebook and pen from the sack that housed her books. She began to write a summary of the play ‘OTHELLO,’ getting delighted that she had finished reading the play at night. She would show it to the literature teacher and ask for her opinion. She decided as her eyes ran through the summary. The literature teacher however didn’t show up when they were supposed to have Literature-in-English class. Absenteeism was the norm in the village secondary school. Immediately after the closing bell rang, she went to the general staff room, hoping to find Mrs Ekon, the literature teacher there. A padlock securely fastened to the bolt of the door confirmed her fear. The teachers hardly waited for the closing bell before leaving. A feeling of disappointment overwhelmed her as she trudged back to her classroom to pick up her sack. Only a few students were in the classroom when she walked inside. Agbor and Joan were among those present and both girls were speaking in hushed tones. Ntone pulled out her sack from the wooden locker and sat on her seat. She had to wait for Agbor to end her conversation with Joan because they always went home together. Their conversation lasted for almost twenty minutes. When she thought the conversation was over, and Agbor was set to leave, she slung the sack across her shoulder and rose to her feet.

“Are you ready to go home?” Ntone asked, fixing a curious gaze at the duo as they walked hand in hand in her direction.

“Yes, but I would rather walk home with Joan.”

Ntone’s eyes darted from Agbor to Joan. Joan returned the stare, a flicker of amusement danced in her cold, dark eyes. Ntone let her gaze wander back to her best friend’s face and let it remain there.

“Agbor, what is going on? Why are you suddenly ignoring me?” Ntone said desperately. “If I have wronged you, I’m sorry.”

“That’s not necessary,” Agbor hissed, noisily chewing on a piece of gum. “I just want to be able to do what I want.”

“But I would never stop you from doing what you want to do as long as it is for your good.” Ntone replied.

“Ntone, you wouldn’t understand.” Agbor replied, and then the two girls strode off leaving a bewildered Ntone. A surge of heat ran through her causing her to clench her fists. Her mind took a fast trip down memory lane. She remembered their childhood, and how they had talked about their dreams and aspirations. They had both looked beyond the life in the village, promising each other that they would work hard to achieve their dreams. “What then has gone wrong?” Ntone asked herself, opening the clenched fists. She rubbed her palms together. They were clammy. She wiped the moisture on her school uniform and decided to start her journey home. She still couldn’t embrace the sad truth that this was the nadir of her friendship with Agbor.

●

Her initial reaction was an audible gasp. The gasp was accompanied by a familiar feeling that often haunted her even as far as in her dreams. She always hoped that one day her father would come for them. After enduring a good beating from the sun, the only explanation she could possibly give to a couple of Jeeps that would be parked in front of their house was that their father had sought them out after all. Her heartbeat increased tremendously, and she feared that she might drop dead from overexcitement. She was still a good distance away from the house, but since their compound was by the roadside, she was able to have a good view.

She hurried into the compound wishing her legs to move faster. It took a great deal of effort to suppress the grin from sweeping through her face and, for the first time, she forgot to niggle over Agbor’s recent behaviour.

As was expected, the children in the compound were already gazing in awe at the vehicles. Those who were bold enough to touch them ran dusty fingers along every part of the vehicle that their hands could reach. The children however were not the only ones who had come to stare. Their parents were also outside gazing in amazement at the latest attraction. A woman had left her baby inside to join the crowd of spectators. Ntone heard the woman’s husband ordering her to go back inside and look after the crying baby.

“Haven’t you seen a car before?” Although the angry husband fumed, he equally gazed at the cars.

“What about you? Is this the first time you are seeing one too?” the woman retorted, moving closer to the cars for inspection. Mama Tony, as the woman was called, had earned a reputation as a gossip. Nothing escaped her notice. She had to see and be the first to pass the information around. That was how she earned the nickname, ‘talebearer.’

Ntone looked around the crowd hoping that someone would break the news her ears were itching to hear. The quizzical glances suddenly caused her to be queasy. She wasn’t prepared for what she saw when her legs finally arrived their destination.

For a moment, she became paranoiac as strange eyes carefully examined her as if she was one of the specimens in a Biology laboratory. The wide grin playing on the only familiar face which turned out to be Asinya’s only exacerbated her fears. She knew that Asinya hardly smiled, rather choosing to preserve her rare moments of laughter for those periods when something terrible happened to mama, Nkoro, or her. That was how Ntone was able to predict that a terrible event must have taken place.

“Good afternoon sirs. Good evening ma,” she greeted the men and only woman who had settled comfortably on the wooden stools. They appeared to be having a little conversation among one another, at the same time casting bold glances in her direction. Asinya was also seated on a stool, her arms stretched in front of her. She was assuming the position of the head of the house. Ntone’s mouth instantly twisted in a contemptuous sneer at Asinya’s posture. Her stomach made a sickening sound as her eyes searched the faces of their guests.

“Good afternoon our daughter,” they responded in unison, their eyes casting more intense glances on her. The youngest among them, a middle-aged man with a surly appearance had so far acknowledged her presence with nothing more than a quick glance that was followed by a distant look. He must have been in his forties as Ntone predicted. Her mind still roved on the subject of their visit. She growled when she didn’t see his lips move in response to her greetings as the others did.

“Here she is,” Asinya’s declaration startled her.

The eldest amongst them acknowledged this declaration with a knowing nod.

“Why? What has gone wrong?” Ntone asked in a bewildered voice. Although all but the surly looking one had laughed at her confusion assuring her that nothing had gone amiss, Asinya’s contented look however stole every ounce of hope she had.