"Nkolika! Nkoli! Nkolika!" I am awaken by mummy's loud call, I stretch over to my bed rest and reach for my phone and glance at the time, shit! It's twenty one past six, more late than usual but I know it's because I was watching some late night Rednotes, I was kinda an early morning person as long as the previous day wasn't tedious and for me, yesterday wasn't... necessarily.
The girls ate, we had fun, we played two truths and a lie, and talked about anything and everything under the sun and later, we excorted Ifeoma home right before mom and dad came back. Chi's mom had come back earlier than usual for reasons best known to her and locked herself in and Chidera had to stay with me, we helped both sides around the house.
Chi's mom was a little down as I assumed and couldn't move a muscle so Chi had to eat with us and slept over in my room, dad as always in the evenings was cooking, I could say he actually bullies mom into allowing him do basic house chores especially if he had a free day then mom wasn't gonna enter that kitchen, he would get me and sometimes Chi to lead mom away from the kitchen so he could comfortably cook, And other times when mommy really wanted to cook, he was gonna be in that kitchen keeping her company.
We had to distract Mom away from the kitchen partly because she grew up with her grandma who emphasized the misogynistic age old belief that 'the kitchen was meant for women' into her but recently, thanks to dad emphasizing that the kitchen was made for everyone irregardless of gender, age or class, mom quit getting cranky about how dad wasn't supposed to be in the kitchen or doing household chores... To me, the misogynistic mentality was utterly so disgusting I couldn't even repeat it with a straight face... Gimme a moment to puke!
"Fuck the age old misogynistic nonsenses like and I quote 'Women were made for the home, a woman's life begins and ends in the kitchen, and like... and I quote again, men aren't meant for household chores, men are born leaders, you know? These and all those other useless and degrading patriarchal and misogynistic nonsense and beliefs, this is a new era and a new age especially for you and your generation my daughters, so let's leave that mentality in the past okay? Infact, it shouldn't be a plea, it should be an order!"
He would say grasping me and most times Chi in a hug and in all seriousness, "All genders are meant for the home, all genders are meant for the kitchen, all genders are meant for homemaking, all genders are meant to chase the bag and acquire resources and all genders are meant to seek and all absolutely deserve all forms of financial independence and sorts... all genders I say! Financial independence! So please don't let anyone, especially any stupid guy or his overbearing misogynistic mom or dad irrespective of status or class with his or her grandfather's crooked mentality and ideology tell you ladies otherwise, you hear me? eh? ụmụ m ụnụ ánụgọ? Because I know how easily you girls get blinded by love or any little spec of good quality you find in the first guy you meet and believe me, it doesn't help, I have been there, I and especially one of my old childhood friends."
Earlier, I would look him, smile and give him a hug in confusion, but now understanding him better and better and relating with him alot more because men ain't shit, I will hug him some more, planting a kiss on his cheeks and forehead I would stare at him a long while in admiration and pride. At least I can brag to my mates that my father helps around the house, It was becoming more common place... Thankfully, I'm glad dad, my dad, my biological dad was amongst the train members.
I glance over at Chi still laying around like a log, her phone still replaying the same video from last night, she had obviously slept over her phone and her data was going, we both do that. I carefully swipe down turning off her data and putting off her mobile, I put it away on the bedrest. And I then proceed from my bed to the restroom, I return soon after and sit right back down, I reach for my phone and was about moving to Rednote when I hear mom screaming out my name at the top of her lungs which almost causes me to lose grip on my phone but for sheer luck, I, tightly clad in my wrapper which I keep around in through the night makes a run for it down the stairs missing a few stairs on purpose though still careful not to fall.
"Mummy nnábịà," I call out in response and rush outside.
"Which one is that you're coming, where the fuck are you this girl?" I hear her call out but I was already outside. With my barefoot on the ground I call out to the universe in my usual manner early in the mornings, "Anị, ékénè m gị nnụkwụ nné ụwà nịnè, (mother Earth, I greet you great mother of the universe) Mmụọ nọ ná ọsịsị, èkénè m ụnụ, (Spirits of the trees, I greet you all) Mmụọ nọ ná anụmanụ ná gà ná anị, ékénè m ụnụ, (Spirits in the animals of the land, I greet you all) Mmụọ nọ ná anụmanụ ná éfè ná ịkụkụ, ékénè m ụnụ, (Spirits in the animals of the air, I greet you all) Ịkụkụ n' ónwé yá, ékéné m ngị, ọnyé nè égọsị anyị n'ázà gọ ekpélè anyị (The great breeze of the universe herself, I greet you, the sign of the response to our prayers) Anyánwụ ékéné m ngị ézịgbọ nné m, ìfè ányị jị áfụ ụzọ (Sun, the great bright light of the universe, I greet you my mother, the light with which we see) great spirits of the universe, Mmụọ nọ ná Énụigwé ná Anị, I call upon you all, ékéné m ụnụ màkà tá'tá, (I thank you all for today) ọ́ga'dịlị anyị ná mmá, (It shall be well with us) ányị nchá nịnè g'éjé n'ụdọ bátá kwá n'ụdọ, (We will all go out in peace and come back in peace) Be with my mom Ozioma, keep her sane, keep her safe, guide and protect her for me, be with my dad Obinna, keep him safe, keep him sane, guide and protect him for me, be with nné anyị bú mama Chidera, keep her safe, keep her sane, guide and protect her for us, nọnyélụ ézịgbọ onyị m nwáànyị bú Chidera nyà'ná my new friend Ifeoma, the beautiful river goddess, enyị m nkè ọ́fụrụ, mmá yà dị kà nkè mmụọ mmịlị bú mamị water, mmá yà dịkà mmáwụ nkè ndị Ekpoma," I chuckle, "Keep them both sane and safe for me, guide and protect them both, my girls, my gees, my friends for a long while, dáàlụ nụ màkà fà ịbụọ, keep all us together, Ase! Be with us all, guide and protect us all, nọnyélụ ndị ezin'ụnọ m, ndị ézịgbọ onyị ná ndị n'échèlụ m échịchè ọmà, (Be with my family, my household, my real friends, my real gees and my well wishers) anyị nchá g'éjé n'ụdọ bátá kwá n'ụdọ, ogádịlị anyị ná mmá, (We'll all go in peace and come back in peace, It shall be well with us all), ányị émé nlọzọ échịchè ọmà anyị n'échèlụ ọbọdọ àlà Afrịka nnyà ná ọbọdọ àlà ndị Ìgbo anyị, (We shall not forget the African dream, neither will we forget the good thoughts we think about our beloved Ìgbo nation for the Ìgbo people, the Ìgbo nation dream) Ányị émé nlọzọ échịchè ọmà ányị n'échèlụ màkà ọbọdọ àlà Ákébụlán, (We shall not forget the Alkebulan dream, the good thoughts we think about the institution of Alkebulan) isééééééééééééééééé! (As we have said unto ourselves, so shall it be unto us all)"
"Ị́sééééé!" I hear from behind me, I touch the ground with my left hand and touch it on the bare skin of my chest and turn to Chidera.
"How far?" I respond to her with a thumbs up, I stretch out my hands for a fist bump which she responds to.
"Pound it," she says as we greet, I proceed to tap on the left side of my chest and let go in the air. "Ngozi aswear you're just built different," I laugh as I make my way inside, "You and this your secret symbol."
"Nnyà eh! Nné, I'm coming abeg, let me answer momsie," She follows right behind me.
"Babe, today's school o, we don dey go late o," She says right behind me.
"I sabi na, let me just go and bath," I reply her just as we get to the kitchen where mom is.
"Baff wetin? I wonder what you wanna go baff for, bịkọ take my ATM card and go get me a crate of eggs from Nzeogwu's," Mom calls out.
"Mummy, nè m ébé'a o, see me here o, I wonder why you're shouting?" I reply her and she gives me 'the look.'
"Odịkà nkpụlụ mmịlị ịn'ésé ágbágbágọgị àlà?" Mum cautions further. I look at Chidera and cautiously hide my smile, there was no seriousness in the time of trouble with this girl around, Mum extended 'the look' to her.
"Mummy ụtụtụ ọmà," She calls out to her and moves to hug her which she doesn't resist neither does she reciprocate.
As we all stand in the kitchen, dad comes downstairs casually clad in his ịsịágụ and a neatly pressed black cotton trouser, an ọkpụ mmé and a black leather sandals with a flat sole.
"Ah! ndị nné m, ndị ịsị, Chi baby baby, Nkolika nwà Nsukka," we all laugh as he does whenever he calls me that, "Why are you ladies not yet ready for school by..." He glances at his wrist, "By to seven?" He calls out mid way down the stairs.
"Daddy, good morning sir!" We all chorus as I wave and Chidera does a slight curtsy, he nods in response to us.
"Ehen my babies... Chidera I thought I told you to always stand erect when greeting anyone, please, very important, leave ndị ọcha ndị colonizers and their yeye thinking abeg... it's well... Ehen, hope you girls were not still busy watching those TikToks on a school night even after I had warned you?"
"Babe, I just wanted them to go get a crate of eggs from Nzeogwu's, sorry about the late delay," Mom says poking her head out from the kitchen, she felt the need to step in for us because dad had come to warn us and she did too. She usually was the strict one but dad didn't like not being listened to though, he didn't always take it well.
Dad chuckles shaking his head, "Lọlọ m, no need to really stress yourself, didn't you inform me you have a court case today abi? You for leave am, I go just whip something up for me and the girls."
"Asin eh!" I add and mom eyes me up.
Chidera hisses in agreement with dad spanking at her hair in the process.
"Babe rest joor! Stop that rubbish abeg, it's nothing, my mom and her mom did it so it's nothing to me... Besides I believe you have a meeting with some would be top investors abi na producers from Alkebulan, that's clearly more impo..." I scoff and Dad chuckles... again, he looks disappointed in mom but not surprised, we were all used to this, mom returns to the gas and dad shrugs, he winks at us and begins heading up the stairs again and I follow suit while Chi takes the money from the counter, she more or less seems clueless of the recent developments. At least she was better than grandma who seemed to believe that a lady's mission was to suffer and struggle for a man and indeed for everyone around her and when she died she would get some hypothetical reward in some hypothetical place called heaven abi wetin... Abegi!
"So my baby, you know the drills na, hold the door while I pick out some outfits for your mom, she'll probably override my efforts but at least God knows I tried my best," Dad says as we touch down their shared room.
"Aswear!" I say then I mutter under my breath, "At least the universe knows," Dad stares at me like he heard what I said, no wahl sha.
"Also get her bathing water and arrange all her skin care products neatly on the table, if you're not aware of any just ask me ịnụgọ? You know as e dey be na?" I nod in response and move to help out.
Dad didn't believe in relaxing, lazying around whilst his partner, his warrior princess, the leader of his reich "labored, slaving their life away for him" simply because society deemed it so, "I actually hate people serving me, I always see my self as a servant of the people but in a cool, revolutionary leader, captain Ibrahim Traore or maybe chairman Mao or chairman Lenin kinda style... yes exactly! general Toussaint L'Ouverture kinda manner... anyways that's by the way, I definitely don't like being served, I prefer and really love that kinda serve yourself kinda lifestyle you get?" He would always say to me. He was a staunch advocate for feminism or as he liked to call it, the "Femininominon," he also always spoke extensively of the age of aquarius, the age of enlightenment, the age of awakening and he had brought those ideologies into our home, his marital life.
Mom on the other hand believed in the age old patriarchal, misogynistic beliefs that ladies were appendages, lesser than men and what not, the same beliefs she got from her mom, whose mom got from her mom, whose mom got from her mom, and it goes on and on down the rabbit hole of genealogy, she wasn't like them but between her own personal beliefs and the church and she believes in the Christian supreme being so she follows word for the hypothetical doctrines of his institutions which of course are obviously very male centered, so she basically threw out her own beliefs which guided her since youth and brought her close to my dad, bonding them to each other because of her religion... It's well sha, maybe you really can't unlearn after forty and she's almost thirty six.
Dad was on a mission to change that, he said he was obviously told the same shit but he personally decided that "Hell no! Wait up! This shit ain't right," and he was definitely going to do shit about it so he decided it was going to start with him, he had wanted both sons and daughters though, he would say, sons to educate so he won't have to protect his daughters or other people's daughters and daughters to educate on being themselves, carrying, caring and protecting themselves against predatory men and in general being financially and emotionally independent from men especially as at when due... Especially men who didn't want to accept, respect and coexist with the divine feminine energy which gave us life... And stuffs like that but he wasn't mad when the universe or according to him, God, gave him daughters only.
If not that his personal doctrines dictated him to honor and respect ladies no matter what but with sense of course, he would've not been very chill with mom I noticed. Funny couple, mom was male centered, dad was lady centered... Comedy! Nsọgbụ ádịrọ, no problem dey sha.
Which was the reason why for somebody that was a loud preacher and advocate for the age of aquarius he sure still followed, coexisted and dwelled among Christendom and accommodated other forms of the Abrahamic religions in his circle but I sure did notice he wasn't a staunch follower though.
"You know when I was much younger I had decided I wasn't gonna be going to or entertaining any form of religion no more or follow any form of religion you get? Like I was a radical, a leftist liberal of sorts and I was keen on those my beliefs I swear but then I met your mom who was a tad bit too religious like I kinda suspected my future wife would be, and a lawyer, I knew she would be a lawyer and I met a lawyer but luckily for me and us, she wasn't a fanatic religious, those were the worst kind of religious people. I must admit though that my major mistake was trying to force people to follow my beliefs, it was when I met your mom that I began to change most of my beliefs, we were much younger then, I was turning twenty and she was turning fifteen, It's funny that fast forward some years later I'm practically an atheist because why not if not? She's actually still a semi dedicated church girl, I rubbed off on her and she did on me, you know iron sharpening iron kinda stuff you know and then there's you her kid, our kid you're an African high spiritualist... African spiritual high culture? African high spirituality?" Dad inquires.
I smile still grabbing hold of him and looking up, I further nod in agreement, "You're correct for all Ichie," We smile and he continues, "I see you talking to the ancestors and the universe right...?" I stare at him in shock. He smiles almost proudly and I calm down a bit. "C'mon baby cub, that's what you were doing right?" Still smiling he inquires coming closer, "That's what you're up to..." He squints, "Right?"
"Ye... Yes sir," I stammer, Dad finally breaks into a little laughter, he pulls me into a huge bear hug.
"Just know daddy's proud of you my lil universe, I know you'll make me proud one day," He says and continues, "Science and other related studies will call it a religion... It's not, Africa had no religion pre colonialism, we only had and still have our various individual and communal Spiritualities, but today those that know bound together and connect as one through our spiritualities, though still individual because we all have individual ancestors, we still bound together communally against a new and common formidable evil and mental enemy, it all starts in the mind, capture the mind, it's over. We were and we still are spiritualists, we are Africans you know... But they would call it a religion, it's not! They would call it African traditional religions... Or Animism, or Polytheism or her relations, it's neither of those, though it may look like Animism and also kinda probably looks like Polytheism and her relations but it's definitely not a religion... Some call it a African spiritual system but Please!" I laugh, "I'm saying eh!" He adds laughing with me.
I, still in a bit of a shock asks, "You watch me through the window?... Every morning... and night?"
"Yup! Everytime I'm home and you're manifesting abi praying, nkè óbụnà! You forget where you stand is adjacent my window where I stand sipping tea or orange juice as the case may be early in the mornings or late in the evenings while I overlook the city," He laughs and I suddenly realize he was right, years long and it's just now I'm realizing, éwọ! "Sometimes Mom too watches along with me, she thinks you're just being silly, going through a phase and even after my explanations she'll be like "She'll grow over it," And I'm like, "Ákịkọ! Ịn'ákọ!" We both laugh it off, "Like that was the same shit they told me since I was a kid in the early noughties, I had a neighbor lady like that who thought I was being childish and what not and I wouldn't be successful if I kept on with my beliefs but fast forward years later, I'm happily married, leading my best life with my best friend and my queen, I, her best friend and consort till the end and there's Chidera and you, my princesses, we're lit! And they're good too, her family but we don't talk anymore though."
"Why's that?" I ask.
"Back then she was like telling her kids not to talk with me again abi to fear me and avoid me or what not and me not to talk to them no more because I was trying to change her kids' minds on religions," Dad laughs and I ask.
"Well dad, were you?"
"Nné, I can say I was kind of, not purposely though, in my mind I was like these kids and I, they were four to five years younger than me though both of them respectively, so I was like, we're just having a reasonable conversation where we would banter each other and learn from each other which we usually did in our spares but she thought otherwise you get?" I nod in response and he continues.
"So apparently, she thought otherwise, and like a mom she was, respect to her and her motherhood, her style of motherhood all, I swear it, absolute respect from me to her I swear it, she thought it was alright her kids and I avoided each other even while we both dwelled in the same compound you get? So that was like exactly what I did," I chuckle shaking my head.
"I can recall that night vividly, my major problem with that night was that she would say something to me and she wouldn't even let me get a word in, she was like, I don't wanna hear nothing, I'm like this isn't a proper conversation then, she was like don't I have respect? And I was like when did fear become synonymous with respect then I recalled her generation and eventually went inside and decided to avoid her, not like me and her ever conversed, we obviously weren't like-minded, you get?" I nod in response.
"She was like I was talking back at her and I was like no ma, I was only simply replying the questions you had asked me and she was like that's disrespectful and I was like..."
"Ok what the fuck? Was that her definition of respect?" I ask bewildered.
"Girl, that's what I said! Anyways, I avoided her and her family best I could though, I particularly didn't wanna ruin the mom and son relationship she and her kids shared because... you know, no be that kain person I be, but a few days later we were hypothetically cool, hypothetically and we're good friends right now... At least, hypothetically, you know Uncle Nonso, Uncle Somkele and auntie Amanda right?"
"Yeah right, that's nice!"
"Well, it comes almost naturally as we grow up, we end up like, why are we fighting when we can be chilling and stuffs like that, today, they're living in the great western nation of Oduduwa in Asaba Ọchịè and we're over here in the Motherland Union of Biafra, in Onyebuchi and yada yada yada," Dad takes a deep breath and I smile.
"Ahaba Ófụrụ is for the Ìgbo Asaba and Delta Ìgbo people who had to cross the Niger canal to the Motherland Union right?And Asaba Ọchịè, the original Asaba is now part of the western nation according to the Ókwú ékwụrụ n'ịfị ọbọdọ, the people's doctrine right?"
"Yes! Quit diverting, Omo! I'll never forget when they were like 'my beliefs and particularly my knowledge of history won't take me no where' especially my aunt championing the notion, well look at me right now," Dad laughs again and continues.
"Dude, I'm a rigid person and you can't get your age old beliefs that have clearly never helped you or anyone else positively in me, but with time and maturity I learnt to use my gift of gab to call for peaceful coexistence and cohabitation amongst all beliefs and faiths and I basically gave the middle finger to all who came to rub it in my face that I was going to hell and their God will punish me for eternity where I'll burn, and scream, and shout, and suffer for ever and ever and shit like that because I didn't believe in their hypothetical God or his hypothetical son both of whom love me to bits even though they'll hand me to their hypothetical relation down below who will torture me for not accepting their love and I'm like, Ok, sorry for the past, sorry for disrespecting your beliefs, I was naive, please respect my own beliefs and fucking be on your own lane, but they just wouldn't get it... With time, I was like fuck it, y'all can do and say whatever you wanted to, but as for me, I was gonna respect y'all's faith and absolutely walk the fuck away from you irregardless of who the fuck you were or how much your presence was going impact or help me in anyway if I ever suspected that you were busy trying to disrespect me or my beliefs because I would basically not be doing same to you... And that was the basics of my life spiritually and physically for the past thirty two years."
"Hm!" I chuckled, "Me sef, I just started reading a lot of the books on the shelves in your study especially the ones by our African revolutionary voices and other Pan Africanists and after doing my researches, I realized they were making much more sense and I decided I was going to stick with them, I'm writing stuffs down though..."
"That's my daughter! That's my baby! Yeah! Cmon!" Dad exclaims like an exhilarated sports fan who's side had performed an almost impossible dine minute comeback, I laugh in response to his enthusiasm.
He glances at the élèkèlè on his wrist again and pushes me off, "Bitch, it's fucking time for school, off you go!" I give dad 'the look,' "Sorry love," He smiles, we both clearly understood that the term "bitch" was a popular derogatory term from the core of patriarchy and we were always cautious of it.
I hear mom calling out for me and dad enters a bit of a rush, "Em Nkoli, this makes sense for your mom right?" I glance at his pick.
"She's your partner sha, so far and so good, you understand and know her better than I, sooooo... I guess... your choice is ok, let's go!"
"Right!" He says and we race downstairs and towards our various businesses.
About an hour later Chi and I were good and ready for school, we were about sitting for breakfast when we saw Mom coming down the stairs neatly clad in the outfit dad had chosen for her with just a few modifications from her, I glanced at dad who glanced back from his chair in the living room, he smiled his usual, exhibiting his set of teeth and he clenched his fists celebratory at me, I chuckle at his 'goofiness' while Chi continues on in confusion. Mom looks at the both of us almost knowingly, chuckles while shaking her head and moves on into the kitchen.
Chi and I grab our breakfast and we both kiss dad on the cheeks and calling out for mom, we bid her farewell as we head out, she murmurs something back which we interpret as a positive response and we get a move on.
Just a few meters into the next street and we hear a familiar honk and I turn, I smile shaking my head, I wasn't surprised dad allowed us to go just so he could open up the gates by himself and now he was proposing to drop us off at school, I shake my head with a smile, Classic dad!
"Chi, it's funny you think I'm built different, it's like you've not met my dad," Chi's surprised, she didn't want to talk or could she talk? She simply shakes her head, baffled and we hop in.
Inside, she chuckles, "Like father like daughter na," Dad and I laugh in response.
After the morning assembly where we that were prefects usually took sometimes proper and most times improper and often nonchalant, lackadaisical and reckless... I can't just emphasize the reckless enough, unchecked, undue advantage of the 'divine' duty of placing the younger students in line, something I absolutely abhorred, I personally didn't support students a few years older than others being put in levels of power and authority and being handed the privilege of caning or hitting younger ones as a means of punishment.
I usually referred to such activities as being in direct violation of human rights a major characteristic of the trans Atlantic slave trade but Chi usually always begged to differ.
"Nné, resti o! Rest! Rest! Chineke nnà akpọ gị òkù! Rest! ah ah! Every thing you want to put your word over on it, resti Ịyóm! Something we have been doing way before our ancestors..."
"That form of punishment amongst others came along with the colonial masters, caning kids or your fellow human being is the core of slavery himself, the core of the trans Atlantic slave trade, to me real punishments benefitted the populace, the community, like when we're punished to do dishes for a week, sweep the compounds for a month and stuffs like that, activities that benefitted the community and still inculcated lessons and disciplines... Such is the reason I hate the prison system..."
"Bịà Ngozi ịbịákwà! zụkwà n'iké! Haba!" As she exclaimed she turned to face her front having almost bumped into...
"Bịà way, this dirty human being, are you blind or what?" She screams at Chi, "You did not see me abi has poverty blocked your vision..." All around exploded into laughter, I glance around, majority of those laughing were guys, guys clearly waiting for their turn to ịtà nwà with her... Obviously! She barely had any female following because she saw herself as above all the girls, I noticed she particularly didn't fancy the boys either but was smart enough to give them just enough interest to keep them on their toes chasing her, spending on her, you know simping after her but never really handing them the privilege of getting her attention, I was a lady's girl and I really admired that about her but I just couldn't get my fingers on something I felt was off about her and not to talk of her distaste of Chidera and I for absolutely no reason which I was seriously about to tackle.
"Neche! Neche! Neche! Kpáchàlụ kw'ányá gị o! Dey wise o, what's your fucking problem sef, I swear Neche if e sure for you follow her talk again I swear!" I para towards her.
"Wetin you wan con do? Odịkà ọsébé gọ gị n'ịsị? Like see this babe o, e be like say you no see me here?" Dumebi charges at me shoving Neche outta the way, to me, take away her front and she could safely pass for a guy, Chi would always be like Dumebi was more of a guy than a guy, I stared her dead in the eye, my heart was beating faster than the drums at the morning assembly but I didn't let it show, I knew she could easily toss me out from here all the way down to the ground floor... We were in the third floor, the guys had learnt earlier on the folly of meddling with Chidumebi in any of her bickerings that usually turned into all out brawls, she kinda usually had no conscience be you girl or guy.
I cautiously turned to Neche and gave her a final warning, "Chinecherem let me not warn you again!" As soon as the words left my mouth Dumebi shoved me by the collar and lifted me a few meters off the ground slapping me hard, I reciprocated even harder and she almost had me soaring but for the guys who soon gathered around to catch me just in time and separate us, I had, in a bid to not sorely accept defeat even while extended in the air, grabbed on her collar, she smiled and as soon as the people successfully separated us, Chidera made an immediate run for it and someone shoved me forward from behind as I was picking myself up he meant I should run too but I wasn't gonna run, 'like run for what?' I say to myself.
I turned and realized Neche was staring at me with a weird smile plastered over her lips, I looked at her a while, squinted my eyes at her and got a move on nodding my head as if planning something, I was gonna forget the present incident in a few hours.