The moment Weruche got to her street, she knew her suspicions were not wrong. She could see her house clearly from ten feet away, and people were trooping in and out, wearing long faces. They looked like people in mourning. You did not mourn the sick, you mourned the dead.
She broke into a run, her back pack that contained most of her possessions wearing her down, and stealing the little strength she had, yet she did not stop.
''Justin, where is Mama? She's not dead, is she?'' She asked grabbing her brother immediately she got into the house.
''Relax Weruche.'' He said in a flash of irritation. ''She's not dead, I told you she was sick now, or did I say she's dead. She's in the room, go and see her. She probably won't be alive for long.''
Weruche let go of her brothers arm as his words stung. Relieved as she was that her mother was still alive, she hated how unconcerned about their mother's health Justin sounded, he also mentioned that she wouldn't be alive for long.
Her mother was sleeping almost peacefully in the section used as her bedroom. Brenda, was holding her hand, she got up immediately she saw Weruche.
''Weruche! I didn't want Justin to call you, there's really nothing you can do, and it would be very painful for you to watch her go''
Weruche came forward and hugged her best friend. ''What did the doctors say is wrong with her?''
''Doctors?" Brenda laughed bitterly. ''No one has the money to take her to see doctors - at least so they say.''
''But what of Justin? He makes money off gambling sometimes..'' Weruche fired back, fighting despair.
''Yes, he makes sometimes, and sometimes he looses, then he comes home and takes your mother's money to gamble some more, and when she objects, he hits her -''
''It's not true, you're lying'' Weruche objected feebly as tears started forming in her eyes again.
''Lying about what? The fact that Justin looses, or that he takes money from your mother, or that he hits her-''
''Justin would never do that?''
''Do you even believe the lies you tell yourself?'' Brenda asked, her eyes a little kinder, but her voice no less harsh.
''Why are you doing this?'' Weruche burst out, no longer able to control her tears. ''You're supposed to be here for me-''
''This is me being here for you Weruche, you're way too naive to the things that go on in your life. Should you mother die-''
''My mother is not going to die!'' Weruche screamed, then repeated more calmly. ''My mother is not going to die.''
''Well, she's very sick now, and we don't even have money to get a doctor, not to mention she has a very high BP, has suffered partial stroke twice, and she has that heart issue that was never probably diagnosed.''
''My mother has some money.... money she was keeping away for my education -''
''Which part of Justin taking all her money don't you understand? Your mother has nothing.''
Weruche lifted up her tear-streaked face to pierce her friend with her eyes. ''How come you know so much about my family?''
''Because I'm you neighbor silly... and because I don't pretend to be what I'm not.'' She added, her voice barely a whisper.
''Karis can help'' Weruche said out out of the blue, and Brenda looked up momentarily thrown.
''Help w..with what, I don't understand.'' Brenda stammered.
''Karis can help a friend who needs financial assistance.'' Weruche said, and the two friends smiled at each other for the first time since their meeting that day.
Brenda shook her head. ''But you didn't continue the friendship did you, you didn't even get his number that night, or give him yours, and I told you he could come in handy.... see what I mean. To even think that you had him all to yourself in that garden, and yet you -''
''Relax Brenda, one thing at a time'' Weruche said deep in thought.
''You know he's a titled chief.... I mean Karis Dad, and people with titles don't fraternize with commoners, let alone people from the slums like us. If anything happens between you and Karis, it's going to be just that, casual sex. If you're smart, you can get as much money from him as you can while it lasts.''
''I'm not going to have sex with Karis.''
Brenda looked surprised. ''How then do you plan to get money from him?''
''I would find a way. There has to be a way.'' Weruche said as she finally put down her backpack. ''I'm going to Karis house this evening.... I'm going to need something from your wardrobe Brenda''
Brenda nodded. She had the perfect little dress for Weruche if she was going to succeed in anything she planned that evening, and she had to succeed.
Lola was being inquisitive again. Karis hated it when she got like that. He was going to have to break things up with her - this time for good. They had both enjoyed an open relationship for sometime now, but things were changing, she had started getting more jealous, more annoying. ''You want to launch a charity you say, but you have no idea what particular charity -'' She said. She was sitting on his laps and snorting coke from a pen, and he had the sudden urge to push her off. He shrugged. '' The girl child education, or anything that sounds as stupid and as good as that. I don't really care. All this is a game, a game between my father, Adam chukwu and I.'' ''And what about his daughter?'' Lola asked getting up suddenly from his lap, and dropping the pen on a table. ''What about whose daughter?'' Karis asked to stall for time. ''Oh don't play dumb with me Karis.'' Lola snapped. ''Adam's daughter - the beautiful Weruche.'' She raised a palm. ''And before you accuse m
''Why Weruche Chukwu! If it isn't a pleasant surprise.'' Karis said from where he was sitted, and Weruche could feel her heart skip several beats. She shouldn't have run off to his house without second thoughts, she should have come up with a plan, but she had been naive enough to think they would continue off from where they had stopped the previous year.... she was even lucky they had let her in. ''I... I... Can I come in?'' Karis merely lifted a brow. She was already in. She had worn the flimsy dress Brenda gave her that put way too much of her creamy skin on display, and her flat ironed her was beginning to kink up again, curling into something mysterious and totally sexy. She was looking good... beautiful, if the reactions of the men she had passed on the road was anything to go by, why wasn't Karis affected by her now as he had been in the past. She smiled and tried to step up her acting game. ''I came because..'' because I couldn't stop thinking about you... that
Weruche stood in front of her wooden wardrobe the next morning, wondering what to wear. She didn't want to make a habit of borrowing clothes from Brenda, and most of Brenda's clothes were hardly appropriate, but hers were faded and worn out. She settled for a gray pencil skirt and a black v neck top that had seen better days, she was just picking up the only hand bag she owned when her brother's voice coming from behind startled her. ''Don't tell me you're going back to school and leaving mother like this - who's responsibility do you think she is?'' Weruche turned to face her brother. From the color of his eyes, he had been smoking a lot already - and it wasn't just cigarettes. ''She is our mother Justin, not just some - responsibility to be foisted on our shoulders.'' ''Skip the fancy English Uche. You put your mother in the state she is, she is yours, your responsibility..... milking her dry for a university degree when none of us ever went through with secondary school.''
The next few weeks we're very hectic ones for Weruche, and she was enjoying every moment. Karis had his her advice and sent out opinion poll to the people of Woodville. The people in the slums had a double vote, that had been very thoughtful of him, since it was the people from her side of the town that needed charity more, but when she and Karis had put together the options, she decided she was going to do a little campaigning on her own before the voting started Karis had asked the people to choose between scholarships and educational grants to skill acquisition and then provision of health facilities. The people in the slums might need charity more, but they were also the most prone to mis-using opportunities. This was one opportunity she wanted utilized. Weruche wondered if it was wrong that she wanted the people to choose education. It actually didn't make sense that you could get enough money to start a petty trade, and then you'd choose to read books instead, but there wa
''I hear you got a job at the West coast.'' Weruche's mother said immediately she stepped into he house. She was sitting in the living room, and she was looking much better, she was even looking like she had never fallen sick. A smile broke out on Weruche's face. It was all worth it, everything was worth it. She slowly sang down to her mother's level on the floor. ''Hello mama, how are you doing today.'' Her mother did not answer, and only then did Weruche notice how angry she was. ''Mama, what's the matter now? I am only happy that you are better, you're looking very healthy now, the doctors seem to have done their work well.'' Her mother's frawn deepened. ''I asked a question young woman, don't let's change the topic from the issue at hand.'' Exasperated, Weruche frowned. ''And what is the issue at hand if it's not your health mama.... The doctors seem to have done their work, you are well now, but for some reason, you want to be angry.'' ''The Issue is not my healt
Brenda was dressed in a strappy spaghetti top that exposed most of her cleavage, fake black leather pants, and she was holding a pair of stilettos she planned to wear. Humming a popular tune, she sat down to wear her heels when Weruche stormed into the house. Surprised, a smile broke out on her face, then it changed to a frown when she saw the look on her friend's face. ''Weruche, are you alright? Is you mother okay?'' She asked worried. ''I should be asking you if you are alright.'' Weruche spat. ''And quit acting like you care about mother when you're busy playing sick mind games that I don't understand.'' Brenda was more confused. ''Weruche are you alright? What has come over you?'' ''This has come over me.'' Weruche fired back, flinging the package at her friend. ''What kind of sick game are you playing Brenda?'' ''I should be asking you that.'' Brenda was finally getting annoyed. ''You come into my house with such an attitude, shouting accusations I don't even understan
Weruche woke up the next day with a slight headache, and she was feeling disoriented. Everything seemed a bit odd. To start with, the bed was empty. Normally, she got up wey before her mother, her mother wasn't even supposed to be up and about so early, she needed her rest. The room was too bright, the sunlight streaming in from the window blinding her. She snatched her phone and checked the time, it was already eleven o'clock in the morning. Weruche was up in an instant. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair and packed it up in a simple bun, then changed her clothes, hoping to heaven she didn't smell. In five minutes, she was out of the door. She got to Karis office with an apology on her lips, then she saw that he was not alone. There was an older man sitting on the sofa that was by the window. ''Hello Sir, I'm the new... the.. I work with Mr. Karis... That is Mr. Ilobi.'' Her eyes sent a plea for help to Karis who was sitting behind his desk, looking a bit uneasy. ''I work i
Weruche didn't bother to go to her own office when she left Karis'. Somehow, she knew she wasn't going to be missed. Instead, she headed straight to her house. It was a bit off being at home at that time in the morning, her mother had gone out to trade in the local market close by, and her brothers were not around. She thought about visiting Brenda, then she remembered that even her friend wouldn't be home, as she had recently gotten apprenticed to a seamstress. At a loss for what to do, she started pacing her room. Karis' voice kept ringing in her ear, he had asked her to get a pregnancy kit - and then to get back to him. He had no right. He couldn't just sit down and dictate her life to her like he owned her, just because he had money. Everything happening then would not have happened in the first place - she missed, if she hadn't attended his party last year, if she hadn't gotten hypnotized by his eyes, by the very core of his being, then she remembered her mother. She wouldn