The lie
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Without wrongs there wouldn't be rights, it's all about balance
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Obanma adjusted the collar of her shirt for the umpteenth time as she stared at the children that ran around the school premises. Her mind had been wandering aimlessly during school lessons and not even Oluchi's incessant rattling could keep her attention grounded.

She had left the house almost in tears, confusion had sought her out and so had melancholy. All her years spent at her aunt's, never had she seen Nnamdi as upset as he had been that morning.

The little children ran around the merry-go-round. Some were seated comfortably on the grass playing with items she couldn't quite grasp from where she stood.

Somehow they had reminded her of her much younger self. A picture of the little girl she was came to her mind and she grinned. The shock that had been written on daa Agatha's face the first day she picked Obanma from school, was still fresh on her memory like it was yesterday. The poor woman had threatened her with selling her to Northerners if a repeat of returning from school like a deranged person ever occurred.

If only her much younger self even cared? The next week she had returned with only part of her uniform. Somehow her skirt was ripped off as she tried to get down from the merry go around.

It had been one of the reasons why she was banned from playing there. It had been almost a weekly routine to come home with a different issue during her nursery school days. Adaugo had promptly given her a name to suit her situation, one week one trouble. The final, being when her shoes managed to find themselves on top of the classroom roof after she and her friends swung and flung the items for fun.

Her retrospective journey seemed to cheer her up as a soft chuckle escaped her lips. This was a momentary pause in her trip down memory lane.

A hand tapped her and she turned to see part of the reasons why she had been quite a handful child. Uchechukwu and Oluchi had wandered out of the classroom in search of her.

She was almost certain that their third, Joshua would appear in seconds. The reverberation of his baritone behind her girlfriends confirmed her thoughts.

Uchechukwu had grown into a quite beautiful young girl as opposed to the little girl who always dealt with rhinorrhea and was teased incessantly for having bowlegs. Uchechukwu's legs had straightened out and her height was the evidence of the amendment. She became the tallest of the girls with a shape that was quite enviable. It seemed as if the change was a recompense from nature for the endless years of teasing and offensive remarks.

It was the defect that had drawn Obanma to her. She could remember how she had been angry when her fellow children had taunted Uchechukwu for having bow legs. They called her bracket legs, mimicked her slow gait and laughed at her.

Obanma tugged Uchechukwu who had already removed her shoes ready to assail the children in a combative pose and managed to pull her away.

The children had ended up following them to their place of refuge and continued with their irritating name calling.

Obanma had swiftly swung herself at one of the boys who came forward to tug Uchechukwu's chin and imbibed her canines into his chubby cheek. The boy released a piercing scream and stumbled backwards while Obanma stood protectively in front of Uche.

The girl was stunned by her action as they were merely acquaintances and rarely spoke. Another boy marched towards the two girls in annoyance ready to dish out a coup d'arret for the humiliation Obanma had given his sobbing friend.

The other children were too stunned to speak and waited patiently for the next round of battle to unfold.

Uche and Obanma stood their ground and ended up stuffing the boy's mouth with sand. The crowd dispersed after a teacher arrived and took the trouble makers away, including the two warrior princesses who had fought valiantly.

Obanma's teeth mark was imprinted on Chisom's chin and she was flogged for fighting. Uchechukwu and Obanma became inseparable after that day.

Joshua and Oluchi joined the duo as they progressed to junior secondary. Obanma had been drawn to Uchechukwu because of the same defect her dead twin had on his legs.

"O dịkwa mma? Are you Okay?" Oluchi enquired as she brushed an insect of Uche's uniform.

Obanma nodded swiftly as she turned to face them.

"You've not been attentive today, I noticed how absent minded you were in class. You did not even take notes" Uchechukwu chipped in as she crushed the insect with her feet.

"Dddddddid soomsoomsooom" Joshua began struggling with his words.

His stuttering had always been a huge impediment in his speech but had lessened as he grew older.

While they were younger, he barely made complete sentences without stomping his feet violently on the ground.

Uchechukwu and Obanma made a rule to carry a book and a pen to ease his stress while Oluchi who easily understood his distorted speeches reported them to people.

Obanma simply patted his back to abate his struggle and shook her head.

"Nothing happened Joshua, really I'm fine. Just a bit tired"

"Well. I.. I was worried about you, you were quite inattentive in class" Obanma's attention was honed towards Joshua and she quickly captured the genuine concern in his eyes.

Joshua was particularly fond of her, she knew very well. He had been one of the people who was impressed with her biting fiasco.

"I am okay everyone, seriously!"

"How long will it take?" Oluchi chipped in suddenly amused

"Take for what?" Obanma retorted quite puzzled by the question

"For you to stop pretending that you're fine and truly tell us what happened to you. We won't ask you again, we'll just wait for you to get comfortable enough with the idea of telling us inu"

Oluchi and Joshua nodded satisfactorily at the statement while Obanma scolded herself mentally for being so transparent.

"I want to get lunch at the cafeteria, who's with me?" Oluchi enthusiastically announced

Everyone including Obanma raised their hands and followed Oluchi.

Uchechukwu whispered something into Oluchi's ears and she smiled while Obanma took deep breaths before uttering her mind.

" Uncle Nnamdi and my aunt fought today! " She blurted out causing Uchechukwu to collect a note from Oluchi. It seemed that had bet on her

"I told you she wouldn't hold it in for more than five seconds"

"That.. That's normal for married couples, they fight all the time and make up" Joshua chipped in

"Not like that of my parents though" Oluchi sadly continued. Everyone knew how hostile her home was and often encouraged her

"It's not normal for uncle Nnamdi. They're always very cautious and we've never seen them fight before" Obanma continued

"When you mean fight, do you mean he was hitting your aunt? Or just an altercation" Joshua enquired without a stutter while Uchechukwu slowly brought her fist up to have a fist bump with him.

"An altercation. But I totally understand him, daa Agatha had been going to see my father in prison against Uncle Nnamdi's wishes and she had been lying about it. Daa claims my father needs our help and says she has been extracting information from him"

"Your father the one who..?"

"Yes" Obanma promptly replied. She had disclosed everything about her life and was quite comfortable that they weren't judgemental. Instead she got to know that each of them had problems that they also wanted to share with someone.

"But is that why you're worried?" Oluchi reached out and held Obanma's hand.

"No, that's not it. I want to see him" She breathed out expecting them to counter her wish

"That's not bad, he's your father after all" Oluchi replied with a soft smile

"You don't think it's wrong"

"Of course not Oba, whenever you're ready to go, just let us know. You can never tell, it might just be adventurous" Uchechukwu chirped as they approached the cafeteria.

They all ordered for egg roll and different types of soft drinks, made their way to their favorite table to assuage the rumbling of their stomachs.

Their buttocks had barely met their seats before Jackson made his way to their table. They all knew he liked Obanma but she couldn't stand the stench of his arrogance and vulgarity.

"What's up" He began trying to make eye contact with Obanma who appreciated the Coca-Cola logo on her bottle more than she did his face. Uchechukwu and Oluchi were failing hard to suppress their amusement while Joshua made no attempt to hide his irritation with the scowl on his face.

"My boys and I dey go swimming later with their babes, you dey come?"

Jackson was a spoilt son of a politician who basically got away with many things much to Obanma's dislike.

At this point Obanma's rein over her silent treatment was waning and she hoped he would walk away but he didn't.

" Babe? "He pressed on with a smirk forcing Obanma's eyes to to meet his.

" Are you demented? " She finally let out, having tolerated his presence long enough.

" What? " He enquired stunned.

" I'll also add ear defect to your list of problems too. Bia Jackson I'll do you a huge favor because I've noticed that you're too ignorant to understand simple English"

"Are you talking to me!" The tone of his voice brought a pleasing smile to Obanma's face.

"Honestly I wouldn't have wanted your brainless followers to make out what I was telling you but since you've decided to attract them with your voice, I'll help you make it known publicly!

That I" She pointed to herself

do not have a modicum!

an Iota of affinity for you! "She ended with her finger poking him

" To put it in very simple diction so that the simpletons behind you can understand very well.

Jackson I don't like you one bit! I'd very much like for you to stop embarrassing yourself with these encounters that are unwarranted. As you can see my friends and I were enjoying our lunch before the mere appearance of your face distorted my appetite. I'd like to continue eating while you find your way to your friends "

Obanma's friends were shocked to their bones, their mouths agape and eyes widened. It seemed to be the expression everyone else wore including Jackson who was too disappointed to speak. He simply took off while Obanma heaved a sigh of relief.

She had tolerated the boy long enough.

Her friends applauded her while other students glared at her, if only she cared.

The day went on as usual and at the end of lectures the four went to the cyber cafe to figure out where they had been posted for their JAMB examination.

Obanma was quite worried because she had been the last to apply and had little hope to write in the same state as her friends.

The information on her dashboard not only made her heart sink but also made her question the possibility of writing the examination with her friends that year.

Obanma arrived the house after series of cat calls and endless disappointing attempts of wooing her had ended. Daa Agatha would always tease her when she complained of the growing male attention. At 17 she not only had a beautiful face, a very long and curly hair but also a mouth watering glass shape.

Her face had turned out to be oval like her mother's and her complexion even lighter than it had been while she was younger.

Two little dimples had appeared on two sides of her chin making her smiles captivating.

Her brother Chijioke had once advised his uncle on one of his visits to place a tracking chip in his little sister so that men wouldn't kidnap her. He had even claimed that the man who would end up marrying her would bribe him with fleets of cars before paying her bride price.

Adaugo only saw more of their mother in the girl. She realized that her sister was truly the spurn of their mother.

Obanma stepped into the house warily, thoughts of her exam center floating in her mind. Her aunt and uncle were not back and so she buried herself in her chores.

She had prayed for Her aunt to settle things with her husband,so that she could find the avenue to drop the bomb on them.

They had partly contributed to the unfavorable outcome of her exam center as they had pushed down her application till after her aunt's shop extension.

Obanma quickly fished out her JAMB syllabus and continued her study after treating herself to a meal of jollof rice with Avocado pear.

She was the only one left in the house as Chijioke and Adaugo had moved to Lagos for business and work respectively.

She could only afford to read two pages of the chapter in her biology textbook before her heavy lunch drove her to sleep.

*************

Nnamdi was sorely disappointed in himself as he made his way into his living room.

He could tell his wife was home from the aroma that pierced the atmosphere. He quietly walked into Obanma's room and saw her snoring softly

He had wanted to talk to her about what she encountered earlier, it hadn't been his intention for the matter to escalate but the idea of his wife keeping a secret had reflected on his conscience and guilt pricked him as well.

Agatha had gone to work in tears and he couldn't stomach that. His mind had been tormented the whole day and somehow a wreckless bus driver had broken his car lamp on his way to work and he couldn't help but blame it on his attitude towards his wife.

He slowly walked back to the living room and fished out the tiny boxes he had acquired on his way home,then made his way to the kitchen.

Agatha stirred the banga stew she was making, she dropped a little on her palm and had a taste of it. Pleased with her efforts she put off the gas cooker and started washing the utensils she used in cooking.

Her niece had appeared genuinely worn out and she simply went ahead to cook without her assistance. She had noticed absurd behaviors in Nnamdi but chalked it up to stress but somehow their fight earlier in the day had convinced her otherwise.

She had apologized for keeping her visits to Iheanyị a secret but her husband did not care. His rage was terrifying and he had even thrown a vase at the wall, calling her a hypocrite.

It didn't seem reasonable staying back so she walked away in tears. Her thoughts only swam around her childlessness through out the whole and she wondered if Nnamdi had begun to cheat.

Agatha was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't know when Nnamdi walked in. The fresh tears glistening in her eyes were blinked away rapidly.

He cleared his throat gaining her attention and she simply did the same to clear out the lumps that had resided in her throat.

"Welcome, how was work?"Agatha began trying to clear the sudden awkwardness as they stared at each other.

" It was good"Nnamdi replied in a deft manner fumbling with the items behind his back.

"O dị mma, I just finished preparing food now, why don't you shower while I dish it out" Agatha quickly turned around and began to wash the plates.

Nnamdi could tell his wife was still hurting but he couldn't find the right words to apologize with. Hearing from his friend who happened to be visiting prisons for evangelism about his wife frequenting there against his wish, drove a seed of mistrust in his heart.

"I had an accident today" He began

Agatha turned quickly concern written all over her features. His wife was still as beautiful as ever in her early forties. The wrinkles had slowly arrived beneath her eyes and he hated himself for the eye bags he saw around them.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Yes I am. But he broke my vehicle, I think he was high and reckless. And that was exactly how I was this morning. My love a lot of things have been bugging me and I lashed out on you. I was wrong" He moved closer to her and caressed her face.

Agatha finally let out the tears she had been fighting while Nnamdi wrapped his arms around her.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. You do know I love you right, I love you nne m so please stop crying because you're tearing my heart with those tears of yours"

Agatha nodded gently against his chest wiping her tears with his shirt.

He wiped her tears and planted a kiss on her forehead then to he tear stricken face before capturing her lips.

Obanma only watched with pleasure as they held onto each other. She heaved a sigh of relief thanking God that none of them had notice that she was faking her sleep.

"I'm sorry for not being entirely honest, but I found out that Iheanyị also needed help"

Nnamdi nodded and planted another kiss on her lips. The pair deepened their kiss and soon Agatha found herself on top of their refrigerator still clinging to her husband whose hands were roaming underneath her blouse.

Obanma slipped out a greeting with her hands on her eyes while the couple groaned because of their interruption.

She apologized immediately claiming that what she had to show them couldn't wait.

Nnamdi stood behind his wife to hide his erection while she organized her outfit. Obanma had a smile plastered on her face as she handed them the piece of paper with her jamb center on it.

"Is it out already?" Nnamdi questioned as he scanned the piece of paper.

"You can't be serious, of all places!" He began

"O gini? What is it? Where was she posted to?" Agatha enquired

"Abayi community secondary school" Obanma breathed out

"And where is that?" Agatha prodded

"Umuikpo" Nnamdi answered unenthusiastically.

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Hello everyone!

How are you doing? Happy Sunday. Lately the world has been turned upside down by corona virus. There have also been cases in Nigeria.

Let's all try to follow the precautions, to curb the spread of the virus.

I pray that God keeps all safe in this trying period.

So what do you think about this chapter?

Who else is not so happy about Obanma's exam center? 😂😂😂

What do we think about her friends?