She laughed, bending forward, unable to contain herself. Her shoulders shook as her laughter rang through the kitchen. Some of the ladies turned to look at her with curiosity. He furrowed his brows in utter confusion and slight embarrassment. He told her she was beautiful and all she could do was...laugh? Why?

“What’s funny?”

She shook her head, sitting up straight.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing.”

He tilted his head to the side in disbelief. It was a blatant lie.

“Look,” she started when her laughing spree came to an end. “You don’t have to lie for whatever reason. I see myself in the mirror every day.”

He shook his head in wonder. “Uh Fikayo, you’re actually beautiful. There’s no reason for me to lie about that. Why do you think you aren’t, if I may ask?”

He was rubbing circles with his hand on his right knee, staring into her eyes, hoping they would give room to dive into her mind.

“I’m beautiful?” she put a finger to her chest. “Thanks anyway but I know it isn’t true.”

Someone or something had messed with her mind, he knew, and it wasn’t trivial or minute. Perhaps, he should have kept his thoughts to himself instead of blurting out a compliment that was uncalled for. Well, she was beautiful. It had been lingering in his mind and at the edge of his tongue; ready to be spat out but he had held himself back several times. Today however, he did not know what took over him to let the words roll off his tongue. She was looking down at her phone now, her signature blank expression back on her face.

“Fikayo,” he began and she raised her head but Aunty Sola who was by the gas cooker called out for her and she hopped from her seat, swiftly walking away without sparing him another glance.

He watched her carry empty plastic bowls, spoons and a sieve from the counter to the sink. She began the task of washing them, her back now turned to him. How could she deny beauty so evidently showcased in the masterpiece that was her? His musing was interrupted by someone shaking his shoulders. He looked up to a pouting Kosi.

“Koko, what do you want?” He was slightly pissed she was distracting him from his important thoughts.

“Ah ahn now,” she rested her elbow on his shoulder, a hand on her waist. “Are you trying to chase me away, Ike?”

“Say what you want or leave abeg,” he snapped, regretting the words almost immediately as she pushed his shoulders and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

“I’m going to report you to daddy,” she threatened, twisting her face in annoyance. She marched out of the kitchen. He shook his head at how childish she was.

***
The next Saturday, she sent a Whatsapp message to Kaima, asking her for the address of their church. She had followed her sister to her own church which Tolu also attended the Sunday before. She had enjoyed the service thoroughly but was not sure if she wanted to settle with the church as hers. Moreover, after praying in the morning, right before setting out to do house chores, she felt a nudge to ask Kaima for their church address. She hoped it wasn’t just bias and was actually God’s leading. She loved the Nnadi’s and knew that could influence her decision in selecting a church.
Her phone vibrated in her hand and she swiped it open, clicking on the new message.

Kaima: I’m so happy you want to worship with us, dear. You can come over to the house tomorrow and we’ll all go from there but you have to make it here before 7:30. I’ll inform my parents.

She smiled at the red heart emoji placed at the end of the message.
Fikayo: I hope it’s not an inconvenience though. I can make my way there myself.

Twenty minutes passed before Kaima replied, assuring her that it was not a bother. She smiled, a tingly feeling coursing through her. She was excited and couldn’t wait for the next day. Maybe a part of her longed to see Ike, too, but most of her excitement sprang from wanting to experience worship with them. Seeing Ike was just a lovely bonus she did not mind.

You need to stop thinking about him, she told herself.

But it was so hard. He was handsome and smart and good natured, not forgetting his fierce zeal for God. She had read all his edifying Instagram captions and looked up to him. Her crush had heightened in multiple folds.

She dragged Fire into her room so they could look through clothes and select an outfit. They settled with a brown off shoulder blouse paired with blue jean trousers and pink sneakers. They decided she would style her natural hair in a high puff with her big loop earrings dangling from her ears as she liked.

***
Her heart picked up pace as she rapped on the Nnadi’s house gate. It was five minutes past seven. She shuffled her feet as she pressed the bell.

“Why am I so nervous?” she said quietly to herself. “I don’t have the spirit of fear,” she quoted just as she had been taught last Sunday at Fire’s church. The gate flew open with Kosi standing on the other side.

“Hi Fikayo,” she gushed, reaching for her hand and pulling her in. She locked the gate and entwined her arm into hers as they made their way into the house.

“Mummy,” Kosi yelled as they stepped into the living room, letting go of her arm. “Mummy,” she called again, taking the steps on the staircase in twos. “Fikayo is here!” she announced in a loud voice.

Fikayo laughed at her dramatic behaviour, plopping into a seat. The family came down one after the other. When they were complete, they held hands and said a short prayer before getting into the car, four of them in the back while Mrs Nnadi sat in the front with her husband. They arrived church few minutes to eight and Kosi, Ike and Fikayo went into the Teens Church while Kaima and their parents made their way elsewhere.

It was an hour before service started so she sat beside Kosi as Ike and two guys set the sound system. By eight thirty, the hall was half full. She turned to Kosi who was chatting away with a girl who looked her age.

“Um where’s Ike?” she asked when they was a lull in their conversation.

She pointed at an open door by the right in the front. “He’s in there. The workers are having pre-service prayers.”

Fikayo nodded and Kosi continued. She noticed a few familiar faces from the LFC prayer meeting and walked up to say hi to them. One of them, Tani convinced her to sit with her and her friends and she happily agreed, not wanting to be alone. Kosi was not good company as she kept chatting with different people, ignoring her.

When service ended, she exchanged numbers with Tani, and her friends, Zoe, Tari and Louisa. The girls had been very nice and had treated her like their long lost friend. She fit right in without even trying, like a pen fits into its cover.

***
Ike just finished having a conversation with their teen pastor, Pastor Nath, in his office. He wondered where Fikayo was and what she was doing as he strolled back into the hall. He ran his eyes through the crowd of teenagers chatting, taking pictures and moving around. Even though service was over, many of them still hung around either to spend time with friends or to buy time while waiting for their parents who were having meetings or discussions.

He found her sitting with his friend, Zoe, Tari and Louisa. Reaching them, Zoe stood and drew him into a brief hug. He gave the rest of them brief side hugs, his heart beating fast when he threw his right hand over Fikayo’s shoulder. He held onto her shoulder until Zoe cleared her throat, giving him a questioning look. She knew how he intentionally limited physical contact with girls and must have been wondering why he was holding onto Fikayo longer than necessary. In fact, Zoe was the only girl he had a close relationship with. He didn’t have many friends to start with.

“How far now?” he asked, his eyes on Zoe.

He chatted with them until Aunty B, Pastor Nath’s wife sent someone to call him. As he walked away, he was bothered that Fikayo had not uttered a word while they were chatting. She only smiled and laughed when necessary. But he had seen her talking animatedly before he got to them. Was it because of him she had been quiet?

“Aunty B,” he said, stopping in front of her open car door. She was seated in the driver’s seat, eating jollof rice from a transparent plastic container.

Aunty B whose name was Bola was called Aunty B by most of the teens. It was safe to say she had won everyone’s heart with her charming smile and caring nature. She was a mother to them all and it was a joy for him that she was now expecting her first biological child.

“Lolu sweetheart,” she smiled sweetly, stretching the plate to him. “Come and eat o.”

He smiled back. “I’m good. I don’t want to eat the baby’s food.”

She chuckled before picking a piece of peppered fried turkey and biting into it.

She finished chewing before saying, “Hmm, Lolu, we need to work on the Teens church social media pages o. Our social media presence is dying and it’s no thanks to you.”

A serious look overtook his formerly smiling face as he thought of what to say in his defence.

“Aunty B, I’ve been so busy with my IT and LFC. It has not been easy combining everything.”

She moved her head from side to side repeatedly, making a face.

“Excuse not accepted,” she sang. He chuckled, amazed at how she could hold a serious conversation sternly and still throw in her humour, making you feel at ease. She reached for the bottle of water on the front passenger seat, uncapped it, downed some of it and sighed in satisfaction. He rested his left arm on the door as she capped the bottle back.

“Maybe I have given you more than you can handle at this point. What we need is some structure. We need a social media team cause it’s serious work and cannot be neglected.”

“I’m sorry I neglected my duty, ma.” He felt guilty and hated when he fell short of his responsibilities. It just got hard sometimes.

“It’s okay, although you should have communicated your complaints to me instead of accepting the responsibility and neglecting it.”

He nodded.

“So, compile a list of people you think can work well on the team and forward it to me this evening, unfailingly. We need to get our groove on, omo iya mi.” Aunty B did a little dance and made a silly face, eliciting laughter from him.

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