“Tomini, give the phone to your mummy, I’ve been calling her, she’s not picking. The photographer is coming by 11,” Aunty Bamike said when Tomini picked her call.

The maternity photo shoot was scheduled for that day, and she knew her mum was still in bed. It was only 8 am anyways, why was Aunty Bamike fussing? There was enough time for them to get ready.

“I think she’s still sleeping. She hasn’t come downstairs this morning. I just came down not quite long ago sef. Everybody is sleeping.”

“Well, wake her up! We don’t have so much time. I’m coming with the makeup artist soon, latest by 9.”

Tomini was surprised. Wasn’t getting a makeup artist too much? She now understood her mother’s reluctance to do the shoot. Aunty Bamike could be a bit too much. “Aunty Bamike, which makeup artist again? I thought you were going to do it yourself.”

“We need a makeup artist, okay? This is a huge deal. Everything has to be perfect.” Tomini laughed and shook her head.

“Get yourself ready also. I’m coming soon,” she continued.

“Aiit Jesus,” Tomini chuckled.

“What?” She could hear the confusion in Aunty Bamike’s voice.

“You said you’re coming soon now,” Tomini laughed. Her aunty didn’t find it funny though.

“Be cracking dry jokes, don’t go and get ready.” Her aunty hissed before cutting the call. Tomini burst into laughter.

Tomini did her chores before taking a bath and putting a T-shirt and shorts on. True to her words, Aunty Bamike came when it was almost nine.

“Wow, Aunty Bam Bam,” Tomini teased. “You’re really serious with this shoot. Anyways it’s good.”

“How are you? Where’s your mum?”

“Should be in the kitchen cooking for her husband.”

“Oh, daddy is around? Where’s he?”
Aunty Bamike asked placing the bags she was carrying on a couch.

“Not sure,” Tomini shrugged. “Maybe his study or upstairs. What of the makeup artist?”

“Change of plans,” her Aunty answered walking to the kitchen. “She’ll meet me here.”

It was fun watching her mum’s makeover. Her aunty had gone all the way with the flowing off-shoulder white dress that had a slit at the front. How had she known it would fit her mum so perfectly? Tomini knew her mum was pretty but the makeup made her even more beautiful. She wore a flower crown on her straightened hair and a necklace sat gracefully on her neck. Aunty Bamike had tried to convince her to wear the wig she had brought but she refused vehemently. She did not want any load on her head; she was very tired but went through with the shoot just to please them.

Her mum was grumpy. At some point, she was ready to pull the flower crown off her head. Aunty Bamike warned her against it, wriggling her right index finger at her older sister as if talking to a naughty child.

“Sister mi, don’t try any nonsense.”

Tomini laughed so hard. Everyone laughed also, except Aunty Bamike who took the photo shoot like it was her baby.

After that episode, her mum cooperated, even striking different poses contrary to her previous nonchalance. They were done by 1pm.

***
They got the pictures after a week; three were framed in different sizes. Tomini took the smallest for herself, placing it on her bedside stool. In the picture, her mum was smiling down at her belly, both hands placed on it. She loved it. She found herself wondering about her unborn sister. She hoped she looked like her and had a lot of hair so she could style it for her in different ways. She would use her as her makeup muse but that would take a while, a long while, maybe when she clocked ten. Ten years seemed so far away, she wondered what her life would have become by then.

She heard the doorbell ring and ran to get it. It must be Mr. Chuks, she thought. She welcomed him and dashed off to get her chemistry and biology textbooks and past questions.

“So are you ready for your exam next week?” Mr. Chuks asked after they settled down at the dining table.

Tomini smiled widely. She was pretty confident. She nodded her head saying, “Yes, sir,”

“Good. So let’s see, what year haven’t we solved in chemistry?” He loosened his blue tie.

“Err,” she said opening her UTME chemistry past question. “1998, 1997, 1996,”

“What of biology?”

She checked and called out the undone past questions. He decided they revised topics she had difficulties in since they had already answered most of the past questions.

On Thursday the following week, she sat for her UTME in a yabatech. The questions were easier than she had expected, except math, although she was able to solve some of its questions. She finished before the time allocated elapsed but went through her work before ending the exam. The exam was in the afternoon so she and her mum, who had followed her and waited till her exam was done, got home late in the evening at past seven pm.
She had a long cold shower before cooking noodles and fried eggs for herself. Her dad came home soon after. She greeted and he nodded at her, asking how she was.

“I’m fine, sir.”

“Good, how was your exam? Hope you wrote it well. I won’t be paying for another jamb form for you next year.”

“It was fine.”

“When are the results supposed to be out?”

“I’m not sure, I think three days.”

“Okay, we’ll see. Where’s your mummy?”

“In the kitchen,” she took a forkful of noodles and chewed slowly. She doubted she would score up to 250 but she was sure she’d pass. She turned to look at her father’s back as he ascended the stairs. Why was he always cold? No smile, no words of encouragement.

***

The day after, she got dressed in her school uniform, even though it was Friday and students wore their sport wears on Fridays. She wanted to study in school; at home, there were a lot of distractions. After a quick bowl of cornflakes she left for school. Not bothering to attend assembly, she went straight to the Library and settled down at a corner. She fondled with her phone for some minutes before bringing out her data processing notes; she had glued all her notes from SS1.

After her data processing exam on Tuesday, she checked her UTME result. 246. She was happy at first but her dad’s words rushed back into her mind. Her eyes misted with tears. It was so close to 250 but it was not 250. What would he do?

When it was time for dinner, her mum asked her to serve her dad in his study. She struggled to hold the tray firmly as her hands shook slightly. Her heart was racing. She was anxious. Maybe she should tell him her score later, she thought. But who was she kidding? He had asked every day since the exam if the results were out.

She managed to turn the doorknob with her right elbow and push it open with the side of her body. She greeted and gently placed the tray on his table. She watched as he removed the napkin that covered his food and cutlery.

“How are you, Tomini?”

“I’m fine, daddy.”

“Have you seen your result?” She swallowed hard. She hesitated a second before nodding.

“What did you score?” he asked her, pushing his chair forward.

“246”

“246 huh? What did I say about your jamb? What did I tell you? That is an average result; many people must have scored that or something in that range. I know for a fact that someone scored 300 or 280 or 290. I got you lesson teachers, spent my hard earned money on that again,” He uncovered his plate of food and dug in.

“If you didn’t have extra lessons what then would you have scored?”

Her eyes misted with tears, there was a choking feeling in her throat.

“I’m talking to you,” he said, raising his head to look at her. He was staring into her eyes, looking directly at her, it scared her. She shifted on her legs and tried to speak but her voice was too groggy. She cleared her throat.

“I don’t know, daddy. I did my best.”

He laughed sarcastically and uncapped the bottled water on his tray. He took a long gulp before asking her to submit her phone to him. He banned her from watching TV. If Tomini wasn’t in such a bad mood she would have found that funny. He was rarely at home so how was he going to monitor her? She could still watch TV in his absence. What hurt her now was the phone. He was seizing it…again.

“I will not subscribe for DSTV till your exams are done. The one in my bedroom will be subscribed for but of course you won’t have access to it.”

He asked her to get her phone immediately and bring it to him. She did so hurriedly and ran to her room. She lay on her bed and cried loudly. When her tears subsided, she went into her bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and burst into tears again. She should have worked harder, studied more, practiced more past questions. She controlled herself and washed her face. She decided to take a shower, after which she lay face down in bed. She heard her mum walk into her room and felt the gentle tap on her back. She heard when she called her name but she did not answer. She did not want to eat. She wanted to be left alone.

***

“What was your jamb score?” Zainab asked Michael. The class was scanty, only a few people had come to school. It was a Friday.

“278” he answered casually. “I was even surprised that I scored that high. I didn’t prepare very well.”

Great! Here was someone who hadn’t prepared well but scored so high while she had had so many extra coaching, late nights and early mornings yet couldn’t meet up to her father’s expectations. Was there something wrong with her brain? She kept a straight face as they conversed, her mind far away.

“Tomini, did you even hear me?” Zainab’s voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

“Ehn? Sorry I didn’t, what did you say?”

“I said I’m going to buy snacks downstairs. Do you want anything?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

Zainab strutted out of class and Michael turned to Tomini immediately, as if he had been waiting for Zainab to leave.

“Are you okay, Tomini?”

She nodded and forced a small smile.

“Are you sure? You’ve barely said anything today. What’s wrong?” She shook her head slowly, looking anywhere but at him.

“Okay, so you don’t want to tell me what’s wrong? No problem but I thought we were friends.”

She laughed a little. “We are friends, of course. Michael,” she shook her head.

“I don’t think so. If not you will tell me what’s bothering you.”

“This sounds like emotional blackmail. Are you trying to manipulate me into telling you what’s wrong with me?”

“So indeed, there’s something wrong.”

“Just same old stuff, you know, with my dad. He’s not impressed with my jamb score so he has seized my phone again, no TV for me. It shouldn’t even be this painful because I’m supposed to be used to him, to this but still…”

“What was your score?”

“246”

“But that’s good! That’s a very good score, my God, why isn’t he satisfied?”
She shrugged, clasping her hands together. “He said some people scored 280, 290, 300 but I’m scoring 246 even though I had extra coaching. He literally called me dumb.”

“You know you’re not dumb, Tomini. You are very brilliant. You know what Tomini? Push it aside, everything he said; just push it aside, okay? Don’t think about it. And focus on your remaining papers. You’ll be fine.”

“I should not think about it,“ She repeated his words. “What did your parents think about your result?”

He smiled.

“My mum was very happy, took me out to eat Chinese.”

“What about your dad?”

“I have not told him. He lives away from us.”

“Oh,” Tomini said, surprised.

“Yeah, my big sis bought me this cool pair of sneakers and my brother promised to get me something soon. I swear they are the best.”

Tomini smiled. Soon, she would know what it felt like to have a sibling. She saw Zainab walk in but she stopped at someone’s seat and started conversing.

“How many siblings do you have?”

“It’s complicated,” he laughed.

“How so?” she asked curiously.

“My mum had three of us but my dad has baby mamas and I’m not exactly sure how many half siblings I have. I know of two other ones by the first mistress but I don’t know anything about the second woman. Mummy stopped talking about them a long time ago, I think she just accepted her fate and decided to endure it all without complains. The last straw that caused my mum to move out of the house was the latest baby mama. So, I have another sibling on the way. My father might even be worse than 2face.” He laughed and Tomini did not understand how he could laugh about this.

“You seem to be taking it so well.”

“I’m used to it, fam. It’s not something that just started so everyone knows how daddy rolls. We are not really surprised when new baby mamas spring up. He’s usually proud enough to tell us about them. The very first one lived with us till she put to bed. Then daddy got her a flat afterwards.”

“Wow! That’s crazy.”

“I don’t care, as far as he’s paying my school fees. He does not neglect our needs so I really don’t care what he does with his life, as far as it doesn’t affect me.”

She did not understand how he could be so cool about this. He spoke about it so easily, like it was no big deal. Her father had no mistresses or anything of such yet she felt so much anger towards him.

***
“You still want to go for lunch? After eating two meat pies,” Tomini asked Zainab.

“Yes now, didn’t I pay for it? Let’s go jare. It’s not like their food is so nice, I only want to help them so it won’t waste.”

Michael laughed and she shook her head at her friend, following her to the cafeteria. They saw a teacher on their way and greeted him.

“How are you?” he asked smiling at them broadly. They answered.

“Hope you people are not going to the cafeteria. You can’t be eating our food. You’re no longer students.”

They laughed.

“But we paid for it now. Our school fee has not expired,” Zainab retorted jokingly.

The man smiled and advised them to read well for their exams before leaving.

The rice was too soft; its grains clung to one another. The beef was very small in size but it was the only good thing about the meal. She ate a few spoons of rice before throwing the small meat into her mouth.