Facade (Romola 1)

68: Olajide, the Narrator

Romola's mood worsened as Olajide walked to their mother's side and put his hand around her shoulder, counselling her while shooting Romola death glares. His father pushed through the crowds and joined their mother at her side. She knew that as long as the father and son duo, who rarely agreed on anything, worked together there was no hope for her.

"What is happening here?" His father barked in a coarse voice. She knew the man was drunk by the way he barely stood upright, swaying left and right even though he was holding his wife's shoulders.

"Your wife called Romola a prostitute." One of the younger women in the crowd said.

Baba Jide grunted. His eyes skimmed over Romola's body before her turned to his wife. "Where did you find her?"

"She was at Ikoyi."

"And how much did she make?"

"See her there. Ask her for yourself."

"You people have not answered my question. How una take know say she be ashewo?" Mr. Ibrahim pressed.

Iya Nelson eyed him like he was a snort under her feet demanding to be let back into her nose. "They will settle it in their house."

Her mother shook. "She will not live here anymore."

"Let me tell you people what happened." Jide pulled up the sleeves of his black sweat shirt. He took a few steps towards her and his dirty Jean trousers slipped off his waist to reveal dark blue boxers. His marlin braids bounced against the sides of his head as his black skin shone under the sun like he'd bene coated in shea butter.

"Shey you people are seeing this girl. This fine girl." He held her chin but she snarled at him. "I'm just trying to epp you, Sis Eko. Ehen, so this girl will come to the house with plenti money and she will be buying this and that. If I ask her for small money, she will say I should go and work for my own because she works for hers but if Maami asks her where she got the money from, she will say that its one of her friend, abi, it's Yetunde or Yemisi that used to dash her."

"Talk fast. The sun is burning." One small girl interjected.

"This story is too sweet to rush. That's how throughout last week , Romola dinnor call. She dinnor come home. She dinnor pick Mamai's call. Every time switch off, switch off. Maami thought that Romola was busy in school. Meanwhile, the girl was in the man's house enjoying herself. I am sure that's where they found her." Olajide snapped his fingers.

"That's how Maami was having headache on top this useless girl. We went to school to check. They said she dinnor use to stay in the hostel. That she sold the bed. Maami dinnor know where to check for Romola again oh. The phone was still switched off until that Romola friend came and told us what happened."

"That's not the truth."

"Gbenu Soun." Jide yelled, pushing Romola down amongst her belongings. "It is me that is telling the story. That Romola friend ehn. She's one fine set babe like this. I don't even know how she and Romola are friends. But it makes sense because Romola lied to her friend too. Romola lied to maami and her friend, telling her friend that she lives in Ikeja and that she's maami only chaid and that maami was an accountant. She was even owing the girl like 50k which maami had to use her savings to pay." Jide kept explaining, adding more details to the story of her campus life.

Romola's jaw dropped at the image Yetunde had painted of her. Yetunde had took her half-truths and embellished them with parts of her own lives. The story had morphed into something else. Most of the incidents were things that had happened to Yetunde.

Jide reached the end of his tale. "This Romola has now graduate from sleeping up and down to taking drugs. Is not the kind of drugs that we use here to hold body oh. Hard expensive drug. She na posion that her friend but she mistakenly ate the food. The she pretended to be sick so she could steal that her friend's man. Me I don't know what the mumu boyfriend saw in this bonga fish. This Romola ehn. She lie pass Satan. I fit swear say na she teach Satan to lie. In fact-"

"Ehn Jide it's okay. It's okay."

"But the story has not finished."

"I said it's okay." Mr Ibrahim turned to Romola's mother. "So, someone came to tell you all these things about your daughter and you believed. How do you know the person is not lying. They said Romola poisoned the food and ate it. Did she not know that she poisoned the food? Also, when did people start falling in love with sick people?"

Romola's mother flew to her feet. Mr. Ibrahim stepped back. "I did not want to believe it but if na you follow me go see wetin I see. The way she been hold the man ehn, you for don break her head. The man no even want make I take am. I for just leave am there."

*If it were you that followed me to see what I saw, you would have been surprised. The man didn't want me to have her. I should have just left her there.*

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

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