The Perfect-ish Brother

~12~

Kaycee

The silence at the dining table is disturbing. Expected, but disturbing nonetheless. We're having Yam and Egusi and ordinarily my sisters and I would be complaining to Mom about how we'd rather have anything else, but at this point no one really cares.

Especially since my the issue of my suspension hasn't been addressed yet. It hangs in the air like a taboo topic; everyone taking special care to avoid it. Jessie shoots concerned looks at me from time to time and I can't help but recoil under her gaze.

Mom eats in silence avoiding eye contact by all means and I can tell she's more than upset about the suspension. An hour or so before dinner-after I got home, She made me tell Dad about the Suspension. He wasn't pleased at all, but he kept his cool and told me we'd talk when he comes to Nigeria.

Mom however started to give me the silent treatment because I couldn't bring myself to tell her the actual details. I told her it was simply a misunderstanding between Somto and I, of course she didn't buy it. She's convinced I'm hiding something from her.

Which she couldn't be more right about.

I look up to see her poking her Yam casually, the warm yet radiant lighting does little to illuminate her features. She has this look on her face which I almost can't decipher if not for the fact that I recognize it's resemblance to the look the guys at school gave me when I told them about my suspension. Or the look Dad had for a moment before he hung up. Or the look Iris is giving me now.

The look of disappointment.

Chelsea is beside me, so she nudges my arm slightly and leans in, "Hey don't worry, She'll get over it". I nod solemnly and continue to eat. Chelsea is being the most supportive out of all my sisters right now, I have a feeling it has to do with the fact she was once suspended when she was in secondary school.

The sound of Mom's chair scraping the tiles grabs my attention, she picks up her plate in a swift motion sparing me a glance as she does so. She then moves towards the water dispenser beside the fridge to get water. The calm is torture.

"Mom-" I start but Iris' irritated voice cuts me off.

"Leave Mom alone, can't you see she's tired?" Her lips curve in an accusing frown.

"Who asked you?" Chelsea snaps.

"I'm just saying" She raises her hand in mock surrender before facing her half eaten meal.

Mom warily glances at Chelsea and Iris before bringing her cup of water to her lips, gulping the remaining contents, "Goodnight" She mutters almost incoherently and heads to her room.

Ivy is the only one that responds, her soft tone sounding almost like a whimper. "Mom is upset" Her doe eyes dance with mirth . I know she's just thinking out loud, but I can't shake the feeling of guilt that immediately clouds me.

"She's more than upset, and its all Kaycee's fault" Iris adds salt to the wounds.

"What's wrong with you?!" Chelsea slams her fist on the table furiously causing the glassware to vibrate noisily due to the impact, "Why are you being such a sadist?!"

"Don't call me that" Iris warns.

"Isn't it the truth? all you do is go around causing problems where there aren't any and reveling in them. Why are you like this?"

"Chelsea" Jessie groans pleadingly, massaging her forehead.

"No Jessica this thing is getting out of hand! What does she gain by being a narcissist?!"

"Stop!" Iris rises from her seat, fists clenched and jaw ticking. She tries to hide it but I can clearly see the tears waiting to be shed at the rim of her eyes, she blinks them back vehemently.

"Iris I-" Chelsea stares at Iris in alarm, concern laced in her expression.

"No! Just stay away" Her usually firm voice falters as she pushes her seat away and runs out the dining with Ivy hot on her tail.

The usual foreboding silence returns but only for a moment before Chelsea bangs the table again.

Poor table.

She exhales heavily, running her hands through her jet black passion twists; aimlessly gathering the frizzy twists that lay unruly around her head for comfort rather than necessity, "I didn't mean to hurt her"

"Hey, it's okay " Jessie states, getting up from her seat which is on the farthest end of the table to come over and put a hand on Chelsea's shoulder in reassurance. I use that moment to slip away without getting noticed, today has been a long day and I'm in dire need of a long nap.

As I lay on my bed, I think about Iris for a moment. I've never seen her so sentimental before and over such a trivial thing. Something is wrong and I wonder what it is.

I bring out my phone to surf the internet unnecessarily when I see a post on my class' group chat. They're talking about the suspension and it disgusts me that some of them are actually taking sides with Somto.

A message from Ebuka comes in, he wants to know if I'm okay. I send him a thumbs up emoji and go offline, I need to rest. Hopefully, tomorrow would be better than today.

~~~~~

I wake up to my phone blaring loudly, I'm feeling drowsy so I turn my head the other way, but the ringing doesn't stop. I sit up on my bed, glaring at my phone which kept on ringing. I cast a sideways glance at my alarm clock, its 2:45 am.

Who could possibly be calling me at this time?

Grabbing my phone from beside the alarm, I squint at the screen due to the brightness. The ringing has stopped, but then it resumes again. The caller name is not there so its clearly a private number. At that exact moment, an ominous feeling washed over me.

The phone starts to ring again and my heart skips a beat, I contemplate declining the call and turning my phone off but I reckon it could just be one of the guys trying to play a prank on me-an expensive one clearly.

I pick the call and bring the phone to my ear, "Hello?"

For a moment I don't get any response until I hear someone sigh deeply and a song begins to play. I don't get it.

"Hello, who is this?"

The song in the background gets louder and louder until I recognize it. I let out a horrified gasp and my phone falls from my hand abruptly ending the call. My heartbeat increases and my palms feel sweaty.

Air...I need air.

I open my room windows and begin pacing around the room with my left hand running through my hair frantically, "No, I-It can't be"

"There's no way, they said he-"

My ranting is cut off by my phone vibrating with a notification, I find myself sprinting towards it to read the text, hoping it would be one of the guys saying 'Got you!' or 'It was all a prank and you fell for it', then I would laugh with relief and reply them with, 'Lol, that was a close one'.

But then, none of my friends would dare to joke around with something as sensitive as this. I clicked on the message and I knew immediately that I was not going to bed anytime soon.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

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