Ex Gratia (#1 EX TRILOGY)

Chapter 9

Akoma returned with the bottle of water and tossed it at Nii, who caught it and intentionally gulped it down speedily. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and sighed. Akoma returned to her seat to continue with her fried chicken. As she opened the pendrive to check the movie folders on it, she glanced at the clock on her laptop and crosschecked on the clock hanging on the wall.
“Almost six,” Akoma muttered and started to copy the files one after the other. “I guess he’s on his way now.” She opened her chat with Rich on her phone and typed ‘Are you almost here? Where are you’, but she thought about it and felt Rich would think she was into him too early, so she quickly deleted the text and stared at the screen in silence. Rich was online at that time. If he had seen her too, perhaps they could begin a chat. She quickly typed ‘hi’ and waited. The message ticked as read and Rich started to type.

“So his name is Rich, huh?”

Akoma got startled by Nii’s voice behind her neck and smacked him on the knee. “What is that?”

“Why doesn’t he use a picture of himself up there? You haven’t seen his face before, have you?” Nii started to stroke his thick beard gently.

Akoma pursed her lips and tossed a chunk of chicken into her mouth. “There you go again, speaking as if you have some info about my conversations with Rich.”

Nii smiled. “I already told you that I don’t know him, remember?”

“Then please cut it, because I find that tone of yours sickening. It’s inquisitive, and it sounds suspicious. Maybe you guys know each other.”

Nii chuckled. “There. Look at that.” He rose to his feet with the bottle of water in his hand and walked slowly towards the windows. “You don’t even believe him. Do you like him? Are you fond of –“

“Nii!”

“What?”

“That’s enough!” Akoma was also on her feet and the paper bucket was crushed in her left fist. “You came her to give me movies. I think that’s all I need. I don’t like it when people examine my friendships."

Nii grinned. “Rich is your friend? I don’t even know what in the world you deserve from that guy.” He averted his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. “I can’t wait to learn about how the first date went. Of all the places in the world – Akoma chooses to invite him over to her place – at 7pm. If anything bad happens, just holler.” He flexed his biceps and kissed it. “I’ll be there. You know me. I am always ‘there’. What would you call me? The Zoned Man?” Nii was beginning to sound bitter.

Akoma frowned at him and asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Nii finished the rest of the water in the bottle and tossed it into the couch next to him. He rolled his eyes and turned his back to face Akoma while watching a painting of a farm boy hanging on the wall. “I am the next door neighbour,” he said in a low growl. “I am the one who’s always on the lookout – prompting you about your electricity meter units running low, your lights left on or informing you about blackouts. I am the one who brings you movies and buys you fried chicken on any two Fridays each month. I am the one who tries to cover for you whenever the landlord comes over to pester you with rent. I am the one who occasionally gets you very high quality pictures of yourself and sometimes some of your works at people’s weddings – “. He snorted and continued, “- most times for free too.” He turned around and Akoma saw an angry look on his face she had never seen before. “Tell me, Akoma. Why is it so easy to spot a gentleman you have not met before instead of me?”

There was dead silence except for the ticking of the clock on the wall for almost a minute.

Akoma just gaped at Nii from her seat with a piece of chicken halfway into her mouth. Nii shook his head and turned his back at her again. Akoma thought about his words for a moment and wondered how in the world she had survived allowing him to keep whining onto the end.

“And you called yourself – what?” Akoma asked slowly.

“The Zoned Man,” Nii replied dryly.

There was more silence, and then suddenly, Akoma burst into hysterical laughter that sent her rolling on the floor and beating her chest. Nii did not move. He just stood there in silence. Akoma managed to control herself and crawled back to the sofa. “The what? Aah Nii.  You are really dramatic. I thought you were not being serious.”

“I am,” Nii growled.

Akoma coughed and cleared her throat, fanning herself with her hand while shaking with laughter. “Oh OK. Why is that?”

Nii turned around and narrowed her eyes. “You still don’t see it right in your face?” Akoma shrugged, and then she pulled a funny face before bursting into laughter again. Nii found it irritating but kept his cool. “That’s all you can do? Laugh? You disappoint me.”

“Sorry about that,” Akoma said and coughed again. “Please – stop it, OK? My tummy. It’s all right. You think I have zoned who? You? You’re my neighbour and friend. What else do I expect you to be?”

Nii took a few steps closer to Akoma with an unusual look Akoma had never seen before in his eyes, and it made her quit the laughter and sober up quickly. He slowly sat close to Akoma and leaned over. Their faces were uncomfortably close, and Akoma was not sure whether to expect a slap or –

‘A kiss?’ she thought. ‘Ei Nii. What’s gotten into you?’

Her guess might have been right, because Nii leaned closer, and his hand slithered slowly for Akoma’s thigh.