The Convention (Ab)Use

Back at The Brie

Wes woke up. He checked the time on his phone. It was almost noon. He noticed he had received a text message. It was from Rajeev, and it read "Hey Wes, how are you and I hope you got home safely." In his usual way, Wes didn't reply immediately after he read the message. He could hear the sound of running water coming from the kitchen. He guessed that Tess was cooking. He got up from the bed and immediately felt a pain in his neck. He tried to turn his head to the right. He felt so much pain that he slumped down to a stool. He placed both hands on the wall to maintain his balance. He was shocked at the pain. He tried turning to the left. He felt the same pain but this time, he expected it. After recomposing himself, he stood up, and walked to his bathroom sink. He splashed some water on his face. He felt sharp pains around his eyes. It was then he remembered the cuts around his left eye. He looked in the mirror but could barely see them. The cuts were very small. He had to stretch his facial muscles to see them properly. He was pleased that they weren't more obvious. He didn't want Tess to get worried, and he definitely wasn't going to mention anything about the accident.

"Morning," said Wes to Tess as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, morning, more like afternoon though," said Tess as she chopped some onions. She didn't look closely at Wes because of what she was doing. Wes was pleased that she was occupied. He knew she would have looked at him more closely if she wasn't busy.

"How was your meeting?"

"It was okay"

"Is that all, just okay eh"

"Well, it was an interesting evening. One I will most likely remember for a long long time."

"Oh, good!" said Tess. She clearly had no idea why Wes made that statement. She was still chopping the onions and didn't look at his expressions. Wes was pleased with the way things were turning out. He began to walk out of the kitchen.

"Come on, stay here eh. Give me some help with the food. After all, you're the one who eats mung beans like a child."

"I am a growing child," replied Wes in an unserious tone.

"You still look like a broomstick despite all you eat." She pointed her fingers at him as she said this.

"That can be easily explained, I'm very active."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me I'm a couch potato. Help me get the ground pepper."

Wes passed the jar of pepper to her. He spent a few more minutes in the kitchen with Tess before he went back to his room.

Wes spent most of the Saturday resting. He did not go anywhere that day. He thought about Tess' dream. It seemed like Tess' warnings were now finally getting to him. He had hardly driven a car since his return to Sarpari. Now, he was even more unlikely to drive after the Halloween night accident. He thought all motorists in Sarpari were a little crazy. Heck, he even thought Tess was a little crazy too. She knew little about commercial buses and transport. She always drove herself.

The next day, Sunday, Wes was still in pain. It seemed to him that the pains were worsening as the hours went by. He was however in better spirits. He laid in bed most of the day and read a book. He kept replaying the events of the Halloween night through his mind as he went through each page. He could barely concentrate on the book he was reading. The image of Edward's battered car was still vivid to him. He wondered how much worse it could have been. He laughed at himself whenever he did. He remembered writing the statement at the police station. He had never written one before that night. He wanted to have an unforgettable Halloween. Now he did indeed think it was unforgettable. He remembered his trilby, the one Ahmed snatched off him. He put down his book and picked up his phone. He sent a message to Ahmed, dropped his phone back on his bed then got up. He was now tired of being on the bed and wanted to move around a little.

**********************

Ahmed took his phone from his pocket. He noticed he had one unread message. It read, "You still have my hat. Wasn't it an unforgettable Halloween? Get ready for part two." It was a message from Wes. He laughed when he saw the message. He wondered how Wes was doing so he tried to give him a call. There was no answer. Ahmed, who had gone to see a friend earlier was on his way home. He lived in an estate which was a few minutes drive from The Brie. There were at least 5 housing developments in the area where they lived. He usually had to pass the road leading to The Brie on his way home. He had however never been inside The Brie. He was with Neha when she dropped him off on the Halloween night. Also, The Brie billboard was visible from the road he usually passed.

He got to the bus bus stop. He decided to keep trying Wes' number as he got on a bus. He paid his bus fare and sat close to the window, just behind the driver. A slim woman and a little girl sat beside him. The bus filled quickly and drove off. Wes called back after the bus had moved.

"I'm coming to The Brie," said Ahmed. "You know I don't know your house."

"Just give me a call when you get to the security barrier," said Wes.

"Okay, I have your hat, in fact, I'm still wearing it. I think it prefers staying with me." Ahmed laughed and terminated the phone call.

The road was not very good, so the driver did not drive speedily. A car overtook the bus. A man in the overtaking car turned back and looked at the bus. Ahmed thought nothing of this. Another car overtook the bus. The children in the car looked at the bus. As the bus drove past a group of road side hawkers, Ahmed wondered why they looked at the bus strangely. He tried to distract himself by reading a news article on his phone. He felt the bus move closer to the ground.

"Maa," said the little girl with the lady beside him.

"Driver stop stop" shouted the woman with the girl. "What kind of buses am I entering today?"

The bus stopped. Ahmed looked through the window. He saw a tyre bounce off the road and hit a pile of bricks. It dawned on him that the bus tyre had come off. It was the front tyre, the one on the side where he was sat. The passengers began to get off the bus.

The woman and the little girl got out of the bus. Ahmed quietly came down. He shook his head and walked a few metres away from the bus. The woman and the little girl did the same. A taxi stopped beside Ahmed. Ahmed got into the taxi and was pleased to leave the scene. He made his way to the Brie. The taxi dropped him off at the security barrier. He was surprised to see Wes already standing there.

"Finally, you show up," said Wes.

"Phew, you have no idea," said Ahmed.

"No idea about what?"

"The dramatic things that happened on the way here..."

"Nothing can top the drama of the thirty-first." Wes laughed as he said this.

They began walking towards Wes' house. It was barely five minutes from the security barrier.

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure," said Ahmed. "Anyway, how are you doing?"

"Okay, but my neck hurts a bit."

"You should get it checked."

"Nah, I just need some rest. So tell me, what happened on the way here?" Just then they heard a car horn behind them. Tess waved as she drove past them towards the house. Wes waved back.

"Is that your friend?" asked Ahmed.

"Friend? That's my sister, my twiiiin sister."

"Oh wow," I didn't know you were a twin.

"Yeah, I know that, and you shouldn't have known. It's not exactly written on my face."

Ahmed chuckled as they carried on walking.

*Finally wrote this chapter. It's probably the most difficult one I have written so far. So many scattered ideas in my head. Well, at least it's out the way. Watch out for some twists I have planned with this story. Thanks for reading!!Ciao*