DANIELLA✔

Chapter eighteen

Dedicated to Donaldprince and Todi_sassyweirdo15 for being amazing judges for the just concluded African award in the Teen fiction category. This is just the best way I can compensate you.

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Sour and dry throat, high temperature, high state of fatigue, pain at the back of the eyes, excruciating pain in the forehead and neck, clogged nose from thick mucus and difficulty in breathing. Anyone that has ever been caught with a fever before would definitely understand the condition I was in at the moment. But even in spite of that, aunty Caro and her husband still insisted that I do the usual Saturday chores, not minding my illness. They never cared about how I was doing. To them, I was just the village girl that helped with the house chores. Any other thing about me had nothing to do with them. I can't even remember the last time they asked me how I was faring in school.

This was the irony of my city life.

Once done with the chores, which I did quickly and tiredly, I had Eba and Okro soup for breakfast. No sooner had I finished eating than uncle Henry called me to his room.

"Sir?" I said the instant I got inside his room. He was sitting on the bed, while aunty Caro was lying down in a way that her head was resting on uncle Henry's thighs.

I sniffed and coughed.

"So why are you coughing in my room? You want to infect me with your cough or what?" Uncle Henry said and aunty Caro snorted.

I rolled my eyes in a way that wasn't so obvious that I did. It had been four days since uncle Henry's attempt to sleep with me and ever since that day, he had been acting prickly towards me. Everything that I did seemed to irritate him.

"Anyways, bring my wallet from that table." Uncle Henry gestured to a small table which was just beside his bed. I sniffed as I walked towards it to get his wallet. I picked up the wallet and handed it to him.

From the wallet, he took out one thousand naira note and handed it to me. "Take this. I'm expecting some visitors, so I want you to make Jollof rice. You know the ingredients to buy. I don't have to tell you."

After he said that, I took the money from him and shuffled my way out sluggishly.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you dragging your feet on the floor? Better be quick about what I sent you!" Uncle Henry said, irately. "And don't let me remind you of my change, unless—"

I stopped and turned to face him. "Um sir, can I use the change to buy drugs, maybe Procold? I'm having cough and catarrh." I said and sniffed.

Aunty Caro sat up straight to look at me. "You have what?"

"Cough and catarrh." I replied hesitantly.

"Ehhe, when I would warn you guys against putting water in the freezer, you'd not listen to me and now see, you have cough and catarrh. Anyways, what's my own business?" She shrugged her shoulders. "At least this would teach you a lesson never to put water in the freezer." Aunty Caro said, after which she returned to her lying position.

"I'm not the one that puts water in the freezer o." I muttered, walking out of their room.

"Err... Where are you going?" Uncle Henry voice made me stop.

"I'm going to buy what you sent me." I wanted to give him a duh look, but I knew better than that.

"Don't you want the Procold again?"