A Loner's Journey Through Lemonade Making

Chapter 7| The Ones With Good Lemons

I dreaded Mondays with every fiber of my being. They began school weeks, exams and most dreadful things. They were naturally hectic, the antithesis of Fridays.

However, this Monday, I was excited to get to school. I was getting an opportunity to improve my grades, build my reputation and move a step—climb, rather, the social ladder. I was determined to make it count.

I emptied the bowl of seasoned eggs into the pan and let it fry. When it was done, I took it off and showed it to Aunt Mariah who gave an assuring nod. I left for the dining table and dropped the eggs beside the dish containing sausages. Breakfast was set. All that was left was for Uncle Blessing to come down in his suit with his briefcase, complain about one or two things, eventually eat the food then scold Mr Pius for coming late. Then Aunty Oma would arrive from the estate gym and eat.

When I got to my room, I applied some body lotion before wearing my orange short sleeved shirt with a Peter Pan collar. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the girls wore their grey V-neck pinafore. The pinafore for junior girls on Thursdays and Fridays was with crossed back and pockets. Next, I wore my white socks and black flats. I took in my appearance in front of the mirror, noting that in a few months, I would start wearing the skirt. I would be a senior. Smiling at the thought, I reached for my container of Vaseline and applied some to my lips. I eventually threw the container into my bag and wore it hurriedly. I stopped by the wall clock to check the time. 7:25am.

Uncle Blessing called me and my eyes immediately darted to the dining table where he was seated, drinking tea. I groaned internally, knowing he would delay me.

"Good morning sir." I bent a little, my body involuntarily turning towards the door. All I wanted to do was run out. I was late!

"Morning." he dropped the cup and motioned for me to come closer. I did and he pointed at the eggs. "These eggs are too dry. And the pepper is not enough. What is this?" he pointed at a piece of yellow pepper, "this thing is spoilt. The sausages aren't fried properly either. The water isn't hot enough. Nothing is ri–" I cut out the rest of what he was saying.
Instead of him to be grateful that he had food to eat, he was busy whining and complaining. Like his wife could even boil water.

"Won't you say something?!" he yelled, hitting his hands on the table.

"I'm sorry sir." I looked forward instead of bending my head like I was guilty of his accusations.

"Sorry for yourself." he retorted. Typical. Such a dry man.

Aunty Mariah must have heard the noise because she came running out of the kitchen and towards the dining, wiping her hands with a napkin as she did so.

"What happened sir?" she asked shakily.

"You're just here for nothing! So useless! You're stealing from me. I pay you to cook and clean and you pay me back by giving me spoilt and rotten food to eat! What nonsense!"

Aunty Mariah had a look that said "this man is just saying rubbish". She dared not voice these thoughts out though.

"I'm sorry sir." she turned to me. "Aren't you late already? You should be on your way."

"Yes. I'm leaving sir."

"Have a nice day."

Sorry, me? Why was he being nice? Did he know I had dirt on him?

"You too sir." I waved at Aunty Mariah before dashing out of the house.

Outside, Mr Pius was just driving in. I greeted him and ran out.

My race began.
RPSS was quite strict with rules. Our principal's moods switched as fast as NEPA light when it was about to rain. The administrator was quite feared too and no-one wanted to incur her wrath. School was about fifteen minutes away from the house and assembly was to start by 7:40 sharp. Maybe if I hadn't insisted on helping Aunty Mariah in the kitchen after helping Aunty Imade clean the house, I would be at school already. The extra work had consumed my time and now I was running like a headless chicken.