Rugged To The Core

Chapter 77

Hey, so RTTC got a review and I can't shut up about it. A reader wrote a beautiful review on her blog, the link to it is on my profile. This chapter is dedicated to the author of the amazing review SosoThinks ❤

Lucky

     The week was a blur, Maria Grace Academy tried to deal with the death of their beloved own Mr Yusuf Ali. My class in particular was trying to adjust to the news of having a new form master in the name of Mr Pitt Dickson, the eery man. Soon, it was Friday. My girls and I were supposed to hang out at my place but upon my return from school, my mum had asked me to go to the market and cook. Naomi who had returned home with me had changed into my clothes and had accompanied me all the way to the market and back.

"Nothing's spoiling our hangout." She had said. "There's something you've been keeping from me, I can tell. There's just something different about you."

     At the moment, we were both in the kitchen cooking. I was putting some spices into the meats I was going to steam and she was helping me gut the fishes.

"You know you didn't have to help me out..." I said aloud, crushing the cube of Maggi into the pot. "I have Bukky."

"I wanted to." She replied, rolling her eyes. "Now shut up and put the meat on the cooker."

I chuckled. "Is Linda still coming?"

"You betcha..." Naomi replied. "Especially now she knows they'd be Egusi soup."

I giggled as I dumped the pot on the cooker.

~*~*~*~

     About an hour later, Linda had joined us and we had finished making both the stew and soup. We were now eating Eba and the Egusi soup we had made. We were sat in a circle on the floor with our respective plates.

"How's the soup?" I asked, with my head hung low, blowing on the Eba in my hand. "Too pepperish?"

"Well... " Linda gulped down her food then reached for her glass of water. "It depends. I personally like excessive pepper so it's just perfect for me."

Naomi gave me a more unbiased answer. "It's okay but yeah you kind of overdid it with the pepper."

I moaned. "Oh God, my dad will fuss about this. He hates pepper and he'd say I want to poison him with pepper."

"Ahh... that's absurd." Naomi said, sneering.

"Well you don't know my father... " I chuckled humourlessly as I began to wash my hands.

"Lucky....?" Naomi was now wearing a solemn expression. "Your father is abusive, isn't he?"

Where did that come from?

Linda froze and turned to stare at her cousin. Suddenly the aura had changed.

"My father is just like any Nigerian father." I responded, picking at the hem of my skirt.

"I never asked because I thought it wasn't in my place. But it's always bothered me seeing bruises, bandages and injuries on your body." She responded.

I lowered my gaze, blinking as I thought of ways to swerve the conversation.

"Look, Naomi... " Linda decided to come to my aid. "Her father is a bit strict but just try not to dwell on it too much, it's sensitive-"