WILD WEST OF THE HEART

F I V E

Ola hadn't said much to his father, ever since their fallout about Jazzlyn. Neither had he seen him much. He avoided him whenever he got back, by eating in his room and coming only after to wash the dishes. He was cool with his mother though.

Who just simply wanted to talk about anything but that, like how his days went at school, and how he was fitting in. How he did in his first tests.

And Obi.

Conversations revolving back and forth around school and friends was what kept them. His dad never asked those, so they hadn't said to each other and it soon begun to worry Mary.

Especially these days, that Akin was down with an illness. Olamide wouldn't know, not that he was any interested. But Akin had spent the last two days at home, in the care of his wife. Malaria was no difficult to diagnose, with the fever and the aches.

So he was an tablets for the next three days, where Mary advised he just stared home, while she took care of him. "You're getting better" She said, holding up a wet flannel to his forehead. And he let out a soft groan, moving under the sheets.

"I have rice for you now because you can't take any more vegetables" Mary whispered as she looked to the clock. "Ola would be back soon" She added and she got up the bed. Akin scoffed at the mention of that name, knowing she only said intentionally.

"You should speak to him" She said, dipping the clothing in the bowl of water. "What?" Akin replied and she rolled her eyes. "You're his father. He's only a child. He doesn't know what he says" Mary had a frail point and her husband just turned away.

"He sounded like he did. Telling me i changed" He could remember the argument word for word. And it just made Mary to smile, his pettiness. It was what she fell in love with. And the little pout when he was angry that she was right. She stood, getting the bowl in her hands. "I'll get your food" She said.

And Akin watched her walk away, knowing deep down he was nothing without this woman. And he couldn't lose her. He knew he couldn't lose her.

So he lied, and pretended to be under the weather, anything but tell her what was really going on. The door closed on that thought, and so did his eyes.

-

The winds rustled in her frizzled hair, Fiyin, as she walked on rocks with an empty bottle in her hands.

"So-" Ola said, watching her from below. She'd taken him to the back of the school where there were rocks and a puddle of shallow waters. Fiyin turned to him, both her hands in the air for balance.

"So how about Obi?" He needed to ask, and she just let out a sigh from her lips. "What happened to Obi?" She asked, with pretended naivety which caused Ola to roll his eyes. "I haven't seen you talk with him since i got here" He replied.

And she hopped down from the rocks. "Obi" She echoed. "We grew. Nothing much or hard feelings though. It was one summer we spent apart, not talking and there was just alot to catch up on. So we just fashied it" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Let it go" She rephrased that one word, once she remembered he might not know any Nigerian slang.

"One summer?"

"Yes, one summer break. But we have nothing against each other" She said, purely. "So why didn't you just make up for lost time-" She stretched her finger to halt him. "It's my turn to ask a question now" She said, and he'd forgotten it was a game that even started this conversation in the first place.

"What are you doing here?" She plainly asked and he let out a scoff chuckle. "Here? As in here" Ola whispered. "Nigeria, this school, and here" Fiyin said. "What are you doing back here when everyone wants to flee this place?" She scoffed.