A Drop In The Ocean

Part 3

It's 6:30am and the weather was very cold from yesterday's rain. Kamsi snuggled herself in to a blanket she shared with Ugochi, she opened her eyes when she heard a knock at the door of their room, she knows it's their mother since this is the time she mostly prepares for market, she is coming from their father's room where she sleeps most of the time. Whenever she sleeps in their room, Ugochi will go down on a sleeping bag sprayed on the floor while she sleeps up in the bed with her, Ifechi has one room all to himself and it is called 'boys room', and theirs 'girls room'. She sluggishly got up from the bed and went to the door.

"Onye? Who is there?", she asked to make sure that she wasn't mistaken as it might probably be Ifechi.

"Open this door!", commanded their mother and she does so.

"Good morning ma!", she greeted.

"Hmm mmm!", answered her mother as she went in and walked straight to the wardrobe to find what to wear before taking her bath.

Kamsi went back to the bed but this time kneeling down beside it to say her morning prayers, she made sure not to disturb her sister who was fast asleep. She prayed for some minute and then got up, went to her bag to take her sweater so as to cover herself from the cold and gets ready for the Saturday's cleanup, they always do their weekly cleaning that day and she dislikes the day as she has a lot of work to do, she is the one to do the cleaning of the house and washing of the pots and dishes alone while her sister does the cooking and washing of their mother's cloth. Ifechi washes their father's cloth, the bathroom and the car which he does every morning at least for the mean time till they get a new houseboy since the old one has been settled and no longer staying with them.
She went to the passage and took a broom and begins to sweep, starting from the corridor, sitting room, and then bedroom, when she got to the kitchen, she prefers to wash the dirty pots and dishes first before scrubbing the floor. Among all the chores, she doesn't like washing the back of the pot just because it always stains her hand and sometimes her cloth no matter how careful she was. She took them and heaped on the sink, she dipped the iron sponge on the detergent spread at a corner and lay it on the surface of the black pot and scrubbed it, her hand moving in a different motion, she could see the shiny metallic color as the black stains detaches mixing with the foamy water making it dark.

She stops for some time to listen as she heard her name, the voice becoming audible each seconds as her mother approaches the kitchen.

"Where is that girl?", she yelled.

"Maaa!", Kamsi answered wondering what she has done this time.

"Come here!", she ordered going in to the sitting room and Kamsi rinsed her hands and followed pronto. She kept her bag at the top of the center table and sat on the sofa, Ugochi came in holding her cleaned shoe and placed it in front of her and went and sat on the handle of the seat. Their mother looked at kamsi who was sitting at the short sofa.

"Stand there!", she commanded pointing towards the front of the table which she did.

"Who was that boy that was said to be toasting you yesterday?"

"Who said?", she asked looking at Ugochi already knowing the answer. 'who else but her!', she thought in anger. She is the only one who goes to same school with her and her brother is now in the university and just came back for holiday, 'so is her!' She concluded.

"Do you see the way she is looking at me as if I'm her mate", Ugochi reported to their mother, "this girl doesn't have respect at all", she continued, "warn her before I slap her" she said as Kamsi kept staring at her and pondering, 'No wonder she didn't come back on time yesterday! So she saw them! How come!', until their mother's voice brought her back to reality.