In Between.

#7

Arriving at the gates of my house, I walked in to meet the infamous yelling of my mother and my obviously bored, dearest sister with her fist under her jaw and her eyes fixed on her lap.

What was she doing? She was obviously paying zero attention to my mum who was ranting on about how she would've been better as an outstanding Lawyer then an everyday Engineer.

I looked at my sister who was smiling at her lap, before realising that she was looking at her phone, which my mum didn't notice because she was parading round the room, her arms flying in the air every minute, to emphasise her point.

You see, in my house, my Mum basically ruled and controlled our lives, even up to the point of choosing what we were going to become in the future.

My mum was a dictatorial kind of person that wanted things to go her way even when no one was comfortable with it. She was an average height almost light skinned woman with an adorably cute face blessed with the voice of a whale. It was extremely loud.

All the time, my mum always found something to yell about, whether it was my clothes in the dryer, or my plates in the sink or anything. She worked as a social service worker that gave homes to orphans and worked with all their stuffs.

Truth be told, I think she hated her job and just kept it all bottled in, to unleash it on us at home. It was infuriating, especially when she got into petty fights with my older sister, Laura.

My mum was married to the quiet barrister, Williams John who worked at one of the courts in Nigeria. He was highly known and I was was of course expected to follow his footsteps, due to the absurd path of my sister, as my mother always said, I was the replacement child.

My father was always quiet, except in the court room where he never stopped talking, at all.  He would sometimes pause before asking a question, or saying something and when he opens his mouth to speak, I would have to keep reminding myself that he was indeed my Father.

Both my parents were complete opposite but I loved them shitless and nothing could change that. Even if my mum was really annoying sometimes and my dad was extremely quiet for my liking at other times, I still loved them.

I sighed when my mother said, "It is not even as if you are topping your class o that you want to be an engineer, ehn?" My sister's head shot up from her phone, anger flashing in her eyes.

My sister was an average student and she achieved grades which I call a very good grade. Agreed, she wasn't topping the class but she was getting really good marks that were enough for her to be enrolled in one of the best universities in the states.

Greeting my mum who just turned an angry face towards me, I dropped my food flask in the sink and dragged my not so light bag towards the stairs, to my room as my sister saw it as the opportunity to run, I mean storm away from my mum's lecture.

I grabbed a sachet water from the freezer and drank it, shutting my eyes, as the cold water brought warmth to my hot, tired and sweaty body. I threw the sachet away after emptying the contents into my stomach.

Starting towards the steps to my room, I was shoved roughly aside by my sister who stormed up towards her room, leaving me with a throbbing wrist that came hardly in contact with the iron railings when she pushed past me.

She walked into her room, slamming the door as hard as she could, practically making me deaf. It didn't even take any cockroach or ant in my house to know that Williams Ifeloluwa Laura was angry, on her highest mode.

Every time she was angry, she never talked but instead expressed it. Her anger could come in two ways and the other way was crying. If she was angry and she cried, it eased some of the anger from her body, sometimes returning her to her normal state.

Because I believe when she is angry, she is definitely not a normal person anymore.

I walked upstairs to my room, leaving my very angry mother downstairs who was grumbling of how she has spoilt all her children, that Laura could walk out on her.

I sighed as I passed my brothers room, the both of them sleeping like there was no problem in the world. I walked into their properly Air conditioned room and pulled the blanket over Mofe, the last born of the house and my favorite baby brother.

Shutting the door as I walked out of their room, I walked to my own room at the other end and passed my sister's room. I sucked in my cheeks when I heard her crying. She always did that, because she had no power over my parents.

I held in a sigh, as I heard her sniffle and dropped my bag at the entrance pulling her door open. I knew I was playing with fire but I didn't care. I just wanted her to know I always had her back even when everyone didn't.

I wanted her to know that I loved her and that my mum didn't hate her but she just wanted the best for her but she wasn't doing it the right way.

Her head shot up when I pulled her door open and peeked inside before entering. She pulled her blue coloured blanket over her head as a muffled 'what do you want? ' was produced.

"I came to tell you I love you and........— I paused, taking my words carefully, — that mum loves you." I breathed when I finished and turned away from her still covered face.

"I hate you." I heard her say and I turned back to meet a smiling Laura with her cheeks stained with tears and her eyes red and swollen. Rolling my eyes, I walked to her bed and sat on it as she pulled me in for a tight hug.

Pulling back, she pinched my cheeks, "how was school today?" I laid down on her bed and stretched my self, kicking her in the process as she sent a slap to my leg. "It was horrible like always." I placed my hands under my head.

She pulled out her phone and took a selfie with me, tagging it 'sad'. I sighed as she gushed on how hot she was even when her eyes were swollen. I wasn't surprised because my sister was obsessed with herself and she didn't think anyone was finer than her.

Standing up from her bed, I walked out of her room as she threw a Thank you to me and I nodded not looking back.

Entering into my room, I unzipped my skirt, and shut my door before leaning against it. My sister was going to graduate in precisely a month from now, and then off she went to university, meaning I was stuck with my parents and two small brothers.

I was going to miss her so badly, and worse of all I was going to be the new baby sitter for my 3 year old brother.

Dropping my tired body on my bed, I exhaled and kicked off my sandals before shutting my eyes. Every thing that happened today replayed back into my head, the last activity bringing curiosity to me as I unplugged my phone.

Quickly switching on my phone, I unlocked it and switched on my data as  messages entered, people talking about Nifemi and Joseph.

Why did Joseph slap Nifemi?

I asked on the group chat, as almost everyone was online, talking about the slap.

The slap was hot ehn.

Azin.

You know that Joseph hand is big, I'm sure Nifemi's face will feel it. it is good for her sha.

I frowned, angry. I wanted an answer and no one was giving me one. Once again my fingers flew over my keypad.

Why did Joseph slap Nifemi?

I drummed my fingers impatiently on my skirt covered thigh, curiosity eating me. It was so strange for Joseph to slap someone, and of all people, Nifemi. My line of thoughts ceased, as my phone beeped, indicating a message.

Unlocking my phone, I tapped the message, as I felt my curiosity about to dissolve.

Lois it is because of you oh.

Ehn?