Stolen

(10) The Girl in the Secrets

The next day was a Saturday. Camilla didn't have any plans for that day, so the night before she switched off her alarm clock so that it wouldn't wake her up. She hadn't slept in for a while, so it was somehow a new experience for her. Just when she was enjoying her dream her bedroom door burst open. Thinking that it was part of her dream, Camilla snuggled more into the warmth of her duvet.

Someone shook her shoulder violently which caused the bed to shift a little. Camilla kept her eyes closed and tried to get back into her dream; but it seemed to be impossible. She groaned and threw the duvet over her head.

"Camilla, get up" someone said, throwing the duvet onto the floor. The coldness of the room got to her and she shivered a little. She rubbed at her eyes and turned to look where the voice had come from.

"Yes grandma?" the woman went into her pocket and pulled out 100 naira in notes and coins, and gave it to Camilla. "What is this for grandma?" she asked. She hoped that her reply would be that it was for her to keep. But sadly, not everything works out the way Camilla wants them to.

Grandma put her hands together ready to answer. "I need for you to go to the market this morning" Camilla inwardly groaned; in Lagos, everywhere was crowded. There was always traffic on the roads, the honking of impatient drivers, the packed pavements and especially the long queues that were held at the market. She was snapped out of that when grandma continued to talk. "You see, today is Hamila's mother birthday. She asked for me to prepare the food for the celebration, and I said yes. It's takes place at six in the evening, so I would like to see you and Rachel dressed suitably so that we can go join the celebration." she said, handing her an crumpled invitation and a list of the foods that she needed to purchase.

Camilla inwardly groaned again; why?! Maybe she should have told grandma about Hamila's attitude towards her yesterday, and then maybe she wouldn't have to attend the celebration. "Grandma" she said, ready to tell her that she didn't want to attend the celebration. Grandma turned her head away from the celebration and Camilla suddenly tensed up. "Yes, Camilla?" she said raising an eyebrow. "I would love to go!" she grinned. Grandma chuckled and patted her on the back, telling her to get ready and leave the house as soon as possible.

When grandma had left her bedroom Camilla banged herself on the head for being a coward. Maybe she could still attend the celebration, but keep away from Hamila and her mother, simple. She collected her duvet from the floor and laid it out on her bed. There would be no point in going back to sleep, for by now she was fully awake and alert.

After she had finished having breakfast, a bowl of cornflakes along with cold milk, alone she washed the bowl and emptied cup of orange juice and left them to dry. She went back to her bedroom and put on her favourite suede boots along with a thick cardigan and a carrier bag to put the food in (they didn't provide carrier bags at the market) she set off to go.

By now it had just gone past eight so she would need to be quick with the shopping. Camilla now understood why her grandma had woken her up so early. Once Camilla was ready she shouted a 'bye' to Rachel - who was still asleep in her comfy bed - and grandma before she stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her.

She looked at the list of food and sighed. The list of food that grandma needed continued onto the other side of the lined sheet and didn't stop until it was at the bottom. Camilla knew most of the foods, so they would be easy to get, but she had not even heard of some of them. She would need to ask for assistance.

The air was chilly, which meant that summer was long by gone and also that she would need to start wearing her coat outside soon. The day felt quite gloomy with the sun being covered by the thick clouds. Camilla thought about going back inside the house and getting her coat, and socks, but decided not to.