He Calls Me Unnie

Chapter One

Bay saw them before they saw her. She was grateful for the crowd in the market that day; maybe it would conceal her from the Akintola clan members and she wouldn't have to endure more of their taunts as she walked by. She recognized a couple of the young boys who teased people in her master's clan–her clan–regularly, but any of them could be the instigators. All Akintola clan members hated the Undulu clan.

The sun was high in the sky. The clothes she wore–the long, loose-fitting pants, long-sleeved shirt, the head wrap, and the fabric swept across her face as a mask–protected her skin from the sun, but also entrapped her body heat within. Sweat dripped down her back and sides. She clutched the cloth bag hung over her shoulder tighter as she passed the Akintolas by.

"Hey, Unnie!" one of the Akintola boys called out to her and her fellow slave and best friend, Pike. "Tell your master to take off his mask and face the emperor in court like a real man!"

"Unnie! Is it true you all wear those masks because you're so beautiful that none of us are worthy enough to see you?"

"No, it's because they're so ugly, we'd die if we saw them."

"Hey, Unnie!"

Bay didn't even glance at them as she passed, but Pike did. Bay could see only her friend's eyes, but she could imagine the glare she was giving them beneath her mask. If they could see her face, Bay imagined they wouldn't be so careless with their words. If only the whole of Iman didn't watch the Undulu with the closest scrutiny Pike would have some harsh words of her own to share, but in public, her best friend did a good job of controlling her temper. Once they got back home, though, Bay would get an earful.

The girls knew where they were going. This was a trip they made twice a week. They picked up the same fruits and vegetables from the same vendors every first and fourth day of the week. The first vendor was in sight when Bay felt something small and hard strike her on the back of the head. She was about to turn around to see what happened when she heard those words again in the high whine of a ten-year-old boy. "Hey Unnie..."

There was another strike on her back this time. Pike must have received one too because she swung around to see what the cause was. "Leave us alone, Akintolas. Don't you have anything better to do?"

One boy recited her words back to her in a high-pitched, lilting voice. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Just ignore them," Bay said, grabbing her arm and pulling her along.

"Useless brats," she muttered as they walked away. Still, the pebbles kept hitting them.

Once the girls began to barter with the first vendor, the pelting gave up. As Bay hassled with the old grape dealer, as was their custom, she almost forgot about the young boys' jeering. Once two large bundles of grapes sat comfortably in her bag they continued on, but as they did, the pelting began again, except this time the stones were larger and thrown with more strength.

Both of the girls turned around then, and Bay could see their smug, dirty little faces.

"Just ignore them," Bay said. "They'll lose interest." The two girls' eyes met under the weight of their mutual disdain for the situation.

"Unnie... I bet you have three legs under that dress. Or three breasts. Don't you, Unnie?"

It was Pike's turn to barter, although she wasn't as good at it as Bay was. She had the determination, but her mind wasn't as calculating as Bay's was. Bay couldn't help but look over her shoulder to see if the boys were still there. They were useless brats who only treated them that way because of the critical words their elders said in private. Why should she care what four or five ten-year-old boys thought of her?