Dear Diary

Chapter 2

         Song for the chapter- Eyes to the Sky by Jon Bellion

            
      

                She didn't know what the time was when she woke up, but it was still morning and there was light. That reminded her, she would need a generator.
         She lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, doing nothing, she just didn't feel like getting up. Getting out of bed meant work.
            She was trying to convince herself to get up, get out of bed, at least she had things to do and having things to do kept her busy and occupied her mind.

                She reached for her phone on the bedside table, 10:48 am. Thirty  missed calls. Twenty messages. Lovely.
          She switched on her data connection and went straight to Twitter. Twitter had always been her guilty pleasure, something was always happening, people were either fighting themselves or a particular person, or insulting each other, discussions on relevant and irrelevant topics were always taking place or maybe a celebrity was doing a giveaway.
Twitter was a hubbub of activity, her basic source of information since her university days.

          When she got bored which took a while, she tore out a piece of paper from a notebook in the cupboard and began making her lists. She enjoyed making lists and ticking off what she had accomplished. She made a list of the remaining items she needed, when she was satisfied she put down her pen.
           Right now, she needed to freshen up and head over to Ogbete market for fresh and frozen food. Whatever she didn't buy there, she would get at Spar.
She also needed to subscribe to DSTV. Argh. Moving was so stressful. But she needed to be busy.  Be as busy as a bee. So she wouldn't have time to think about her life.

           Shopping in the market was very stressful. Grace didn't help matters, was busy complaining about the crowds, smell and dirt. But at least she had fresh fish and meat and eggs and other food items. She took her time arranging things in the kitchen and refrigerator.

               They came later in the afternoon. She had expected them to come earlier actually, had already bought malt and kept in the fridge for them. When she opened her door, she saw three women, this was the welcoming committee, they had come to see the new neighbour.
"Good afternoon. "
"Good afternoon dear." the pudgy one replied. She had seen the one with cropped dyed hair earlier, when she was about leaving for the market.
"Come in. "
      The one with cropped hair was Mummy Destiny. Mummy Obioma was the pudgy one and the quiet one was Mummy Desmond. They had come to see how she was faring, how she was  finding the moving and packing and unpacking, hope it was not too stressful. And she was all alone, Mummy Obioma commented.

"Oh well, my husband will be coming later on, he got caught up with work. "
Oh, that was nice, was he at their former place? Where did she move from by the way? Was she living in Enugu? She knew her way about so well. 
Oh no, she had moved from Abuja. She studied here which was why she knew her way about so well. She studied Law at UNEC.
Oh, no wonder! And it's not so far from here.
It's seems she must have really missed Enugu. Did she grow up there? 
No in Lagos. 
Really? Mummy Destiny also grew up in Lagos. Which side in Lagos? Where was she even from? What state? Which village? What of her husband?
       And so the questions continued. She answered politely and tried not to tell too much. She offered them the malt, they made small talk.
    Mummy Obioma was a teacher in a posh private school. Mummy Desmond was a lecturer and Mummy Destiny ran a boutique. They were all in their early thirties. Mummy Destiny wore shorts and a camisole, her dark knuckles contrasted with her fair skin. She sensed Mummy Obioma's disapproval of the woman. Mummy Obioma seemed to be the resident gossip, she managed to tell her enough about the six residents of the house and their families. About the Doctor's wayward daughter and Michael that had a different girl with him almost every night.
Mummy Desmond sat quietly, observing her surroundings. She seemed to her the most reasonable and observant of the three.
They told her the location of their flats. She should not be a stranger if there was anything she needed, she should not hesitate to ask. After a while, they left.

"Work ko, office no. " Grace snorted.
"Don't you have better things to do, than I don't know, bother me. "  "Nope, I'm all yours darling. " "Lucky me. "
She picked up her phone and started ordering her ride.
"Where are you going? "
"Spar. I need to get a few things, make that a lot of things.
"And you have to go now? "
"Is there a  problem?" she asked impatiently 
"Nope. No problem. No problem at all."  Kambili rolled her eyes.  The best way to deal with Grace was to ignore her.
"Is that what you're wearing ?"  "What's wrong with it? " Kambili glanced at her jeans and top. The jeans were ok but the top had clearly seen better days. It was faded and was that a hole?
"Don't you want to change to a better top? And please pack your hair nicer. Some lip gloss would also help. " Grace ordered. 
"Jeez. Yes ma. "
"Don't ma me. Go and change before your ride gets here. "
She should have ignored her sister, but she also wanted to change. By the time she was ready,the ride had arrived. She smiled at the mirror, she liked what she saw.

       She took her time gently pushing her trolley till it was overflowing and she wondered if she should have taken two. The mall was busy, full of university students, families, young people, people moving about laughing, taking pictures, gisting, children running around, parents trying to control them.
  She was  contemplating between another bottle of whisky or white wine when two rascals bumped into her. One of them shouted "Sorry! " and they continued running.
"Adam, Judah! " she heard a male voice call sternly. Thank God the bottles didn't fall. The culprits stopped in their tracks and turned slowly. "Come here right now. " They started walking like matyrs accepting their fate. Children were so funny, the way they dramatised everything. But wait that voice was familiar.
"How many times have I told you to stop running around this mall today? Next time, you'll just stay in the car. Apologise right now. " The younger one was his exact carbon copy.
"Fuck my life. " she thought.
"I'm very sorry about... " "Charles" she said softly and turned.
"Kambili. " he breathed

Dun dun dun dun dun
Whew!  I'm so tired, typing is so stressful. So who's Charles huh? Did you like this chapter? Don't forget to like and comment