THE EXTERNALS

Chapter Ten

Grandma was happy to see the change in my look though Aunt Joke was skeptical about it. For the rest of the party, some of the male guests couldn't take their eyes off me but none came close to me because they knew my uncle was in the Army. All the same, I felt like I shouldn't have come to the party. It seemed to me that my presence was a reminder of the fact that my dad failed to give us the life deserved.

"Ma'am, what will you like to eat?" One of the waiters around who had a local accent came to my table.

"Jollof and fried rice with salad", I got the courage to look him in the eye and realized his identity but still had to ignore him.

"Do you want fried plantain too? My neighbors brought many from the farm" Grandma said with admiration.

"It's alright, grandma", I smiled.

It took me a while to finish my meal because I wasn't conversant with the use of cutleries but I had to do it to blend in. After eating, I was forced to dance with grandma but it earned me lots of new naira notes. When I got tired of dancing, I went out to get some fresh air. For the last few hours, I was waiting for someone my age to ask me out or at least say hello but it didn't happen so there was no use staying indoor anymore. The place was too crowded for my liking anyway!

"You look pretty tonight", Appa complimented me as I stepped outside. He was the waiter who served me earlier.

"Thanks", I smiled even though I felt like asking him if I wasn't pretty before.

"I know there's no way I can compensate you for what happened the other day, so I'll keep apologizing", He told me.

"It's alright", I sighed."I don't want us to keep talking about that. When are you resuming? We all miss you".

"I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting but I'm not coming back", His response was surprising.

"Are you serious? You've always dreamt of becoming a mechanical engineer! Are you going to give all that up for gangsterhood?"

"If I'm still one of those guys, do you think I'll come here to work", He walked out on me.

"Hold on, Appa"I pulled him back."Can you please tell me what's going on? Is there any way I can help?"

"Yes", He affirmed.

"What's that?"I eagerly waited for his reply.

"Minding your own business, Lily. Just keep pretending that you don't know me like you did before", He joined his crew.

Few minutes later, I made my intention of leaving known to grandma. She wanted me to stay but I had to turn down her offer because I couldn't afford to miss church service the following day. Notwithstanding, she gave me some of the goodies she bought for me and my siblings while on her trip. They were mostly Jewish attires with jewelry, sandals, and hair accessories.

Surprisingly, my mode of dressing at grandma's party became the latest gist in school on Monday. A lot of students already commented on my look on Facebook account yet didn't hesitate to tell me with their mouths which I really liked!