Sister, Sister.

XXVI: Gone

THE DAY

Karlie

"Are we there yet?" I asked. My butt is burning for sitting in one place for too long. I am sandwiched between Precious and Jared. Daniel and Jesse are sitting behind while Kat is sitting in front with the driver.

When Kat had announced she would be throwing me a birthday party at Ibeno beach resort, my first instinct was to laugh, sure that Kat will not go out of her way like that. When I saw the invitation cards she was printing and giving out to people I went to school with, go to school with and don't talk to anymore. I was even more shocked when she told me that she would hiring a DJ and a caterer. She later told me that the party was an apology to me, for all the bad things she had been doing to me. I sobbed on her shoulder.

"Here," Jared said handing a banana and a cone of roasted groundnut over to me.

"We will get there soon!" The driver told me. Karlie is paying him twenty thousand naira to take us to Ibeno and back. He has tribal marks on his cheeks and a double chin. His voice is a loud, booming drum. "Check read the signboards."

"It is because of the bad road," Precious grumbled, "we would have reached over an hour ago."

Whenever we get to a junction, hawkers press on from every side, displaying iced soft drinks, biscuits, bananas, roasted groundnut, sachet and bottle water and okpa.

I took a sip of the zobo I brought from home, swished it about in my mouth, savouring the taste before swallowing. "Thanks guys for doing this for me. I can't tell you how touched and blessed I feel right now."

"Quit the speech, Karlie," Daniel said with a chuckle.

"This is the fourth time you are thanking us," Precious muttered, deadpanned.

"Because I am very, very happy!" I rave, "in fact, all of you deserve kisses!"

Kat clucked. "Don't do it, Puppet."

I caught the driver watching me from the rear view mirror with a perturbed expression.

Ignoring Kat, l leaned in and gave Jared a kiss on his cheek, dangerously close to his eye. I wrestled with Precious before she let me kiss her on the cheek. Daniel leaned in without a fuss so I could press my lips to his cheek.

Kat turned to watch with a smirk on her face. "Be careful, Puppet. What are trying to do with my man?" She joked.

I brushed my lips against Jesse's cheek, quick and light. It would be weird if I had skipped him. He looked up at me and smiled, earphones in his ears.

"It is a shame that Naomi couldn't come," I said, "would have really wanted her here."

"She wanted to," Daniel told me, "she had a stay with Mum."

I turned to watch the cars following us, transporting the people who were invited to my birthday party. The transportation was paid for with the money that everyone pulled together. When I felt flattered that people are interested in attending the party, I remind myself that they are here for the food and drinks and the beach experience. Not me.

I wondered how much it costs her to put everything together, down to the cost of the hotel rooms.

We would be going back tomorrow. Probably around afternoon. The party would start midnight till daybreak.

A little bit sleepy, I lean my head on Jared's shoulder and close my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, the car was parked in front of a white hotel, Kat jumped out of the car, stretched and hooted.