Chapter 3

Now that I discovered people, even a whole family, sleeps in the premises without getting caught, I decided to try it too. I started with about one night.

I stayed in the church premises that night and returned home on the second day like it was a natural occurrence for me not to come home to sleep. Though I appeared calm and maybe a little defiant outside, in my mind, I was a mess. I thought of all the worst possible things that could happen and the million and one ways I would most probably die that day. I had flashes of the various "rods of correction" that my mum was bound to use on me depending on their proximity.

Getting home, I discovered there was no one at home and the doors were locked. I released the breathe I didn't even know I was holding as relief coursed through my veins like a drug. I searched for a spare I knew sister Ebun keeps around for times she came home and no one was around and let myself into the house. I prepared something to eat, and then, maybe out of over relief, I slept.

Mum came back to meet me sleeping in the sitting room. She was furious - because I didn't come home all night or because I had the guts to be sleeping peacefully, I don't know. "Where have you been all night?" was all she kept screaming and crying as she took the closest thing to a cane that she could find which knowing my luck, happened to be an 2.5mm wire and started beating me. I told myself, Serves you right Dara, this is what you get for coming back home. Aloud though, I pleaded with her and told her I had been in the church all night and most of the day. I didn't know time had gone and when I realized the time, I decided to sleep in the church. She didn't even ask about the money so I knew she had been genuinely worried about me.

I know what you are thinking. You are saying what a bad child! She even made her mother cry! You won't believe me if I told you that wasn't what I wanted at all. I only just wanted to make her proud of me but it seemed like something kept making me do the opposite.

The rest of that week and the following week saw me at home. I guess I was badly shaken by my mother crying because of me and it seemed that the beating calmed the demons in my head somewhat. I was once more the epitome of the perfect daughter. I cooked, cleaned and fetched without anyone asking me to. I washed every single clothing I had and even offered to help mum wash hers. She refused though. Sister Ebun is the only one that has mastered my mother's way of washing her clothes.

Sister Ola came home around this time and was astounded by the changes in me. I mean, I offered to run errands and do laundry for her which under normal circumstances, I most certainly would not!. She was happy. It was easy to tell because before she left, she gave me some of her books to read (she had stopped buying books for me when I started misbehaving). One of such books was The Making of a Successful Youth by W.F Kumuyi. She even promised me the whole Left behind series by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins that I had been hankering after if I remain the good and obedient child she met at this time. The books she left me kept me occupied for another week but by the end of my third week at home, I was beginning to itch.

I tried to keep my promise and be good. I swear, I really tried, but, I needed to go out.

By the fourth week, mum sent me to deliver goods to a customer of hers and I had to pass the front of the church. I decided to take the opportunity to say a quick hello to one of my friends that stayed there with her mum and siblings. Her name is Judith. We were age mates but she had twins for siblings. Cyril and Cora were just a year younger than we were so we all played together most times. I stayed with them all day, exchanging stories and laughing. I really got carried away and before I knew it, Cyril was telling his sister that it was 5p.m and he wanted to eat.

I jumped up mumbling the different ways my mother will kill me and started running home only to meet my mum at the gate of the church. She really didn't do anything, just told me to follow her home. At home, she didn't say anything, didn't beat me or scold me and I have to admit, that scared me more than her beating and scolding would have. I kept telling myself, whatever you do tonight Dara, make sure you don't fall asleep. After keeping half-awake and battling sleep most of the night, I finally surrendered to sleep around 3a.m. only to be shaken awake by 6a.m by my mother for morning prayers.

After the prayer, she wanted to know what my plans were. What I wanted to do with my life. It seemed she had come to the conclusion that my being idle was one of my problems and since she really didn't want me working, she wanted a skill for me that I could earn from. She suggested registering me in a renowned hospital nearby to learn auxiliary nursing but I refused. I told her I wanted to learn tailoring instead. She had sewing machines at home from her business and I saw it as an opportunity to practice whatever I learnt. Satisfied with my decision, she promised to find me a good seamstress to learn from.

True to her promise, by the next week, a seamstress was found and part of my training fees was paid. I resumed at work the following week but from the first day, I already knew I couldn't stay long there because see, I hate insults, and it was present there in abundance.

My new boss has two children, a girl and a boy, aged 11 and 8 respectively. The 11 year old was the most rude and insulting person I have ever met, beside myself that is. I know myself, duh! She didn't see anything wrong in talking brashly and rudely to any of her mother's apprentices. It grieved me even though I was the youngest of the 5 apprentices learning the trade as at that time. To make matters worse, her mother encouraged her rude behavior by scolding the apprentices for her spoilt daughter. It wasn't even that the girl was beautiful or super intelligent other than she knew how to sew clothes probably than all of us there and was in some ways our senior since she is her mother's daughter.

The shop was located in the front of the woman's house meaning that her apprentices were the ones responsible for sweeping both the shop and the house, washing their dirty dishes, washing the woman and her children's clothes, our senior aside from that thing (There was absolutely no way I was calling that spoilt brat my senior) even cooks for my boss and her kids and all they do was play all day. The so-called boss was never even around to teach us anything and I had to learn from my seniors who didn't really know much either.

I tried complaining to my mother but when she went there to confront my boss, the woman told my mum I was lying and since my mum has caught me in a lie several times, I could see how hard it would be to just take my word for it. It was a lost cause. I decided to continue going but anytime my boss went to wherever she goes to, I go to meet friends too. I tell my seniors that I've gone home to assist my mum and they relay that information to my boss. Whenever I stayed too late at my friends place and got home a bit later than usual, I just told my mum that my boss was working late.

The arrangement was perfect until sister Ebun came back home early one day and mum sent her to come check up on me to see how I was faring at the job. I wasn't at the shop as you would expect and neither was my boss. She met one of my seniors though and that one explained that usually by this time, I go home to assist my mum since my boss wasn't around. My sister left and came back later that evening.

This time, she met my boss who went ahead to explain how bitter she is that my mum have not really allowed me to be at work for the past month and how rude and insulting I was (as if I was rude than her daughter) to my senior (her daughter, but she didn't tell my sister that). She went ahead to tell sister Ebun that she has been planning to get in touch with mum to tell her that she didn't want me to learn work there again and that I stay home with mum.

I didn't know all these of course and got back home in the evening as usual.

"Good evening. How was work today?" that was my sister Ebun who I was very surprised to meet at home. Judging by the tone of her greeting, wondered briefly if she could have gone to see my boss, then I reasoned that it was very out of her way and far from home and she wasn't one for unnecessary walking about so I figured I was safe.

"Good evening Sister Ebun. Work was fine" I answered her and then launched into stories of how my boss's daughter was frustrating me and how my boss wasn't really teaching me anything. My sister laughed. She laughed for a really long time that I was beginning to get nervous especially since my mother was there and laughing too. It was obvious they had a private joke among them. I feigned anger and started to walk away into my room but then I was stopped with a slap so hard and sudden that I didn't even see it coming.

"You must be very stupid! I'm talking to you and you are walking away. Are you out of your senses?" I am now, I thought. I reeled in shock of the slap. What just happened? I asked my still sluggish brain. I stood there holding that part of my face in shock. I didn't dare move. You see, my sister was famous for her anger. She doesn't usually beat me despite my mother's constant advice that she should but if the beating started, it wasn't going to stop till she was burned out. I knew because I had been on the receiving end once and it wasn't something I wanted to repeat.

What's going on now?

Has she somehow found me out?

If anyone told her, it would be that spoilt brat.

All the questions and thought swirling through my brain couldn't be spoken aloud though for fear of another earth shattering, brain frying slap, so I just stood there awaiting the scene that I knew was sure to play out. I didn't have to wait long.

"Where have you been?" that was her next question. My mum and sister Ebun had one thing in common. If they asked you a question, be 99.99% sure they already knew what the answer is supposed to be so you have to think twice before answering. In that space of thinking, only one question was running through my mind.

How much of the truth do they really know?

Some times, they didn't really know much but with the perfect setup, the right attitude and questions, they can make you spill your own secrets. I decided to chance it and speak half-truths.

My boss was not around so I used the opportunity to see a friend since there wasn't anything to do at work. I spoke boldly because I felt as long as you act like you were speaking the truth, they have to buy it. Plus, I was actually speaking the truth.

"So, when your boss went out, you couldn't take the opportunity to come home to do your chores that you have been neglecting abi (I may or may not have been neglecting my house chores again) since that was the excuse you dropped at work to go out gallivanting? How long has this been going on?"

It was obvious my sister was on the warpath

I decided to chance it again (big mistake!)

"Maybe once or twice I answered carefully, trying to read her face.

I got the reward almost immediately as a stick I didn't know was held behind her whipped around to hit me squarely on the legs.

I think even my mother was surprised. It really came out of nowhere! Whats with the surprise attacks?

I quickly ran to hold her hand to avoid being hit by that stick a second time (It was really painful!) and got a sound slap for my troubles. She threw the stick away and turned to slaps and punch. My angry sister is exactly like a tornado. In the midst of the beating, I got the full story. She had spoken to my boss. Now I understood.

At some point, my mother feebly tried to intervene but I know she was secretly glad that my sister was disciplining me like this. I have often heard her complain that my siblings leave disciplining me to only her and she alone can't do it anymore.

As the beating continued, I began to wonder if there was something else going on that I wasn't aware of. I have rarely seen her this angry and I began to fear for my life the way she was going. It wasn't like I was quietly sitting down and absorbing her massacre of me. I have been fighting back and I expected her well of strength to have decreased but it was becoming increasingly obvious that the beating is accumulated anger and pent up frustration at the way I was living my life and frustrating our mother and my fighting back was only making her angrier and hence, stronger.

I also realized that my mother had been reporting me every day to her but she had been deliberately putting off touching me, maybe because she knew something like this was going to happen. I also wondered when she arrived and how many hours my mother had spent lamenting over my unruly behaviors. By now, all my body ached. She even switched from just slaps and punches to using her rubber slippers which is as solid and as painful as you can imagine. When? This had to stop and the quickest way was to appeal to my mother's soft side.

"Mum, I'm sorry, it won't happen again. Please. I promise to be better. I promise to change" I cried, hoping she will save me

"Ebun, fi sile (Leave her alone). Its okay" My mum told her as I knew she would but I wasn't sure she heard till I heard my sister say "Don't worry yourself mum, she's lying" I quickly realized I've been begging the wrong person.

"Sister mi (my sister), I'm sorry. I swear, it won't happen again. I promise. You have to believe me. I know you are beating me because you love me, and I won't make you regret. I promise!"

The beating stopped as suddenly as it started and my sister walked away from me and into her room. Why didn't I do this since? I was heading to my room to examine my body properly (doing that in the presence of my mum can start round 2) when I heard racking sobs coming from my sister's room.

What!?! She beat me and she's the one crying?

I guess she's a softy after all and it almost made me forgive her for going gung-ho on me.

There was no more talk of going back to the seamstress or getting me another seamstress for a long time and I knew that chapter was closed. It was time to move on.

It was time to look for a job for real.