CHAPTER ONE

A day in the Okafor's residence is usually not complete without thumping sounds of running from within or loud whips from the lashes that would descend on Mary's unfortunate back.

That fateful day was not any different as she had accidentally left the soup her Aunt Maureen instructed her to warm up longer than due until the bottom of the pot charred.

"How can I serve my husband this meal you foolish girl?" Maureen asked as she landed the leather strap of her husband's belt on Mary's back. She changed the ends and soon it was the metal head that she whipped Mary with.

"What were you doing?" She asked again, pausing to grab a breath. She had sprinted the entire house flogging her for this cause.

"Ma I- you sent me to watch Uche up stairs," Mary started in defence. Her entire back felt sore and numb, and she was sure a part of her back had been sliced in half enough to reveal a pink inner skin.

"So watching Uche is an excuse okwa ya?" Maureen asked again and continued with her flogging. The familiar sound of a Range Rover driving in, announced Dominic's return back home. It was that sound that made Uche clap his hands for joy glaring his barely developed front tooth and saying words they understood to be dada but by then he was soundly asleep in his cot. "My husband is back home, better know what to say as an excuse," Maureen said.

Pushing the wooden door that guarded the main house, Dominic propelled himself inside the living room with a briefcase and immediately understood what had happened. It had to be something wrong Mary had done.

"Can you imagine?" Aunt Maureen asked as she had in detail, explained everything to her husband while still pushing the pot close enough so he could understand her worry.

"I'm sorry honey, I'll eat it like that," he ended. Turning towards Mary who still released light sobs he added, "Don't be careless like that next time, OK?" Mary nodded and beamed inwardly, thankful that his judgement was to her favour but Maureen wasn't having it.

"You could have just told me that you hated me! Just tell me that you don't love me again and I'll accept," she began ranting as she followed his every step in the living room. With continued wriggling of the belt she held, she added, "always picking her side over mine, what did you even see in that girl?" By now, Mary had taken her leave, hopping out narrowly like a wounded yet victorious deer.

"Honey please I'm very tired," he said subtly dissolving her rants as he held her by her shoulders and squeezed them with a gentle press. He wearily kissed her forehead and added, "Where's Ashley? Doesn't she know I'm back?"

"Good evening dad... Good evening mum," Ashley announced with a yawn as she stepped out of her room with her arms wide open in a long stretch. Following the curved stairs down the stairs, she scratched her hair, rubbed the ends of her eyelids and released another loud yawn until she was face to face with her dad.

"Ashley dear have you been sleeping all day?" Dominic asked. He didn't wait for a reply before adding, "anyways, I got your result. As usual, you maintained your first position with ninety-five percent as the average this time. I'm so happy for you my daughter," he added putting up a smile that dented the wrinkles on his forehead.

Ashley smirked in understanding as she had gotten used to the appraisals and glory so much so that she needed a competition. That past term in school was clouded with a horrible breakup, a sickness that kept her home for almost two weeks and many other hiccups but yet again, she still remained the top.

"Thanks dad," she managed to say.

"Where's Mary?" Dominic asked no one in particular.

"Sir," she called out from the stairs where she had glued herself to the base of the stair case such that she could be close enough in case of a call and far enough should her aunt choose to descend on her.

"I also got letter for you," he said as he handed over to her a letter of acceptance into Kings and Queens' college, the same Ashley goes to.

"Impossible! Very impossible," Maureen rose up to rebuke.

"Mary... Ashley... Go into your rooms," Dominic said and they scooted off.

"Kings and Queens college? Really? That school costs a fortune. I won't allow you waste your money like that," Maureen said.

"Honey it's not a waste if I have that and many more to spare. She saved my life! I owe her this one thing," Dominic said.

"Take her to a government school instead. Who will be helping me with the chores when she's gone?" Maureen asked and Dominic fell silent. "Better tell me oh! Ah ah," she said withdrawing from the living room and slowly into their bedroom up the stairs. "I need to go to my pastor for serious prayers and cancelling of any money sucking demon. It's not my husband that they would rob," she added and banged her room door shut.

Dominic sat on the living room sofa letting his mind wander back to the first day he had met Mary. He was being harassed on the street by hoodlums who had camouflaged as Police officers but he hadn't known then. The sky darkened and ate up a half portion of the moon and sadly enough, he was being attacked on a lonely street.

"Get down from the car!" One said and hit the butt of the gun he held on his head. They scouted his car and took out every fancy item that seemed valuable and the other one had shot him on the leg before fleeing the scene. Blood gushed out and welled up about his body soaking his cloth and skin. His heart rate had momentarily decreased and he laid there awaiting his death when Mary came. She applied pressure on the bleeding site while screaming for all the help she could get. But for her timely intervention, he would have been a dead man.

*****

"Mary!" Maureen called out as she had just returned from the market. She fell on the living room's sofa while placing the black leather bag that accompanied her by her right.

"Yes ma!" Mary replied wiping her wet palms on her skirt and running towards the living room.

"Here, these are the things you'll be needing for school," Maureen replied throwing the bag at Mary. Mary peeped inside the bag while mumbling a 'Thank you.'

The school prospectus demanded a lot more than what she could see inside that bag; a pair of uniform, a single day wear, a pair of socks and a single pair of sandals whose straps she could tell were very weak. There were no other personal items, no extra and no quality materials. They even demanded a hoe, a cutlass and an antiseptic for maintaining the school and when Mary had raised that up, her aunt waived it off.

She dared not raise the fact that she had no provisions as opposed to the stack of packaged drinks, cereals and beverage they loaded for Ashley every new term and during her visiting day. Mary was sure her uncle had given her aunt a lot of money to buy everything she would need for school as written on the prospectus, but as usual, Maureen hoarded up a lot and more for herself.

She left for the room under the flight of stairs which she had managed to call hers for the time being. She unloaded the contents of the leather on the floor crying while releasing long but silent sniffles so her aunt wouldn't hear. Folding the sleeves of her navy blue blazer, she slowly placed it into her bag while also folding the rest of the other things she would need for school.

*****

Stella followed the Principal silently into her cold office as she used the opportunity to stare around at the wide space with a ton of medals and awards at one shelf by her right, a portable small sized fridge beside the Principal's office chair, a large portrait of the principal which was hung behind her chair and many others with Reverend sisters from all over her many missionary journeys were on top of a book shelf. Stella only recognized the few that taught at their school.

"Please sit," Principal May requested and Stella sat at the opposite chair swallowing hard in fear, slowly realizing what she must have caused for herself. A new wave of fear set in when a female police officer walked into the office with a gun in her pocket but with the most comforting and ravishing smile ever.

"This is detective Uju," Principal May said misplacing the right pronunciation of the name. "Don't be scared, she just wants to question you."