Chapter 8

28 April 2016.

Abaji, Abuja.

21:12 pm.

Owolabi Residence.

Lolade wondered why her dad was not responding. He probably didn't hear me, she thought.

"Daddy?" She asked softly.

But there was still no response.

Lolade was worried. She stood up and walked up to her dad and noticed he was sleeping.

Awwwwwn, he must have been very tired and I was just disturbing him. She thought and pecked him on the cheek and looked at the huge diamond clock and gasped.

21: 20! That's eighty minutes past my bedtime. She thought and hurried into her room.

Chief Owolabi opened one eye, looked around then opened the second one.

Phew, He thought. If I didn't fake sleeping she might have hog-tied me till midnight.

He then half smiled.

I love my daughter but sometimes she just behaves stupidly. I enrol her in one of the biggest schools around but she doesn't like it because of her classmates. Did I send her to school to admire her classmates? No. I sent her to school because in nine months, the company will be mine and I want her to continue the Owolabi name. He yawned.

Dang, I should probably get some sleep, it is very late. He thought and stood up.

131 DAYS LATER

Lolade was reclining on the bed in her room while listening to music, disgusted by the presence of 5 guards in her room.

Why must Daddy always allocate these guards to me? I am okay and alright and why would something be able to harm me in my own room ? She sighed.

These guards needed to go,they were disturbing her, so she motioned to them to keep their distance. They didn't understand at first so she removed her earphones and motioned them away.

They understood.

After they had left, she sighed.

I know I promised myself that I would be a good child because of my mummy but Daddy is not making it easy. So I will have to tell him to stop indulging me but how? What if he gets angry and throws me out of this mansion? No. I should not be negative. I'm sure that he will praise me for not being spoilt and he will bring back my mummy.

But deep down, she knew that it was extremely impossible. She knew her father wasn't like that. So it wouldn't be easy but she still had to try. For her mum.

Another question hit her. When would she tell her dad? I think I will decide that one later. She thought and was about to leave the room when she bumped into a guard

What are they doing here? I thought I told them to go away. She thought and motioned them away again.

I have to tell Daddy about this so that this can stop. She thought. I will find a time to tell him but as for now, listening to music is my priority.

She reclined on the bed and increased the volume of the music.

THE NEXT DAY

Chief Owolabi was in the second sitting room, thinking hard about a problem at his Yarder engineering company.

The problem was some guy named 2packs or something had returned back to the company after defrauding the company a couple of years ago. Chief Owolabi obviously didn't want the guy back in the company, the guy looked dangerous and hungry and he also looked like someone who would commit such a crime again but another person of authority named Mr. Mazi Jones or something wanted the guy back.

Chief Owolabi snorted at his terrible memory of people's names. It had started quite recently and he didn't like it.

The Overall Head of the company, Mr. Umaru Kawu, in order to stop a fight from brewing between both Chief Owolabi and the other guy had said that both men would have to convince him the next day about their points because he, just like almost everybody else in the company, he was indecisive on the case at hand.

Chief Owolabi was still trying to bring out some key points in the argument when Lolade came in.

She looked lovely in her simple attire, a long native gown made of batik and some ribbons tied around her hair but Chief wasn't looking at her. He didn't even know she had entered until she said

"Hello Daddy, what are you doing"

Chief Owolabi looked at her weary and worn out eyes but still managed to smile.

"Hello, my princess, how are you today?"

"I am doing good Daddy, I am quite sure I passed my exams"

"Really? Wow!" Chief Owolabi said half heartedly. He wished she would go away and stop disturbing him.

Meanwhile, Lolade was apprehensive because the reason why she was talking to her dad was because she wanted to tell him that she would like a bit more freedom. She could even see one of the guards about twenty feet away. She observed he looked a bit tired and stressed but decided that if he was that tired, he would have sent her away since and not be smiling as pleasantly as he was now. She decided to start with small talk.

"Daddy, do you know how many bones are in the human body?"

What! Chief Owolabi was mesmerized beyond measure. What did she mean, what was she driving at exactly? Why such a irrelevant, meagre question?

"Daddy, you haven't answered my question" She said.

"Oh, well, no, I...I...I don't know. How many?"

"Well Daddy, There are 206 bones in the body, our Basic Science teacher told us that today."

"Really? Wow. That's amazing" Chief Owolabi said, hardly interested.

"Yes and Daddy, have you heard of Charles's law. It's a law that states that...states that the volume of a fi..fixed mass of gas inversely proportional to the temperature? Isn't that cool?"

Chief Owolabi listened to Lolade rant about two more laws, The national anthem of some country named Guinea Bissau and some strange laws in Thailand. He was thinking about telling her to leave him alone. Then he realized something.