Chapter 2 One: The Clock

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER:

Evie's breakfast was an Omelette made by her dad's new girlfriend, Sarah. She was sure of telling Sarah about her dislike for Omelettes and Noodles, especially on a school morning. On seeing the Omelette, Evie diverted to the fridge to get herself a canned drink and crackers. A voice from upstairs which seemed approaching called out.

"I'm going to work, I cannot be late today," Henry called out. Evie mumbled okay and sat on the dining chair to have her snack. "Why aren't you eating your food?" Henry questioned Evie.

"Sarah knows…" Evie was talking. "Don't call her 'Sarah'. You wouldn't call your mother by her name, would you?" he interrupted.

Evie spills a bit of coke on her white dress on hearing the exasperating information. "Mother? How could…" Evie caught Sarah's crystal-clear eyes piercing her. "Now, I'll have to change this dress." Evie's fury burnt and cut her deep. She never imagined a woman like Sarah ever to mother her, even though she didn't know what being mothered felt like but Sarah wasn't the perfect person to be called 'a mother'. She tried to use a rag to clean off the spilled drink, but it didn't get off. Sarah handed Henry a brown bag that contained his lunch in that slow and seductive way she knew Evie did not like. Sarah eventually won a kiss from Henry on the cheek as he took his leave for work. Evie's breath became heavier, her pulse sped up; she hated her father and his girlfriend together, they just didn't fit. She ran upstairs to change her dress, making sure every step on the stairs was heard.

When she came back downstairs, her father was gone and Sarah was doing the dishes in the kitchen. She did not want to set an eye on Sarah at that moment because she'd be most likely to cause trouble. She'd heard stories of good stepmother-stepdaughter relationships and had seen some on television too, but she knew hers would never end well. She couldn't even imagine her father's proposal to her: how the ring wouldn't fit perfectly on her fingers, and how the wine would spill on her wedding dress. Despite her hatred for her father's new relationship, she still didn't condemn her beauty: a sparkling beauty that caused men and women to smile at first sight. The clock stopped ticking. Maybe the batteries had just died, maybe there was a twitch in the cables. She felt drowsy.

"Your ride's here," Sarah said from behind, her eyes peering at Evie's dress. Evie turned to be sure of what she had said, although she already knew. "What?" Evie asked.

"Ooh, that's a lovely dress," Sarah said. Evie wanted the rolling of her eyeballs to be clear in Sarah's sight. She obviously didn't like Sarah's compliments because she believed them false and ironic: she did not like much about Sarah. The clock started ticking.

"I'm on my way," Evie said, turning to leave through the door, "Thank you," she added, grimacing before she shut the door.

A few weeks into high school, Evie's life was already double-faced with drama and boys chasing after her impeccable beauty. But no other guy was as lucky as Austin, her 'Love of My Life'. Both of them began dating after two days in high school. Austin was a junior at Osinku High School, one of the most popular, charming, and good-looking guys girls would kill each other for. Having an athletic physique and also in the basketball team made the madness among girls rise to a questionable peak.

The breeze that blew could fall off light wigs. Evie's hair was already drawn to the scalp as she went to meet Austin in his black-painted and tinted 2013 Nissan Altima car. She could see his admiration for her as she walked majestically towards the car. She worried her hair was getting messy, but his eyes kept piercing her so that she could feel it all over her body; she wondered what boys loved in girls' messy hair. Also, she was fortunate the coke did spill on her dress, urging her to change into something else. The breeze could have done a lot of harm. She was quite comfortable with the dress; she figured Austin would love it too.

She reached the door to his car, which was already open and hopped in, still feeling his eyes on her lap and boobs. Austin gave her a peck on the cheek and smiled gently at her.

"You look beautiful, babe," Austin said.

"Thank you," said Evie.

He turned on the engine without concentration – eyes still on Evie – and began driving. He turned on the Taylor Swift playlist on his car radio, especially the love songs, because he knew she loved them. As they drove to school, the vibes from the songs kept oozing into her mind, making her shake her body back and forth and humming to some of the songs.

"Have you heard this one?" Austin asked. "It's one of her latest."

"Yeah," Evie replied. "I played it with Nnaemeka."

"Oh." Austin's tone was quiet and filled with things unsaid. He narrowed his eyes as he kept his pace on the road, followed by a troubled silence.

"So, I heard you went out with him," Austin said after a long silence, "Nnaemeka."

Evie turned to face him and read his expression. She could see bitterness and jealousy in him. "Yeah, the arcade," Evie said, and then turned to face the road ahead. "How did you know about that?"

"You played this song in the arcade too?" Austin asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Evie asked with an angry expression. "He was my friend in middle school. And he's still my friend."

"I heard you were holding hands."

Evie's eyes dilated in annoyance and suspicion. "You were stalking me, weren't you?"

"I wasn't."

"Then, how do you know about the hand-holding?"

"So, it's true."

Her mouth was involuntarily wide open in disbelief, she couldn't believe that Austin did not trust her. "We did it because there were some other Nigerian people who made fun of him because he didn't have a girlfriend," said Evie, avoiding eye contact with him. "What did you think?"

"Nothing," Austin said with a jealous smile hanging on his face. Evie sighed.

In no time they were in school. Evie took pride in walking beside Austin every day at school, but this time the little disagreement between them let her walk not so close. That, of course, did not warrant girls from different corners who had never spoken to her asking Austin questions. She knew she was a jealous girlfriend by the way she scared off girls with a mean stare. Walking down the hallway, she could feel people's eyes on her dress; she tried to put on her best walking steps. Her insecurity made her sure of who Austin was going to meet after he waved her goodbye, perhaps his basketball dudes.

"Hey!" Martha called from the west. Evie was a little frightened by that.

"So, did you go?" Martha asked.

"Yeah," Evie replied. "They were…, Oh My God, they were so nice." Evie's conversations with Martha were usually the best because she's at most herself around her. Unlike Becky and Adrienne, that may be a little judgemental. Apart from that, Martha had been her childhood friend, her longest-ever friend.

"I told ya! They're very nice. That section of the mall is a go for me," Martha said. "They're always at their nicest on Sundays. Can you imagine? My mom went there on Monday by noon I guess, and the sales representative told her, 'I'm sorry ma'am, please come back again another day…'"

"What?"

"Yeah, it's not fair, is it?"

"No, no. Absolutely not," Evie spluttered.

"I went on Sunday and boom… I got the purses at very cheap prices and quick service," Martha said. The conversation between them got them to their lockers. "So, what did you get?" asked Martha.

Evie felt drowsy again. The people who walked past them walked very slowly; the people who talked, talked slowly too; Martha also talked slowly. It was as if everything had been played in slow motion, and she was trying to understand why. She did not know when she fell on her back. Martha screamed, "Evie! Evie! Wake up!"

She lay there probably for seconds. The whole school was already gathered around her, the medic was already there, Austin and Nnaemeka and Adrienne and Becky were all there. It must have been minutes instead, yet she didn't know anything had happened to her. Her friends all around her wanted to hear her say a word before her departure to the medical ward. It was a totally weird scenario.