The students stream into the school cafeteria. The aroma of jollof rice and chicken stir a huge turn up today—a long queue soon forms. Behind her, a big boy taunts an albino. He tells him he’s ugly, jabs him in the rib region and spits on him. The albino is shaken and almost in tears. He looks around for succor, embarrassed and distressed, but no succor.
She shrugs. Every time this type of thing happens she dies a new death. His kind has killed her more times than guns people, and she feels like she’s going to lose her head over this one. “Leave him already!” She yells as she now experiences an exaggerated sense of confidence because of all the junk she’s been taking. The big boy moves in on her, towers over her like he’s about to kill a big game. He cusses at her and tells her to go eat her rice and bird and mind her freaking business.
The students jostle against one another to have a better view.
“Kind words are sweet fragrances,” she says, poking him in the rib region, unable to recognize her own voice.He opens his mouth for another exchange, but she dispels him casually with the wave of her hand.
He slaps her.
She punches him in return— lands a big one in his tummy and floors him. He gets up slowly, but staggers and falls. She watches him as he falls a couple more times until he finally drops lifeless. There is silence, then a deafening uproar from the students in the hall. She is scared. She thinks he’s dead. A high school student kills his classmate with a single punch because he pushed him repeatedly in the hallway. But she’s lucky he doesn’t die. Some say the angels had this one. Some it was a skillful punch.
As soon as she gets home she calls Chudi, crying. “I punched this big guy in school because he was bullying another guy. Now he’s screaming blue murder. My life is over!”
“My! What have you done? You’ve got to transfer to my school. Talk to your dad,” Chudi says over the phone.
“Why? And your mom? Women with wise wackiness!
“You poor thang! Babe, you should have just walked away. Who fights for the sake of peace anyway? No, I’m not patronizing you and yes, you need this coaching session.
“Ok, go ahead call me cray cray. But you know I can’t suck up to you. I can’t even suck up to save my own freaking life.
“Geez! Don’t apologize. I’ll do exactly what you want— mind my own business— init?
“No p. But boy you fight dirty! Promise you won’t get into another fight all your life. Don’t want boots on the ground now do we? Don’t want to get all roughed up.”
A convoy of dark clouds pass over. They ensue enthusiastically. The trees wail and gnash and threaten to uproot as monstrous winds blow. A wild one smacks her face with some earth. She dashes into the house while her cousin takes her luggage inside. She’s been away for a while, at a psychiatric hospital in Accra. She had several bad trips, hallucinates, thinks someone is after her, obsessed with doing household chores and suicidal.
Her cousin looks at her and smiles a plastered smile. He tells her her parents are no longer together. He says they played the blame game—things got out of hand—she slapped him and he spat on her—he really doesn’t want to talk about them. She quickly finds the sofa and settles her behind as many things rush in on her. She remembers the doc saying there’s a thing line between mental wellness and mental illness as they all avoid looking at one another in Accra, her parents hardly speaking to each other. “I’m going to take her in. Thank your stars she doesn’t have HIV and her kidney is still running,” the doc adds.
She sighs and blames her victimizers. Even though a good number of them have been victimized at some point in their lives—thus making it a vicious cycle— victims and victimizers need mental health support. “And Chudi?” she asks. He frowns. He resents her asking about him—resents thinking of both of them— when they’re together the devil is with them. He tells her he’s nowhere to be found. “Heard he owes some people money and that he was stealing from home to pay off. We’re afraid he might be dead or just roaming the streets. Life happens you know-.”
His voice creeps into the back of her head as her heart races. She remembers the last time she saw Chudi. The parlor light was a dim red and voices rang from within. The smell of marijuana filled the big room; laughter and music pierced the dark night. It was a lollapalooza of a party, or so she thought. They were boozing and smoking until everything went amber and they felt nothing but sheer ecstasy.“Ice baby, let’s toast before you leave— c’mon don’t be a party-pooper,” he teases as he pulls her back. “To friends like old wine. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new. For He saith, the old is better.”She smiles and takes a sip from his cup after him.
Her cousin takes her hand, bringing her back. She sizes him up like she hasn’t seen him today. She notices his stick on smile again. It resembles a smirk now. “There you have it dear. Serves you right for being the world’s greatest sucker!” She imagines he is saying. She looks away. He’s had no misfortunes. He’salways been a good boy—always loved his books. He buries his head in them, only to lift it up and raise his thick eyebrows as if it was a eureka moment. She watches as the downpour lashes the windowpanes. Lightning strikes a couple of times and amidst the glow in the room she finds her face in his. Their characteristic big brown eyes and dimples is staring at her. Everybody in the family looked good, but only she was fat— she struggled with cellulite, and stretch marks, and flabs—she was miserable until she found Chudi.
He takes her hand again. “Coz, I’m sorry about everything. You should take a shot at life again. Put everything behind you.”
She looks at him steadily. “You have no idea, do you? Without Chudi nothing can happen for me.”
He is taken aback. She looks away stubbornly and slips away again. This time she and Chudi are leaving school after Saturday classes. They are the new show ponies in school. They buy expensive clothes with stolen money and party every day. Chudi he searches her face. “You look beautiful, head to toe smashing,” he says cupping her hands.
“Really?”
“Yeah. More than all the Kardashians put together.”
“Geez!”
“You’ll be all the days of our lives yeah?”
“I hope so,” she giggles.
She says say you’re my good luck charm. He says the same. She giggles again. “With you nothing can ever go wrong. Thanks for everything Chu chu.”
“I got you babe, any day, any time,” he says smiling.
Her heart begins to race.
Chudi can’t be destitute? He was the life of the party.Yes, it’s crazy. How can I be destitute?
She smiles. Of course.
He smiles back.
Gosh that smile can break any wall.
Yeah all for you, Angel eyes.
When I heard, I wanted to tear up.
And I know you can cry for the whole world. Crazy gal! You know doping is profitable, if you’re lucky… don’t let this mad luck weigh you down.
