Sprigs from Ice

Part One// 14. Fresh Blossoms (a)

I pushed off the wall as the door opened, and mum stepped out of the master bedroom in a cream long-sleeved knee-length dress and matching pumps. She had her laptop bag in one hand, which I collected, and her phone and wallet in another hand.

"What are your plans for today?" She asked while we made our way towards the stairs.

"I'll be going to Astrid's house for the afternoon." I replied.

Sound plan. Mum was going to work and dad would be heading out soon with Uncle Eric, whose appearance in front of our gate this morning had surprised me. It had lifted my spirits for a while, but now those spirits were quickly falling. At least going to Astrid's would keep loneliness from gnawing at my insides.

We passed dad and Uncle Eric in the kitchen where they were discussing business, and mum grabbed the keys to the Lexus SUV before stepping out with me following suit.

"I hope you girls get some studying done." She said. The car beeped twice when it was unlocked, prompting me to open the passenger side and set the laptop bag on the seat. "The WASSCE will start in two weeks and I don't want you to waste time with unnecessary conversations."

Ah, yes. The WASSCE. Couldn't wait to be done with it. It would commence, as mum said, next two weeks with our first papers being Integrated Science and Biology. The A-levels would start the following week. I'd taken a peek at the timetable on the school's website this morning. Even though we'd start a week earlier, the A-level candidates would finish a week before we did.

For some reason, almost everyone at school had started questioning why David and I were rarely seen together these days, drawing their own conclusions and spreading them around, Kesewaa's voice loudest of all. Thanks to her, everyone believed we had broken up.

It was a hilarious situation. David and I weren't dating in the first place. It was also frustrating, because all I wanted to do was sit in the library with him, watch F1 videos and debate which team was the best. Once, I'd found such things a waste of time. How ironic. My heart wanted it; my mind said no.

The door to the driver's side shut, jolting me out of my thoughts, and the passenger's side window was rolled down midway. Mum was smiling softly at me.

"Um...did you forget something?" I asked timidly, glancing back at the house. "I could go get it for you. Or..."

She shook her head lightly. "No, love. I'm only proud of you for making the right choices, that's all."

"Oh." Mustering up the courage to smile was like preparing to jump off a cliff. "Yeah. Thanks."

She waved, and the glass went back up. I stepped aside as the car was put in reverse, a smooth U-turn was executed, and she was finally out on the street.

I'm proud of you.

It was all I ever wanted to hear. But I was hearing it for all the wrong reasons.

. . .

When it came to boy problems, Astrid's head was never in the right place. Especially when she was a mood. The drama with Adam was over, thank the Lord. But something else had taken its place.

Clinking noises came from Astrid's side of the table, and I looked to see her aggressively mixing sugar into her Hausa koko. She continued to stir, even though I was pretty sure the sugar was all mixed in by now, frowning into the bowl like it owed her something.

When she was finished, she pouted at me and asked, "Are you sure you aren't hungry? I can share my koko."

"I'm fine." I replied. My phone lay facedown in my lap, and I lifted it and placed it on the table. "I already ate and I'm full."