Sprigs from Ice

Part One// 14. Fresh Blossoms (b)

We were in Spintex. And it wasn't until Aunty Ama turned the car onto a junction beside a very familiar hardware store and drove down a tree-lined avenue that it began to creep on me that I was actually going to do this. When I woke up this morning, my only thoughts were how much of Gravitational force and Kepler's laws I'd be able to revise before moving on to some biology past questions with Astrid. I had never anticipated my day turning out like this.

God, did he even know I was coming?

Before I could ask that question aloud and get an answer, Aunty Ama stopped the car next to a wall entirely covered in hedge growth with tall trees on the other side nearly blotting out the view of the house itself. Right across the street was that architectural masterpiece I recognized as Uncle Eric's house.

Aunty Ama unlocked the doors and turned to us. She kept the engine running, so I knew she wasn't coming in with us. "I'll pick you girls up at around three. Is that okay with you, Tricia?"

"Yes, aunty." I replied, picking up my bag.

"Don't worry. I told your mum before we left that I would be bringing you and Astrid here, so she's aware you're not at our place."

"Okay." That was one hurdle taken care of. "Thank you."

"You girls enjoy your stay."

Astrid and I simultaneously climbed out of the car, and I let her take the lead as we walked towards the black gate. She pressed a doorbell that stuck out between the foliage, and we patiently waited. At the clanking sound of the gate being opened, I nearly gave in to the impulse to run back to the car, but forced my muscles to remain locked in place.

A young man with several black spots all over the fair skin of his face smiled at us as he pulled the gate open wider. "Awura Afua!" He beamed at Astrid. "Nowadays, you don't like coming to visit us at all. What did we do to you, hm?"

"Oh, Peter. It's school oh, hm." Astrid said dramatically as she stepped past the threshold. Once we were both in, Aunty Ama gave a wave and drove away. "School keeps me so busy, there's barely enough time to visit anyone. Anyway, this is my sister from another mother, Tricia."

"Hello." I smiled at Peter as he gave me a friendly nod.

"Your cousin is at the back." Peter told Astrid before disappearing into what looked like a guardhouse.

An Araucaria stood on one side of the compound, surrounded by a circle of freshly cut grass. Lining the front of the wide porch was a range of pruned Ixora shrubs with yellow and red flowers. The porch itself held a pot containing some sort of palm plants to one side, and a collection of cane furniture. The air here was cool, and there was a ton of shade. I imagined how relaxing it would be to settle into one of those inviting chairs and thumb through a book.

Astrid led me around the building on a paved path lined with actual rose bushes and bright violets. An orange tree stood a bit farther back, ripe with fruits that made my mouth water. As we neared the back of the house, the sounds of a ball bouncing off the ground reached us, along with snippets of conversation.

"With Jojo switching schools at the last minute, their defence will be shit for sure, and although Seyram can dribble quite well, his skill exists purely for showing off. I wouldn't rule him out so quickly, but I'm positive he won't be able to mark me. Besides, I am CA's best striker."

"So in short, you will have no competition on the field."

"Precisely."

David drew back a few steps, his calculating gaze going from the ball to the hoop on the other side of the court. He broke into a soft jog, brought his foot down on the ball and sent it soaring on a neat trajectory straight into the basket.