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~CHAPTER FIVE~

   My dad and I, arrived home very late on the night of my valedictory service. I was so happy my dad had taken to one of the best eatery to celebrate my success.
"Dad, thank you." I said as I collected my remaining gifts my dad brought into my room.
"You are welcome, you deserve a lot better, I am proud of you."
"Can Ekina sleep with me?" I said as I sat on my bed.
"She will be better of with me."
"Alright. Good night." I covered myself with my blanket as my dad turned the lights off.
"Good night." he muttered and left.
As soon as I heard my dad's door locked, I stood up, groping in the darkness looking for the switch so I could put on the light. After I turned on the light, I took out my mum's photograph from my wardrobe and starred at it.
"Mummy, today was such a wonderful day." I said. Anyone who will see me talking to a picture will think
I am hallucinating, but this was the best way I could pacify myself. Spiritually, most people believe that it is a way of communicating with the dead, but this is not what it means to me, I believe it just a way of speaking to someone who you will never see again until rapture.
"Mum guess what? I am now an undergraduate, I won lot of awards. What makes me happier is that, I was able to confess my feelings to the boy I have been crushing on and he kissed me." I said laughing out loud.
"You kissed a boy?" a voice interrupted. I was startled, I turned to see who it was.
"Yuki! What are you doing awake? I thought you were sleeping." I said in fear.
He walked into my room and stood and started looking around.
"I just couldn't sleep," he said and sat on my bed . "so tell me about the boy you like?"
"Shut your mouth, so you were eavesdropping?"
"No, just heard you."
"Was I too loud?"
"Don't know and by the way who were you talking to?"
"Mum!" I blurted out.
"Liar. You can't speak to the dead, because they don't have the five senses, except if you are going crazy. So tell me?"
"Tell you what?" I asked irritably.
"If you don't tell me about your romantic moment with the boy, then I will tell daddy." he moped.
"I can't tell you, you are still too young and it is none of your business. Period."
"I am thirteen, meaning I am a teenager, I am a big boy. Are you going to telling me or___ "
"It was an accident, he kissed me on my cheek, he is not my boyfriend and I have never had one." I confessed.
"An accident, but you sounded happy talking to your imaginary mom about it?"
"No. Was I?"
"Are you asking me? When you know you really did it, you're still asking? Who does that? One thing about you is, it is easy to know when you are lying."
"I am not lying, please don't tell Daddy."
"Uh___ what is this?" he said bringing out red roses from my drawer beneath my bed.
"Um___ it's Dera who gave me." I stammered.
"From the boy who kissed you?" he said admiring the bunch of roses.
"No! I said it is from Chidera." I said almost loosing my temper. "Can you give me the flower and leave?" I said trying to control my temper.
"Not without the flowers." he said and ran off with it to his room, I chased him but I couldn't catch him, he succeeded in locking his door. I knocked the door gently, so I won't wake up other members of the house.
"Yuki! Those are mine. Please give it to me." I pleaded.
"I have to keep them, they are beautiful."
"Please just give them to me." I said overwhelmed by his behaviour.
"Just go it's eleven already, I want to sleep." he said . I heard him bounce on the bed, which means he is not ready to give it back. I walked back to my room angry.
How could my little teenage brother make me feel so little? Just look at how he made me beg him in vain, infact, I am so fed up with my brothers character, maybe I got to teach them a lesson, especially Osayuki, look at how he made my best day become useless. What will become of me, if my Dad get to know? First of all, he will think I have been in a relationship while in secondary school. Funny enough, I argued with him about his own relationship, now it is my turn. I am sure he is going to make me his punching bag or maybe a topic he will write on for publication.

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     I was on a long holiday and I had time to take care of my baby sister, I didn't need to take her to the daycare.
"Nora what are your itinerary for this holiday, before going to the university?" My dad said when he came into my room while I was wearing Ekina her dress.
"Nothing dad, I will be taking care of Ekina." I said putting on my brightest smile.
"You know you have to learn a skill."
"I know, but Ekina___"
"Can't you drop Ekinadose at the daycare and learn something? " he interrupted.
"It will be a waste of money besides I am also learning too when I take care of her."
My Father laughed "You are but, what I am talking about is life skills, which you can use to make money in case there is no job opportunity in the future. What you call a skill, is not because, anyone can do it. Anyone."
"I will think about it." I said as I put Ekinadose to sit on the bed.
"It is not by saying you will think, you don't have to think about it, because it is necessary. What you should be thinking of is what trade do you have interest in."
"Catering" I muttered.
"Is that what you what to learn?"
"Yes"
"Why?"
I shrugged, I just wanted my dad not to bother me, I needed privacy at the moment and if I tell him, he might do something that I will regret opening my mouth for weeks.
"'Cause I can learn it from home."
"Learn catering from home?"
"Yes now, online."
"Nora you are funny o___ do you think is that easy, even if you think you can, it's better you go out there and have experience, so that you will not be feeling you are the Queen of the kitchen, when others are even better "
"I think, this is best for now."
"What is best? Learning online?"
"Don't they take classes online again? Infact, that will be the best. If I don't who will."
"That is a question I have answered long before now. I really appreciate your care towards your siblings and I, you have really played the role of an older sister. Can I ask a question?"
"Yeah" I said standing up from the bed to get Ekina's feeding bottle from my study table, I gave it to her and sat down on the bed.
"When you go to the university, who will take care of Ekina?"
I just starred at him puzzled not having the right answer to give him.
"Well, I won't be schooling far, like I told you, I am not going to Regent University."
I said after the prolonged silence.
"Why? Is it because you want to be with your sister. You know is not possible. You are going to Regent!" he ranted.
"Awesome! For all I care, I am not. I can go to any university here in Nigeria. "
"Nora, eight years ago your mother and I agreed that as the first child of this family, you will complete your education abroad. You can't change that now, not because your mom is dead, you have to fulfill our plan."
"Daddy, that was eight forgotten years ago, then I couldn't make decision but now I can, wherever I want to go is my buisness. By the way are there not good universities here again? Schools like UNILAG, UNIBEN, UNIPORT and the rest are they not schools?" I retorted .
"Nora you are going to regent!" he said annoyed, ruffling his hair. "Even if you want to school here what university? "
"UNILAG," I snapped ."Why? I want to be closer to the house, every weekend I also want to have time to check my baby" I answered my self because I know he will ask me Why? Because he is a why-daddy.
"Noredia! You need to apply Logistics here. See I don't see any reason not to agree, it is because you are afraid"
"I don't want to and you can never change my mind." I pouted, stubbornly.
"Aha! You don't want a nanny for two reasons right?"
"What reason? The only reason I have is__"
"Shut your mouth! You don't have any reason other than to hang out with boys and kiss them!" He yelled.
"No!" I muttered in dismay.
"What? Is that not what you did? What about the flowers?"
"It is from Dera" I said looking at the tiled floor, wishing the ground should open and swallow me and you know that is impossible, but I wish it can be possible at the moment. Hmm___ don't you think if that happens, I will be the first to start shouting 'HELP!' .
"I know you too well and I know when you're telling a lie."
"Daddy it is not true, I did not kiss him, he__"
"he kissed you is that it? So that is the kind of life you want to be living now. Who knows what could possibly happen next." he said in anger.
"No!" I said as the tears I was trying to conceal flooded my sweaty cheeks.
"What should I call us now?" he said holding the knob of the door as he stood at the entrance of my room. "Don't ever say you learn't it from me, this should be the last time we talk on this nanny issue." he flunged the door open and left.
Out of frustration, I hit my fist on the wall. This is it! Like father like daughter, that is the answer to the question he asked. I cried my eyes out forgetting I left Ekina unattended to.