The screeching of the windows is what wakes me up and it’s Ezinne that’s the mastermind. I was fully awake when Papa, Ezechukwu and Egodi were about to leave for the park, so I didn’t plan to wake up till eleven.
“What the hell, Ezinne?” I say slightly more audible than a mutter, covering my face with my hand, shielding it from the morning sun, and giving her the levity to holler, “Mum, Kenny mentioned hell and my name in the same sentence!” But just as I hop off my bed, screaming “I didn’t!” she escapes my wrath almost like she had perceived the slipper under my blanket. I’ve literally never gotten her.
The next thing on my schedule before brushing my teeth is to see what’s going on Instagram, and post some pictures from yesterday, so I sneak to get the tablet. There’s a simple reason to why I don’t have a phone yet: Egodi and Ezechukwu didn’t get theirs till they were seventeen and almost in University. I’m almost sixteen and almost in University, and I’ve already been promised a phone to be presented to me grandly when my WAEC results come out. That’s in July, that’s been the tradition, and that’s only if I beat Ezechukwu's result.
The tab is a Samsung product with a grey pouch that’s totally unisex and it’s forty-five percent charged but I smuggle it into my room, switching on the mobile data anyways. I’d only use it for six minutes. How long does it take to post a picture on Instagram?
The tune for alerts plays continually as notifications rush in like crazy, and I quickly put the device on vibrate only. Most of the notifications are Ezinne's and I’m so cross because she’s three years younger and has over seventy more followers than I, but that’ll be in the past very soon, because I’m going to be less busy now and I’d give my Instagram all my attention.
Paschal's already posted; a series of pictures. Seven to be exact. The first is he, buff Ebuka and Leonard in the hostel quadrangle in dazzling white suits and a graduation robe covering their outfits. They all have Chelsea boots on, but just Ebuka has sunglasses on. The next is a picture of our graduation cake, Happy Graduation Immortals. It’s icing is green and yellow, it looks squishy and it has a picture of the school logo at the centre. I don’t know what it tasted like. Third is just Paschal near the Music lab putting on contact lenses. Fourth, Simi, Odinaka and ThankGod in the Ss3 hall. With P. P's the tallest in the pack and the darkest. ThankGod's sort of albino, sort of, because his eyebrows are jet-black, but his hair is golden brown, and he has these freckles albinos usually have due to over exposure to sunlight. His lips are also pink with a whitish hue.
“Emelie, where is the tab?” I hear Ezinne accuse my little brother. “You used it last.”
“Near the TV.”
“It’s not there.” I try to shoo their useless conversation far off right now, but I literally don’t know how to do that. It’s getting in the way of my Instagramming.
I race to my door and bolt it as soon as I hear, “Ask Kenny.” Phew! I literally wipe off sweat from my forehead and pant for a minute before I’m stable to think, “Back to the gram.” I really need to exercise.
As I double tap on the post, I slide to the fifth picture which was just an image of the sky, but with the white and blue CKCC drones in it. I wonder how Paschal got that, because it is just too magnificent. Quickly, I send him a message on Instagram. That drone picture is fire. How’d you get it? He replies almost immediately that Mr. Awo, who is the head of the intelligence security unit at school gave him the pic. Mr. Awo was his reply.
YOU ARE READING
Running Away Solves Everything
General FictionIt's 2018 on the islands of Lagos, Nigeria and however hard Ekene, Tomilola and Elvis try to convince themselves that they're okay, they know they aren't. Ekene had always struggled to be noticed and acknowledged, but now, as it extends to even his...
