It was days before Christmas, and Chukwu had come home from university. Sunny was in the kitchen cooking rice and stew when she heard him drive into the compound blasting Nas. Sasha would have been impressed. Nas was Sasha’s favourite rapper of all time.
Chukwu was with his best friend who’d nearly gotten him killed, Adebayo. Sunny eyed him as she added the last of the chicken wings to the stew and set it on low heat. She knew Adebayo but not that well. When he came by, he’d disappear into her brothers’ room with Chukwu to play video games. As they grew older, they’d immediately be off to play soccer or join those boxing matches Chukwu had never told her about or whatever they did.
The Adebayo whom Sunny knew was from that fateful night with the Red Sharks. He hadn’t seen her, but she’d seen him. All she could think now as she approached him and her brother, both of whom were bobbing their heads to the loud music, was that this idiot had slapped Chukwu across the face. How were they still friends? And from the swollen looks of the muscles bursting from their designer T-shirts, they’d continued working out in that dank sweaty basement of a gym.
“Welcome,” Sunny said, smiling at Chukwu as she walked up to the car. “How na dey?”
“I dey kanpe,” he said, giving her a hug. “I’m fine.”
She looked at Adebayo and felt a cool satisfaction when even with his muscles he seemed to shrink in her presence. “Good afternoon,” she said to him.
Sunny waited for Chukwu to greet their parents with Adebayo, drop Adebayo off at his home, and come back. She cornered him in the kitchen when she knew Ugonna was in his room submerged in a video conversation on his computer and their parents were watching a Nollywood film in the living room. Chukwu was microwaving some jollof rice and two large pieces of goat meat.
“Is that supposed to be a snack?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, moving past her to sit at the table. He flexed his arms as he put the plate down. “Gotta feed these.”
Sunny rolled her eyes and grabbed two plantain. “Want some?”
“Of course.”
She brought out a knife and sliced the first one down the skin. She removed the thick peel and put the plantain on a plate and did the same with the next. “So how have things been?” she ventured. “At school.” Her back was to him but she didn’t have to look to see that he’d stiffened.
“Very well,” he said.
“Good.”
“Next semester, my biology professor wants me to be his assistant lecturer.”
This time Sunny stiffened. To be a student lecturer was a highly respected position that students fought tooth and nail to get. It gave you valued teaching experience and broadcast to everyone that you were a top student. In addition, it showed that you had clout. It was one of the biggest reasons people joined confraternities.
“Really?” she said.
She turned around to find her brother looking straight at her. His face serious. “Yeah,” he said. “Everyone is afraid of me.” His face cracked into a smile. “They think I have strong juju, so they don’t want to mess with me.”
Sunny sat down across from him.
“What did you and Chichi do?” he asked.
“So you did something?”
“Can’t say.”
He laughed. “That’s what Chichi says. She gets all tricky and mysterious and tight-lipped. You want to know what Adebayo thinks?”
“What does he think?”
“He had terrible nightmares about me when I was gone,” he said. “About me being sliced up and my parts given to some ritual killer. He said he woke up with his heart slamming in his chest. He thought he was having a heart attack. He thinks God sent witches to take his life. Capo, I have seen him, but he won’t even look at me. He gets all shaky, starts muttering about Jesus, and practically runs in the opposite direction. All the teachers, I don’t know what people are telling them. They smile a lot at me and ask me if I need any help with studying. My maths professor offered to give me answers to the exam. I said no.”
“Take no help,” Sunny snapped with disgust. “What would be the point if it was all just…”
“I know,” he said. “We both love soccer. What would be the point if we didn’t have to play well to win, right? Same thing with school. I believe in learning… just like you.”
Sunny nodded.
He smirked. “That’s what I like about Chichi. Well, and because na dey beautiful, o.”
Sunny rolled her eyes. Does he even know about Sasha?! she wondered. She considered asking, then decided it wasn’t her business.
“Chukwu,” she said. “I’ve got a favour to ask you.” She got up to finish slicing the plantain.
“What is it?”
She sliced for a bit before speaking. If he said no, she had no idea how they’d get to Lagos. Maybe they’d find a funky train that drove out there. But how would she get the time away… without their father disowning her? No, she had to do this very, very carefully.
“We need to go to Lagos for something,” she blurted, turning to him. “Can you take us? It’s important.”
She quickly turned to her plantain, horrified with herself. She’d never been good at subtlety. That was Orlu’s strength. This was her brother who used to punch her hard in the arm and call her Clorox as a way of showing sibling love. How could she be subtle or careful with him?
“What’s so important there?” he asked.
“Don’t tell Mum or Dad,” she said. “I…”
“You aren’t involved in some dangerous cult thing, right?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Nothing like that. I just need to… meet with someone. Please, I can’t say more. You just have to trust me. Even if you won’t take–”
“I’ll take you,” he said.
“Huh?”
“I’ll take you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I owe you.”
Sunny shook her head. “No, you don’t.”
“You did something that got me out of a bad situation.”
“You’d do the same for me. You’re my brother.”
They stood looking at each other for a long time. Sunny’s heart beat fast with emotion as she remembered how he’d looked that night. She couldn’t keep the tears from welling up in her eyes.
“Okay,” he said softly. “I don’t owe you.”
“So why help me?”
He shrugged. “I want to make sure you’re safe.”
“Okay,” Sunny said, her throat tight. She turned back to her plantain, grabbing a pan and pouring vegetable oil into it. She added a bit of palm oil for flavour, just as her mother had taught her, and then turned on the heat.
“Plus, Adebayo will be there. He’s spending the break at the house of his rich uncle and auntie. They’re travelling to London, and they needed someone to watch their house.” He laughed. “He’ll have a huge mansion on Victoria Island all to himself. Living there like a king. Let me call him. When do you want to go?”
“Just after Christmas. We can spend New Year’s there, maybe.”
“So you and Chichi? And those other two, too?”
“Yes, me, Chichi, Orlu, and S-Sasha.” Her face grew hot.
“Who is this Sasha? The American, right?” Chukwu asked.
Sunny bit her lip. “Yeah, he’s…”
“Oh, I know about him,” Chukwu said. He said no more and Sunny was relieved.
“You think Ugonna will want to come?” Sunny quickly asked.
“And not be here with his sweetheart to ring in the New Year? Doubtful.”
Sunny scrunched her nose. “You mean Dolapo?” She’d met the girl once and was deeply annoyed by the way she looked Sunny up and down and then giggled. Since, Sunny hadn’t spoken a word to her when Ugonna brought her around.
“The one and only.”
“I’ll ask anyway,” Sunny said.
But Chukwu was right. Ugonna wasn’t interested in Lagos, unless he could bring Dolapo. Plus, there wasn’t enough room in the Jeep.
With Chukwu doing the asking, convincing their parents was even easier. “I guess you could use the break,” her father said. He didn’t say a thing about Sunny and her friends tagging along. He didn’t even look at her. With the proud way he clapped Chukwu on the back, Sunny knew they’d be assured plenty of gas money and her father would entrust Chukwu with a nice amount of spending money, too. Good. She was going to Lagos to meet a giant spider.