A Story Of Deceit

Episode 37

I pondered over living with David and then, I came to a conclusion, there was no need staying at the school, afterall, most of my mates didn’t. Besides, it would be a better way to keep an eye on David. I gathered my things and packed them into a box. I informed David that I was on my way. He didn’t sound enthusiastic as I expected him to sound but, he consented anyway. Uwa begged and begged, she asked me not to leave the hostel, she reminded me of my uncle and my mum, but, I was almost twenty, I felt I had the right to make decisions, besides, I had lived with David before so, he was not a stranger. ‘Okay oooo no problem’, she said.

I moved into David’s house that same day without consulting my mum or my uncle. ‘How would they ever know?’, I asked myself.

I swore never to skip lectures when I first started living with David but after a while, things changed. I began skipping classes and missing sewing tests. Uwanah was very worried, I assured her that, everything was fine and that, I was okay. I turned to a house maid, since, I arrived at David’s house, he became stupendously idle. I noticed that, David was not as always busy as he had always told me. He didn’t really go out much, he was just at home all day. He just operated his laptop, doing stuffs I didn’t understand. Each time, I asked him, he would say, his business was also internet based. ‘Do you sell car parts too from your laptop?’, I asked him one day. ‘Yes, I do, are you happy now?’, he asked. ‘No, I just wanted to know, and also be sure about the kind of work you’re involved in’, I said. ‘So, you don’t trust me’, he said angrily. ‘Not, that’s not what I meant’, I said. ‘Then, allow me face my business, afterall you’re not paying any money for feeding here’, he said abruptly. I was shocked beyond words that David could make such a statement and for a moment, I considered Uwa’s warning.

I went to school later that day, we were told to look for a place for internship where we’d spend three months and come back with report from the CEO of the fashion store. I called my mum to inform her about it, she asked me to return the following weekend.
She said I was going to do the internship at a shop close to the house. I didn’t just want to argue with her over the phone. Why would I go for my internship in a fashion store near my house when there was a fashion store not too far from David’s house?. Uwa informed me, that she’d go back to her family as she had missed them very much. She still cared about how I was fairing and she asked me how things were at David’s house, I just told her things were great.

I got home, very exhausted that evening.
I hoped to eat, freshen up and go to bed. When I opened the door, the view got me really angry. I found the plate David used for breakfast that morning on the chair, another plate probably for lunch, two cups on the floor and his shirt also on the floor. I was really angry, it was unlike David. David used to clean the house when we lived together in the other compound. ‘David’, I yelled. ‘David’, I yelled again. He came out of the room and stared at me despicably. ‘Is something wrong with you?, why are you yelling like that?’, he asked. ‘What do you mean by, why am I yelling like that, see ehn, David, I didn’t come to this house to work as your maid oooo, just look at this place, so, you can’t pick up the things you used, this was not how you behaved when I first met you’, I complained. ‘Well, people change’, he said. ‘You’re in this house, we are in a relationship, you’re like a wife to me, so I expect you to take care of these little things’, he said.

My heart fluttered at the sound of the word, “wife”. ‘You really see me as your wife?’, I asked. ‘Of course’, he replied smiling. The grin on my face was pretty wild and the love or maybe the lust I had for him increased.

I asked him to relax and forget about my statements earlier and I went on with the cleaning of the house. The meal I prepared before I left for school had been devoured by David already. I wanted to ask him what happened to the meal I prepared but I didn’t want to annoy him so, I figured I could prepare another meal and make him more happy. Things continued that way, till I left that weekend.

When I got to my uncle’s home that day, I received lots of, ‘Uwa, welcome’, from most of the workers, the gateman and especially Ngozi. Stella just said, ‘hi’. I was actually happy for her, she had gotten a grip of herself, after sitting for WAEC again and failing woefully, she decided a trade was the best thing from her. It was really nice to be home but I was really missing David.

I couldn’t wait to leave the house on Monday or probably Tuesday. I spent a whole lot of time talking to Ngozi, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her that I had left the hostel for a boy’s house, I knew she’d be disappointed so, I kept it to myself.

My mum, uncle and Stella’s mum returned late that night. I rushed out to greet them. I was expecting a cold stare from just Stella’s mum but both my uncle and my mum gave me cold stares, they didn’t even acknowledge my greetings. I decided to overlook it as I felt they were tired. I went to my room afterwards, I felt really bad, Before, my mum would have followed me to my room to ask me several questions but, she didn’t.
I was about to sleep when I heard a knock on my door. ‘Uwanah, come out, your uncle are waited in the parlour for you’, she said. Why was my uncle waiting for me in the parlour at that odd hour, it was really late, I thought everyone would have gone to bed and talking would have to wait till the next day. ‘Okay, ma, I’m coming ma’, I said. ‘Come sharp sharp’, she said bluntly and left. My mum too was acting really weird, I knew something was wrong and I had to find out.

I was expecting to see just my uncle in the living room but, my mum, Stella, Ngozi and Mrs. Martins were in the living room. My impetuous curiosity took over me and I asked, ‘What’s happening here?’. ‘Mannerless girl, won’t you sit down first?’, Mrs. Martins hurled. I just asked a question so, why would she hurl, I looked at my mum, she was silent. Before, she’d have defended me if Mrs. Martins even said a word to me but she was really silent. I sat down and had a very inquisitive look on my face. ‘Uwa, welcome back from school’, my uncle said. ‘Thank you sir’, I said. ‘You know, since you started living in the house, anything going on must be known by every member of this family for their candid opinions and views’, he explained. ‘Yes, sir, I know’, I replied. ‘Okay, that’s good you know’, he said. ‘So now, I want everybody’s honest opinions and advice on what I should do about Uwanah leaving the school’s dormitory to God knows where’, he announced. My heart skipped a bit, how on earth did he find out?