Chapter 07

Timmy had spent quite a few days in Donatus' house and so far, it had been work, work, work and more work. He had lost some weight already, but he was just beginning to resign himself to the strange life he now found himself. He was not eating as much as he used to, moping as much as he used to and visiting friends as much as he used to. Under Oga Dona's territory, there was no room for frivolous activities. Except on weekends, if he wasn't at the shop selling, he would be at warehouse loading or at the house balancing the books with the other boys in the evenings. Speaking of the other boys, they were surprised that he was learning fast, but they still did not consider him fully weaned enough to be in their clique. On this particular afternoon, he was sat beside them watching as they played Whot on a bench. They had not invited him and he wondered why. So far, he had been working hard to blend in, but he still had not been accepted. "Yo, why'd you guys leave me out?", he suddenly asked in his usual direct manner. They looked at one another with a puzzled expression on their faces. "Americana, wetin you dey talk?", Henry asked him. "I mean... I wanna play, you know." "You sabi play?" "Sure! Why not? I'm sabee... a lot." "Oya shuffle shuffle, make we play real game." "Come Americana," Chidi sneered. "Your mate no dey here o. We go beat you anyhow." "Americana, you wan put money?", Henry asked, with sudden inspiration. "Sure! I got 50 bucks here," he said providing a $50 bill from his wallet. "Chidi, na dollars be that o," Chukwuka said, his eyes sparkling. "Abegi, na fake. Dollars for where. Who dash this one Ghana money not to talk of dollars." "Come on, it's real. Here, check it out," Timmy smiled, handing it over to them. "I tell you say na dollars be this, you dey argue." "Make we give Oga, him go know whether na real or na fake," Chidi suggested. "Eh? No try am o," Henry whispered. "If this money reach Oga hand, e don go be that o." "So whatcha say, guys?" "Wetin you talk? Wachaseh?", Chukwuka demanded. "'What you say' nai him talk," Henry clarified. "Abi no be so, Americana?" "Yeah, man. You got that right." "Come, look here," Chidi called. "If you wan play this game, you have to speak the kind English that we sabi, you hear?" "Fine. I'm gonna try to speak like a Nageerian." "Naijirian." "Okay man. Naijeeriyan." "Abeg leave this guy before him go bite him tongue," Henry hissed, already shuffling the cards and doling them out. "Hmmm!", Chidi coughed, struggling hard not to smile after looking at the cards he'd been dealt. "Wetin happen?", Henry asked, glaring at him. "Nothing o. It is well." "Even inside the well," Chukwuka countered. "Na you go dey inside well," Chidi shot back. "Na your father you dey talk about," Chukwuka returned. "You dey krace?", Chidi shouted, standing up and towering over his colleague. "Who give you the right to insult my father like that?" "No be you start am?", Henry asked, hissing. "Abeg sidown, let us play this game." "I no play any nonsense game with idiots," Chidi retorted. He glared at every one of them in turn and finally threw the cards away in no specific direction before turning his back on the entire scene. But little did he know that one of the cards had actually hit Henry on the face. "You dey mad?!", Henry roared, charging after him. Before Chidi could turn around to see what was going on, he received the heavy blast of a backhanded slap from behind. Quickly recovering himself, he launched his own counter-attack in the form of a punch to Henry's nose which sent that fellow reeling backwards and falling on the bench that was being used for their game. The other boys, Timmy and Chukwuka had by now gotten to their feet and were trying their best to keep the combatants from each other to prevent further trouble. While Timmy calmed Chidi, Chukwuka was busy trying to assuage a furious Henry. "Guy, leave am. E don do. Just forgive am." But it was like a Cruijff turn - sharp and unexpected. Just when the mediators were thinking that everything was in control was when it happened. Suddenly breaking free from Chukwuka, Henry grabbed the bench and flung it, aiming squarely for Chidi's head, but his opponent was alert and ducked just in time. Timmy, who was standing with him and whose back was facing the other two boys, ended up receiving the heavy missile on the back of his head. And he fell down, unconscious. *** Chukwuka and Chidi sat together in silence watching a very ill-at-ease Henry pace back and forth. It had been several hours since Timmy was taken to the hospital. After the bench hit the wrong target, Chukwuka had wasted no time in running to fetch their boss who had been enjoying his siesta. He had been furious at first, but hearing of the incident, he dove for his car keys immediately. Half-dressed and with his indoor slippers on, he rushed down to the Boys Quarters, checked Timmy's vital signs and asked the boys to get him into his car. He jumped into the driver seat and off he went, straight to the hospital. None of the boys had possessed the courage to ask to ride with him and here they were - two huddled together like near-retirement cops on a late night stake-out while the third was alternating between biting his fingers and praying for divine mercy while pacing back and forth as if he was in a pacing competition. "This one wey you dey waka go back go front like Chief Priest inside shrine, how e wan take help you?", Chukwuka asked. But Henry ignored him and continued his pacing with even more vigor. "No be Oga motor be that?", Chidi suddenly asked, straining his ear to hear the horn better. The other two also stopped in their tracks to listen. "Na him o," Chukwuka announced as the horn sounded again. All three took off at the same time, but Henry who was running as if his life depended on it easily overtook them. Reaching the gate, he unlocked it and opened it to its full width. Never in his life had he been more serious and eager about opening a gate. Donatus was still some metres away and had been horning at other road users, but all three of his boys stood at the gate anxiously awaiting his arrival. When he drove into the compound, they were all eager to see the expression on his face. Their 'Welcome, Sah' had gone unanswered and they all knew that anything could have happened and could still happen. If anybody was known for punishing a group over the offense of one, it was Oga Dona. As he parked his car, they all rushed to the driver side. But the other two did not dare try to take Henry's place at the front. Donatus took his time in alighting from the car and when he finally did, all three bowed low and greeted, Henry bowing the lowest. They watched as their boss locked his car and tested the door to make sure it was really locked. They all wanted to speak, but some could not find the words while some were waiting for him to turn around. Eventually, he turned to face them. "Welcome, Sah," Chukwuka bowed and greeted for the third time in the last seven minutes and then proceeded to scratch his head and shift from one foot to the other. "Em... Oga, how... em.. how is th... the boy?" The rest stood with bated breath as they awaited the response. Even the speaker was not feeling very safe. The response may not be in words, it may be in the form of a walking stick landing on heads. Henry, on the other hand, was sure that if his boss were to say certain words, he would fall down and die. All their hearts were pounding wildly as they looked to Donatus, expecting every minute to hear the worst news they would ever hear in a long time. "You are all lucky that he's alive," Donatus hissed. "Hey! Heavenly Father... all praise be to you," Henry shouted, falling on his knees and raising both hands to the sky. "And you, this idiot," Donatus spat, turning to the kneeling apprentice. "You are more than lucky that Timothy begged me not to inform his parents otherwise you would have been on your way to Kirikiri Maximum Prison by now. If he had died, (chuckling bitterly) by now I would have finished making the call to your parents to inform them of where the firing squad would be taking place. Fooool." With that, he made his way to his house, closely followed by thanks, well-wishes and prayers from a very grateful Henry who seemed to have suspended his praises to the Heavenly Father for the meantime. "Mffeeeew," Chidi hissed and Chukwuka giggled as they watched their colleague on his hands and knees calling on choice heavenly blessings to engulf his boss in all the earthly and heavenly languages he could muster. But Henry did not mind. After exhausting his store of blessings, he resumed giving praises to the heavenly father. As far as he was concerned, nothing was too much to celebrate this moment. He knew just how much trouble he had escaped. After all he had done, he would not be sent away in disgrace, beaten to a coma or sent to prison. In fact, it was nothing short of a miracle. When Timmy returns, he would gladly be at his beck and call forever. ***** No one was happier than Henry when few days after the bench incident, Donatus announced that he was going to bring Timmy from the hospital. He alone had been the one visiting the boy, taking food and other things to him, but now, the other boys would get to see their colleague again. Apart from the fear of a sudden relapse that might result in his death, they were all relieved that he was coming back. They missed him badly. In his absence, there had been no one to be the butt of their jokes and no one to entertain and confuse them with a strange style of speaking. All three of them prepared themselves mentally for the welcome of their friend and colleague, but only Henry took it farther by dressing for the occasion. When Chukwuka asked if he was going to attend a church service, he simply ignored him and walked away, singing a Christian song of praise to God. "The guy is now a holy man," Chidi chuckled in mockery. "See you see the biggest trouble of your life and you just escape like that. If na you, you no go holy?", Chukwuka asked. "Anyway, there is God," Chidi sighed and went his way. An hour later, all three came together and rushed for the gate when they heard the horn of their boss' car. They opened the gate without wrangling and bowed and welcomed him into the compound. When he parked his car, they were already standing beside it, ready for the next round of bowing and welcoming. They still were not sure if Donatus would let them go unpunished for what happened to Timmy. The man in question stepped out of the car and they delivered their compliments, not all three though. Only Chukwuka and Chidi were at the driver side. Henry's loyalty had switched sides and he was at the passenger side, welcoming Timmy and helping him out of the car as if his legs were the ones hit by the bench. "I'm fine, man. I can walk," Timmy said as his feet touched the ground. But Henry would not hear of it. "Small small, small small," he admonished, holding Timmy's hand and leading him towards the Boys Quarters as if he was an aged man. The other boys were watching him with mockery written boldly on their faces, but Henry did not care. He led Timmy, who had resigned himself to the status quo, all the way into the Boys Quarters, got him a chair to sit on and rushed off to go fix something for him to eat. When Henry came back with the food: a plate of hot jollof rice, Timmy was chatting amiably with Chidi and Chukwuka. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell them to let the boy rest, but he managed to swallow the words before they could escape from his mouth. He brought a stool, placed it in front of Timmy and placed the plate on it. "Houseboy Industries Limited," Chidi mocked, and subsequently faked a cough. But Henry was deaf to his taunt. He was totally focused on getting water for his new boss. "Afamako Group of Companies," Chidi taunted again as Henry rushed in with a jug and a glass. Henry still did not reply. He got a pillow and placed it at the back of the chair as a headrest for Timmy's bandaged head. "Won't you join me?", Timmy said as he took his first spoonful, eliciting a cough of disapproval from Henry. "We are not hungry," Chidi and Chukwuka chorused, making Henry a little relaxed. "I'm serious, guys," Timmy urged between mouthfuls. "Go get your spoons." "Okay na," Chidi said and went off with the speed of light to go fetch a spoon. Chukwuka quickly followed him and Henry made sure they noticed his venom-filled glare. But they acted as if they hadn't. "Americana Americana. Na you sure pass," Chukwuka hailed as he returned, spoon in hand, and established himself on Timmy's left. Chidi quickly took up his position on the other side, digging into the rice even before he was seated. "Yo Harry, ain't you joining the feast?", Timmy called to the glaring Henry. "Don't worry, I've already eaten. (in an unpleasant tone) Chukwuka, na your turn to open shop today, sheybi..." "I know, I know," Chukwuka hissed, shoveling food faster into his mouth and attracting a glare from Chidi. One large spoonful and he dropped his spoon into the plate and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Greedy idiot," Chidi murmured, but Chukwuka ignored him. "Americana, I fit drink w..." "Sure. Help yourself." Chukwuka grabbed the glass, filled it with water and emptied it in a few gulps. Burping loudly, he made his way to the door. "Thank you o, Americana," he called over his shoulder. "Make I dey go open shop." "See you later, man." Chukwuka bounced out of the room, sighing loudly and advertising a company as he went. "Henry O. Henry Servant Company Nigeria Limited. We offer all kind of houseboy and servant services including cooking, helping you to sit down, helping you to waka and other work that you did not send us. Visit us today or call us on 080555444000." *** The day being a weekday, it had meant a lot of work for everyone except Timmy who was allowed to stay back home and rest. As a result, he spent most of the day alone. He played as many mobile games as he could until he was out of batteries and then he slept. By the time he woke up, the rare electric power supply was on and he quickly charged his phone. He felt like talking to someone, but there was no one to talk to. Everyone seemed to have deserted him. His friends, when they heard of his current situation and his lack of funds and freedom, had stopped calling him. His family he had vowed never to contact, but also, none of them contacted him. He knew that his parents got regular updates from Donatus and he wished it would continue. He didn't want to speak to any one of his family members ever again, especially his mother, after their joint betrayal and abandonment of his unfortunate self. He would do everything humanly possible; he would work hard to succeed and show them that he could live without them. It was night when the boys returned, but Henry was the first to come into the dark Boys Quarters. When he had finally managed to turn on the lights, he found Timmy sprawled on the lone sofa in the room. "What happen, Americana?", he asked in panic, rushing to his side. "Nothing, man. Just a lil' bored." "Okay," Henry said, relieved. "Eh Americana," he said after a few seconds of silence. "Hope you're not still vexing for me about what happen that day because you know, it's an accident." "Forget it, man. Leave the past in the past. Know what?", he asked, suddenly jumping to a sitting position and startling Henry in the process. "Where're the other guys?" "They are coming. Why are you asking?" "Get the cards, man. I still got my fifty bucks here." Henry stared at him, undecided. It was on the tip of his tongue to offer an objection, but when he saw Timmy pull out the dollar bill from his pocket, he changed his mind and quickly went to fetch the Whot cards. Who knew what could happen before the arrival of the others.