Before it hit him

 

It is really hot. I can feel sweat seep out through every pore on my body. I cannot wait for us to finish. Well, I can, I don't have a choice, but if I could, I would make it snow in my bedroom, for a few minutes at least.

Derrick is hot and uncomfortable too. I know because he is furrowing his eyebrows. He always furrows his eyebrows when he is uncomfortable.

He is on top of a ladder trying to get the air conditioner fixed and I am assisting him, a remote kind of assistance.
Occasionally he says, "bring the screwdriver" or "pass that wrench" or "give me water" and I obey quickly because he is doing me a favour.
We are playing music while undergoing our 'project' because of mom in the next room. We don't want her to hear any tinkering. It upsets her. She says that I should stop making Derrick fix my air conditioner everytime it stops working because Derrick could make it worse instead of fix it. She also always promises to get a new one fixed for me when she has the money since this one keeps breaking down but I know she won't. We cannot afford things like air conditioners anymore.

"Could you give me that thing with holes?"

My eyes follow the direction Derrick is pointing towards. He is referring to one of the materials we— well, he removed from the air conditioner earlier on that was now laying on the table beside me. Before handing it to him, I tell him that it is called a plastic filter mesh and he hisses.

"Just because you know this one somebody will not hear word, elenu robo robo bi ti telephone wire"

He is feigning annoyance. I know because he is laughing. I laugh too.

"I am an engineering student oh, you cannot sha know more than me...oya what is that one outside called?", he asked facing me.

"This is a split AC, the one outside is the outdoor unit", I say.

He looks impressed and wipes off sweat from his forehead. His eyebrows are no longer furrowed, I notice.

"How do you know these things? You even know most of the tools without asking me any questions, how?"

I hesitate and stare at the pink wall in front of me for a while, then I tell him.

"He taught me"

"Who?"

"Daddy taught me all these things, before...before it hit him."

I watch Derrick's eyes drop. I want to apologise for mentioning the taboo word, "daddy" and promise never to mention it again but I do not, because I know that this would not be the last time.
Derrick nods his head when he notices me still staring at him and asks for water, then a face towel.
He cleans his face and dries his eyes. 

If daddy were here, Derrick wouldn't be up on this ladder trying to help me fix my room air conditioner, it would have been Kunle, the A.C guy. I wouldn't be here either. Derrick and I would have gone back to our schools in America or anywhere else where children of politicians go to. We would have left here, this place if mom did not already spend all the money we had on trying to help daddy.
We are here because daddy is out there. We see him sometimes around the roundabout when he escapes from wherever he was kept on our way when we still used to visit our cousins but we stopped visiting them after aunty Funke told mom that the thing that hit daddy hit him because he was a ritualist and mom slapped her hard on the face.
Mom says we should delete aunty Funke from our minds. She doesn't say it but we know we have to delete daddy too. He was only our daddy before it hit him, now, he is the mad man roaming Lagos that we have to pretend not to know.

Author's note: In my original plans, I intended to always add an author's note at the end of my posts(wattpad style, I know 🙈) with the moral of the story or something.

However, I think I am changing my mind. I just hope my stories help you pay attention to different subjects and you form your own lessons.

Thank you for reading!

P.S Happy International Men's Day!

P.S.S Men(and girls)! please take care of your mental health. Pay attention to it and seek help when you need to. I believe therapy helps, I also strongly believe in Jesus Christ and His power to heal. Jesus and therapy💕

Elenu robo robo bi ti telephone wire means 'curly mouth like telephone wire', it is a way of saying a person has a smart mouth (I think, my Yoruba is not so good😂).

Connect with my socials! Is there anything you think is not talked about enough that you would like me to create a story with? Send me a DM on Instagram @xxcell__ 💕