I watch as the dancers sway to slow songs and dance recklessly to fast songs. The chaperones do their best to prevent too much body contact. They’re mostly unsuccessful, but they do their best.
After the dancing comes the reason for the party, the fundraising. “Where’s your father now?” mom asks.
I have a good idea of where he is, but I keep shut. Mom has to make a pledge of fifty thousand naira on his behalf. He would have probably made the same pledge or slightly higher.
The fundraising takes over thirty minutes. It’s excruciatingly long.
Afterwards, the principal gives a vote of thanks, which is also excruciatingly long. The dance then continues. But less people join in this time, others start leaving.
But mom and I can’t leave because my father decided to go see his mistress instead of taking his family home.
Mom calls his line but he doesn’t pick. She’s worried. She thinks something bad has happened to him. I should tell her the truth. She needs to know that he doesn’t deserve her worry. I don’t.
The dancers have reduced drastically now and so have the guests. The only guests left are those waiting for their ride or their children. Only two chaperones are left inside the hall. Naomi is one of them. Thunder is the other.
Mom stands up to go outside. I don’t know why, but I follow her. She stops me when we get to the door of the hall. “Just wait for me inside. Try to have some fun. I’m going to see if something’s wrong,” she says.
I return into the hall but I don’t sit. I watch the remaining three couples dance. Becca is one of them. She’s with someone I don’t know. She’s dancing like she’s some newly crowned princess.
After minutes without my mom’s return, I sit. The dance floor is empty now, and apart from myself, Thunder and the DJ who’s still playing songs, so is the hall.
“Why are you still here?” Thunder asks me.
“We’re waiting for my dad. You?”
“I have to make sure everything is in order before I go.”
The DJ is playing ‘All of me’ by John Legend now. I hum along. Thunder leaves my side and the hall shortly after. It doesn’t seem like he’s leaving entirely.
What’s mom up to now? She’s probably calling a cab to come pick us.
“I see you’re still here.”
I turn around and Naomi’s standing there, stunning. “You look good.”
“Thanks,” she says, sitting beside me. “You look okay.”
I know she isn’t talking about my dressing. “I think I am.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“His burial is tomorrow,” I say before I can stop myself. “After tomorrow people are going to forget him, but I won’t. I will always feel guilty for not stopping him. I will always blame myself for his death.”
Naomi sighs and takes a seat beside me. “You cannot live like that. You cannot blame yourself for other people’s actions. It was his choice and nothing you could have said or done would’ve changed his mind. Life’s already unfair; you cannot be unfair to yourself too. The best thing to do is try to move on. Blaming yourself won’t change what happened.”
“How can I move on?”
“There’s no handbook on ‘moving on’, you just gotta figure out what works for you. Try to live your life as best you can. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Thank you.” She smiles. “You didn’t invite any of your friends to the party?”
“I don’t have any friends here.”
“But you told the principal tutoring me would put a dent on your social life.”
“I did, didn’t I?” she says, laughing.
“How can you not have any friends here? How do you hope to survive?”
“It’s not that bad actually. I like being along most times.”
“No one likes being alone.”
“Everyone’s not the same.”
“So even on your birthday you’d like to be alone?”
“That’s when I like being alone the most. I hate my birthday.”
I’m perplexed. “Why would anybody hate their birthday?”
She sighs. “Let’s just say that when I was younger I received a horrible birthday present.”
I think of what the horrible birthday present could be. “Did you lose someone?”
“Something like that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, I’ve moved on. So will you.” She stands up. “I should find Mr. Ade, to see if he needs anything before I go.”
I stand up too. “Thank you, for always trying to help me. I really need it.”
“We all do. Everyone needs someone who’ll be there for them,” she says stretching her hand out. I hug her instead. I needed that. She puts one hand on my back before pulling away slowly. “You’ll be okay.”
“Miss. Naomi, a moment. We have a job to do,” Thunder’s voice thunders.
For a second there my heart beats heavily as if I was caught doing something illegal by the police, but Naomi is calm, so I calm down too. She leaves with Thunder while I sit back down.
A few minutes later, mom returns, says she’s been able to get a hold on my father. We wait for another good twenty minutes before he arrives. Mom’s pissed, but doesn’t say anything and neither do I. We’re basically the last ones there except for the security and a few chaperones that are outside, waiting to be done with the rest of their work. I don’t see Naomi among them.
He doesn’t even try to explain where he’s been the whole time and we don’t ask, well until mom asks when they’re inside their room. They go back and forth, quarreling, and he has the effrontery to yell at her when he’s the one at fault. I don’t hear a single word of their argument, so I decide to go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.