I wake up one morning and its Friday, the day of the fundraising party. I am in no way hyped for it, but I have to go. Not only because it’s compulsory for all students but also because mom thinks a party might help me feel better about Rich’s death. I think she’s scared I might get depressed. To be honest I’m scared I might be depressed.
My father leads prayers that morning, so yeah I don’t get into it. What’s worse about it is that there’s no school that day and no work for him because he took a day off for the party, so he uses a whole hour for prayer that morning, mostly asking for the forgiveness of sins and that God helps us make heaven.
Hypocrite!
Mom’s phone rings out twice during prayers then she puts it off. After prayers, she turns it on and dials the phone number. She says it’s Rich’s mom, so I wait to hear if it’s something I would want to know.
It was. Apparently they were leaving town for a while and wanted to have an impromptu burial ceremony for Rich, tomorrow.
After telling me, mom asks if I’m okay. I nod and leave to go do my chores. I’m not okay. But I have hope. Maybe burying Rich will help me through the pain.
After my chores and breakfast mom and I spend hours picking out the perfect dress for me, or more accurately she spent hours disapproving every dress I chose.
“Mom it doesn’t matter how I’m dressed. I’m only going to this thing because it’s compulsory.”
“But you’re going, and that means you have to look good.”
We end up going to the mall in her car. She hardly goes out in her car.
We return with a bag of clothes, one of which I’m wearing to the fundraising party; a brown suit with black stripes.
Evening comes fast. The party’s starting by 7pm, but we leave the house 7:30pm. When we get there they’re just starting. The party is holding in our assembly hall. For the party it was arranged and decorated differently. The chairs are arranged in semi-circles with the number of each semi-circle increasing as it goes back.
My father says something about going to buy something real quick and then takes off. Before long it’s like he never came.
The principal takes the floor after prayers. He explains the importance of the party to the parents; to raise funds that would be used for important projects in the school. He lists a couple of things I didn’t know was wrong with the school, then he lists things that everyone knows is wrong with the school, like some severely messed up lavatories and the lack of teachers.
I notice that some students aren’t sitting with their parents but with their dates. I laugh within me knowing that even if I had a date I wouldn’t dare sit with her when my mom is here.
Afterwards, introductions are done, and that takes longer than I’d have thought. Some people like to talk at the slightest opportunity. When my father is introduced, mom speaks on his behalf.
Some performances are done afterwards, and surprisingly, some are done by parents. It’s kinda fun to be honest. I don’t think about Rich for quite a while, well, until now.
I look back for like the seventh time tonight, looking for nothing in particular, but now I see something… someone; Naomi, dressed in a cream colored well-fitted lace gown. She’s standing at the back, probably just coming in, and she looks awe-inspiring.
I look at her for a long while before mom draws my attention to something she found funny on stage.
A presentation was made on the history and founding of the school and I feel dizzy immediately it begins.
A couple more things happen that I zone out of. I realize at some point that my father still hasn’t returned from getting whatever he was getting. Mom doesn’t seem bothered by it. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t have a clue he’s a cheat. She trusts him too much and doesn’t find anything he does suspicious. She believes that he lives by the Word of God as much as she does. He doesn’t.
Something that I don’t hear is announced. Mom draws my attention to it as I notice people standing from their seats. The stage is being cleared and a cool-tempo song is playing. The first dance is starting.
“Won’t you dance?” a familiar voice asks. It’s my moms.
I’m perplexed. Is this my mom asking if I won’t dance to a ‘worldly’ song? Nah, something must be wrong.
“I’m not in the mood,” I answer.
The dancers start by dancing apart before dancing in pairs, monitored by chaperones so they don’t go too close to each other. Naomi is one of the chaperones, most teachers are.
Someone taps me. I look back to see Becca. She’s wearing a stunning black dress no longer than her knee, and the front shows cleavage. “Hi,” she says before greeting mom. Mom answers her but I can hear the distaste in her voice. It’s a good thing she never knew we dated. I’d have been taken for deliverance for dating a witch.
“Hey,” I answer.
“Wanna dance?”
You really don’t give up, do you? I put up a warm face. “I’m sorry, I can’t.” I jerk my head slightly to my mom. That’s a good excuse.
What happens next takes me aback. “Ma’am,” Becca begins, “can I please dance with your son?”
Mom doesn’t even consider it. “No dear. Not while you’re dressed like that. Why will your parents allow you leave the house dressed like… that?”
Becca doesn’t have an answer to that. She leaves without another word. I notice that the dress she’s wearing exposes her entire back from the waist up.
“Can you imagine?” mom asks, astonished. “Is she your friend?”
I shake my head without hesitation.