LEXUS She was dressed and ready for her date with Dominic. Standing by his classiest car she caught a glimpse of her reflection and felt stupid and utterly ridiculous. Save for her new edgy hairstyle, she didn’t quite appreciate the way Ehi had her in a little black dress, subjected her into fixing artificial nails and made her face up. The housekeeper said she looked beautiful, but she disagreed. She had refused the heels given to her by Ehi and settled for the most girly shoes she had – a pair of pink and ash colored sneakers. Dominic’s chauffer, a young guy in his thirties met up with her in the car park and opened the backdoor for her. She chose the front passenger seat instead. The chauffer shook his head in a smile and went behind the wheels. “Prince, where are we going?” she asked. “The Marquee.” “Huh?” “That’s…
Novocaine Knights #13
MAHMUD The cigarette burned between his lips unaided. A long ash hung loosely in the air, waiting for the slightest movement to be blown away. But Mahmud was immobile; his gaze was held by a budding mango tree in his backyard. It was the only slice of nature in his compound and it often offered him solace. Today he needed that solace as all hell had broken loose. He was about to confirm that Wura’s life was on the verge of being turned right on its head. This mess began when he returned home and found her crouched in one corner of his bed in tears. “Wura, what’s wrong?” The first response was a pillow landing hard on him. “Shey you’ve won your bet! I hope you’re happy!” “What are you talking about?” “I’m pregnant!” she cried. “You’re pregnant,” he repeated slowly; but he already knew. “Okay. You went for…
Novocaine Knights #12
Previous Episodes The words were stuck on his tongue. He didn’t know how to let them out. Spilling that type of news wasn’t going to be as easy as he had imagined. Across the table sat Lexus, Vhasti in her hand and a leg thrown over the armrest of her chair. One part of her breakfast went to Vhasti and the remaining barely made it into her mouth. Dominic noted that her lazy eating habits had not changed over the years. He took two sips of his coffee and tried at the words again but he failed. “Your hair is growing,” he said instead. “Yeah.” Lexus put a hand over the half of her head that was shaved. It was dark and contrasted with the other half which fell across her face in shocking red. “I want to cut the whole thing so it can grow together.” “And you’ll finally…
Novocaine Knights #11
GENESIS He was beautiful in his sleep. Nude, a pillow between his legs, twitching eyebrows and a heaving chest gave her some distraction for the morning. She stood by the foot of her bed and watched him as she sipped noodle soup from a bowl held by both hands. Mother’s plans had come to nothing; her spell on both of them, useless. Genesis hadn’t seen the faces of her rapists while she was intimate with Dominic, but she hadn’t seen his face either. In fact, the entire experience could be described as mildly agreeable, and for that, she owed her best friend, Nancy, a huge one. Nancy was Mother’s rogue daughter and had nothing in common with her. She was dark-complexioned, overweight, crass and loud. She ran a hotel where she pimped out all the girls Mother no longer needed. Mother loathed her and the feeling was mutual on her…
Novocaine Knights #10
Dedicated to all who take their time to leave comments. Dedicated to those who share. Dedicated, of course, to the ghost readers. The numbers don’t lie. Previous Episodes WURA “Ow!” Wura cried out and shoved a bleeding forefinger before Mahmud. Just stepping into his kitchen with a bowl of frozen fish, he went to her. “How did that happen?” He put the bowl away and placed the finger under running water. “Shey you refused to buy can opener in this house. I was trying to open the can of tomatoes and it cut me.” “Pele.” He put an arm around her. She felt the heat from his breath as he left fluffy kisses at the base of her neck. She was accustomed to his lips on her body, but everything he did was limited only to places she exposed. After two weeks as a couple, they were still on their…
Novocaine Knights #9
Previous Episodes LEXUS They ran their tests. Checked this, read that, listened to this, examined that and everything pointed to the fact that something had gone wrong with her. They brought in another set of doctors with their students who went through the entire routine again for a whole day, asking endless questions. Finally, on Sunday morning, they called in the top consultants from the neurosurgery, psychiatry and clinical psychology departments and they conferred with each other in a corner before they invited in Dominic and Eva. Lexus didn’t really bother about the expressions on her parents’ faces when the news hit them. She was lost in her own world, somewhere in the past, and she didn’t want to return. She half-listened to what the doctors were saying, catching a few words here and there. The prognosis was that she was suffering from dissociative amnesia, usually associated with stressful or…
Novocaine Knights #8
Previous Episodes EYIMOFE “I am so sorry, Nick.” Mofe left the comfort of her luxurious bed and took a chair in one corner of her hotel room as Dominic recounted details surrounding Lexus’ brain surgery. She listened attentively, noting the deep emotion in his husky tone. “But she’s not in a coma, is she?” Mofe asked. “No. In fact, I just spoke to one of the neurosurgeons right before I called you. She woke up about an hour ago and went back to sleep. She’s okay.” Mofe was relieved at the good news. “But you don’t sound so elated.” “I’m scared. I can’t…lose Woyintonbra. She’s all I got, Mofe. You’re a woman of faith. Please, pray for her. I’m at the point in my life where I’m not so sure God answers my prayers anymore.” “I’ve been praying for her and I won’t stop, Nick.” “Thank you.” She had never…
Novocaine Knights #7
Previous Episodes DOMINIC She looked so frail. It was difficult not to reach out and hold her. The color on her face was drained and the shine of her skin now reduced to a desiccated, pallid pigment. And her hair… they had shaved it on one side, right where they drilled a hole into her skull. She was very protective of that hair. It was one of the few feminine things about her and she nurtured it as much as she played around with it. He remembered her as a little eight year old girl, dedicating a lot of her after-shower moments in front of her mirror, combing the long, radiant tresses and comparing it to her grandmother’s. At that time he had predicted she would turn out coddled and vain like her mother. How wrong he had been. He had been off about so many other things…
Novocaine Knights #6
Previous Episodes WURA The last scoop melted on her tongue like butter on a hot pan. She closed her eyes and licked her lower lip to keep the taste in. “Now that’s what I call ice-cream,” she purred and pouted sadly at the empty ice-cream cup in her hand. “Hey beautiful!” Wura turned and threw a smile at a couple of her colleagues who were leaving the supermarket. Having just completed the night shift, they were now headed home. One of them turned around, arms spread out. “Be my Val, sweetheart!” Wura shook her head in a smile and bade them goodnight. She threw the empty ice-cream cup in a trashcan nearby. It was almost twelve-thirty; most shops were closed and only a handful of people littered the place. She had another thirty minutes or so to wait for the staff bus that would take her home. A pair of…