It had rained all night. Jaja was kneeling in the garden, weeding. He did not have to water anymore because the sky did it. Anthills had risen in the newly softened red soil in the yard, like miniature castles. I took a deep breath and held it, to savor the smell of green leaves washed clean by rain, the way I imagined a smoker would do to savor the last of a cigarette. The allamanda bushes bordering the garden bloomed heavily with yellow, cylindrical flowers. Chima was pulling the flowers down and sticking his fingers in them, one after the other. I watched as he examined flower after flower, looking for a suitable small bloom that would fit onto his pinky. That evening, Father Amadi stopped by on his way to the stadium. He wanted us all to go with him. He was coaching some boys from Ugwu Agidi for the local government high- jump championships. Obiora had borrowed a video game from the flat upstairs, and the boys were clustered in front of the TV in the living room. They didnt want to go to the stadium because they would have to return the game soon. Amaka laughed when Father Amadi asked her to come. Dont try to be nice, Father, you know you would rather be alone with your sweetheart, she said. And Father Amadi smiled and said nothing. I went alone with him. My mouth felt tight from embarrassment as he drove us to the stadium. I was grateful that he did not say anything about Amakas statement, that he talked about the sweet-smelling rains instead and sang along with the robust Igbo choruses coming from his cassette player. The boys from Ugwu Agidi were already there when we got to the stadium. They were taller, older versions of the boys I had seen the last time; their hole-ridden shorts were just as worn and their faded shirts just as threadbare. Father Amadi raised his voice-it lost most of its music when he did-as he gave encouragement and pointed out the boys weaknesses. When they were not looking, he took the rod up a notch, then yelled, One more time: set, go! and they jumped over it, one after the other. He raised it a few more times before the boys caught on and said, Ah! Ah! Fada! He laughed and said he believed they could jump higher than they thought they could. And that they had just proved him right. It was what Aunty Ifeoma did to my cousins, I realized then, setting higher and higher jumps for them in the way she talked to them, in what she expected of them. She did it all the time believing they would scale the rod. And they did. It was different for Jaja and me. We did not scale the rod because we believed we could, we scaled it because we were terrified that we couldnt. What clouds your face? Father Amadi asked, sitting down beside me. His shoulder touched mine. The new smell of sweat and old smell of cologne filled my nostrils. Nothing. Tell me about the nothing, then. You believe in those boys, I blurted out. Yes, he said, watching me. And they dont need me to believe in them as much as I need it for myself. Why? Because I need to believe in something that I never question. He picked up the water bottle, drank deeply from it. I watched the ripples in his throat as the water went down. I wished I were the water, going into him, to be with him, one with him. I had never envied water so much before. His eyes caught mine, and I looked away, wondering if he had seen the longing in my eyes. Your hair needs to be plaited, he said. My hair? Yes. I will take you to the woman who plaits your aunts hair in the market. He reached out then and touched my hair. Mama had plaited it in the hospital, but because of my raging headaches, she did not make the braids tight. They were starting to slip out of the twists, and Father Amadi ran his hand over the loosening braids, in gentle, smoothing motions. He was looking right into my eyes. He was too close. His touch was so light I wanted to push my head toward him, to feel the pressure of his hand. I wanted to collapse against him. I wanted to press his hand to my head, my belly, so he could feel the warmth that coursed through me. He let go of my hair, and I watched him get up and run back to the boys on the field. It was too early when Amakas movements woke me up the next morning; the room was not yet touched by the lavender rays of dawn. In the faint glow from the security lights outside, I saw her tying her wrapper round her chest. Something was wrong; she did not tie her wrapper just to go to the toilet. Amaka, o gini? Listen, she said. I could make out Aunty Ifeomas voice from the verandah, and I wondered what she was doing up so early. Then I heard the singing. It was the measured singing of a large group of people, and it came in through the window. Students are rioting, Amaka said. I got up and followed her into the living room. What did it mean, that students were rioting? Were we in danger? Jaja and Obiora were on the verandah with Aunty Ifeoma. The cool air felt heavy against my bare arms, as if it were holding on to raindrops that were reluctant to fall. Turn off the security lights, Aunty Ifeoma said. If they pass and see the light, they might throw stones up here. Amaka turned off the lights. The singing was clearer now, loud and resonant. There had to be a least five hundred people. Sole administrator must go. He doesnt wear pant oh! Head of State must go. He doesnt wear pant oh! Where is running water? Where is light? Where is petrol? The singing is so loud I thought they were right outside, Aunty Ifeoma said. Will they come here? I asked. Aunty Ifeoma put an arm around me and drew me close. She smelled of talcum powder. No, nne, we are fine. The people who might worry are those that live near the vice chancellor. Last time, the students burned a senior professors car. The singing was louder but not closer. The students were invigorated now. Smoke was rising in thick, blinding fumes that blended into the star-filled sky. Crashing sounds of breaking glass peppered the singing. All we are saying, sole administrator must go! All we are saying, he must go! No be so? Na so! Shouts and yells accompanied the singing. A solo voice rose, and the crowds cheered. The cool night wind, heavy with the smell of burning, brought clear snatches of the resonating voice speaking pidgin English from a street away. Great Lions and Lionesses! We wan people who dey wear clean underwear, no be so? Abi the Head of State dey wear common underwear, see, talkless of clean one? No! Look, Obiora said, lowering his voice as if the group of about forty students jogging past could possibly hear him. They looked like a fast- flowing dark stream, illuminated by the torches and burning sticks they held. Maybe they are catching up with the rest from down campus, Amaka said, after the students had passed. We stayed out to listen for a little while longer before Aunty Ifeoma said we had to go in and sleep. Aunty Ifeoma came home that afternoon with the news of the riot. It was the worst one since they became commonplace some years ago. The students had set the sole administrators house on fire; even the guest house behind it had burned to the ground. Six university cars had been burned down, as well. They say the sole administrator and his wife were smuggled out in the boot of an old Peugeot 404, o di egwu, Aunty Ifeoma said, waving around a circular. When I read the circular, I felt a tight discomfort in my chest like the heartburn I got after eating greasy akara. It was signed by the registrar. The university was closed down until further notice as a result of the damage to university property and the atmosphere of unrest. I wondered what it meant, if it meant Aunty Ifeoma would leave soon, if it meant we would no longer come to Nsukka. During my fitful siesta, I dreamed that that the sole administrator was pouring hot water on Aunty Ifeomas feet in the bathtub of our home in Enugu. Then Aunty Ifeoma jumped out of the bathtub and, in the manner of dreams, jumped into America. She did not look back as I called to her to stop
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 11:05:47 +0000