Wild West of the Heart
THIRTY

"You wouldn't believe what i heard today" Ola said as he walked side by side with Obi in the parking lot. They strolled towards their bikes while the school vomited more students behind. "What?" Obi said, squinting his eyes at the sun.

"Kids are using Jazzlyn's name as some sort of derogatory insult. I can't believe it, it's like they're finally talking about her after weeks and it's still not good" Olamide remarked, shaking his head.

"First of all, you saying kids makes you sound like you're fifty with a midlife crisis" Obi replied and Ola clung to his bike. "I'm actually serious, Obi"

"I know. I know. But there's nothing we can do"

"It's the times we live in. It's revolting" Obi smirked. "I learned that word today in Literature" He added and Ola chuckled slightly, almost forgetting there was a conversation. "You sound awfully alot like my father" He said it like it was an insult and Obi just shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll take it" He admitted. "Successful real estate consultant with a family, i'll take it anytime, Ola" Obi said, and Ola's face dropped. "If only" He muttered. If only what he said was true. Successful.

Well, even if success was characterized by wealth or a happy family, Akin wouldn't still pass. But Ola just let it slide, waving his palms at Obi as he mounted his bike. "You hiding something?" Obi asked, noticing the change in his expression. "Pretty hypocritical. Big on not keeping secrets"

"Shut up, i'm not" Ola lied, dealing with the guilt that flooded his conscience only later. "It's just bad day, bad month. Everything's falling apart and i can't do anything. I can't save anything" He said as his feet hit the pedals, about to take off. And Obi held his bicycle handles back, stopping him.

"Actually, uhm" He paused.

"If you really want to save something, i have an idea. And it has to do with Jazzlyn" Obi added, as they shared an intense stare. "What is that?"

"You want to hang later?" Deborah called from a distance and Fiyin looked up from the text on her phone Ola: i'm sorry, fiyin.

She turned off her phone and slipped it in her pockets. Deborah walked closer to her. "To check out the books of course. Or you're to big to hang?" She smirked, holding unto a leather jacket. "Actually i'm busy"

"After school activities?" If that meant hawking, then sure. "Sure, something like that" Fiyin replied and Deborah stretched out her palms and she took them but only for a few seconds.

Deborah looked to her hands, sighting her scars in that second but she pulled away quickly. "See you Monday" Fiyin muttered, turning around without even waiting for a reply. Debby just stood there, looking down at her own palms and then at Fiyin.

"See you at hollow fest" Her voice went low, before she turned around to the car that pulled up behind her. It was her driver, and she stepped in.

Fiyin was a bit of mystery to her. But she was intrigued, like how she was with a novel. She believed that our lives were like books. Each chapter with each year we clock. But on the pages, are the words we only want the world to see. There are hidden words between the lines, like clues. And those were our deepest secrets.

And like everyone, she knew Fiyin had them. And that only made her more intrigued. She tapped her driver's shoulders and pointed to Fiyin's bike. "Follow her" She instructed.

-

There was a peppery scent that filled the parlor of the Bankole's. And immediately Ola walked through those doors, it was what hit him in his face. It was Akin at the door and he brushed past his shoulders to enter. Mary was further away in the kitchen, slowly easing her way back into housewife duties. Ola hummed on his entrance.

"Why don't you greet your father?" Mary said, under her breath once he'd gotten close. It was the way they tolerated each other, by not saying anything to each other. And to Akin, he deemed it a punishment but to be honest, Ola didn't care. He ignored her question, mounting the counter and dropping his bag. "Good afternoon" He greeted his mother of course, who for so long has tried to stay out of whatever fight was going on.

Not only for peace but for her fragile health.

"What are you making?" Ola asked immediately, peering into the pot on fire, from which the steam in the air precipitated from. "Moi moi" She said.

"No way" Ola gasped, it was his favorite.

"Beancake" He called the english name, as he hopped off the table. "What's the occasion?" He took in a sniff of the air, letting it fill his nostrils.

"Well, we're expecting visitors" Mary said, making eye contact with Akin across the room. She hefted her hand from inside the pot and placed the spoon aside, then she walked out of the kitchen and holding my hands, she pulled me to the parlor. The apron was still around her neck as she gestured me to sit, still in my school uniform.

"Who, mum?" Ola asked.

"Actually, you know him, it's your principal Collins" He wanted to baff at the sound of that name in his home. And the mere thought that he was coming here made him nauseous.

"What?" Ola threatened to flare up. He pulled off his tie, figuring he didn't have to keep his cool here. "Why?" Mary placed her palm against his chest and it reminded of the last time she did that.

And how she'd fell after that, so he calmed. And backed away for a minute. "There's something that i need to tell you" His eyes darted to the windows where the car was parked. It wasn't in the driveway, instead it was by the pavement. And on the couch, was Akin's car pillow, on which he sat to make him taller. So he could see from the windshield better. And the keys laid atop the table. It took more than a minute for him to make sense of what was happening. And when it did, it struck him like a knife in his back. "You're "

He pointed to Akin.

"You're selling the car" Of course, he was emotional. He had every right to be, he grew up in that car. And selling the car made their situation more real. It also meant he'd take the bus for the rest of that school year. Akin looked away and he felt his mother's hands squeeze against his chest.

"Yes" She was the one that responded.

"You have every right to be. But you have to understand, it's what we have to do to survive" She said as tears begun to sting the back of his throat. "Why didn't you tell me?" He pulled her hands off his chest and stepped away. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Olamide" His mother breathed. "How long did you think you could hide it? And must everyone keep a fucking secret" He patted his thighs, before slipping his feet back in his shoes. He didn't have to be here to see Collins, because then he'd actually throw up. That son of a bitch was buying the car in which he grew up in. That son of a bitch was who was saving them. It was nauseating.

"The world would be so much better if no one kept secrets. If i didn't have to walk in on you, talk about me like i'm some liability. I could get a job you know?" He shrugged his shoulders as tears fell from his eyes. "James had a plan-" "But for some reason, here i am in this fucked up plac-" "Language" Mary cautioned as Ola faced the door. It was the thing he did when he was angry, he always ran. Ran in the streets, but metaphorically ran from the very thing that made him angry. He pulled open the door, and heaved in a breath of fresh air to fill his collapsing lungs.

And then he took to the roads, still in his uniform and with tears drying to his cheeks. Fortunately, he had Akon blasting in his ears in such times. "Fucking secrets"

They don't have to hurt as much as they do.

As he ran passed the town statue, Obi rode his bike on the opposite side and halted at his gate. He as well, had an ear piece on listening to ABBA.

He let his his bike fall in the shrubs, as he walked towards the door. He had his head buried in his phone, squinting at the dark screen in the sun, that he didn't see Mira at the door. What had happened earlier was that he and Abdul had exchanged numbers for real this time for them to be able to communicate about the literature work.

And he'd sent a message earlier, hopefully because it was an app they used earlier to talk, they didn't have each other's numbers. It meant Neighborguy118 was no longer some disguise. He had to talk to Abdul, as himself. And he was scared for a second, typing in the first text.

Obi: hey.

He hit send, before he raised his head, almost bumping into Mira. "Ohh" He exclaimed, startled slightly and he pushed into her playfully. "What are you doing standing at the door like a creep?" Obi teased, walking past her and dumping his school bag on the kitchen counter.

Mira pushed a lump down her throat, quietly closing the door behind her. She looked to Obi, and saw this kid that was all grown up. It was her fear, she didn't want to be one of those parents that their kid couldn't trust. That their kids kept secrets from. She didn't want to be like her own parents. But as she saw Obi, tears filled her eyes.

She saw Obi, and he was different.

"Mira, is everything okay?" He asked. And she scoffed. She had to tell him, right? Or she had to give him a chance to tell her the truth.

"You'd tell me if there's anything wrong right?" She asked and Obi arched his brows, letting out a slight chuckle from his lips. "Answer me, Obi. You trust me. Obi?" She called his name twice.

And he nodded, walking forward to take her hands. "Of course i do. What are you saying?" He was naive, his brain failing him in that moment.

"You'd tell me if something was up with you?"

"Do you have anything to tell me?" Mira asked for the last time and he looked her dead in the eyes, and shook his head. He looked her in the eyes, and held her hands. And he lied.

"No" He replied and then she pulled away, holding in the tears for so long. "Oh" She whispered, feeling a knife dig into her heart.

It was like the first time Obi lied to her, or maybe the first time that she caught him. "Oh Mira. There's something" Obi said, and she turned back.

A scoff escaped her lips as she wiped her eyes. Of course, he'd tell her the truth. It was Obi and Mira. It was always Obi and Mira, against the world. His brows danced as he swung his arms.

"What is it?" Mira smirked. "I spoke to Mide" He said and she felt her shoulders deflate. "And he's going to help with the statement, if it isn't too late"

He paused, as Mira just shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, i expected you to be more excited. I mean, this could be a huge break" Mira nodded, keeping the straightest face. She was wrong. "I am"

"I really am" She said, with rooted sarcasm. And Obi just walked past her and went up the stairs, leaving her staring his back. "They all grow up" She said, under her breath. "And they learn to keep secrets" She was hurt. And as much as she was hurt, she couldn't do anything. It was his life.

Meanwhile on the other end, Deborah remained inclined to find out what secret life Fiyin lived after school. She rested her head against her windows, her eyes at her house from where she parked. Her legs raised to the chair before her driver looked from the rear view mirror.

"Give me just a second" She said, sitting up. And her eyes went from her wristwatch to Fiyin's door which opened. She was parked across the streets, from where she could see Fiyin clearly but Fiyin couldn't see her. She sat up, taking off her shades.

She ran across the road in a hoodie, and baggy clothes, as if hiding in them. And in her hand was a tray of what seemed to be freshly picked fruits.

Deborah arched her brows as Fiyin went out of a sight. She had to be delivering those right? She thought that perhaps it was gift.

She couldn't have been hawking them.

"Should i still follow her?" Her driver asked and Debby shook her head. "Turn around" She said, placing her glasses back against her nose. And she looked away, dealing with the fact that not everyone had the comfort of her life. Rich parents. And the comfort of a driver.

Not everyone. But she never thought of Fiyin that way, because of how different she was in school. It took a second to realize it was all veneer. While after school hours, she had a life in secret.

Secrets are meant to keep us safe. Respected like in the case of Fiyin. They're meant to hide a part of what that we are ashamed to tell the world. The same for Ola who was just being a hypocrite. Secrets exist only because of the people that keep them.

And he was one of those people.

Everyone has secrets that are bound to come out, sooner or later.

To be continued...