2 Chapter 2

Hannah was walking leisurely, humming her favourite tune as she maneuvered the tiny dirt road that led to the market. Suddenly, she heard the steady hum of a car in motion, so she stepped out of the way, but instead of going past, the car stopped in front of her. She was a little surprised since she knew no one with a car, except her father with his battered and non-functional Peugeot 404. The driver of the jeep slowly rolled down the window and she was presented with the most handsome face she had ever seen. Smooth and light in complexion with a sharp nose and perfect white teeth covered by lovely lips, he looked heavenly. Even the small round spectacles he wore looked handsome.

"Hello beautiful lady." The stranger called out. "Going somewhere?"

"Um... no. Ju... just my friend's place." Hannah stammered, pointing to nowhere in particular.

"So please, do me the honor of hopping in, would you?" He replied with an irresistible smile.

The guy was just overwhelming to her. He looked and acted rich. The rush of cool perfumed air that hit her when he rolled down the window gave her a clue of how cozy and comfortable he must be feeling in that beautiful car of his, so she didn't hesitate to jump at the offer to trade the hot sun and dusty road for a cozy car. She made her way to the passenger side and to her surprise, the door was already open. Wow, she loved the attention. She could not imagine herself being showered with such attention by this very rich stranger. Not that she thought poorly of herself, far from it! She had great opinions about herself, but it was just that such a rich, handsome man would look down on people in such a poor area as hers. Leaning back in the comfortable passenger seat, she inhaled the sweet scent of the perfumed air and cherished the coolness of the car's interior. Oh, she could sit here all day. Going back to that scalding sun and dusty road was just an unfortunate part of the future reality that she must accept, but for now, she would enjoy the comfort of her current surroundings.

"Excuse my manners. My name is Chike. What's yours?"

"Hannah."

"Nice to meet you, Hannah... So you live around here?"

"Um... no." She lied. "Just came to visit an old friend."

"That's nice and generous."

Hannah could hardly believe her ears.

She had just lied! It wasn't planned, it was just a spur of the moment decision. She didn't want to present herself as a poor village girl that would be looked down on. Inwardly, she thanked God for the fact that she happened to be dressed well enough. It was imperative that she look and behave as dashing and fascinating as he did. The fact that he called her a beautiful lady meant that the first impression was good. What was left was to make that impression last longer.

"So you live close to this area?" She boldly asked.

"No." He replied with a slight smile. "I live in Lekki, but I just came to have a look at this area. I like the quiet, but the roads are the problem."

"Yes." She nodded enthusiastically. "That has been our... ahem... their problem for some time now. So you want to move over to this place?"

"I don't know yet. I'm still considering it. I want to talk to the council chairman about this road. If they can't do it, I'll do it myself and put some electricity around. I hear this place has virtually no electricity."

"Very correct." She nodded again. "They're always complaining of electricity problems. It's either their transformer is bad or NEPA officials cut their wires or some other bizarre story. It's just awful."

"Oh that's very unfortunate. I really will talk to the chairman as soon as possible. Even if I won't stay here, the people deserve dividends of democracy. So where exactly do you stay?"

"I stay in the GRA." She lied, too late to stop now. "It's just straight ahead."

"I think that's it over there, right?" Asked Chike as he squinted a little.

"Yes yes." She answered quickly, with a smile on her face, wishing she truly lived there. "Just drop me here. I'll find my way."

"Okay. But are you sure you don't want me to go a little closer?"

"No no. My house is not very far."

"Okay then. Some other time, I'll get to know your place."

Hannah didn't reply. She simply smiled, silently praying that she'd have moved to better quarters before 'some other time' comes. With the touch of a button, the passenger door sprang open and Hannah couldn't help but look at it in awe for a moment before she recovered herself and climbed down. She smiled at Chike and thanked him for the ride.

"You're welcome, ma cherie." He beamed. "The pleasure was all mine."

She didn't know what 'ma cherie' meant, but it sounded nice and classy, so she simply smiled.

"Oh I almost forgot. Can I please have your number?"

"Oh uh... I left my phone at home." She lied. "My younger ones are playing with it and if I try to take it, they would cry after me, so I just left it with them, since I knew I won't be going far."

"That's unfortunate. But you can't remember the number?"

"No, it's a new SIM. The old one got stolen, so I bought a new phone and a new SIM card. I just bought it yesterday."

"Oh Okay. This is where you live, right? I could come around from time to time."

"Em..." Hannah began hesitatingly. "You see, my father can be very difficult, you know."

"Oh I see." Chike smiled and nodded understandingly. "I guess I'll run into you some other time or even in your friend's area."

"Yes, that's better. I go there a lot."

"Okay then. See you later. Take care of yourself."

"Bye." She smiled and waved as he pressed another button to shut the door.

Hannah stood watching the car as it pulled off. She had vomited many lies, but she knew that they were all worth it. Like she guessed, he was stinkingly rich. Constructing roads and putting up electricity. Chai! Money is really good. But could it be that this was the same guy that Tinuke was talking about? Anyway, she was glad that she had succeeded in making the first impression stick. The fact that he asked for her number was an evidence of that success. She knew she had no phone and no family member other than her truly difficult father with whom she resided in that dilapidated old room and parlour back in the electricity-less town, but she had to continue the lie since she had started it.

"Where are you coming from?"

"Ah ah, Papa. Which question is that one? You know I went to the market."

"And you're coming back by this time? How far is it to the market?"

"I don't know, Papa." She shrugged. "It should not be as long as the 3rd Mainland Bridge, but it takes time and energy to walk there and back in this hot sun and if one sees a chance to rest, it will be normal to take it."

"So you spent one whole hour resting?"

"Ah Papa. So you're now stop watching my movements. Eh... I met my friend Angela and I asked her about Jonas... we have been discussing since."

"Okay, you can go."

She quickly walked into the house, clearly relieved to have been let off so easily. Everything she said were lies of course, but her father would most likely inaugurate an investigative panel to look into her lateness if her explanations were not satisfactory enough. Sitting down on the lone sofa in the parlour, she closed her eyes and recalled the nice time she spent in Chike's car. The coolness and comfort was not something she could easily forget. She was lucky though that he didn't give her his number. How would she have called him without a phone of her own? Anyway, she was looking forward to meeting him soon again and enjoying the comfort of his company and his nice car. She would have to dress nicely every time she leaves the house, just in case she runs into Chike.

"Hannah!" Her father shouted, interrupting her daydream.

"Ah Papa." She started. "Ohhh ah. I was just resting, Papa."

"Resting? After an hour's rest at the market?"

"Ehen, Papa. That rest is for the going. Coming? Ah, this sun is hot. If you're outside, that's when you'll know."

"Say what you like. Go and cook me something to eat, please. I'm hungry."

She got up reluctantly and marched angrily to the back of the house where the kitchen was situated, murmuring on the way,

"Papa we need AC in this house."

Her father simply shook his head and picked up his newspaper.