Transparent

Lagos, Nigeria

4 months before present day

Thud thud thud

The sound of the rain drops tap dancing on the glass windows kept drawing my focus away from the words I was trying to absorb

"God I hate Physics" I groaned internally as the formulas for the speed-time graph all became jumbled up on the coloured piece of paper

"Aderinsola" my mum's loud voice called from downstairs "it's time for dinner"

I slammed my butterfly pen between the pages of my rarely touched textbook and turned the front cover shut in an instant as I sped downstairs for food- anything to get me out of study session

I bent my big toe at the end of the long flight of stairs, biting back a wince and a long list of profanities that threatened to come out of my mouth

"Why are you on my seat?" I shot at my little sister seated beside my mum, my usual spot

"I want to sit here today so I can see the TV too" she said nonchalantly, nibbling on her piece of cake

"if you don't stand up-

"Aderinsola sit somewhere else, can you not be dramatic this evening?" my mum spat, massaging her obviously tired temples as she ate her food

I grumbled as I settled on the chair beside my father, making sure to step on my sister as I sat down

"oww Mummy!" She cried out

"sorry, I didn't see your feet there" I said innocently, making sure to stick my tongue out as my mother looked away

"Real mature Derin, real mature" my dad commented, causing me to look straight at my food and start eating

The next day came by pretty fast, by midday I was still in bed drowsy as I didn't sleep until 4 am that morning. The sound of my mum sauntering into my room drew me from sleeping again as the heel of her stilettos clapped rhythmically on the white tiles of my room

"Honey, I told you we'll be travelling today, our flight is in three hours so we have to leave now if we want to beat traffic" I read her lips through my thick lashes and creased eye brows

I sat up straight in my bed, taking a good look at her outfit, my lips melting into a smile as I noticed what she wore. She had on the simple lilac gown that I gifted her for her last birthday, a black woven jacket with black stilettos. Her finger and toe nails were polished white, giving her a modest yet chic look.

"you look beautiful" I finally said

"Thank you" she replied, smiling wildly at my compliment- as if she wasn't already used to always getting compliments from me

She went over several house rules, what to cook and what not to, chores I had to tend to- stale gist

She did this anytime she and my dad were travelling

"don't let Ashley go to bed without having her bath and brushing her teeth" she repeated

I nodded my head to show her I was listening to all she was saying

"We'll be back in 2 days, I don't expect any of you to go out of the gate for any reason but if you need to, call me first" she added

"Okay mummy"

"We'll see you when we come back, love you baby" she said as she pulled me into a warm hug

"love you too mummy" I held her equally as tight, the sweet scent of her perfume appealing to my senses

"and yeah Aaron said he's been trying to reach you but you've not been picking up" she added as she stood up to leave

"oh my phone's been on silent" I replied

She took a final look into my room, blowing a few kisses as she stepped out

Aaron is my older brother who was in his second year studying Robotics at MIT, first class GPA holder, High-school swimmer and college basketball player, he was the embodiment of excellence in life while I was-

Less that average

I had been the best swimmer in my entire school since freshman year, no one could dispute that I was simply gifted but when it came to academics, I could barely maintain a C average. I even got promoted to my current grade on probation

'Amanda Aderinsola Akinde is promoted to 11th grade on probation, that is provided she is able to work on her core subjects'

Like anything was ever going to change- pfft

A text from my then best friend Kelly came in, inviting me over to her house. Her parents were probably half way across the world and she decided to throw a mini party. She was always throwing those

Text from Kay Kay: Bring bikinis

I shook my head, grinning at the thought- of course she decided to make it a pool party. I grabbed my swimming trunk and towel, folding them neatly into my gym bag. One thing I could never turn down was a pool party invite

I practically ran into the bathroom to do my business, not bothering to wash my hair since the whole world was waiting for me. I shrugged on my black body suit and pulled my shorts up, the elastic band slapping my waist in the process. I threw my green camisole on and fixed my feet into a pair of fancy flip flops my grandma got me from Canada grabbing my bag as I dashed out of my room. I came to a screeching halt as I was met with the rather chubby stature of my six year old sister at the end of the stairs

"Mummy said we shouldn't go out" her cherubic voice rang as I stepped down the flight of stairs slowly

"hii potato" I cooed as I side stepped her

"mummy said we shouldn't go out" she repeated, walking behind me

"I'll be back soon, I just need to do something very important" I lied through my teeth as I pulled the door of the fridge back to check if there was any more fruit juice

"I want to go with you!" She said firmly as she crossed her arms

"like you have any friends or age mates where I'm going" I retorted with a dry chuckle

"I'm hungry" I rolled my eyes at her infamous antiques to stop me from going out

It was at that point that I wished I was like my classmates who had housemaids and cooks sprawled around the house and answering at their beck and call. My family was quite comfortable, we travelled abroad for vacations at least once a year, we attended quite expensive schools and we could afford basically anything affordable but we weren't that kind of insanely rich family. Even the house we lived was just a large duplex, nothing fancy

"I'm late, when I'm back I'll cook something for the both of us to eat okay?" I said while stuffing my bag with the last large box of juice I could find throwing the small sized juice box to my sister

"take that for now till I come back home"

She threw herself on the floor, kicking her legs in the air while banging the floor with her arms

"stop throwing a tantrum it doesn't work on me" I said plainly, already getting annoyed by her attitude

"I'll just cook by myself" she finally said when she saw I stopped paying attention to her

"you can't even reach the top of the cooker" I replied with a humourless chuckle, walking towards the kitchen back door

"please let me follow you" she said again

I almost fell for her sad face but I knew taking her with me would be very irresponsible, Kelly's parties were never children friendly

"I'll be back soon" I said as I walking through the door, making sure to lock it behind me so she didn't wander

I waved her a final goodbye through the transparent door, completely ignoring that she started to cry

"she'll be fine" I said to myself as I walked quickly to meet my ride already waiting in front of the gate

I made a mental note to get her something for the party to at least make it up to her for leaving her behind

The party was well- like usual Kelly's parties- we spent most time in the pool. They had insisted that I dove severally into the water so they could get it on camera and I couldn't say no to my friends- right?

I chugged the remaining content of my juice as I scanned the entire party to see I was the only one still in the right frame of mind. Every other person was giggling, babbling, some openly making out, the stench of alcohol and cigarettes marring the area

I checked the watch on my wrist to see that evening was approaching. I waved them goodbyes and left with the excuse that my sister would be starved and frustrated by then. The traffic wasn't a lot since our houses weren't so far apart so the ride home took about twenty minutes tops

"what in the name of-

I quickened my pace towards the door as I noticed smoke trailing out through the kitchen window. I fumbled with the keys as my hand failed to stabilise when I tried to open the door. That sight that evening is an image forever engraved in my brain as my most painful memory. My sister had attempted to cook

The hugest fire I had ever seen roared from inside the empty fry pan up to the white ceilings, the whole house engulfed in smoke that it hurt to take a breath as I dragged the limp body of my sister across the floor and outside

"Ashley" I called as I tapped her, coughing violently at the same time

"Ashley wake up" I tapped her more fiercely it gradually graduated to slaps as tears gathered in my eyes

I knew what had happened, but I couldn't accept it

My sister was dead, because of me

***

Major Characters

Amanda Aderinsola Akinde

(Trip, Amanda, Derin, Aderinsola, Akinde)

Age: 16

Height: 5'58

Erling Tobechukwu Kingston

(Erling, Tobe, Kingston)

Age: 17

Height: 6'1½

Nancy Idara Damijo

(Nancy, Nana, Idara)

Age: 17

Height: 5'75

Edmond Thompson

(Edmond, Eddy, Thompson)

Age: 17

Height: 6'4

Adetoke Karen McAnthony

(Toke, Toks, Karen)

Age: 17

Height: 5'10

Aidan Timini Aniye

(Aidan, Aniye)

Age: 17

Height: 5'11

Espn June Young

(Espn, JustEspn)

Age: 16

Height: 5'49

Uzoamaka Eleanor Maduka

(Amaka)

Age: 17

Height: 5'6

Minor Characters

Aaron Adetomike Akinde

(Aaron, Tomike, Big Trip)

Age: 19

Height: 6ft

Nkechi Mcgregor

(Nkechi)

Age: 17

Height: 5'7

Amir Al-Ghazali

(Amir)

Age: 17

Height: 6ft

Justin Lane

(Justin)

Age:16

Height: 5'9