So Miss Acolatse has been disowned and driven out of the house. What’s she gonna do? Where is she gonna go?

“Yes, Akushika.”

“Celina, I… I need help.”

“Umm, are you crying, girl?”

After a few sniffs… “Nah, nah, I’m not crying right now. I’m… I’m okay.”

“What’s wrong, Shika?”

“Umm… it’s a long story, but uh, lemme shorten it as best as I can for you.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

After a brief moment of silence… “Celina, I’m pregnant. And homeless.”

“WHAT!!”

“I wish I was joking… but… but it’s true…”

“Shika, stop the games, it’s not funny.”

After a few sobs… “It’s not a game, Celina. I wish it was, but… I’m pregnant…”

“Wait wait wait wait, hold up. How did this happen? Like, how? Where did you… oh, wait a minute… Shika, don’t tell me it’s from-“

“Yeah, it’s from that night at Beast Bistro.”

“Akushika, you mean to tell me you ditched us to go sleep with that guy? Seriously?”

“Celina, I don’t know what came over me. I just-“

“Unbelievable! This is unbelievable! Goodness gracious me! It was supposed to be a night of fun with the girls. How the hell did you turn it into a one night stand, Shika? How? Like, who does that?”

“Celina, I know, I know. I feel like the worst person on earth. I wish to God I had ignored him, I really do. Coz this is just awful…”

“Hmmmm. And what is the guy saying? Does he know?”

“He knows. And he says it’s not his. He insulted me and called me names when I told him.”

“Hmmm. Why am I not surprised? Hmmm, well…”

“And now my parents threw me out of the house. They don’t want to see my face again.”

“Wow. That’s tough. Really tough.”

After a moment of awkward silence… “Umm, please, is… is there any chance I could come over to your place for a bit? Just a few days, really…”

“Umm, sorry, Akushika, but that won’t be possible. I don’t think my people would agree to it; they’re a little someway about these matters.”

“Please, Celina, I beg you, I don’t have anywhere else to go. We don’t really have relatives around here, and those I can reach won’t take me in. Please, Celina, I beg you, you’re my only hope!”

After a sigh… “Sorry, Akushika, I really am, but… I just can’t. If I could do this on my own, I would. But it’s not my choice to make, and my people won’t agree. I’m sorry. All the best.”

“Please, Celina–“

The line went dead.

***

It was 4:44 pm.

She stood in front of the brown gate. Tear stains on her face, and a small suitcase by her side.

She couldn’t believe this was her reality. It just had to be a nightmare; a bad nightmare that had carried on longer than it ought to.

But nope, she was wide awake. And all this was happening in real time.

Akushika had indeed been kicked out of the house. Despite the most sorrowful and contrite of pleas, Mr. and Mrs. Acolatse were not interested in hearing them. As far as they were concerned, that comment of hers on the wrongs of abortion indicated her utter scorn for all they were trying to do for her, and that ‘insult’ was unforgivable. So she had to go.

Mr. Acolatse packed some few items of hers, stuffed them into some rickety suitcase lying around in the house, and dragged her out, pushing her roughly out the door and warning her never to set foot there again.

She had always known her parents to be extremely tough and uncompromising on a lot of things. But they had always stated that their actions were out of nothing but love for her, so the sting of this decision was deeper than any harsh rebuke or whip she had received from them over the years. Did it have to get to this? Did they have to walk her out of their house and declare that she was no longer their child? Was their love for her really a conditional love that bordered on her obedience to their every word?

Well, her current situation seemed to be a perfect answer to that third question. But there was no time to continue brooding over it. She had to find a place to stay.

And after getting rejected by many, she was at the last place she could think of.

Which, in reality, was the last place she should have even thought of.

The residence of Laurence Larbi.

She knew, all right. Considering the guy had vehemently denied being the father of this child, there was no chance in hell that he would welcome her with open arms and give her a place to stay. Even as she stood there, she knew full well what would follow: a rude sacking and a few insults to boot.

But she was too desperate. Celina and her other friends refused to help her, their ire from the outing still evident, and the few family members around were not ready to take her in. at this moment, she was throwing the kitchen sink at this sudden homelessness matter. It might have been a ridiculous attempt, but as she readied herself to knock at the gate, she whispered to herself, “It’s worth a try.”

She knocked at the gate and waited patiently while wiping her eyes and sniffing.

A few moments later, Drill himself opened it, and found her with the travelling bag by her side and her eyes red from crying.

He threw his hands up in frustration. “Herh, you kraaaa! What at all do you want from me, lah? Ah!”

She whimpered, “My parents threw me out of the house…”

“And so what? Ibi my matter? Hoh! You go sell your body give other niggas finish, you dey come torment my life. What kind of nonsense is this? Herh, look, get off my front porch, wai. Whatever you’re looking for, it’s not here. Please, go. Get out of here!”

She tried to go on her knees and plead that he listen to her, but it was to no avail. He grabbed her by the arm and roughly pushed her away.

“You naaa, you know the nigga who did this to you. You know paaa. Go search am then shon dey disturb my life! Stupid alele!” he spat at her before slamming the gate and locking it.

So much for ‘it’s worth a try’.

***

Akushika sat in the taxi, trying hard not to break down as the driver sped towards the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area.

How life could suddenly take you from cloud nine to the depths of hell.

The flashbacks from that fateful day kept coming back at her.

Drill’s first words to her. The moment she took a seat at the bar and indulged him. The way he kept staring at her thighs. Those sweet sounding words about her beauty. The tingle in her stomach when he placed that hand on her thigh, and the rush of excitement that engulfed her brain. The moment she deliberately told Celina and the girls that she had left something behind, and rushed in to go and meet Drill. The sheer delight and pleasure that flooded her very marrow the moment Drill held her up and kissed her passionately.

The very moment he got into her…

Oh, God, I’m such a fool! Such a big, big fool! she screamed at herself inwardly. How did you let this wicked boy make a fool out of you like this? Now look at you. You’re now carrying a baby and have nowhere to sleep, and he’s happily relaxing in his house, totally unbothered and calling you names. You really messed up, Akushika. You messed up big time. This is all your fault. All your damn fault!

Now she really wished she had just stayed at home and done what was expected of her. Sure, she would have remained locked up in that suffocating bubble Mr. and Mrs. Acolatse demanded she stay in, but at least she wouldn’t be in this sort of trouble. She really had messed up, and as to how she could fix this, she had no idea.

Even as she sat in the taxi, headed for one of the busiest parts of the city, she had no idea. She had no experience being around that side of town; her parents never did any kind of business there, and the few times she ever passed by was in a car with them. She could clearly remember her father once remarking how untidy and pathetic the place looked, and that he expected her to get to the top and ensure that such places would be cleared and revamped to look world class, like those of the western world.

She was on a whim at that moment.

She looked outside and saw the busyness of the town. People moving to and fro, as always.

“Driver, please. I’ll alight here,” she gently requested.

The driver looked back at her, a slightly funny look on his face, before nodding and turning into the next bus stop. He asked for his money, which Akushika obediently paid before grabbing her suitcase and stepping out of the car.

This was her first time alone in these busy parts, and what was a normal experience for the average person familiar with the status quo was pretty scary for her.

Getting asked where she was headed by different guys was quite unsettling for her, and her look of fear wasn’t taken very well. It didn’t help that her grasp of Twi was bottom barrel levels of bad.

“Ahuofɛ, wo bɛ kɔ Haatso?”

“Ohemaa, Takoradi car wɔ hɔ ooo!”

Her minute understanding helped her know that they were asking if she was going to Haatso or Takoradi. None of these locations were on her mind, though, so her rather petrified look and shaking of head sufficed as a No.

As she made her way to the other side of the road, looking back at the guys who had returned to seeking passengers, she shook her head. “Is this how it’s like over here? My goodn-“

“Madam, you dey go Kumasi?” one guy suddenly asked as he approached her.

Taken aback, she blurted out, “Yes! Yes!”

“Ahhh. The VIP station dey here. Come, come!”

That was not on the cards at all. Kumasi? Out of Accra? She had already turned down a seat on some Takoradi bus, for goodness sake! How did that yes even find a way into her brain, much less come out of her mouth?

But as the guy moved enthusiastically towards the area he spoke of, she thought to herself, “Why not?”

Holding tightly to her suitcase, she walked quickly after the guy and entered the VIP transport yard. In a couple of minutes, he had helped her to secure a seat on the available bus, her suitcase was in the storage compartment of the bus, and she was sitting by the window.

Waiting for the bus to take off and depart from Accra.

Talk about acting on a whim!

Indeed! What the hell is she gonna do in Kumasi? She’s definitely not thinking right at the moment…