บท 28: SAMANTHA (I)

I took my exams on a wheelchair and with a bad arm but all the same, I wrote my exam well. Lily and Marcus were of the greatest help to me. Lily would wake up as early as she could, attend to herself then come attending to me. I felt like an handicapped though and that pained me more than the pains I was feeling in my body.

My dad wanted to get someone who would assist me but I strongly refuted. Despite his annoyance and evident displeasure, I stood my ground till he permissively succumbed.

During one of our examination days, we had just finished writing a very difficult course and we needed to cool off. Marcus brought his car and drove us to Lady Berth's. There I had french fries and a glass of hot chocolate, Lily had sandwiches and espresso while Marcus had a club sandwich and Lily's drink to piss her off. Lily and Marcus argued throughout the course of the meal and I was duly entertained.

I waited till after the meal to ask them if they could come to my house.

"Uhmmm, it's a very nice offer but I don't know what to say for now" said Lily.

"Why? I thought you said everyone is always busy during festive seasons like this in your house plus I'm still not fully recovered" I said, batting my eyelashes.

"You vixen" she said as she slapped me on the shoulder.

"I'l still need the speak with my dad first"

"Alright. What about you Marcus, do you you think you can? It's just for Christmas please, before the New Year you did go back to your home"

"Why do you want us in your house? It's kind of surprisingly suspicious" he said as he took a sip of his espresso.

"Nothing much, just craving a very full house and I want faces that are either Michael or Seth's" I said with a scowl.

"Sibling science! It's a study that I would never be able to unravel. My younger sister is a pain in the ass for me also. She did he so disappointmented if I don't come this Christmas. I did make it up there her over the New Year"

"Is that a yes!" I screeched alerting faces to our table in the diner.

"Yes it is" said Marcus with a chuckle.

"Thanks so much Marc" I said as I stretched my hand across the table to clasp over his face in appreciation.

"Duh, I'm the only Mark here. Why are you calling this arachnid 'Mark'?" Lily asked as she crossed her arms before her and rolled her eyes at us.

"Oh Lily, you never cease to wow me. Marc is the shortened form for Marcus. Some and short"

"Why are you explaining it to her Marth? She is such a babe!"

"A babe? Oh you didn't just say that Marcus Ranks?" Lily asked stirring up a melee.

"Yes I just did and what are you going to do about that, Little Lil?" Marcus asked, adding wood to the fire.

Lily darted her eyes to me, then to Marcus before she rose her knee to the table to reach out to Marcus.

"Stop it guys. You guys should quit the bickering" I said in an elevated tone and Lily's hand that was midway to pulling Marcus dropped as she sat back down but that was not before she gave Marcus the stink eye.

Marcus then burst out laughing.

"What's funny?" I asked befuddled.

"It's Lily's expression. I got it right on camera. I did post these on your birthday" Marcus said amidst his boisterous guffaw and Lily and I both understood what had happened.

Marcus deliberately peeved Lily to get her reaction so he could take pictures of her. Unobserving of us, he had his phone on his hand on the table as their argument was going on. Lily's birthday is a day after New Year, on the second of January.

Lily was all smiles when she understood that she had been played.

"You play a lot bruh!"

"And you get worked up a lot sis. Do you even have any siblings?" Marcus asked playfully.

"Not really" she answered.

"There is never a thing as 'not really', it's either a yes or a no" I chipped in.

"It's a no. I'm an only child" she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"No wonder"

"No wonder what?" Lily asked

"You don't know how to take a hit" Marcus said.

"Whatever"

After the exams, they had gone to their respective homes with a promise to come back before Christmas. I was super excited.

It was two days before Christmas and my dad and Seth had gone out to buy the rest of the decorations needed as well as groceries. I was alone in the house with Michael. He was upstairs, in his room, doing whatever boys did alone while I was downstairs, in the living room with a mini bucket of ice cream, watching a television series. My body was healing pretty we but I had not completely healed and was still making use of the wheelchair much to the fake indignation of my brothers to me and pampering from my dad.

I literally sat at home all day and did nothing. When I was bored out of my mind, I did pick draw and paint in the mini studio in the house.

Someone rang the intercom and I knew it was Lily because she called half an hour ago to inform me of her arrival.

"Michaeeeellll!!" I called from downstairs.

He didn't respond to me because not long ago, I had disturbed him by asking him to get the ice cream I was currently devouring.

"Amazing Michaeeeellll" I called again.

As I heard his door open, I fixed the proud look I had on to a humble one.

He brought his head above the railings up the stairs to look at me with a brow arched up.

"Pls can you see Lily in. She is at the gate already" I said with a pout.

"You can push your chair to the gate yourself Martha. I'm trying to finish this game with my guys"

"Guys my foot. So you going to watch your convalescent sister go to THE GATE herself?" I asked opening my eyes wide for emphasis.

"This time around yes. Besides you need to move around than stick your face in television series all day long" he said and turned back to go to his room when I decided to use the only and last card on my sleeve that I knew would definitely work.

"I'll tell Seth about Samantha"

"No you won't" he said and made a complete u-turn, rushing down the stairs.

The stomping of his foot on the stairs brought delight to my dark side.

"What was that you said?" I asked, folding my hands in front of me.

"I'm going to go right now but Martha, that is really not fair" he said in a small voice.

"I'm sorry but you…but you caused it. You could have just gone when I asked you to" I said in defense.

"Stop tryna defend yourself. You know that is a sensitive topic for me" he said, sadness evident in his face and a crack in his voice.

"I am sorry" I said but he didn't listen, he turned from me and went to attend to Lily.

I shouldn't have said that. I was being so lazy and using my condition as an excuse that I made a family member sad. They had all been caring since the incident and I had used that too much to my advantage.

I hope he did forgive me and I wish I hadn't brought her up.