What Men Do when they are Boys

Chapter 1 He woke up, his right hand on his face..With his left hand, he felt his bed and touched what he was instinctively looking for. His phone. He grabbed it and felt for something on the side of the flat, long object and the muscles of his fingers twitched. Half a second later, the screen of the phone lit up, the light illuminating his face. It was handsome face of a young man in his adolescence. The muscles around his eyes twitched, trying to adapt to the light as his hand went to his eyes again.He looked at the time, it was some minutes past 5:00.o,clock..He sat up and wrapped his arms round his body.It was cold. Had it rained and he wasn't aware of it? Gosh, how deep he must slept, for it to have rained and he's wasn't aware it had rained?.He lifted the bedsheets and dragged himself to the window. He opened it and looked outside; sure enough, it had rained...Well, that can hardly come as a surprise.He almost chuckled as he laid back on the bed. His back ached and he sat again .. Hadn't he overworked himself, willingly, might he add..He was starting to regret it..Of course, the work he'd done was worth it, hadn't he made money from it, but he was beginning to think that maybe he'd taken things a little extreme..He felt the pain subside and breathed in relief. Boy, his ribcage and shoulders had hurt like hell...He made to lay down but heard a sudden scream...He listened.. Now, who in their rights senses would wake up and be up and about at such time, when it was unholy cold? He thought rather angrily. "....snake!....A feminine voice he knew all too well shrieked. Of course, it wasn't surprising.Why hadn't he thought of that..? After all, who else in their household was as stubborn as the last born child of the family? He sprang to his feet and made for the door, momentarily forgetting he was cold, limping as he did so. He heard sounds, stamping of feet from another part of the house even as he hurried outside, to the veranda where the shrieking had come from. Before he could arrive however, a man, averagely tall and muscular and clad only in wrapper tied around his waist, his upper body bare, stood over what he saw was the slain snake.He looked and saw the girl, no older than fourteen shivering at a corner..The older man looked at the younger man. "How are you? " He asked, trying to use the stick he'd used to kill the snake to rake it and dispose it. The man looked at him for a second. His mouth moved but no words came out.He realized that there was cough in his throat. He cleared his throat. "Good morning sir... I am well" He offered lamely...The older man looked at him, doubt evident on his face.He took the killed snake, now dangling but carefully balanced on the stick and took it away, to dispose it. The young man looked at the teenage girl, his sister. "Are you okay?" He asked. She nodded, breathing in hard, her face veiny. He could almost hear her heart thumping. She must have been so scared.He smiled but sealed his lips before she could even realize he'd smiled.He knew he shouldn't but he just couldn't help it. Before he knew it again, his lips cracked open in a smile. She stared daggers at him. "Okay, I'm sorry" He said, his hands raised, when he couldn't control himself any longer than he was very hard trying. He immediately regretted doing so. A stab of pain shot through his shoulders, to his lower back. He grimaced and put his hands down. Now, it was her turn to smile. She didn't even try to hide it and burst out laughing. "Very funny, Chimezie, very funny" He said and started to walk away. She followed him. "You laughed at me first" She complained and reminded him at same time. He stopped. "Yes I did and I also remember saying I'm sorry ". "You didn't look like you mean it" "How exactly was I supposed to look,.... to convince you that I'd meant what I said?" He asked " My shoulders hurt, as does my back and.... pretty much every part of my body hurts..." Then comically, he added "I most definitely could use a smile...and I couldn't help it" He laughed again.." the look on your face and the way you were breathing...I would pay to see that again".. She laughed, a half baked laugh, he could tell. "That snake could have bitten me and you know how dangerous that could have played out; I would have been hospitalized..or worse! ." she was fuming" Is everything a joke to you?" He sighed, losing the smile on his face .She wanted him to tell her sorry without any trace of smile on his face. Well, he can do that; all he had to do was swallow his pride. "Oya oo, sorry na." He mumbled. She looked at him, in a way that screamed 'are you being serious right now!'. "Sorry na...I am sorry" he said. She smiled "Now, that's my boy" and ran off, laughing. It took a moment before he realized what'd happened. ".....hey, you little...!" He laughed as he shook his head. How many times again had he fallen for that same trick? How many more would he fall for it? He turned, hearing footsteps from behind him. "You should go back to bed and rest some more.you worked rather too much yesterday.." It was the older man.His upper body was still bare and his right hand adjusted the wrapper on his waist. The young man wondered how on earth he wasn't cold...By God, that morning was ice cold, in a most unholy way. He wheeled around and started making for his room. Gosh, his body hurt like hell! "By the way, your mother's condition is stable. She's no longer shivering" The man said. "I know" he said "I saw her last night before going to bed" The older man shook his head.. "Kelechi " the man called. "Sir.." "How are you really feeling?" The man's tone showed concern. "My body hurts." The man walked closer and touched his rib cage, the right side and Kelechi winced in pains. "Ohh, we should probably go to the store of the local chemist and ask her to mix some medicines for you. She knows medicines... and her's has been proven to be very effective..." Kelechi nodded. The man looked at him again and smiled. "Thank you for yesterday... Without you, your mum couldn't have made it..." The young man nodded and smiled a bit. "I have to start getting ready for farm.." The man said, half announcing, half saying what he intends to do. Kelechi nodded again. "I...I probably won't be going to the chemist's store so early...maybe later but not now .." The man seemed to think. "Okay...have some more bed rest and... I will give Chimezie some money.... later, you can go and buy the medicines " Kelechi nodded again. He walked towards his bedroom door.When he was inside, he felt for something on the left side of the wall and something clicked. Light immediately flooded the room, illuminating it.He stood on, looking at his room, his eyes roving..The room had belonged to his brother, elder brother, Onuabuchi, now of blessed memory. As he looked, memories from the past flooded his mind. He forced himself to shut them out. The room was modestly furnished with a table at the right side of the room, a long, glass standing mirror, his clothes hanger that housed his clothes, deep blue curtains on the single window frame, the bed which was placed on a wooden cabinet, a book shelf, a space for shoes.Looking around, one immediately knows that the occupant of this room loved the colour blue....the carpets were blue and even the fluorescent bulb was blue... And as well as the walls of the room, his bedsheets and duvet and even the pillows had blue sheets on them. He grimaced again in pain as he slid into the comfort and warmth his duvet provided against the cold. Laying down, he exhaled. If it'd been from exhaustion or just from reflex, Kelechi didn't know. He thought some more about his late elder brother. The young man had passed on five years prior. He'd passed on after suffering typhoid. Looking back, he found he missed his big brother more than he'd done then. He'd loved his brother so much.He remembered the pranks they played on each other, the fun they had going hunting and setting traps for rodents, going to the local stream to fetch water and a lot more. He was still in the memory lanes, when he felt himself getting drowsy, felt himself slipping away from the physical world, everything becoming numb, the outside world gradually fading from within reach by him or with his senses. And after seemed like moments, he snapped his eyes open again, this time because of the immense light that had broken through his door. His bed was directly placed in front of the door "....Kel the man" he heard his sister's voice in a sing-song manner call him by by her fond name for him. She laughed as he blocked the sun rays on his face with his palms She lifted the curtains on the door more to let sunlight in.." Up you get, fine lad, it's day already" He groaned, making to get up, particularly intrigued by how she'd addressed him. " I'm a lad and a fine one too?" he chuckled. "I didn't know that... what's happened to me being the ugliest big brother you've ever seen? Or known?" he asked. She glared at him almost murderously. He deviated from that topic. "What time is it?" She was silent for a second."Several hours from when you were last up" She finally said. He groaned again. "The time, please..." he barely had the strength to speak and he definitely won't fall for her antics, not today at least. She seemed to realize this as well. "9:45.am..." He sprang to his feet. Somehow, his aching body seemed... relieved, he noticed. He liked that. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" Chimezie wore a surprised look on her face. "I'm supposed to do that, your glorious majesty?"She asked, sounding sarcastic "Well, need I remind you that you didn't tell me to?" "Well, I know I didn't" he said, rolling his eyes "but you should have...it is what a good sister does. How's mom?" he asked, picking up a shirt that was on his bed and putting it on. Chimezie felt offended. "Ohh,so you are saying that I'm not a good sister? Dude, you would still be sleeping if I hadn't woken you up when I did, which was a couple minutes ago!.." she breathed hotly. He just looked at her, a bit surprised. "And mom she's up already" she laughed, amused by the look on his face " she made breakfast. Mom is a very stubborn, that woman". Kelechi nodded "yeah and you took after her alright. I'm grateful she's now on her feet though" Chimezie nodded too. " We have to thank God first for keeping her... through you... I mean, if you hadn't done what' you'd done, mom would have been dead" And there she was, again, with her straight-to-the-point way of speaking. But even he knew she was right. He'd literally carried the woman all the way back home for several kilometers worth of journey on foot. Looking back, he was surprised he was able to do that. "Thank you" she said. He nodded. "Hey, she's my mom too...our mom..." " Dad gave me some money to buy medicine for you before he left for farm...you just have to eat and take the medicine" Kelechi was a bit surprised. " You bought the medicines already?That's very kind of you" He said. " Thank you" He smiled. "I know and you are welcome, by the way." she beamed with a smile " And later, you can say I'm not a good sister" Kelechi chuckled " Thank you, I appreciate your kind gestures.." he said and laughed " But I can also say that...I am a better brother to you than you are a good sister to me". Chimezie frowned." See? my point exactly! Not even half a second later and there you have said it. Again!" Kelechi laughed loudly. And as he walked out the door, made a face at her. "We don't have so much water left. We need some more water... I have laundry to do and some cleanings to do as well!" she yelled after him as he briskly sprinted outside. "Okay, I have heard you...But wait, it rained last night...right?"... "Yes big head, it rained! It's been all used up, you are welcome!" He stopped in his tracks.. "No one put those barrels out last night so they could collect water?" he found himself asking. By this time, Chimezie had caught up with him. "We were all busy sleeping last night...And you were, well, you slept more than we all did. The rain and cold from last night made your sleep that much better.You didn't even know it' rained...I did take out some barrels, okay...they just didn't collect enough water" Kelechi digested that. "So, I should go to the borehole and fetch some more...that's what you are saying?" She laughed. " That's the shorter form , yes" He almost groaned out aloud. "With my hurting shoulders and ribs?" "Dude...you are a man, bro!". She said walked past him. He just stood there, feeling his shoulders and ribs.They hurt less now.He should be grateful for that, he knew but, he found himself missing the painful sensations he was getting from it earlier. He heard his sister walk up to him and as he watched, hand him two yellow 25 l****s Jerrycans.Right on his hands. Goofily, she said " Now ruunnnn along, before they finished it.." And just like she'd said, he found himself hastening away. "Finished it?" He hadn't understood that part and he just found out. "There is a ton of people there!" "Ohh, okay...That's why I'd asked why you didn't wake me up sooner!" He said. "Oh...well, my bad. Next time,I will keep that in mind" "You... are a not ...a ...very good person" He groaned and she laughed. "Thanks so much for your kind words" Kelechi walked towards the public borehole. Like his sister had said, there were lots of people there ...or more accurately, they were close to the chemist's store, which was just a few poles away from the borehole.He wanted to mind his business and just go straight to the borehole and fetch his water but he found himself being propelled by his legs to the chemist's store. Well, that could be blamed on pure curiosity. He approached the store and could could hear people speaking in low tones.. "......what'd really happened?" he heard a man ask another. "Early this morning, he was brought here by his wife and brother...they say he fell down when he got up from bed..." "Chaii, that's very unfortunate..." another said. Kelechi could hear a woman wailing in a corner. Fellow women surrounded her, consoling her. "Ndoo, ji si obi yi ike, oohh" . He heard the women say. And in response to that, the wife of the man who'd collapsed, responded with more wailing in an increased tempo, asking them what she would do with her life and children if something bad happened to her husband. The women consoling her assured her that no such thing would happen. God is alive and watching, isn't he, they'd asked. He stood aloof to the small crowd. He saw the man's brother, all sweaty even in the cold morning as he hurried outside, his body vibrating, most likely out of fear and worry, Kelechi guessed. He felt pity for the man and his family and secretly prayed nothing will happen to the man. On impulse, he walked closer to the chemist's store, to have a closer look. That's when he felt someone's elbow poke his sides but not intentionally.He winced in pains. "Oh, sorry if I hurt you" He heard a soft feminine voice say. "Don't worry about it." He said " it's fine". He looked up and saw whom he'd been talking to. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Standing before him was a fair complexioned girl, roughly his age, very pretty looking and had gorgeous eyes. And she was nicely dressed... She smiled at him. "You must be Kelechi.., right?" Her voice carried uncertainty. He nodded She looked familiar...Now, where had he met or seen her before....? Her smile widened. "I'm Oluchukwu, Jeremiah's big sister...." she eagerly introduced herself. Now, that made sense. He most definitely knew her, as a kid...But that was years ago, a full decade if he wasn't mistaken. "I have heard quite a lot about you, you know..., from Jeremiah" She said and laughed magnificently. "He is very excited about you, talks about you alot, you know...and you are his teacher...." There was this spark in her eyes as she spoke. Kelechi tried to force himself not to breath. She looked so pretty he was having trouble coordinating his focus...His mind was going totally blank.He fought to compose himself mentally. When he was able to compose himself again, he realized she had been talking for awhile. ".....so I suppose you are going to the borehole?" she asked him, looking directly in his eyes. He felt like he was suffocating, a strange feeling engulfing him. "Umm... yes?... Yes, I am" His answer sounded lame at best. She smiled. "Good, I'm also headed there" She smiled. He nodded, licking his dry lips, as he gulped. That was when the 'sick man's' brother who'd left earlier, came back with a motorcycle. They watched as the man, the one who'd collapsed, was carried out and into the motorcycle, a small crowd of men behind them. He was looking more stable than Kelechi supposed he'd been when he was brought to the chemist's store. They entered the bike, with the sick man in the middle and his brother at the back to support him from falling and drove away, to a hospital where the man would be taken proper care of. And that would be at Kwale General Hospital..It would take them a couple hours and some minutes to get there. People began dispersing, with some going in to personally appreciate the chemist for her expertise in handling such critical situation. Kelechi left and she followed him closely behind. It seemed people no longer were focused on the matter at hand; the reason why they'd gathered at the chemist's store. All eyes were fixed on them, more particularly on Kelechi. He could hear and feel them whispering. Kelechi felt uncomfortable. But not Oluchukwu. "I suppose you know that man...? The one who'd collapsed?" She asked. He nodded. " Yeah, I know him...His name is Efe, and he's an Urhobo man... He is a really nice man, truly nice man" "What's happened to him?" He thought for a second. "Most likely cardiac arrest" "Heart failure?" He nodded "Yes, heart failure." "He's lucky it isn't the fatal kind" Kelechi agreed. "Yes, very much lucky" They were silent for a minute as they walked to the borehole. "I heard you teach at the local private school, the one my little brother attends?" He nodded. She smiled. Again. Her teeth sparkled. "That's really nice and cool!" she exclaimed, excited for reasons Kelechi could not begin to understand. She seemed and was infact, very comfortable around him; he wasn't and very desperately needed to get away from her. But he knew he can't, it'd be very rude of him. "All the kids are excited about you and they love you..." They already arrived the borehole and Kelechi was fetching his gallons. He didn't say anything. He only listened as she rapped on, saying many things she'd apparently been told by Jeremiah. She wasn't some strange girl he just met. He'd actually grew up with her as kids and they'd even attended the same school. But then, she'd left, to a big city, Benin city, if he recalled correctly and for years, she didn't come back. And now, she's here...and talking with him. It seemed like an out-of-the-body experience-in his body...He wasn't used to talking to girls in such ... personal way. And when he did, he maintained a distance. And, not to make him sound rude, but she was a chatterbox ... And did Jeremiah talk that much?..The kid was barely four. He was always very quiet in class and rarely even participated in the games, which he always seemed excited about. Hearing from Oluchukwu what Jeremiah had been saying, he almost felt betrayed. He'd heard she came back just like, three days earlier? And he'd told her literally everything about him.. "I heard your mom fell ill yesterday..." She said... When did she stop talking about what Jeremiah had told her? He nodded. "Malaria...We were in the farm and I was helping Mama Obidi planting cassava... I went to check on her, as I was about going and met her on the ground" he chuckled. "I was scared to death that she might have died..." he laughed, nervously. " She's better now though" "I'm sorry to hear that" And from the look on her face..garhh, beautiful face, Kelechi knew she meant it. He nodded. He helped her lift her basin of water to her head. He carried the gallons on both hands. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes as they now walked homewards. She smiled. "You really have grown since the time we last saw...years ago.." He smiled shyly. "Yeah...and so have you too... I mean look at you...you are big and .... I almost called you ma " She laughed. "You were small as a kid and everyone picked on you alot...I hope that you are still that little boy I knew as a kid.." she half stated and half asked. He only smiled. "Yeah, I was small as a kid" "And also very smart, I recall..." He blushed. "I don't think I was smarter than you were back in the day" She didn't comment on that. "And you are still just as good looking" He almost did a double take. She saw this and laughed. "And you are still shy, aren't you?" she beamed. " I'm glad you haven't changed at all, character and personality wise, I mean...I like that you are taller, handsomer..." She was talking and didn't realize that they had gotten to Kelechi's house.She realized this and stopped. "I guess we'll say goodbye here.." He nodded. "I will come around, say later in the day...or at night...?" "It's alright. Will be more than happy to have you around" She smiled. "Yeah, catch up on old times and memories and share experiences...That could be fun." she said. " You are still a good story teller, right?" He didn't respond. "Oh yes, he is...it's a skill he gets better at everyday!" Kelechi rolled his eyes. He knew who owned the voice and for some reasons, he started feeling uncomfortable and sweaty. They both looked and saw Chimezie standing on the door way of their house. She was Knitting some materials and her eyes was trained on them.She still continued knitting, not even making mistakes or looking down to check what she was doing. How was she doing that? "Heyy, Chimezie, how are you? " Oluchukwu called, the smile on her face somehow got larger. Kelechi wondered how she could smile any wider. "I'm fine...Your sister, Nina, told me you were back...I'm sorry I haven't made out time to come and take my own goodies you brought home, from Benin city" Oluchukwu laughed. "I have heard you. When you come, I will get you something" Chimezie smiled saucily, her eyes solely focused on her brother. "Now, that's what a good big sibling should be like...Not like those of us who have a stingy big brother".. Kelechi opened his mouth to talk. "Oohh, so I'm stingy...is that what she said?" He couldn't believe she's said that. Oluchukwu laughed."I believe she meant the opposite of that. You are one of the kindest people I know, Kenechi." Of course he knew she was joking.But why would she say that in front of Oluchukwu? What if she'd misunderstood her? And took it that he is really stingy? ....But why's he even worried, he found himself wondering. She's not his girlfriend or about to be...So, what's with the worries? He almost felt humiliated. "I have to go now" Oluchukwu said, adjusting the weight on her head. " I will be back later" Saying that, she left. Chimezie walked down to meet Kelechi. "Dude, what is up with you?!" Chimezie asked her brother. For a second, she had him completely lost. " I'm sorry...what?" She sighed. " A beautiful girl was checking you out and you didn't have a clue she was?!...Boy! Wish I was a guy and nineteen...." Now, she made sense. "Wait, you mean..." "Don't ask me!" * "Well, she just came back...It'd be rude of me to start...like asking her out when we met ,like, just twenty minutes ago" "And that's your defense?" "It's not a defense..." He was starting to feel frustrated. He'd never won in an argument against her. "What kind of a sister are you, anyway?" he asked, feeling desperate to stop this conversation he was having with his fourteen year old sister. "A very good one" she offered. "You don't sound like it" "I don't?" He wore a serious face. "No, you actually don't." "Okay, if you say so" And she trodded off. Kelechi walked into the house and emptied the gallons of water into a bigger water holding barrel. He felt stupid.How ignorant was he, anyway? His younger sister had known what was obviously going on with Oluchukwu and he didn't.. hadn't even gotten a clue...He laughed not because something was funny but because of how ignorant he was finding himself to be...Or it was just his innocence? He'd graduated High School without even having a girl as a close friend and .... He halted that line of thinking. He heard some noise in the house, in the direction of the kitchen and went to check it out.. He was pleasantly surprised by whom he saw. "Hey mom!" His smile was glorious. She was in the kitchen, washing some dishes.She turned. He hugged her. He towered over the woman, almost covering her entire frame with his size. She chuckled. "How are you? You are better now, I hope?" She smiled back at him, almost tiredly. "Yes, I am better now" He looked at the sink. "You should probably leave the dishes for me or Chime to wash..." He said. "No, don't worry. I actually told your sister not to worry about the dishes. Just see it as me exercising myself". He nodded. "Okay, if you say so" He heaved happily. "Whom were you talking with outside?" "Ohh, that's Oluchukwu, the daughter of Nwamaka, wife of Ikechukwu" Kelechi's mother wore a surprised look on her face. "She's back?" "Came to visit should be the more appropriate word...term?" Kelechi said. She nodded. "You would do well to visit her...Her parents are nice people... And the both of you were really good friends as kids" "About that...Ehh, she said she would be coming over later in the day ..sooo... there's no need for me to go visit her...in her parent's house" "Ohh, that's nice to hear..if she will be visiting" He agreed with her on that. Suddenly thinking that he's spending more time in the kitchen than necessary, he made for the fridge and took an orange. "Mom, I will be leaving now. Still have got more barrels to fill with water" The woman nodded. And he left. He got outside and breathed out deeply. He hadn't known he was holding that breathe in his lungs. "Your food is in your room. I think it's advisable for you to eat, take your medicines and rest awhile before going to fetch some more water" Chimezie said. He turned sharply. "Well... yes I will do that" he said and left for his room. " And by the way, the proprietor came by" Kelechi stopped. "Oh..." he expected her to say something she'd been probably told, by the proprietor. "He was just passing through... I think it would make more sense if you visited his house" "Thanks for your words of wisdom" She frowned. "Those aren't words of wisdom, big head..." "They sure seemed and sounded so to me" She just rolled her eyes. "You still have got barrels to fill with water..." "I know that, you didn't have to remind me!" He said from inside his room. "I think you need to get a job outside of this town, meet and mingle with new people whom you've never met... And maybe get a girlfriend too?.You really need that, bro " Chimezie said. "You might get what you are asking for sooner rather than later" he came out from his room. "Ohh, I want it now, like right now. Sooner can take forever to come and later is well, later.. always late". his response had surprised her. Usually, she won their arguments whenever she mentioned him getting himself a girlfriend. "Okay, so what's that about, dude?" He was surprised by her question. "What is it about... whatever you are implying? You have to make that clear to me because I don't understand" "Are you leaving home?" "Right now, yes, I'm going to fetch some more water..." And he was leaving already. "Hey, get back here!" "Bye bye!"