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Chapter 1

Maeve
My name is Maeve Victoria Mattew. I am sixteen years of age, and the first child in the family. My mom had me when she was eighteen, and Dad, Well, let's just say mom was already pregnant with me before she met him. Nevertheless, he still treats me the same like my other half siblings.
According to mom, dad used to sing songs to soothe a crying me, when I was little. I was told that he always carried me wherever he went, letting people know that I was his. Was even more than my real father who used mom and dumped her when she was seventeen, without being aware that she was pregnant. My real dad name is Caleb, and he hasn't had any child till date. After mom birthed me, he wanted to take full custody of me, but mom refused. Even my step dad who I address as "dad" since day one. Turned out that my grandpa was a lawyer and he helped mom and dad win the case.
Dad is just everything.
There's this bond we've always share since I was an infant. He stayed with mom till she had me, took care of me. Yeah, he's the diaper changing kind of dad-guy.
Him and mom are the perfect match. They look so good together. The height, complexion. Everything about them is just so good.
So, back to what I was saying. Dad left for school when I was barely eight months old, and mom had to go to school as well.
To cut everything short, because I'm definitely not a fan of lengthy stories, they got married when I was seven, nine years ago. And they gave birth to my siblings.
Theodore is eight, Camilla is five, and Ariana the cute little round pumpkin of a child, is a year and two months old.
My parents are wealthy. Dad is a marine engineer. He carries out underwater piping. Which is laying of oil pipe underneath water. A very risky job. And it normally keeps him away from the family for months. Mom is a doctor. Although, she has shifts, she made me the baby sitter who takes care of my younger siblings. Of course she had to bribe me. Because I don't do things for free. But you can count me in, when there's money.
Since I was a child, I liked money. Mom said that whenever I was given money, I would break in a huge toothless grin, with the money clenched in my tiny chubby hand. And when she or anyone else would try to take the money from me, I would tighten my grip and then cry.
Okay! I really don't have to bore you with my talks about family and jobs.
I can have anything I want, clothes, shoes, bags, the latest iPhones, friends. My room is styled the way a typical teenager's room should be.
On none school days, I sleep till I don't like the smell of my morning breath on my pillow. Feed the kids junks and cereals because I tend to burn down everything in the kitchen, when ever I make an attempt to cook. Yeah, I suck at cooking big time. But when mom is off duty, she does cook. Or we could order take aways. The person who is a really good cook is dad. One could nibble on an empty plate whenever he cooked.
My family is cool.
I attend one of the best private schools in Columbia, and I'm above an average student in class. Not the straight A's kind, there has to be a variation of B and C atimes. I'm not really good in maths though, I'd have to struggle to get a distinction in maths, or a pass.
Which throws me into the situation of getting an E in Maths.
Mom is mad that I will have to stay at home for a year, to rewrite mathematics, and Dad never cease to remind that, failure isn't a mistake. Rather, it's to make someone prepare better for whatever he or she is aiming at.
They always talk about me when they face time. And I would have to lean my ear against the door to listen to them talk about me.
Mom told him he spoilt me rotten. Because he gave me the opportunity to do whatever I please.
Although, I'm not related to dad by blood, but I inherited most of his traits. Like getting pissed easily, short temper, sharp tongue, and big anger issues.
I'm quite tall for a girl, 5'8 feet. And skinny everywhere, with no curves. But a tad on the busty side.
I'm fair, just like my mom. I have big wide eyes, a small nose, and thin lips.
So, having failing WASSCE, I wouldn't sit for Jamb this year. When my classmates will.
And I'd be stuck at home babysitting my rowdy siblings, and attending maths online classes to improve.
Real entity of the sad truth.
Which currently throws me into the situation of face timing with Dad, and trying to spoon feed Ariana.
"So you're the mother of the house now." Dad says, leaning back to rest on his chair. His eyes dancing with amusement. "Mother Maeve."
"Stop it, Dad." I whisper yell. "Could you please not remind me about it? It's frustrating. I wonder how you and Mom cope." I respond, my lips curving into a pout.
"You look like you would take out a gun a kill someone." The corners of his lips stretches forth into a pout, as he intertwines his fingers together, and props them under his chin.
"I will soon. I already have a lot on my shoulders. Dealing with maths, and babysitting the kids. Why can't mom take Ariana with her some times? I hate seeing her poo and having to change her diapers. Plus Theodore and Camilla. Those two scatterbrains would be the death of me, before I fully become an adult." I huff out, then groan out of disgust, when Ariana barfs out her meal.
Yeah, great.
Thankfully, a napkin is tied around her neck. So it would save me from the stress of cleaning her clothes. But I'd have to wash the napkin. And I hate washing. Ugh!
"Babies are always wet, dirty and crying." I tell Dad, with my nose wrinkled in disgust, as I clean Ariana up with a fresh napkin.
Dad can no longer control his laughter. He fling his head backwards and bursts into a harsh bark of laughter. Causing his shoulders to shake along with him.
"Da-da!" Ariana squeals, drooling a little as she taps her tiny chubby finger on the screen of my system.
"Hey, big girl Jessy." Dad does a passable job at mimicking her. And she laughs, revealing a few teeth in her open mouth.
"Da-da, Da-da. Da-da!" She squeals again, slapping away the spoon I was taking close to her mouth. And this action sends the spoonful of food to the floor.
"Does it have to be on the floor this time, Jess? You're acting like you haven't seen your old man before." I grumble at the mess of the cerelac and milk on the floor.
"You are one hell of a character, Maeve. Just like me." Dad winks at me, then starts singing 'I Don't Care' by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber.
Standing up on my full height, with the rag I had used in wiping the mess off the floor, I face palm then shake my head in disapproval.
"Don't sing now, Dad." But dad doesn't listen to me. He carries on singing like he has no care in the world. He has the most amazing voice ever. And that's one of the reasons why mom fell in love with him. Despite he was a bad boy and all, at that time.
Ariana is smiling, and then she begin laughing and dancing with glee.
As if that isn't enough, my younger siblings bursts into the room, and start singing along. Dancing, waltzing, carrying pots and pans.
Someone accidentally hits Ariana's table, and it sends Ariana and her bowl of cerelac to the floor.
"Stop!" I bellow at the top of my lungs, jabbing my fist into my palm.
This put an halt to the activity of singing between the trio.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry pumpkin." The words bursts out of Dad's mouth, with his face scrunching up in concern.
"Oopsy!" Camilla's eyes dilates at this. And a sprawled Jess on the floor, with milk stains, burst into a full volume of wails.
"Looks like she has poo on her diaper, as well." Theodore points out, examining her bum with his index finger.
With a huff, I swat his hand away, and shoot each and everyone of them, death glares. Including Dad on the screen.
I pick Jess up, place her on my hip and begin to soothe her.
"We'd have to talk later, dad." I tell him, bouncing the hurricane wailing child on my hip.
"Alright Maeve, bye. And don't be too hard on your siblings." He blows me and the rest of the kids kisses. Even Ariana stops wailing, wavea him goodbye, then carries on wailing when he disconnects me.
Family can be frustrating practically all the time.
Its midnight and I wake up to the thump, thump, thump sound on my window.
Aware of who it is, I take the covers off me, wear my fluffy flip-flops, and then make my way towards my window.
I raise my binders off, and then slide open my window to the lanky girl taking her hoodie off. Her face twists into a huge frown.
"Jesus, Maeve. What the freaking fudgenuts hell. Don't tell me you are sleeping by this time of the night." Molly exclaims, taking her earphones off her ears. Smacking gum loudly in the mouth. "The others are waiting for you. That's why I was sent to come and get you in the first place."
We've been friends since my family moved in here. She's fourteen, in grade ten, and tall like me. And acts like the elder between us two.
"Sorry, I forgot. Yesterday was a long day. I was battling with-"
She waves her hand away, to dismiss whatever explanation I had to spill.
"Whatever. We really don't have much time. Hurry." She commands, putting back her hoodie on, and carries on chewing the gum. Making puffy tiny balls.
Hugging myself and shivering, I say. "It's cold out there, you know. Can you wait so I could put on some clothes?"
"We don't have much time." She hiss at me through gritted teeth. "It's two fifteen a.m already. One of the boys would lend you his jacket. Just come out now."
"Okay, fine." I face palm. And then she moves away from my window so I can sneak out.
While jumping out of my window, I can swear I hear the sound of footsteps approaching my door. And this shoots fear in me, making me to land face flat on the floor.
"Ow!" I groan in pain. While Molly laughs, and lend me her hand to help me up.
We walk few blocks away from my house, and head straight into Molly's house.
As usual, my friends were seated on couch, eating junk food, playing video games, playing spinning the bottle, drinking canned beers and smoking.
It was our own party every Wednesday and Friday night. From 1a.m till 4a.m
Molly's parents are loaded, with lots and lots of cash. Being an only child, she is even more spoilt and exposed to the world than I am. Her parents are business people and are rarely around. So her three cousins live with her.
"Hey, Levi." Molly calls out to her eldest cousin. And on hearing his name, he leaves the girl he's talking to and starts advancing towards us. Levi is almost six feet tall, dark skinned, has the bad boy personality and all. He's twenty-two years old, and hates school.
"Yo, Maeve." He greets when he comes to stand in front of me, giving me a perverted smile. "Took you long enough."
"I didn't call you here to undress her with your eyes. Lend her your jacket. She's cold."
Molly tells her cousin, giving him a boss-lady kind of look.
"Woah." He exclaims when his eyes accessed me from the crown of my head, to the sole of my feet.
Well, I'm not surprised at this. Levi has always had this thing for me, right from the first day I escorted Molly who was having cramps home.
On that day at school, I was called out of class and straight to the infirmary. There I saw Molly rolling on the bed, groaning out of pain, with her face squeezed like she was few minutes away from death itself.
I was informed that she was given drugs, but it seemed as though the paints were increasing. So I was told to take her home. Because she had no one at school, her parents were away, and I was the closest to a sister at time.
She was just ten, while I was twelve. And I had called a cab to take us to her house.
I had knocked on the door, with my hand wrapped around Molly's waist, and her arm around my neck for support. And Levi had been the one to open the door.
On that day, he was smelling of cigarettes, and loud trap music was blasting from the speakers in the house.
His eyes had widen in their sockets when he saw Molly, and then narrowed when they swayed over to mine.
He opened the door wider, then pulled a groaning Molly from my hands, and carried her into her room.
"Stay." Molly had implored with her eyes closed, from the bed where he had laid her, when I was about taking my leave.
While Levi's gaze had been on me the whole time. He was eighteen at that time, six years ahead of me. And looked really tall. I was so small and skinny, standing next to him as I watched Molly.
She made to sit up on the bed, when I told her not to, then I climbed on the bed to join her. And cuddled her until she drifted to sleep.
I decided it was time to take my leave, when it was nearing three o'clock, because I had my siblings to go pick up. When I stood up, and Levi came into the room to offer me a glass of juice.
"I'm good, thanks." I had declined politely, hanging my backpack on my shoulders. While his penetrating gaze remained on me, with his black long fingers still wrapped around the juice contented glass.
"Heading home?" He inquired, nudging his head closer to mine that I was forced to take a step backwards. Wondering if he was insane. He was an adult, while I was barely a teenager. Twelve years old with grapes as boobs on my chest. Amusing right?
"Yes. I have to go pick up my siblings from school." I replied him, with my face scrunched up in a frown. Wordlessly telling him that if he takes a step closer to me, I was going to kick him on where the sun doesn't shine.
He nodded, and when I turned to leave, I felt him pulled me backwards, and I was forced to look at him.
"Thank you, for bringing Molly home." He said. And when I looked at his hands, I saw that he had transferred the juice to his left hand, and was holding my wrist with his right hand.
I fastened my eyes to Molly, she was sound asleep on her bed. It looked like the cramps had subside a little.
Glaring so hard at him, I swatted my hand away with force that I almost lost my balance. Then stomped out of the room, to head home.
And that had been that. Levi always looked for ways to steal glances at me, was nice, never repeated what he did, because of the reaction he had gotten from me when he held my hand.
Present.
I wrap Levi's jacket around me, and went to join my friends in talking and eating junk food. Most of my friends here aren't even up to eighteen, but they're taking alcohol and smoking. Even Molly, who was the supplier.
It looks like an actual party is going on today, and Levi has invited his friends to come party with us. There a guys and girls who are around his age. Who didn't seem to mind that kinds are in their midst. There is even a twelve year old from Molly's class.
A twelve year old, wearing a crop top, tight fitted short skirt, boots, and a heavy make up. But it's still obvious that she isn't more than twelve. And what the hell is she doing out here, by this time? She was just too young to be here. And it makes me think about Theodore, sneaking out at night to go drink beer with adults. I frown at the thought, because Theodore is an eight year old, and could never do that.
This eight old even has the audacity to chew gum and blow tiny balls with it.
We began playing spinning the bottle, and Truth or Dare. The bottle points at me, and Simi, a thick black girl who is only a month behind me, and is in her final year in school, dares me to twerk for thirty seconds.
The boys began cheering.
This makes me spit out the beer I'm drinking, out of shock. Because it catches me off guard.
I can feel my lips parting, as I narrow my eyes at her. How could she ask me to twerk? Is she insane?
"Twerk, twerk, twerk, twerk." The kids around start chanting, that I take a hard dry gulp which almost hurts. Then I begin looking around, and staring at the faces of Levi's friends, because I'm already familiar with my own friends, and would twerk in front of them even though it is a cringy kind of thing.
I keep on looking until my eyes meets an unfamiliar one. Probably those eyes had been on me for a long time, since I stepped foot into Molly's house.