Saint Patrick's College

Chapter Seventeen

The weekend came quickly and before Adaeze Okoro knew it, she was in the back of a Bolt with Ayomide and Segun making their way up town to the Nwafor's house.

Sneaking out of school was easier the second time around. This time, she knew what to do and what to say. She knew that they needed a tinted Bolt and a discrete driver who would come into the school under the guise of being a curious parent since Bolt's and Ubers weren't allowed on campus.

Staring out the window, she watched cars whoosh by and buildings blur together. She didn't know how the family was going to respond to them. She couldn't imagine what they were going through. She liked to think if she'd known this Ogechi girl that the two of them would have been friends. She liked to think that she would have been there to prevent whatever could have caused her to lose her life.

The car drew to a stop outside the gate.

They didn't live too far away from school.

They lived in a gated community in Asokoro. Their house was like everyone in the estate, a beige duplex tucked behind a high fence. The house in itself was a sight to see. It looked like an old Victorian home.

Segun handled the payments while Adaeze and Ayomide piled out of the car.

Adaeze took in her surroundings. There was a couple on a jog down the street from the Nwafor's house. She wondered if they knew the family. If they'd already offered their condolences. She wondered if they were complete strangers whose lives were not even bothered by the fact that this family was going through a great loss.

"Don't squeeze your face like that." Ayomide chided Adaeze.

"What do you mean, we're here for something grim, how am I supposed to look?"

Segun answered. "Not like that. Look solemn but not sad, remember, we were her friends, not close friends, but close enough that we need closure."

She did her best to remember that.

Ayomide knocked at the gate. Just like planned, Segun had called the family to notify them that they were coming over. At first, Adaeze couldn't believe they'd agreed to it, but she could understand them wanting to know the kind of friends their daughter kept. It just felt wrong, lying to them. Pretending just so they could get to the bottom of the Nwafor case.

The side gate was pulled open by a lean man Adaeze assumed to be the gateman.

He led them through the yard and up the front steps to the door.

He tugged on the knocker. Once, twice.

The front door opened.

Standing on the other end was a woman leaned by pain and the many disappointments of life. She was wearing a matching two-piece shirt and pants that hung off her petite frame.

"Good morning, Mrs. Nwafor, I'm Segun Adetunji and these are my friends; Ayomide Adewale and Adaeze Okoro." He introduced and they waved. "We talked on the phone earlier—"

"Oh, yes, come in!" She ushered them inside with the ghost of a smile on her face.

She led them in through the corridor and the first thing that greeted Adaeze was the blown-up picture frame of the family of three. They were all wearing matching white shirts and jeans. Ogechi had a big grin on her face, but her eyes were empty. Adaeze couldn't stop looking at them. Could it be the girl actually did what the article said she did? No, she didn't seem like the type from all Adaeze had heard.

"We take one every year around Christmas time." Mrs. Nwafor noticed Adaeze staring. "This was last year." The woman said quietly.

Adaeze instantly looked away. "She looked beautiful." She felt the need to add.