Chapter One

It was me, Walter, against the entire universe. It was a startling realisation I had at a very young age. It might not seem like much, but a child depends on their parents for everything; their personality, speech mannerisms, and food. I realised that I was an entirety of a human being before my dependence got halfway. It was why I spoke differently from the triplets, why I was so good at science and art but chose to be nothing, and why they labelled me the rebel child of the Williamsons. It was why I was sitting in front of my computer, staring at my admission notification, the mouse cursor hovering over ‘Reject’. My fingers twitched and my mind suddenly replayed back to why I had applied to Law in the first place. A playback of fat aunties screaming at me and calling me names because I didn’t pick science over art, as was my supposed purpose. My mom suggestively forced the idea of being a law student down my throat. My father, always the one to support my mom’s decisions, outright told me not to apply for anything else. 

I took a breath and closed the page. I looked up my Instagram instead and replied to the comments under my latest post. My followers were very opinionated but supportive. It didn’t work out sometimes, because I didn’t need anyone commenting on my irregular posting schedule when I already felt pressured every time I had to make a post, but I loved them. Their support covered the minor shading.

Congrats on getting the gig. Deserved honest

I love that they didn’t waste any time on giving you the job. No one smart would.

Luvvv that wallpaper. Where did u get it?

I quickly replied that one designed it myself. I held down the boot button in a flash when I heard my mom’s feet pound up the stairs. She had a habit of walking up the stairs to my room in that fashion. I was the only one on the third floor so she liked to announce her presence, in case I was doing anything wrong. In her words.

“Walter! You were supposed to meet me downstairs sinceee. Did you forget my hair appointment?” My mom’s an enigma. Her two-tone dreads fell down her back in tight curls and she always had the same cocoa lip balm on, since my dad liked the bitter taste of cocoa. She was shorter than me, but definitely more attention-grabbing with the way she presented herself. Right now, she wore a short Ankara silk print scarf around her neck, a cowl neck blouse with her car keys swinging around her fingers and a silky palazzo that was tight around her hips. An enigma like i said.

“No no. I was checking the admission platform again.” Why did I say that? Her eyebrows rose with interest and she walked further into the room, throwing a dirty eye at the scraps of paper squeezed up on my bed.

“Any news? Let me see.”

“Ah no. nothing yet o and my laptop just died” I chuckled and scratched at my nose. Then, I stood to get my bag before she could assess the situation with her weird parental senses.

“You always scratch your nose. Do you want to bleed?” She scolded and pressed my shirt down, over the top of my jeans. She looked me over and nodded, before leading me out my room’s door. 

My older brother, Quincy, leaned against the stair railing and smiled smugly as my mom patted his cheek while walking past. He scowled at me and pushed my head when I walked past without acknowledging him.

“Walter..” My mom started.

“He’s already spoiled as it is. There’s no need for me to make matters worse.” I muttered loud enough for both of them to hear me. He pushed my head to the side again and shouldered past me, swinging his arms over my mom as we walked past his room.

Abel, the second triplet, was sprawled on the carpet, snoring over the chess board that he must have been playing with Quincy before he came to find us. I looked forward, overhearing Quincy whisper something to my mom. He has always been so bad at whispering.

“Patrick is coming back ?” I asked, rushing up behind them. Quincy nodded at me and swerved, missing the weirdly structured wall that protruded in the hallway. It mostly served the purpose of smacking us in the face when it was darker in the day and decor where we hung family portraits that didn’t fit in the living room.

“Just for dinner.”

“Sucks.” was all I said before my mom smacked me over my head. She pushed clingy Quincy and grabbed her bag from the coffee table. 

“We have to get my hair done in time for dinner.” It wasn’t visibly on her face, but her eyes gleamed in a certain way associated with my father and her first portion of the triplet.

“Speaking about that, I might not be in attend-”

“Oh shut up.” My mom rolled her eyes and dragged me to her car. I stood at the side and waited for her to start up the car whilst I took my daily photos of our driveway because it looked perfect in the dim afternoon-evening sun. I uploaded it on my Instagram story and looked down to see my father’s car coming up the curve of the driveway. I was tempted to dive inside then I noticed a woman jumping out of the car and running towards me.

“Walterrrrr” A laugh rumbled from my chest and my brother’s girlfriend threw herself at me.

“Susan!” She held my shoulders and surveyed my body. She turned me left, right, and around and scowled when my older brother, Patrick, was close enough.

"Mine.” She held me close and hissed at him. An incredulous look passed through his face as he walked around us.

“ Walter, where is mom?” He didn’t say hello, but then again he never did. He just assumed I’d be open to speaking to him without pleasantries.

“Why don’t you look for her yourself and leave Walter to me,” Susan muttered and held my face, staring into my eyes. She rolled her eyes when my brother started to speak up again and dragged me to my mom’s car.

“Susan!” My mom cheered, winding down. Susan reached through the open window to kiss her on her cheeks. I turned to the front seat and got inside, sliding the belt over me. Susan quickly got into the back seat, her fluffy cloud of brown hair billowing around her face.

“I wanted to be the passenger princess, but my love for you exceeds all desires.” I chuckled at her passionate declaration, while my mom shook her head, an amused smile fixed on her face.

“I see you haven’t given up your obsession with Walter.”

“I’m dating the wrong Williamson.” She says it dispassionately and screws her face at the sight of my brother as we drive past them.

“You are engaged to him, S” I laughed. She sighed and drooped on her seat, before perking right up with glittering eyes.

“Promised and dating, not engaged. It’s never too late, Walter.” My mom and I laughed as she sped down the estate road. The saloon she frequented was several metres away from my favourite cafe, which made it easier to sneak away to get my pack of brownies, whilst my mom gossiped with hairstylists and high-end wives struggling with overspending habits.

“I have so much to tell you guys. We haven’t had girl time in months. I missed being here.” Susan looked visibly better, her cheeks were red with warmth, and she loved keeping her outfits to a minimum of shorts, tank tops and slip-ons. Occasionally, she’d have an Ankara scarf around her head, which she copied from the few months she stayed with us, before she went back home to Texas.

I smiled at Susan through the rear mirror and she smirked before focusing on my mom’s pleased expression. Susan always tried a little too hard to get on my mom’s graces. Mainly because my mom was a bit traditional and preferred Nigerian women for her sons. Susan was white, from Texas with blue eyes. She also was a bit older than Patrick. My mom, however unreceptive she was when she first met Susan, dropped her views on traditional relationships when she realised how much of a sweetheart Susan was. She digested information quickly and was already learning my mom’s native tongue and trying to speak despite struggling with the accent. She also loved how Susan made an effort to be friends with me, standoffish Walter, unlike my brother’s other girlfriends. In fact, if Susan, Patrick, and I were placed together, They’d think Susan was pining for me. She was overwhelming sometimes, but I found almost everything overwhelming or underwhelming before it eventually grew on me. She reached and tapped my hand when we drove past the cafe. When I turned to look at her, she mouthed ‘Congratulations’ with a big grin. I side-eyed my mom to see if she was looking before giving Susan a large grin. Susan was my closest friend and my best chance at understanding the world I was making my way in to.

“What’s that, Susan?” My mom’s eyes stared into Susan’s from the rearview mirror. My eyes widened, and I looked out my window to hide my panicked face.

“Oh. I heard Walter is applying to College. Just congratulating her in advance.” Susan answered smoothly and quelled my mother’s curiosity with success, as I could tell from the growing smile on her face.

“You’re always so positive! I love that. ” My mom cheered as she turned into the parking space of the hair salon.

“I’m not sure why Walter hasn’t gotten an update on her application yet. The boys all got theirs by now.”

Susan smiled placently and held my mom’s hang bag as she locked the car doors. I was standing out, trying not to feel weird in the open parking space infront of the saloon. Someone’s eyes were burning through the back of my skull and I made an effort to avoid looking at them. 

“Walter! Quick quick. What are you standing there for?” My mom called and made her way up the steps to enter the saloon. It was a round building with a flat, minimalist-looking roof. The neon pink and gold colours made it appear flashy but classy to onlookers.

Cold air blasted me as I followed my mom and Susan inside the shop and I realised that my mom would have to reschedule. Her favourite hairdresser was busy cahooting with another client, whose hair didn’t look halfway through. The lady had an apron on and a comb in her short afro. She looked amused until she caught the look on my mom’s face.

“What is this supposed to be?” My mom placed her hands on her hips as the woman approached with an apologetic look on her face. A group of gossiping wives looked at my mom and then Susan and I at the back looked every bit like bodyguards with the way we towered over my mom.

“I’m very sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t realise I was double booked today.”

“That’s a trashy excuse. You could have cancelled the other person.” My mom thundered and the woman flinched back and cleared her throat.

“It was a problem from the admin and since you didn’t arrive on time...” My mom was as red as a brown-skinned woman could be. She took a step forward and then one back, and I held her arm because she usually did this when she 

was mad. The next step forward she’d take would be accompanied by a heavy hand.

“ For you to have the damned mind to accuse me of being late…” She was actually late and it was my fault but before I could intercept, she had begun her nasty habit of pointing fingers and calling names. The woman, probably in her late twenties now that I’m looking at her, stood there with her head down as she was berated.

When my mom began mentioning her parents, I stepped between them and directed my mom out of the shop. I could feel the woman’s stare on my back, and I was tempted to look back and apologise, but that'd be like adding alcohol to a burning fire. She’d kill the hairdresser and me.

“Let’s head back to dinner. It must be all ready by now.” Susan smiled and looked at me with anxious eyes and she watched my mom stomp to her car. I nodded and slid into the back seat this time and Susan sent a wide-eyed stare my way. I grimaced and raised my phone to cover my face. I thought she wanted to be the passenger princess. There’s no way I was sitting next to my mom when she was in that hellish temperament. 

She ignored us and called who I assumed was my dad by the way her eyes started tearing up. Susan sent me another look as my dad’s voice filled the space inside the car. Immediately she heard my dad speak, a dam broke and his tone turned progressively annoyed.

“Walter couldn’t do anything.” My dad yelled through the phone’s speakers as my mom wailed. I sent my mom and her phone an incredulous look. What did she want me to do?

Aim for the neck??

My mom spluttered a few words, ended the call, and drove silently until we got home. Susan kept her eyes out of the window and fiddled with my phone until my arms hurt from holding it in front of my face. My mom parked, and Susan and I were out and at the front door before she could blink. I opened the door, and we tumbled inside. Susan took off her slides, exchanging them for her house slippers and I did the same. Quincy came bounding into the foyer and placed his hands on his waist with a smirk.“Where can I hide?” Susan shivered, and I folded my lips into my mouth. She looked positively scared. The front door swung open, and we froze, except Quincy, who placed a compassionate look just when my mom stepped in and took her under his shoulder. He looked back at us and flared his nose with a smirk before they disappeared into the living room.

“I really want to skip dinner,” I said, the first thought on my mind, and Susan nodded. She looped an arm over mine, and we shared a desperate look before we began the journey to our last feast.

Chapter Two

Another thing I disliked when I was around my family was our tendency to be severely overdramatic. Tell me why a grave atmosphere lingered over the dining table as we fixed our individual plates. I sent a look to Abel at his description of what was happening and sent back his phone across the table. Peter watched us, eyes squinted from where he sat, on the left of the head of the table. My mom sat on my dad’s right, dabbing her eyes with her embroidered handkerchief that every Williamson owned. Some people had family rings, others had family Bibles. We had our own embroidered handkerchiefs. People thought it was weird. I found myself lucky whenever I was out with my grandmother’s hanky in my pockets. I understood their worries and we never used them for our personal hygiene. Just goodluck charms and mine especially smelled like my grandmother’s signature rose scent. She died in my early teenage years and I never got the chance to tell her how her daughter sucked.

My eyes met my mother’s and they narrowed before turning back to fraud her husband. Speaking of him, he looked extra regal today with red curled hair and a judgemental frown on his face. He eyed Susan several times since we sat down next to each other. I knew the only reason he accepted Susan was because my mom approved of their relationship and he always followed my mom’s decision in everything; he was more traditional and I know he secretly believed their relationship would not last. 

Quincy had other speculations. He believed that my dad didn’t approve of Susan because she was always hitting on me. I wouldn’t put that past his judgmental self. 

Susan nudged me with her foot, and one look at her face had me clearing my throat, ready to end the night for her.

“Susan wishes to retire for bedtime.”

“Wow. You couldn’t be more obvious that you’re lying.” Quincy guffawed before coughing back his laugh when my dad’s strict eyes moved to him.

“The dinner just began.” My father gravelled. My mom held his hand as if to say, Calm down, baby, and I was confused about why that was necessary.

“She eats quickly.” And true to my words, her plate was nearly empty. I had not even noticed.

“I told you rushing food makes you gain weight faster.” Peter piped disapprovingly from his little throne. You could see Susan’s effort to not glare at him. I guess he talked about her weight often.

“Don’t tell her how to eat.” I retorted the first thing I've said to Peter since he came back. He narrowed his eyes at me and opened his mouth to say something, but my mother’s sob interrupted our near-to-blossom argument.

“I just wish you were there. When am I going to get my hair done now?” My father patted her back and murmured in her ears. She twisted her hands together and nodded.

“You know I have such a busy schedule. How ever will I get my appointment booked?” Literally, just take your phone and book for one tomorrow.

“Mom, I thought you were free until Saturday.” Today was Tuesday. She ignored Quincy, and he promptly turned back to the conversation he was having with Abel. Abel, besides Susan, was the only other person on the table who looked ready to drop.

“Before anyone leaves the dinner table, we must discuss recent developments.” My father spoke up, and everybody visibly straightened up. 

“My company climbed to the top ten indie technovation companies in western Africa. I’m currently at no. 6, but our former rival company is below 20.” Peter started first, looking extremely satisfied at how proud my parents looked.

“That’s exceptional work, Peter. How is the implementation of the robotics project going?”

“ Great. I just hired a new exemplary manager to oversee it. She’s very good at what she does.”

Susan looked a bit uncomfortable at the statement, and I mentally noted it to ask her who this manager was and why my brother thought her work was exemplary. Quincy cleared his throat to get our attention.

“I adopted a puppy,” Abel said after a while. He never really spoke during these sorts of things; maybe today was a good day for him.

“Okay.” My mom said, watching him expectantly. He sighed and leaned back on his chair. “Albinism blinded its right eye, and no one at the veterinary clinic was willing to take him in.” Always the compassionate one, our dear Abel.

“That’s very sweet,” Susan murmured beside me, and from the way Abel looked at her, I could tell he overheard her. He looked even more bashful under his grey hoodie and looked down to hide his face. It was when the silence settled that I realised it was my turn. 

“I-I’m still awaiting news on the admission.”

My father looked dissatisfied with the information. He looked at my mother, who squeezed his hand and looked at me.

“You’re supposed to receive feedback on your application by now. Unless it’s been declined.” Peter said, and I noticed how identical his expressions were to my father’s. Both had self-absorbed expressions plastered on their faces all around the clock.

“Don’t say that, Peter.” My mom scolded and smiled at me, her expression encouraging.

“You’ll get accepted, Walter.”

“I’d not be surprised if she doesn’t, seeing how she’s always jinxing everything,” Peter said, probably referring to the saloon situation. Peter firmly believed that wherever I went and whoever I went with would be caught in my jinx. 

“That’s enough, Pete.” Quincy chuckled. He didn’t look very amused, though. 

“No no. Let him.” I laughed, raising my hand. Peter always had something against me. Everyone assumed that the last child always was the favourite child and therefore spoiled. Peter hated that and made sure to always take my parents’ attention from me. Not like they give me enough attention when they have Quincy and Abel to gloat over.

“You should know that if you ever do get into that university, it is because of your brothers’ names.” My father remarked, dabbing his mouth with a paper towel. He didn’t look up at me, probably because he knew I'd be digging daggers into his face. Nobody said anything afterwards, and Peter looked even more satisfied. Quincy and Abel looked at me with the most pitiful expressions on their faces. It seemed every dinner they hit a new record of how much they can pity their little sister in the occurrence of a single event. I ignored them and my mom and wiped my mouth as well. Sarah stayed quiet beside me but I knew she wanted to say something to me or for me to my dad. That’ll be an automatic game over for Peter and her so she kept her mouth shut.

I bent my head in acknowledgement for my mom and slid out of my seat. Sarah followed promptly, scrambling ahead of me out of the dining room. My mind was already made up.

“No hard feelings, Walter. It’s a simple truth.” Peter's voice called behind me. It’s the truth, alright and I know exactly how to stop that from happening. Pounding up the stairs with a set mind, I quickly entered my room and went straight to my desk to switch on the computer. Sarah sat up from my bed in a start and stared as I logged into the application platform. She got up and came closer to the screen and I could feel her shock and then excitement when I viewed the admission offer. I could already feel her arms going to wrap around my body when I pressed decline.

Both of us paused. One thrummed with anxiety and the other in satisfaction.

“What the fuck did you just do, Walter?” She breathed out and I turned to gaze at her. Her eyes looked glazed over and her mouth dropped in disbelief.

“Did you just curse?” I muttered, amused and she held onto my shoulder with a tight grip.

“What the fuck did you just do?”

“Ah, my decision must have been too rash.”

“Rash? That’s an elite university. They don’t just offer admissions to the same person twice.”

“Exactly.” I felt pretty satisfied. It was like the thick bubble in my chest popped and I could finally relax and breathe. Sarah stared at me in shock and went back to sit on my bed. I smiled at her and turned back to my computer logging into my instagram account.

“Walter..” I looked at her and she zipped her lips and her eyes and threw away the keys. I grinned madly and faced the thousand notifications I had to look at. I noticed a tag and my lips settled a little while I clicked on the notification. A post popped up and my breath was snatched. It was the prettiest edit of my account I had ever seen. It had all my favourite posts in one picture and there was even a pixel art character that looked oddly like me, even though I managed a faceless instagram. 

.

I felt the consequences of my actions the next day, in bed, with a kink in my neck that I couldn't twist off. The snoring in my ear made me aware of Sarah's presence and I wondered why she was here instead of in Peter’s room. The blurred image of a woman appeared in my mind and I wondered how much of the rift in their relationship was caused by the manager. Or if it was already there. 

I looked at Susan and noticed the bags under her eyes. Maybe I should fix a self care day for both of us. After I tell my mom about the job that is. I slipped out of bed with that in mind and my phone in my hand. I marched downstairs, knowing my mom was probably up by this time, making hot cocoa cups for her and my dad to flirt over.

I passed Quincy on his way to Abel’s room and he noogied my head before barging into Abel’s yoga session. Abel scrunched his face at me from the space of his doorway, in an awkward frog position that I could never subject my body to.

Chief Osita’s voice greeted me in the living room, the song fading subtly to another igbo highlife song i didn’t know but i bobbed my head to. The beaded curtains of the kitchen arch were held back by wall hooks and I could see my mom by the kitchen island speaking softly into the phone, the kettle warming over the electric stove. She had two identical mugs next to each other, though one was slightly larger than the other. The kettle whistled and she smoothly held the phone to her ear with her shoulder and picked up the kettle, pouring it into the mugs. She took the smaller one and began sipping, her face scrunching at the bitter taste. Her eyes met mine and I was sure I looked like a slenderman just hovering by the arch with my bug eyes.

“Walter, why are you just standing there?” 

I couldn’t explain why I just hyper-analyzed my environment so I slipped into one of the island’s stools. She waited for me to gather myself as she could see I was visibly fretting in my bunny slippers.

“So…Dad and Peter are staying for some time?”

“I know that’s not what you want to ask.” She laughed and placed her mug down before turning her body to face mine.

“I…got a job.” 

“A job?” She blinked at me. I nodded and hid my shaking hands in my lap. My mom could easily ruin all hopes I had for accepting this job but I believed she knew me enough not to let me down like that, even though I wasn't her favourite.

“Yes. As a creative director for a cafe.”

“A cafe?” Her face dropped and she reached for her mug again to take a large gulp. She scrunched her face up and looked down at the liquid like she forgot it tasted like that.

“Yes. You must’ve heard of it. It’s close to your favourite saloon.”

“Oh.” A bulb lit on her head and she let out an unsure smile. She really liked the cafe and knew it was popular around town and possibly the whole state.

“I just got offered the position some days ago and I've already accepted.”

“You already accepted.” She started and raised an eyebrow, almost challengingly. My face contorted into a smile that reflected how nervous I was on the inside. I watched how she slid into the barstool next to mine, after two attempts at leaping and she grabbed my face.

“Mom…”

“mOM” She mimicked as she squeezed and pulled my cheeks, staining my skin with cocoa. She dropped her hands and reached for her mug again as my dad walked in, in his loungewear. He never wore loungewear, unless he planned on staying in the entire day.

“You can go.” My mom said and my father looked at her and then me as he took his cup.

“I can go?” I whispered. My heart dropped as I moved off the stool. I looked at her to see her looking at my face already, no smile or anything. I wondered what I was thinking; applying for a job when I knew exactly the type of parents I had. Dictat-

“You can go to work. I mean, aren’t you running late?”

I almost burst into tears. “Mummy..”

I was in her arms before she knew it. She laughed and tightened her arms around my body before patting my back. I heard a sharp inhale and my mom released and I was buzzing out the room. I didn’t bother to tell her that I wouldn't have to resume until next week. She’d figure it out once she sees me lingering around the house. In the meantime, I'd try to go on a date with Susan. 

K

Most [people] obsessed over social media accounts they found that fed their particular interests. However, their obsessions were fickle and forgotten when they were off social media. I decided after three months of being utterly obsessed with a faceless instagram account that I was different.

The account’s name was WAL-W, a pathetic replication of the name of the animated movie, Wall-E by Pixar ( or was it made by disney?) and it was so coherent and coded that it tickled my designer senses. Props to the owner over the amount of personal information she allowed into her page, which was nothing. I was a manwhore for mystery so the existence of such a fascinating faceless being made me almost ravenous. I wanted to find this person, speak to them, befriend them, just wallow in the existence of spectacularity.

“You’re still lurking on that girl’s page.” I spun on my office chair to glare at my sister. She had her apron from work on and her hair was brushing over her eyes. 

“I’m not lurking and why do you assume they are female?” i narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, my graphic tablet was leaning off the table and i swiped it into a clear safe position on my desk where i didn’t have a bunch of concept art sprawled over.

“I just know. It has a feminine touch to it.” She remarked, entering my room to look at my curved monitor at a closer distance. I closed my instagram quickly and glared at her until she raised her hands in surrender.

“Okay. White boy.”

A whine escaped my lips at the name before I could hold it back. My sister snickered before disappearing out the door. A sigh escaped my lips and I reopened instagram and stared at my story. I tapped views and a choked sound escaped my lips when I saw WALL-W in the I list. I rubbed my chest and frowned.

“They didn’t like it.”

I sighed again and covered my eyes with my arm, leaning back into my chair. I still had work to do and I was here thirsting over an ig account. 

“Maybe I should just find this person.” Then I sat up.

“Wait..Why haven’t I thought of this? Hannah!” I yelled running out my door to the living room to meet a staredown with my sister who was lounging on one of the plush bean bags that came in last month. On a good day, you’d break a sweat trying to remove her from that spot.

“What?” She mugged. The TV was playing a catchy pop song that would lose popularity a week after release.

“I’m going to find the person.”

“What?” Her eyes turned to circles, clearly not knowing who i’m talking about even though we had a conversation about it 10 minutes ago.

“I’m going to find the owner of the instagram account.” My grin was so wide, I could feel it near my ears. My sister did not look excited, instead she looked creeped out.

“Why would you want to do that? Stalking online and in real life too.” She shuddered, eyeing me in disgust and I scowled, grabbing a pillow and missiling it at her head. She fell over with a strangled shout and stared at me in shock.

“So we can be friends.” I smiled, remembering my plan and she eyed me carefully.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Wouldn’t they creeped out once they know about the friendship backstory?” 

I blinked, “Why would they?”