A loud echo of amen swept through the whole room.
"For stealing his properties, may they have all there individual destinies stolen!"
My amen was the loudest. My laptop and my phone had meant a great deal to me.
"Abba father! You promised me that no evil man shall lay a hand on these innocent, precious children you gave to me and therefore for laying a hand on my son, descend on the enemy's camp with your mighty hand and beat the devil out of their various lives in Jesus name!"
My amen was low and I turned to Willie who was kneeling beside me and throwing out Amens like punches.
"Did you tell them that I was beaten?" I asked him in whispers. He turned to me, eyed me and continued the Amen chants. My mom kept up with the curses until she had made a mess of the robbers lives with her prayers then we sang praises and made the final sign of the cross.
"Dad, Mom, as in they cleared everything," Willie continued and I kept nodding as back up. My mom crossed her hand over her chest and kept repeating her chants of "ewoo!".
"The television, the laptop, his phone even his clothes," Willie said again and my father coughed, dropping his paper on the side stool. He removed his spectacles and stared at me.
"You have a television?" he asked after a staring match between us. Amara scoffed, my mother turned to him with disbelief all over her face. I turned to Willie with that "Shey you have seen what you have caused?" look on my face. Then my mother came to my rescue.
"Is that all you can hear from what they have been saying here since? Criminals attacked your son, beat him like a school drum and left with all his property and all you heard is that he has a television?" she asked.
"He is not dead naa, is he?" my father asked.
"And so? Can't you see how the have beaten my son and changed his color to black?"
Everyone laughed, even my father.
"Was he white before?" he asked.
"I don't know but I don't think I have enough Children already, talk less of the one armed robbers will come and kill for me," she said, adjusting and readjusting her head tie.
"Come and have more naa," my father said, picking up his paper from the stool again.
"Yes, we need another fresh chic in this house," Willie said.
"Yes, a cute baby girl," I seconded.
"No, we need another boy, the two I have are gradually turning into a heap of wastes," my father said and kept peeking at the paper over the rims of his spectacle.
"My children are not wastes biko, my baby boys are responsible," my mother defended.
"Yes, we need a girl, when aunty Uju and Prisca gets married now, I will be the only girl left the in house," Amara said. My father turned to her.
"Go and born a girl naa, are you not old enough?" he said. Another argument was going to break out and replace my trending topic of the robbery. That was one thing I and Willie wasn't going to allow.
"Dad, our exams are starting next week," I said and he turned to me.
"Good, go and read," he said.
"My books are back at school and I need go back."
"I thought they stole everything?" he asked.
"Armed robbers don't steal books," Willie chipped in.
"Are you one?" my father asked him.
"No, please don't call my son a thief,I won't take that, no way," my mother protested.
"I didn't call him a thief, I was only asking if he was."
"Are you a thief?" my mother asked him.
"God forbid," he said and circled his hand over his head, snapping his fingers.
"Then why ask him if he is one. He can only be a thief if one of his parents are and I am not a thief," my mother said, eyeing him. My father turned to her with a frown.
"I am not a thief, stop looking at me like that," he said. Everyone laughed. Then I pressed further my charges. I told him my bed was also stolen and my room was bare, only my locker and books were spared.
"You have to change lodge then. You can't be staying in a criminal infested area. How can someone come into another person's room and pack everything like he is relocating?" my father asked. We kept quiet. I hated that idea of relocating, he might end up suggesting the school hostel for me, that was my fear.
"You going over to temp site, I heard rents are cheaper there too," he finally said and I heaved a sigh.
"That would be next semester,"I said and he nodded.
"But I need to get back to school and I need to buy somethings like phone, mattress, pillows and I even need a laptop for my online reading," I sang out as the smile disappeared from his face and broke out on Willie's. The mattress theft was his idea. He was organizing a graduation party and he had blown the tuxedo money on booze and girls and had nothing for the party. We were in agreement to share the loot.
"You will take your mother's phone and laptop, I don't think she is using them," he said and shifted further from her, avoiding an impending blow.
We came to a conclusion, he would provide the money for the items after he might have done a market survey for them. He thought I was a crook and might inflate the prices. I had no problem with that, let him bring the money first.
He came back the next day with a brand new laptop and an android phone, a very good phone I must confess. But then, Willie was moved to tears, not tears of joy, mind you. It was tears of pain, all his plans on doing an apriko on those items had been dashed against the wall and what was more, my father had already ordered for a new mattress to be delivered to the house the next day, he was going to drop me off at school with them.
Apparently, no money for Willie's party and new tuxedo.
Lol! bro Willie
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