Where We End & Begin by Jane Igharo

Author:Jane Igharo [Igharo, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-09-27T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THEN

Dunni’s large bedroom still amazed Obinna. It was his second time in it, and he still could not hide his astonishment. He sat on the high bed topped with multiple pillows, some decorative.

“Are you comfortable?” she shouted from inside her closet, where she changed out of her school uniform.

“Very,” he said, reclining on a pillow. The mattress was plush, yet able to hold his weight. At home, his mattress sagged in certain spots, which he avoided by turning constantly, trying to dodge the sharpness of a spring against his back. That was the mattress he would sleep on that night. He tried to remember that. He tried not to get too comfortable with a brief luxury. He leaped off the bed and walked around the room.

During his first visit, he feared Dunni’s parents would show up, but Dunni had assured him they were out of the country. They were away often—her father on business trips and her mother on holiday. Dunni’s elder brother, Jeremiah, schooled in America, so even with the presence of the staff and the occasional visit from her grandmother, Dunni was often alone. When she first begged Obinna to come home with her after school, he had agreed. Paul, her driver, had driven them to the house and then later driven Obinna home. His mother had been livid when he arrived three hours later than usual. He’d made up a lie about school activities. He had lied again that morning—told his mother he would study with friends after school. He felt guilty about lying, but the satisfaction of being with Dunni appeased his guilt slightly and reminded him that he would lie again so they could be together.

Aimlessly, he wandered around the space decorated in pink and white, a very predictable choice for a girl. There were books on her desk—not textbooks, but novels. He picked one up and read the cover.

“Emma by Jane Austen.” He picked up another. “Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.” Almost every book was by the same author.

Obinna didn’t enjoy reading, only when it applied to school. Dunni read for fun. On Monday mornings, he would ask what she had done during the weekend, and she would answer, with so much pride, “Finished a book.” It was strange. Why would anyone spend hours reading when they could watch a film? He dropped the book, and his eyes caught the university catalogs on the desk. He shuffled through them and read the names on the covers out loud.

“Harvard. Stanford. Princeton. Yale. Oxford.”

All schools that weren’t in Nigeria. What was going on? A month ago, during the car ride with her parents, she had mentioned attending the University of Lagos. And just days ago, they’d sent in their applications. The University of Lagos—that was their plan. They’d discussed it extensively during his first visit to her house. She’d never expressed an interest in other schools, especially ones outside of the country. What had changed? Was she planning on going elsewhere? He felt sick.

“I meant to talk to you about that.

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