May 27, 2081

"What's this?" I asked out loud, staring at the black inky water in front of me. My eyes blazed as I fumed, my mind on one person who I felt was responsible for this. I marched out of the bathroom and went to our hut, stopping in front of Tobi, who was sitting on a chair. "What's that black inky water in the bucket in the bathroom for?"

Tobi shrugged and said casually, "The water you are supposed to use to bathe."

I glared at him. I was sure it was another of his nasty tricks he was playing on me. Today he was the one who fetched the water from the stream for our house. The water was always inky but not this inky. This seemed as if he had taken it from a gutter. "It's not funny, Tobi."

He stared at me, his brows raised. "What?"

The innocent look on his face infuriated me. "I know you probably fetched that water from the dirtiest part of the stream to spite me," I spat.

He sat up and glared at me. "That's how the water is and that's how we all had our baths today. It's been years, get used to the water. You can't get your rich preheated water in a Jacuzzi here, okay?" He walked away, leaving me staring at him.

I wasn't sure whether he was just playing an act or telling the truth. He seemed sincere but I was also used to his pranks.

Mrs. Abimbola walked into the hut, wiping ink from her body. "The ink is getting worse. Everyone had to bathe with the extra inky water today and it's terrible."

My eyes widened. "The water is extra inky today?" I asked.

She nodded and then raised a brow. "I thought you were going to have your bath."

"Yes, ma," I said and left the hut. I felt guilty. I had falsely accused Tobi of trying to prank me and I knew even if I tried to apologize it wouldn't make a difference, he would only taunt me.

I walked back to the bathroom. I entered and stared at the water again. It was as if pure ink had been poured into the bucket. I sighed and walked out. I couldn't bathe with it. It was hard enough bathing with the inky water on other days and feeling inky all day but this was worse.

Someone bumped into me on my way to the hut and I scowled. "Watch it," I scolded and turned to see who it was. It was Maggie. She ignored me and continued walking away.

Maggie was just like me. She had been born into a rich family and had been spoilt until seven years ago, when the inky rain fell. Her parents had somehow found out about the village and they bought their way into it. A year later, they both died of the inky infection. The villagers tried to take Maggie in but she was bratty, even worse than I was. Mrs. Abimbola thought she would change if I became friends with her, but out friendship broke after a month. She found out that, 'I was too nice to these peasants instead of treating them like the dirt they are.' Those were her exact words. No one could control her, not even the woman who adopted her.

"Maggie, wait," a woman called, running after her. It was her adopted mother.

Maggie turned to glare at her. "What do you take me for? Why would I bathe with something like that? I endured the others but this? This is crossing the limit? And I'm sure you did it purposely."

I flushed, remembering I had said similar words to Tobi. I wanted to believe I was different from Maggie. I hoped I was.

Maggie stomped away and I saw some of the villagers shaking their head. It was not surprising to see Maggie exhibiting this behavior, she was a drama queen. I sighed and turned back to continue walking to the hut. Wunmi was standing in front of my house waiting for me. She looked like she had just watched the spectacle Maggie created. I held in laughter as I took a look at her. It seemed Wunmi too had bathed with the extra inky water because only a few areas of her caramel skin could be seen. It was barely brown again because of all the ink she had been bathing in.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You look better than the rest of us."

I looked at my ink covered skin. "I can't stand the water." I covered my face with my hands and sighed. "Tobi thinks I'm a spoilt brat who wants a preheated Jacuzzi bath. It's my fault for falsely accusing him but I'm beginning to think he's right."

"No, he's not," Wunmi said in a stern voice and I looked at her through the gaps of my fingers. "He might be cute but sometimes he's an idiot." I giggled and she smiled.

"You don't even know what I accused him of." She stared at me as if waiting for me to explain so I did, feeling more guilty.

She winced. "Well that's a bit presumptuous but he's always tricking you so it's normal that you think this was a trick too. And expressing your distaste for the water doesn't mean you are a spoilt brat. I haven't drank water today even though my throat is parched, cos I just can't think of drinking that..."

I smiled, knowing she was trying to make me feel better. "Thanks, Wunmi. Did you see Maggi?"

Wunmi chuckled. It was our inside joke. We had once tried to joke around, giving Maggie the nickname Maggi, a food seasoning, but one of our friends had said the only taste Maggie gave was a bitter one.

"Well, that's the one who wants a preheated Jacuzzi bath. She annoys me to no length," Wunmi said.

"I get the feeling, girl."

We sat on the bench outside, chatting. Five hours later, we got bad news. Maggie and a few other children were missing.

©Jesutofunmi Fekoya

AUTHOR'S NOTE
Do you think Ivy's attitude toward Tobi was right and is she really different from Maggie?

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