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"Check on the rice, ask them to serve it if it's ready." Bashir nodded, got up from where he was working on his laptop. He set it down on the dining table and I spied the drawing of a set of detached duplexes, I shook my head. Baba and Bilal are the same in the terms of work, they work until the very last minute. I've noticed the short time I've been here that Bashir's forms of entertainment are only designing houses and designing more houses.

"I've asked them to do as you said." He informed and picked up his MacBook that he had perched on the table beside me. He leaned into my side and dropped his laptop to pick up the Happy Birthday sticker I was cutting out the excess paper from. Munir, my second brother-its still a little confusing referring to him as that- designed it with paint, glitter and sticker paper.

I looked at him, an exact copy of Baaba, complete with the straight as pin nose, dark skin and moderate sized forehead. He helped me cut carefully into a huge 'B' and laid it on the letters I'd cut into earlier. We worked slowly without speaking, until he asked me when my birthday was.

"Soon. Why do you ask?" He looked at me with a soft  smile but shook his head shyly without replying me. Only laying down the scissors and leaving with his laptop, I looked at the time and cut faster, I need to change into a skirt and blouse I had made especially for this event. It's my father's birthday, no one would blame me if I go all out.

Falmata's voice reached me from the bigger living room, discussing with the photographer setting up and I couldn't help but smile. The girl has ambitions to be an event planner, she's doing an already great job from what I've seen. Everything is going along according to time.

"Ha, Yaya, aren't you done? The makeup artist is here fa. Please let me finish this up, you go dress up and sit to get your makeup done. Baaba can come now and say he doesn't want pictures or something, especially once we are late or eating into his definition of time." She had come in while I concentrated on cutting the letters and had reached me. I looked up, patted the mess on my floor length crepe skirt off and handed her the scissors to continue cutting, only two letters remained anyways.

"My aunt is coming to dinner. With my step uncle, I'll give you a heads-up, he doesn't like you. My step uncle feels what I think is contempt for you." I stopped in the motions of wearing my slippers and sighed, nodding gently before going into another door that led down the hallway to room they'd given me.

Who would have thought Labeebah, Sheriff turned Bakura would have a room at the vice Presidential villa? No one right? Only Allah maybe, He knew and planned each day till I got here.

"Aunty, I've shaken out the attire and put it on your bed. The makeup artist is waiting in the main living room downstairs, she's setting up." I nodded and patted Meemah's arm with a smile, she jerked me from the reverie I was in. She's the maid I know the most around here, she's also very helpful.

I sat on bed and took out my travel purse and began to rub cream into my dry legs, ensuring that I worked cream into my skin. I got up and went into the marble tiled bathroom to change my into my classic Borno skirt and blouse boubou. It's a teal lace with little black applique flowers embroidered on it, the sleeves are wide and beautiful, just the way I like them, the style used to be popular in the late nineties  because I saw my mom and Ma wear them in several styles.

I walked out of my room, my black sandals dangling from my hands and a small scarf around my head and neck. I reached the living room and met the make-up artist removing the transparent cover from Falmata's neck with a flourish.

"So quick?" I asked as I sat down for my face to be made up, Falmata sighed with a shake of her head and a wring of her hands, she eventually threw her hands up in the air as she spoke. "Baayi will soon be here, I've told Yaya Bilal and Munir to go dress up." I told the make-up artist what I wanted and she smiled at me to quickly take a before picture.

Some twenty minutes later, Falmata had returned to the room in a full Kanuri attire, a grape colored plenty yard material that crossed between being crepe and polyester. She looked absolutely beautiful in it, she turned in front of me with a flourish as the make-up artist tied the remaining teal lace used to make my dress into a headtie. Falmata asked me with a bend of her hips and a wide smile how she looked. I nodded with a thumbs up and she went off to disturb her brothers to pose quickly before Baaba arrives.

Just as we siblings took our last picture, the door opened and Baaba appeared in a cobalt baba Riga, embroidered with black thread, a cap perched on his head. I smiled automatically at him when he reached us and Falmata instructed him to sit between us.

"No Baaba, you need to smile. Even if it's just a little. I don't want to see that fake official smile." The rest of us laughed at her statement and posed for pictures. Bilal made a face over my shoulder and I turned to him, bursting into laughter at his face. Everyone turned to see what I'd laughed about and laughed too when they saw Bilal's face, probably because Bilal doesn't willingly joke around. His face is always stoic, it amazes me, that as such a young age, he's so focused.

"That's all isn't it? I have work to finish. I have given you all only three hours, we've spent about twenty minutes of it."Falmata walked in front of us all and stopped Baaba from moving with a frown on her face.

"All that one is your own imagination, You owe us the whole day, we'll take five hours because we know it's campaign season. Yes or yes?" Baaba stopped hurrying and smiled at Falmata with a nod, sending a glance over at his personal assistant hovering in the corner.

We moved to the dining room where a huge food spread was waiting for us, three Kitchen maids spooned out catfish pepper soup into soup bowls and placed it in front of each of gingerly. Bilal whisper asked Falmata about our other guests, completely understanding the question I was about to put out.

"They should be on their way, I've told the security at the gate their names. They may also choose not come, fine by me." Baaba shushed Falmata's sass with a wave of his hand, giving me an insight into the extended Bakura family. They might not even be liked. Falmata had told me earlier that Baaba only sister, Aunty Hadiza was married to a prince who worked in the central bank of Nigeria, her job as a pharmacist made her open a huge pharmaceutical store in Wuse ||, while Baaba's only step sibling, an older one, was a doctor at the University of Maiduguri teaching hospital, the bone in our necks.

Simply put, trouble.

Just as the first course was served, a maid whispered to Bilal, who got up and ushered in two people. I put down my cutlery and greeted them alongside my younger siblings, I noted with a mental note that not one of the greeting was a warm one nor was the greeting returned.

They say down to eating without saying any birthday wishes to Baaba, only his sister gave him a side hug. Nothing more nothing less, which was strange if nothing. I noted that and tucked it away in a part of my mind.

"So, Falmata how's school? You're finally thinking about how to change your course to Medicine right?" Falmata set down her fork, her lips were in a straight line, I smiled secretly. Teenagers are a funny lot,they go from trying to respect you to giving you your very worth in insults. Now that I'm older and I'm wiser, I can see it.

Falmata shakes her head and our uncle, suffice to say that I'm still feeling a way about calling him uncle, puts his head down sorrowfully. She shakes her head again and asks him why he's asking in a low voice.

"Because I think your future deserves a lot better than you're giving it. Imagine not being called Dr Falmata Bakura in the future because you're angry with your mother?" I whipped my head to stare at Falmata, his words have caught my total attention. Why would she want to change her course? Because of her mother?

"I'll think about it." Was her only reply. He nodded heavily and with a point of his lips he asked me what I studied.

"I have a B.A in English and Literary studies from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria." He looked at me with shock and I chuckled inwardly, this old man thinks I jumped into acting.

"So why do you spend your days making a caricature of yourself on television, you did a respectable course, you could have been a teacher!" The silence that followed his words was deafening until his sister dropped her cutlery on her plate loudly.

"What's the meaning of all these? That so called respectable course may not have put her where she is. What's your problem you this old man, I'm sure she earns what you earn in a year in one month. And the so called respectability? Are you even respected? With the way you poke your nose into every single argument, do you really feel respected?" Aunt Hadiza answered with a sneer on her face, she had said all these without stopping to swallow or breathe. They both stared at one another breathing heavily, the whole room was silent, watching them.

"Enough! Everyone, eat and go home please. I'd like to spend the rest of my birthday with my children." Baaba's words ended the lunch and my own appetite too.

Seems like the peaceful Bakura Family isn't at all what it seems.

*****
Heyo guys, how was it?
Do we now have a little insight into the Bakuras?

See y'all soon. I'm participating in a sprint writing thing, so updates may come faster.

All the very best, stay safe, wear a mask.

TheOmoope 💙💛🙃