Akata Witch

have stung, you have terrified-now, go home.”

Soon Orlu had made the masquerade gather itself completely, and there it stood. It pointed at Chichi, who was looking up from her crouched position. It spoke something in what Sunny assumed to be Efik. Then it slowly descended back into its termite mound and the mound descended back into the earth.

“Is everyone all right?” Orlu asked.

They walked briskly to the festival entrance. It was a quarter past eleven. They were late. “Don’t,” Orlu said, walking fast. “I hate false apologies.”

“I’m not apologizing,” Chichi said, almost running to keep up with him. “I’m just thanking you!”

“Shut up,” Orlu snapped.

“Don’t be such a tight-ass,” Sasha said, rubbing one of his many stings.

Orlu stopped so abruptly that Sunny ran into his back. She didn’t want to talk about any of it. She just wanted to find Anatov, go back to the hotel, check her skin for stingers she’d missed, rub her entire body with calamine lotion, and go to sleep.

“Do you have any idea what could have happened?” Orlu shouted. “Everyone knows how brilliant you are! I guess you needed to show how stupid you are, too!”

“No one was really hurt, though,” Chichi pointed out. “Everyone will just use some Healing Hands powder to get rid of the stings.”

“Not because of you!”

“Hey, I knew you were there,” she said. “You think I didn’t consider that?”

“You always make a mess assuming I’ll clean it up,” Orlu said. “Why don’t you try to learn some undoing jujus yourself?”

“Because you were born with it,” Chichi snapped. “You can always save the day.”

Orlu looked disgusted. “Don’t make this about me. People could have died because of you. You called up Mmuo Aku! If it had decided to start really stinging-ugh! Don’t you read up on things before calling on them?” He took a deep breath. “And what did it say to you?”

Chichi opened her mouth but then just stubbornly looked away. “It’s my business,” she mumbled.

“Let me guess,” Orlu said sarcastically. “The damn thing said ‘thank you’ before it went back.”

“Sorry,” Chichi said quietly.

“I said, I don’t want your apologies,” Orlu shouted, walking off.

Anatov looked angry but very tired when they got to the entrance. About fifty other people were also waiting for the funky train.

“You’re lucky it’s late,” he said. “Otherwise, I’d have left it to y’all to find your way to the hotel.” They apologized. He yawned and waved a hand at them. “So I hear you four have made a name for yourselves this year.”

They all looked at their feet.

“How many chittim fell when it was over?”

“Seven coppers,” Orlu mumbled. “We could have gotten people killed and we got paid for it.”

“As a group you made a mistake and you learned you could also right it,” Anatov said. “Get on the bus. Sasha, you’re an idiot.”

Sasha looked surprised and then looked at his hands.

Disgusted, Anatov continued, “Orlu’s mother told me right away about all the noise that night and how the house felt as if it were underwater. Obviously, you called Mmuo Miri, and she is not like that small one you called back in the States. Mmuo Miri is a water masquerade that only an experienced third leveler has any business calling. You could have all drowned in that house. Do you have some sort of death wish?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. “Orlu’s mother and I agreed that you’d survived an episode of stupidity and probably wouldn’t make the mistake again. You proved us both wrong tonight, Sasha.” Anatov leaned toward Sasha. “I will have you caned by the strongest man in Nigeria if you pull something like this again. Understood?”

Sasha nodded.

“I will let you keep that book, but I expect you to act like you have some brains.” He turned to Chichi. “And you are to report to the council with me first thing when we get home.”

The trip home was nothing like the trip there. Chichi barely spoke a word, nor did Orlu. Sasha and Sunny chatted briefly with Godwin before he took his seat. “I couldn’t sleep last night,” Godwin said.

“Me neither,” Sunny said.

“I slept well,” Sasha said, smiling brightly. Sunny could tell he was lying. There were bags under Sasha’s eyes.

“You four-everyone’s talking about you,” Godwin said. “No one’s seen juju like that performed and then stopped by students so young. And of course people are still talking about your fast feet, Sunny, and your fast mouth, Sasha.”

“Do people hate us?” she asked.

Godwin laughed and shook his head. “This festival will be talked about for years, man.”

16

Trouble at Home

The funky train stopped right in front of Orlu’s house. Chichi had only looked away when Sunny, Orlu, and Sasha tried to say good-bye. She was going straight to Leopard Knocks with Anatov.

“I’ll see you all in two weeks,” Anatov said. “That Thursday in the P.M.” He too had been quiet through the trip. “Sunny,” he said, taking her hand before she got off, “did you have a good time?”

“Best time of my life!” she surprised herself by saying.

“Good,” he said.

“You sure you don’t want me to drop you off in front of your house?” Jesus’s General asked. “It’s no problem.”

“Oh, here is fine,” she said, quickly hopping off.

They watched the funky train drive away. “What’ll they do to her?” she asked.

“I think she’s going to get caned,” Orlu said. “That masquerade was bad, but the fact that she called it in a public place like that…” He shook his head.

“This is what I hated back in America,” Sasha said.

“What? That people get punished when they deserve to be?” Orlu said. “You should be going with her.”

“I should,” he said, looking at his feet. Then he sucked his teeth loudly and kicked some dirt. “No one is willing to push the envelope. So what if she called up a damn Mmuo Aku and it went wild! She still did it! She still performed the most sophisticated juju any of them had ever seen.”

“True, but you’re wrong,” Orlu said. “We can’t live in chaos. The ages are set for each level for a reason. You can be able to do something and not be mature enough to deal with the consequences. Just like-like a girl who develops breasts too fast. It doesn’t mean she’s mature or anything.”

“Ugh!” Sunny suddenly said. “I’m going home. I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Peace,” Sasha said, hugging her.

“See you in class,” Orlu said, also giving her a hug. After a moment’s hesitation, he kissed her on the cheek. She touched her cheek and looked at Orlu with wide eyes. Sasha chuckled. She didn’t dare look his way. As she walked slowly down the street, she heard them start arguing again.