Chapter 1

"Testing one, two, two", the technician voiced into the microphone, droplets of saliva springing from his mouth. He had been saying the same words over and over again since the sound check session began, he never took his hands off the amplifier either. Just when the sounds would seem flawless, and set to sail, he would shake his head, push some buttons up and down the amplifier, wipe his face with his handkerchief, and launch another round of "Testing one, two, two"

If there were two things that made up a standard 'owanbe', nothing but good indigenous music and big chunks of meat would have it all. The climax of the gathering was usually when the trays floated in the air; the side eyes, the salivating, the targeting, and, of course, the drama. There was always an individual in such gatherings who would stir up a fight, and when everyone was distracted, it was time for the goody bags to get stuck.

It was my thirtieth birthday party, the very one I had long anticipated. The ladies kept throwing compliments at me, and I, without hesitation, grabbed them all with a warm, rejuvenating smile.

"You look like you've been working in a restaurant all your thirty years, you're serving looks, girl!" Lisa whispered into my ears as she rounded up my makeup.

"If I'm serving looks, you're the chef." I replied with a grin.

"If that guy isn't done with the sound setting before we leave this room, we'll ask for a refund," said Eugenia, "He thinks we're here to joke. I will put him where..."

"Miss," Dupe interrupted, "I think we should go over this orientation once more. This is Aba-Erin, and not your Police Station in Okada. In this village, nobody takes back what he has already given, there might have been no signed contract for this event, but I tell you, those tribal marks on his cheeks are enough to speak for him."

"Nobody is above the law." Eugenia answered, stamping her feet, "If he doesn't do what he's expected to, he will return the money we paid, and no Heaven will fall."

"Am I the only one thinking this is beyond just some DJ issue?" Oyin came in. She was known for igniting the fire whenever an issue was ongoing. She was less of a talkative, but the few words she uttered always sounded like cymbals. She walked up to Dupe, put her hand in hers and said softly, "Eugenia didn't steal Jide's number as you think, Dupe, he willingly gave it to her. I was there."

A long silence followed. The last thing I wanted to see was a girls' fight at my party. I hadn't brought them down to my hometown to create a scene. But for the persistent pleas from my grandmother who had wanted so badly to host a party at her house, nothing would've made me leave my flat.

"There's always a party at every house in this village but mine." she had said, "When will the people know I also have children in the city?"

And, so, I had to cancel my dates for the big day to come home to fulfil my grandmother's wish. It wasn't a hard decision to make after all, as long as it was going to glade her sweet spirit.

"I think the mic is okay now." Lisa broke the silence, looking from Eugenia to Dupe, "Don't you think we should join the others outside?"

"No!" Eugenia snapped, "I think we should finish this Jide talk once and for all!"