My parents had no issue with me hanging out with the other kids, but it was a standard rule that whenever they were away, I was to sit back home and babysit my little brother. Sometimes, I would sneak out after he had fallen asleep, and when I saw my Mom coming home from afar, I'd run home and pretend to be caring for the baby.
Back then as kids, we had lots and lots of games to play. I'm pretty sure that we would've made it into Hollywood if anyone had paid attention to the crafts and talents that we portrayed.
We would oftentimes make a meal that no one would eat from the little things we could pick up from our various kitchens. Sometimes, we would do a play, and one of our frequented plays was the 'Mummy and Daddy play '.
It was really fun while it lasted, but on this day that I was supposed to sit home and take care of little Daniel, I ended up causing my fellow child harm just for the fun to look real.
That day, I called on Sandra, and Joyce, my two best friends and informed them that I wouldn't be able to join them to play outside since I had been tasked with taking care of my brother.
"Should we come and keep you company?" Sandra asked me.
"If you promise not to spoil anything, of course, you can come. I'll appreciate the company." I replied.
"We'll call the other kids." Joyce promised and ran off with Sandra.
I was excited that the children were coming to stay with me and help me babysit my brother. I had a lot of games all planned out in my head, and I couldn't wait for them to come. My excitement knew no bounds.
Soon, the kids arrived at the house, and our games kicked off. I brought cereals, and we took them, and then we played the hide-and-seek game. It was fun until someone suggested that we do a play.
"What kind of play would we do?" Lisa, one of the neighbor's children asked, and out of nowhere, Sandra emerged with some drugs in her hands.
"We'll play a hospital game. There's real medicine here." She replied.
I stared closely at the drugs in her hand and recognized them to be my little brother's drugs. The hospital had prescribed it when he came down with the flu some weeks ago.
"Sandra, we can't use that. That's a real medicine, and you're not even sick." I said, but she laughed and the other kids joined in on the laughter.
"Isn't it Daniel's medicine? What would a one-year-old child drugs do to me?" Sandra asked.
"You make it sound like you're very old. You're just six." Joyce said to her, and Sandra made a face.
So the play kicked off, with Sandra acting as the doctor in charge of the patient's prescription. She handed the medicine over to the child who had picked the role of the patient, and the girl gulped it down with water.
"You weren't supposed to drink it for real!!!" I yelled at her.
"Stop yelling, Jane. You're overreacting for no reason." The girl retorted, and the play continued.
At that point, I started contemplating whether to ask them to leave the house, but the thought of losing their friendship couldn't let me. I sat with my brother in my arms and watched their drama. Soon, the patient fainted, and they rushed her to the doctor, who was supposed to prick her with a broomstick that'd serve as an injection, but after doing that, she didn't wake up.
"Nelly, stand up; you were supposed to wake after I gave you the injection." Sandra said but there was no response from Nelly.
I heard my mum's car drive into the compound, and I dropped my brother on the couch and rushed to where the girl lay. I touched her chest, it wasn't heaving.
"Nelly, stop playing, my mom is back." I said to her, but she didn't budge. It was at this time that it dawned on us that Nelly wasn't playing anymore. Indeed, she fainted at my house and my mom was at the door, and I was done for because I knew I would be blamed for everything.
My mom walked in and saw Nelly sprawled on the floor. She dropped to her knees and carried her out of the house to her car, then she drove to the hospital.
The other kids returned to their homes, and I was left to my fate. When my mom returned, she walked straight to my room and unplugged the television. I followed her with my lips sealed. She took away my toys and threw them into the waste bin.
"Jane, you are not to leave this house except you're going to school, and I'll have your teachers watch round the clock. If I see you play with any of the children again, you'll never forget what I'll do to you. Be thankful to God that Nelly woke up. How would you have explained that you let her overdose on the drugs in our house?" My mom yelled and yelled at me.
I was grounded for months, and even when my Dad returned from his travels and asked my mom to pardon me, I still couldn't get myself to play with the other kids. And that's how I grew up to be a loner, all because of the games and fun that went sideways.
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