"Kachi, I will be going for a women's meeting; after cooking, don't leave the house." My mom warned.
"Okay, Mum, I have assignments to do, so I don't think I am going anywhere." I responded.
She did not look convinced with my response, as I say the same thing all the time, but something comes up and it forces me to leave the house, and she comes back and doesn't meet me at home even after I promise I will stay back and take care of the house, and she keeps giving me another chance, hoping that I will stand by my word, but sometimes it is beyond my control, and I can only wish she could understand, but she was already tired of my excuses for breaking the promise of staying home whenever she has somewhere to be.
"Remember you have said this before and still ended up leaving the house, right? Today better be different." My mom still warned.
"That was in the past, Mom. I will be home until you get back." I responded with a smile on my face.
"I am off to the meeting venue; see you when I get back." My mom said, as she closed the door behind her.
Time flies, and I was done cooking. I put out the firewood used to cook and kept it with other wood as I rushed to take a bath so as to feel refreshed. I was just coming out of the bathroom when I heard a knock on the door; the person kept pounding on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked, but the person refused to say a word but kept knocking. "Only Emmanuel can be this crazy." I said to myself as I walked towards the door.
"Tadah," Emmanuel shouted immediately I opened the door.
"So you are the idiot that will not say who they are, right?" I asked as I turned back and faced the direction of my room.
"Shut up, my friend; you cannot even greet." Emmanuel said as he tapped the back of my head. "I came to call you so we can go to Samuel's place for that mathematics textbook needed for the mathematics assignment." Emmanuel added.
"I promised my mom I will not leave the house; can you go alone, please?" I pleaded with Emmanuel.
"Just know that the mathematics teacher will have two people to flog because I am not going alone." Emmanuel said as he sat on the couch in the sitting room.
I continued to plead with Emmanuel to go alone, but he meant business. Then I decided to follow him, but I will not waste time, so I will be back before my mom, and she won't even know I left the house. We got to Samuel's house, but he was not around, and his mom asked us to wait, as she asked him to run an errand for her and he will be back soon. We waited for about 30 minutes before Samuel popped out from wherever it is he went to, and without wasting more time, I collected the textbook and was on my way back home.
Approaching our house, I saw people running in and out of our house with buckets, some of the buckets had sand and some had water. It turned out I did not quench the firewood I used to cook properly, and after I left, it started a fire, and neighbours who had my mom's number called her since I had no phone then and no way to reach me. I did not even know what was happening; I was happily going home until I saw people running in and out of our house, and my mood switched, and even my countenance changed. My mom was there even before me, and from afar, I could see the frown on her face, and I could tell the scolding will go on for days.
"How many times will I teach you how to quench firewood properly?" My mom asked the moment she set her eyes on me.
She was mad at me for days, and I cannot even blame her because I would have done the same; I risked putting us all out on the streets with such a mistake.
"Mom, I am sorry." I stammered, knowing how much mess I have created and how we could have been homeless if the crisis was not averted.
"Don't tell me sorry; just be glad that it was noticed on time before it escalated and the crisis averted."
