Tolu was a professional when it came to sneaking around. At least, that’s what she told herself.
She had spent the whole week telling her parents she definitely had no interest in going to the city’s food festival.
“It’s just overpriced snacks,” she had said, rolling her eyes. “Why would I waste my time?”
But to be honest, she wanted to go. Badly. But her parents had this annoying habit of making things boring. If she told them she wanted to attend, they would turn it into a full family outing, complete with unnecessary lectures on food history, and about five million photos for the family group chat.
She wanted to enjoy the festival her way, with her friends.
So she stuck to her story. Until plans suddenly changed and her best friend, Amaka, won free VIP tickets to the festival.
Tolu knew her parents now planned to stay home all weekend, so she pulled out her best excuse.
“Mr. Bayo said we have to meet at the library for some revision,” she announced at breakfast. “And, you know, I love being a good student.”
Her mom eyed her suspiciously. “Since when do you love extra lessons?”
“Since I started caring about my future,” Tolu replied with a sweet smile.
And just like that, she was free.
At the festival, she was in heaven surrounded by juicy suya, puff-puff, ice-cold zobo. Life was good.
She and Amaka were busy taking selfies when she suddenly heard her mother’s voice.
“Tolu?”
Her soul left her body.
She turned slowly and painfully. There they were. Her parents. Holding plates of jollof rice, looking right at her.
There was a very long silence.
Then, her dad asked, “Is this the library?”
Tolu’s brain went into emergency mode. “Hello Mom and Dad! Funny story. I was just, um, doing a school project! About… Yes! Nigerian cuisine! Mr. Bayo sent me here to, uh, research!”
Her mom raised an eyebrow. “You mean the Mr. Bayo who teaches math?”
“Yes! Because you know… calories?”
Her dad sighed.
She panicked. If she didn’t fix this fast, she would be grounded for life. She was already here, caught red handed. There must be a way to make it coincide with her cover story and fast.
“Actually,” she added quickly, “I ran into Amaka on my way to the library, and she told me about this food science project her cousin is doing, and I thought that it could really help my research. So I made a quick stop, and… surprise!”
They did not look convinced.
And just like that, the festival was over; for her, at least. She spent the rest of the day helping her mom carry shopping bags while Amaka laughed at her misery.
Next time? She would just tell the truth.
Or… at least come up with a better lie that actually made sense.
Thanks for reading💕
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