Chapter 3: Tangled Webs in Lagos
As I navigated my days in Lagos, drama swirled like the chaotic traffic on Ikorodu Road. I was working at a POS store – a place where people came for withdrawals, transfers, payments – it was my escape, really. You see, Ella had been pressuring me to get out of the house, to look for a job. The thing is, I knew too much – I was always at home, witnessing things unfold like a silent observer in our Lagos compound. Ella didn't want me privy to everything; she kind of prejudiced me, pushing me to find work like at that POS store just to get me out of her hair, out of the loop maybe.
I applied for a job at that POS store around third and first of June – it was amidst everything unfolding with Ella, Zubi, Danella, Lily… it was proper mess. Working there meant I was out, dealing with customers, cash transactions, point-of-sale business in bustling Lagos. It was a distraction from the emotional whirlpool at home.
Zubi had known about stuff since last year, bessy. The thing is, Ella had linked her WhatsApp with his back when they were in love, so he ended up seeing all the messages. He played it cool like he knew nothing but was quietly moving things behind the scenes. He tried to stop some stuff with hormones – I don't know the ins and outs – but it was too late. He spilled the beans to my mom. My mom called my sister; she advised, but honestly, nobody really listened. My sister was angry too; she pretended like she cared but didn't really do much.
Meanwhile, Danella was caught in this tangled web like a fly in Amala sauce. Lily was madly in love with Danella – proper mad, like Lekki market mad. Ella and Lily were friends originally, but Lily didn't care about that angle; she went full throttle telling Danella her feelings. She showed up at Danella's house shouting "Danella, I love you!" like Ajegunle market noise on a Friday. Wild stuff, bessy. It was like the craziness you see in Lagos streets sometimes – raw, untamed.
Ella discovered they had issues again – like old problems resurfacing in Surulere – and in that fractured space, Danella tried to broker peace between Ella and Lily. Didn't work at first. Tensions lingered like harmattan haze over Lagos. Then came a day Ella was sick; I was at the POS store, oblivious to the storm brewing like rain clouds over Ikoyi. When I got home, my little sister dropped by briefly and dropped a bombshell: Ella and Lily had fought. Physical fight. I was shocked like seeing a danfo crash on Third Mainland Bridge. "Why?" I asked. She said Ella hit Lily with a brush stick. Crazy – both were on drips that day; they removed them to brawl like Area boys fighting over territory in Mushin. Wow, bessy. I couldn't believe it.
After that messy fight, Danella stepped in again and somehow settled Ella and Lily like settling a palava in a Lagos community. They patched things up, decided to be friends again… thinking Lily had killed her feelings for Danella. Like feelings ever truly die, though – they linger like the smell of suya on Lagos streets.
Zubi decided to pay a visit – he saw Danella, saw enough to know things hadn't panned out like he wanted in this Lagos maze. He spoke with Lily; she was kinda honest with him like people are sometimes in quiet corners of Bar Beach. Contrast that with Ella – she basically chased Zubi out of the rented house he was paying for in Lekki. He covered her school fees, rent… everything like a proper Lagos big man. Ella broke up with him. I told her straight like talking sense into someone in a Lagos okada rush: "You broke up with this guy funding you – get ready to drop out."
Post-breakup, Ella started working in a hotel in Lagos – Ikeja maybe or Victoria Island. Things were… okay like navigating Lagos traffic okay if you're patient. She had to play like she was on top of it all like a Lagos businesswoman balancing books. I spoke to Zubi; surprisingly, he still loved her enough to secretly send money through me like people send money via POS discreetly in Nigeria. I used it to prep meals for the whole house like cooking good jollof for family in our Lagos place.
I stayed observant like a good Confidant in this Lagos drama – seeing patterns, games, hurts. Zubi's actions, Ella's choices, Lily's unrequited love