Mide’s Abor with Olamide Longe
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She and Elizabeth had been best friends in secondary school. They became close in their first year of junior secondary, after they learnt that they shared birthdays. Maria had been the vivacious and outgoing one, while Elizabeth had been quiet and studious.
Maria probably would never have learned that they shared birthdays if a list containing each student’s birthday had not been placed on a wall beside the teacher’s table. This happened at the end of their first month. Everyone had gone to view the list when the teacher told the class what it was, except Elizabeth. Thus, Maria, along with others had made the discovery and informed Elizabeth. The latter had been surprised and for the first time, to Maria’s knowledge, spoke in a full sentence: “that’s highly unlikely.”
Maria had pulled her to where the list was, showed her the dates, and asked if there was an error.
There wasn’t.
“Weren’t you curious?” Maria had asked later when they were on break.
“About what?” A frown marred Elizabeth’s face.
“People’s birthdays.”
“No.”
“Why? They are your classmates.”
Elizabeth only shrugged and returned to the book she was reading.
Nothing else mattered to Maria after that discovery. She wouldn’t leave Elizabeth alone. She had a friend whether she liked it or not. At first, it had been tough; she endured days of monosyllabic responses and blatant snobbery. Her other friends became frustrated with her; they did not understand why she was bent on befriending “that stuck up girl”, who only spoke when the teachers asked them questions. Maria explained that she couldn’t imagine not being close to someone who shared the same birthday with her, it was just inconceivable to her. Thus, she became resolute in her pursuit of Elizabeth, and was rewarded when the latter gradually began to thaw. By the end of that year, they had become inseparable.
They referred to themselves as twins from different mothers.
They wore the same hairstyles and used the same make of shoes and socks. They studied together and shared confidences.
Their mothers became friends; glad that their only daughters had found each other and tickled to learn they were born on the same day.
Elizabeth’s mum was especially pleased that her retiring daughter finally had someone to draw her out.
Both families became close.
Beyond the same birthdays however, they had little else in common.
Maria’s mum ran a daily needs shop and her dad worked at the post office. They sacrificed a lot to send their two children to good private schools. Maria had been able to attend the girl’s secondary school that she attended because her father made a payment arrangement with the principal for his beloved daughter.
Elizabeth’s parents were both professionals. Her father was a civil engineer and her mum, a lawyer. Elizabeth was the youngest of three children. Her two elder brothers were away at boarding school most of the year; her father was always travelling to one job or another, so it was usually just she and her mum at home.
Maria began to spend time at their house and eventually ended up spending more time at Elizabeth’s place than hers. Elizabeth’s mum became her confidante; she discussed with her topics she couldn’t or wouldn’t raise with her own mother.
Her mother was not happy with this development and told her so in clear terms. Maria was very close to her parents; she adored them, but was never able to abide the fact that her mum ran a daily needs shop. For that reason, once she began to attend the girls’ school, she stopped assisting at the shop after school like her brother. Her excuse had been that she had to study hard to maintain a certain percentage for the principal to fulfil her part of the bargain she had made with her father and going to the shop ate into her study time. Her father agreed with this and so she wasn’t taken to task for what her mother described as a flimsy excuse.
She did not mind so much that her father worked at the post office, but wasn’t happy that she couldn’t afford most of the things her wealthy classmates took for granted. Elizabeth’s place was where she escaped to live out her fantasy. For this reason, a greater part of her adolescence was spent being at cross-purposes with her mother. It never bothered her. She had Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s mother.
Continues next week
