Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

broken.”
    â€œMy mother says the waters are all dirty and dead because of the oil companies,” Kola said. “Will you all be all right in there?”
    Ayodele laughed in a knowing way that made a thousand more questions germinate in Kola’s head. “Yes,” Ayodele said.
    â€œCan you die?”
    â€œMaybe. Probably not.”
    â€œNa wao,” Kola whispered with awe. She leaned against the sofa, now only a foot from Ayodele. This was the most interesting person/thing /whatever she’d ever met. “So, how old are you?”
    Philomena came running down the stairs. “Kola! Get away from her! . . . Get up here! Fred!”
    His fear for his sister, and of the strange woman who looked like his aunt in Asaba, finally exploded, and Fred went running to Philomena, the only person other than his parents who could get his sister Kola to behave. Kola reluctantly left Ayodele’s side. “Wejust wanted to ask some questions,” Kola said, when she reached Philo.
    â€œI’d never hurt them,” Ayodele said.
    Philomena pushed Kola up the stairs. “Why would I believe anything you say? I don’t even know what you look like, let alone what you will do to us.” She rudely sucked her teeth and over her shoulder muttered, “Nonsense.”
    â€œMaybe you should try asking me, then,” Ayodele said flatly.
    Philomena was halfway up the stairs. “Stay away from the children.”
    â€œSchool will bring you more success than marriage,” Ayodele said, raising her voice.
    Philomena turned and glared at Ayodele.
    â€œI know what your boyfriend is planning and I know why you told him about me,” Ayodele said. “In the end, only you can make yourself happy. Finish school. Forget him.”
    Philomena dug her nails into the wooden banister. Then she ran up the stairs.

CHAPTER 14
    THE BLACK NEXUS
    No matter how carefully Jacobs walked, his heels made too much noise. Click, click, click. The hallway of the abandoned secondary school amplified the sound. It was afternoon and the sun shone brightly outside, and he was wearing his favorite long black dress and high heels. They’d parked right beside the building and quickly run inside. Right now was a terrible time to draw attention to himself, but he couldn’t show up to this meeting speaking the Pidgin English he spoke with the guys, nor could he arrive dressed like a “guy.” He needed to present this new development to his friends as himself . He needed to show he was serious and unafraid.
    â€œWalk faster,” Jacobs instructed, wincing at the sound of his footsteps as they picked up speed.
    â€œIt’s been such a weird day,” said Fisayo, her heels clicking just as loudly. “Everything being closed, all the checkpoints . . . the wahala at Bar Beach. My God, Jacobs, I don’t know what I saw last night, but whatever’s going on is not over.”
    â€œTrust me, I know,” he said, putting a strong arm around his sister’s shoulder and giving her a squeeze of reassurance. He was glad she was okay. He’d hated leaving her to walk Bar Beach looking for work alone. Usually he stayed around to at least make sure she was okay, but last night he had eaten some bad soup and thus had a bad case of indigestion. And look what had happened to her.
    Worse yet, she’d probably want to return to Bar Beach when they finished here. She’d go home, change, and get herself readyand arrive at Bar Beach in the evening. Right now was the best time to pick up the safest johns. Late-afternoon johns were looking for a girl to spend an evening with, and this usually included fine treatment and a meal. Evening johns were crueler and looking for something less companionable.
    Jacobs needed to spend more time with his younger sister. In the last month, he hadn’t even had the time to stop by her apartment. Not that she’d have been home. Fisayo