Page 21 of Death of the Author

From the opposite side of the room, Tolu laughed.

“Wooooow,” Chinyere said, standing up.

“Well, everyone,” Zelu said, wheeling into the middle of the room like she had before. But now her family was focused on her. “Yes, indeed,” she announced. “Your useless, crippled daughter is high as fuck!”

Her father gasped as her mother shouted, “Blood of Jesus!” before signing the cross.

“Oh my God.” Tolu laughed again, bending over and holding his belly.

Arinze, Jackie, and Uzo were also laughing. Uzo was covering her face with her hand to try to stop herself.

Zelu was on a roll, so she kept rolling. The words poured from her mouth like water. She held up an index finger. “But!I have some equally amazing news. I sold my novel for a million dollars to one of the biggest publishers in the world, plus two other books!” She paused, looking at everyone. No one said a word. “And it’s going to be made into a movie, so that’s evenmoremoney! Surprise, I’m gonna be rich!”

It was a great moment, even in her affected state of mind. The pause before anyone reacted was one she’d remember for a long time. In that pause, she was certain her family finally heard her, saw her, understood that all herprior nonsense had been leading down the path she was meant to be on. However, it was only a moment. And when it passed, her family’s only focus was on the vape pen and what was inside it.

“You already cannot walk, why go on and also confuse your brain now?” her mother asked.

Her father took the vape pen and began to examine it. He sniffed it and then put it to his lips.

Chinyere put a hand up. “Dad, don’t—”

The vape pen lit up as he unwittingly took a puff. His eyes grew wide and he violently coughed out vape mist.

“Ah ah! Secret, what are you doing?” her terrified mother shouted. “Are you all right?!”

“Oh dear God, this can’t be happening,” Bola muttered to Uzo. Uzo got up and ducked out of the room to hide the laughs gathering in her cheeks.

Their mother patted their father on the back. “It’s... like... a joint!” Secret coughed. “But electronic!Chineke!”

Their mother snatched the vape pen back from him, giving him an annoyed look.

“Mom, Dad, it’s not that serious,” Tolu said. “It’s legal now, too. People use it for anxiety and pain management.”

“Rubbish,” her mother scolded him. “Only people who have lost their minds use it.”

“Whoo!” her father said, patting his chest like it was filled with smoke.

Zelu jabbed an angry finger toward Amarachi, who now stood next to Chinyere, looking smug.

“Why do that here, anyway, Zelu?” Chinyere asked. “It’s disrespectful.”

“Just wrong,” Amarachi echoed.

“Ugh!” Zelu groaned, turning and wheeling back into the hallway. She spent the rest of the evening in her room.

Only Tolu came to check on her. He gently knocked on the door. “Come in, Tolu,” she said.

“How’d you know it was me?” he asked as he opened the door.

She shrugged. “Lucky guess.” It wasn’t. She knew her family well.

She was sitting on her bed, laptop open on her lap. She’d been reading the manuscript with her editor’s notes. Tolu pulled the chair out from her desk and took a seat.

“That was some shit,” he said.

Zelu looked down at her computer screen, face flat. “Yep.”

Tolu rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

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