Page 52 of Death of the Author

“I did,” she said into his shoulder, leaning on him. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Of course. Glad you finally called.”

“Me too,” she agreed, fully meaning it.

“Wow,” he said, still not letting go. “The last time I stood and hugged you was... a long time ago. It’s so weird.” He gently let go of her and she steadied herself. She noticed Tolu was looking around. “Let’s get out of here.”

She looked around now, too. There were several people staring at them. A security robot had even stopped just behind them; airport surveillance was interested in her, too.

Tolu eyed her dubiously. “You’re really okay walking with... with those things?”

She rolled her eyes. “You saw me. I got here, didn’t I?”

“Is it hard?”

“Let’s just go,” she said. She waved a hand near her waist, signaling her legs to walk faster. As they moved, she said, “Just lead the way. Don’t talk to me. Need to concentrate.”

“Okay,” he said with a nod.

She’d never tried to walk this fast, but she managed, keeping her balance, moving with the exos’ gait, just as Hugo had taught her. After a few minutes, she fell into a rhythm that was quite similar to when she swam long distances in the ocean, except this time she didn’t have the great wisdom of the ocean to buoy her. She was the only one who could stop herself from falling. By the time they reached Tolu’s green SUV, she was sweating and feeling more than dizzy.

She needed his help getting into the car, and he seemed relieved by this. Once in, she shut the door and spoke her name to deactivate the exos. They collapsed back into a cube-shaped case with a handle that fit into the space behind her feet in the SUV. She laid her head against the headrest and let out a sigh of relief.

“You are crazy,” Tolu said, staring at the cube on the floor.

“Oh, come on, Tolu.” What did he know about it?

“They didn’t implant anything into you, did they?” Tolu asked.

“What? No.”

“It’s not connected to your brain?”

“Oh my God.” She laughed. “If I had the chance, I’d—”

Tolu guffawed loudly. “And when strange ideas start popping into your mind and you don’t know where they came from, you’ll what?”

She kissed her teeth. “Look who’s paranoid of technology as he drives his computer-powered car down the highway to work at eighty miles per hour every day.”

He started the car and began driving. “So just a heads-up, everyone is waiting for you at home.”

Zelu groaned. “Are you kidding? For this? Why?” She could already feel a headache coming on.

“You know you’re all over the internet right now, right? You’re trending on all the social media platforms. Chinyere’s got colleagues asking her questions. Bola’s got it even worse; all of her colleagues want details. Only thing that could have made them more rabid is if you were suddenly going to the moon in a great big rocket ship! You’re an engineer’s wet dream. I had to leave the office early because the partners were asking too many questions.” He laughed. “We’ve got to circle the wagons thanks to you, woman!”

When they pulled up to the driveway of her parents’ house, the SUV could barely crowd in next to all her siblings’ cars. As her brother got out and moved to the passenger door, she put her exos back on. Tolu opened the door just as they clicked and clacked into place. “Mom’s going to throw the Bible at you,” he said. “Dad is going to have a thousand questions.”

She shrugged, moving herself into a position to exit the car.

“Maybe you should take those off and enter using your chair,” he said, looking worried.

“No. I’ve gone too far for that. But stay near me with the chair. When I get nervous, they’re harder to control. And the slightest push and I’ll fall.”

As she approached the front door, Tolu pushing her chair behind her, she felt like she was walking to her death. Her hands were clammy in the cool breeze. She felt unsteady, and the more she concentrated, the more her exos started feeling like a moving platform she was sitting on. The last thing she needed was to look wobbly when her family first saw her, but shecouldn’t help it! Were her exos making her too tall? How tall had she been before the accident? She couldn’t remember!Oh man, I must lookso freakish, she thought, imagining herself as the android in the silent filmMetropolis. Her siblings would laugh at her. Or even worse, pity her. She could hear them now. They were in the living room. Everyone. Talking loudly, as usual. She unlocked the door and immediately the talking inside ceased.Oh God.She turned the knob. She went inside.

Her father was sitting in his armchair, his throne. But as most Igbos will remind people, the Igbos have no kings; better to call it a chief’s seat. Behind him was a shelf of his lush green houseplants, their jungle-like colors adding to his commanding presence. Zelu noticed that the plant she’d given to her father when she’d moved back in was sitting there, too, thriving so much that its vines now hung all the way to the carpet. Her mother was on her feet, standing behind his chair; she’d probably been pacing. Chinyere and Bola were on the couch. Amarachi was sitting on the floor because Chinyere was braiding her hair. Uzo sat beside her, not looking up from her phone. Chinyere’s older son, Emeka, was sitting in a corner, huddled over a tablet. He looked up and dropped it when he saw Zelu walk in. Tolu’s wife, Folashade, was sitting on a folding chair to her right. Chinyere’s younger son, Chukwudi, sat on her lap, and he took one look at Zelu and gave her a toothy grin.

Zelu focused first on Chukwudi and his childish joy, because everything was about to go very badly. Chukwudi held out a hand and Zelu took it. Folashade looked up at Zelu and said nothing. She did not smile, either. She stared at her, shocked... and bothered. Zelu had always liked Folashade, but she didn’t at this moment.

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