Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 22

4 years ago

Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 22

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Darkness was what she was engulfed in. Never in her life had she seen such intense darkness before. How was it even possible that what seemed a desert could be that dark? She glanced over her shoulder once again and realised she was still all alone.. Hell, it seemed the world had been wiped clean of all living things and only she remained.
“Where am I?” She loudly asked herself, speaking for the first time since she’d been cast into that pit of darkness.
“You’re where you rightfully belong,” a voice replied.

The voice startled Juliet who held her breath as she slowly turned only to come face to face with her late mother. She was surprised how she could make out her mother despite the darkness.

“Mama? What do you mean I am where I rightfully belong?”
“You’re so bitter, my child. And someone who’s as bitter as you’re has no business living among humans.”

Fear gripped her at that moment. “Does this mean am dead?”

Juliet scanned her surrounding once more. “Am I in hell?”
“Not yet, at least,” it was Janet who replied. She had just materialized beside her mother.

Juliet staggered back and fought for composure. “Why am I seeing dead people?”

“That doesn’t matter,” her father materialized beside Janet, causing Juliet to gasp in awe.

“What’s going on?” She inquired.
“We’ve come to interrogate you,” said her mother quietly.

Janet asked, “Why are you so hell bent on seeing my son suffer? Haven’t you done him enough harm already?”

Juliet found herself too scared to reply as any wrong answer could bring forth dire consequences, she feared. Her seeing her dead parents and sister was definitely a bad omen.

Her mother was next, “Why can’t you let him be?”

“Do you think you hold his destiny in your hands?” her Dad fired at her.
She was outnumbered. “I get what this is about.. You all want me to leave Lubesha alone, right? Alright, I’ll leave him alone.”
“You have to promise us you’ll not interfere with his exams, Juliet. Please just let my son be.”

“Fine, Janet. Can you all now leave before I lose my senses?”
“Oh you’ll definitely lose more than your senses if you don’t quit your evil plots against Lubesha,” Warned her father with a stern tone.

Now the trio began walking towards her, telling her to leave Lubesha alone.
“Leave Lubesha alone..Leave Lubesha alone..Leave Lubesha alone..” they chanted as they neared her while she took steps back, in retreat. She stumbled upon something and began following into a bottomless pit, screaming.

She awoke with a piercing scream, her blouse drenched with sweat. The voices of her dead parents and sister kept on reverberating in her head, ‘Leave Lubesha alone.’
“Wow,” she rubbed sweat off her forehead and got out of bed to go stand in front of the mirror. Her pimples were on fire!
What was the meaning of all that? She asked herself, mentally re-living the bad dream she had just awoken from.

It was only evening and she wished she hadn’t fallen asleep after that long bubble bath. But of one thing she was certain, she had no business sabotaging Lubesha’s exams. Her safety and sanity were way more important than some opportunistic orphan’s exams.

☆☆☆

Laura frowned when she saw Lubesha standing at their doorstep.
“What do you want?”
“Is Tracy in?”
“Nope.”
“Um..okay,” Lubesha turned to go back to his dorm but stopped in his tracks when he heard Tracy’s voice say, “Who’s at the door?”

“No one important,” replied Laura with an attitude but Tracy was already at her side.
Seeing Lubesha only infuriated Tracy who wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever. He had ruined her education, she believed.
“I just wanna talk to you.”
“I believe you and I have nothing left to say to each other.”

“I don’t get why you’re mad at me,” said Lubesha calmly. “But I just wanna talk.”

“Fine,” said Tracy begrudgingly as she signaled Laura to excuse them. “Say your piece.”

“I missed you,” he meant it.
She found the statement funny so she laughed. “You sure did miss me, or was it the sex that you missed most about me?”
“Tracy! You know am not like that.”
“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes. “Spare me the cliche. Lubesha Pondamali, you are just like every egocentric guy out there! You have sex with me once and what do you do? You go running to your buddy to tell him about it and your buddy turned out to have a big mouth and look where that landed us.”
“Are you insinuating Sylvester snitched on us?”

“I’m not insinuating, am stating the facts. You know what, if I fail the exams, that’s on you. Now just leave me the heck alone, please.”
“Tracy, I-”
“Leave!” she shrieked before slamming the door in his face.

An infuriated Lubesha stormed into his dorm where he found Sylvester getting dressed.
“Are you the one who leaked the sex story?” he asked him without preamble.
“What sex story?” asked an appalled Sylvester.
“Don’t you dare play innocent. I know you told Principal Zimba about Tracy and I thus us getting suspended.”
“That’s absurd, you know I am no snitch, man.”
“Spare me that crap,” scoffed Lubesha. “You know what, principal Zimba was right when she said you’re a bad influence on me. I should have listened to her then.”

“Really?” Sylvester sarcastically said in disbelief. “Well why don’t you go be friends with that b---h principal of yours cause truth be told am sick and tired of you acting all holier than thou, Lubesha. I’ve been friends with you since grade 9 and honestly expected better from you.”
“Don’t you dare play victim here, Vester.”
Sylvester put on his favourite white vest and gave Lubesha a scornful look. “F--k you!”
That marked the end of their friendship and Lubesha was too mad to care so he said to himself, ‘Screw Sylvester and Tracy. They can go kiss a live wire for all I care!’
And henceforth, he put his entire focus on his exams.

A month later, Lubesha went back to Lusaka after the exams were over. They were having dinner as a family in the evening when Donald asked him, “Do you think you did yourself justice? Am talking about your final exam.”
Lubesha smiled. “I believe I’ll pass..let’s leave the rest to ECZ.”
“That’s Lubesha for us,” Alice beamed, giving him a friendly poke in the ribs.
Donald beamed too.

Amos who cared less about Lubesha was just glad his Dad had found him a job as promised. Amos now worked as a mechanic at a reputed garage in town and was earning some decent cash.

Where she was seated, Juliet knew too well Lubesha would pass and only found comfort in wishing something awfully go wrong somehow. After all there are so many educated people aimlessly wandering the streets out there, she just wished Lubesha would soon be among them.
Little did she know her wish would somehow be answered sooner or later.
☆☆☆
“Can you help me with this literature homework? It’s making my head pound!”
Lubesha smiled as he got the book from Alice. They lay on his bed and he gladly began helping her with her homework.

“This is more like composition and I believe you’ve read Things Fall Apart already so all you gotta do is….”

She wasn’t listening. Her focus was on his mouth. How his lips moved when he speak, his body language and all. She was obsessed with everything about him.
“For how long have you had a crush on this cousin of yours?”
“It’s not a crush, Bertha. I’m kinda just infatuated with me.”
“Tell me about infatuation,” said Bertha who could relate. She picked a nice pair of heels from the shoe rack. “I love these!”
“They’re nice, I’d definitely buy them if I were you,” Alice encouraged her.
Alice and Bertha had been best friends since grade 6 and today they were out shopping when Alice informed her friend about how she so wanted to have sex with her cousin lately.
“The funny thing about infatuation,” said Bertha as she decided she was buying the shoes. “It goes away once you have sex. Am speaking from experience by the way. Remember that guy that I was obsessed with last year, I’m sure you do. I had sex with him once and now want nothing to do with him. We’re still friends though.”
“So what are you suggesting I do?”
“s£duce your cousin weh.”
“Easy for you to say cause you don’t know what Lubesha is like. He’d rather die than lay a finger on me, sexually speaking.”
“Don’t underestimate yourself,” Bertha chastised, filling her friend’s head with devious advice.
Unfortunately, Alice blindly heed to the advice. ☆☆☆
It was New Year’s Eve, Amos was out drinking with his friends and so was Alice. Donald and Juliet had gone for dinner with David and his wife while Lubesha was home alone.

He knew he wouldn’t be home alone for too long cause as per tradition, the family would be back home in time to do the countdown together.

Lubesha sat on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, watching one of his favourite sci-fi thriller movies when Alice walked into the living room.
“You’re back early,” commented Lubesha whose eyes never left the t.v.
“Yeah,” she stood behind him where he couldn’t see her and she took off her heels. “If you had friends as boring as mine were tonight, you’d have been back an hour ago.”

Lubesha found that funny cause she’d only been gone an hour and a half.
Alice who had had a few drinks and was feeling tipsy took off her clothes so that she only was wearing an underwear and bra.
Like that, she caught Lubesha offguard by jumping onto his laps, sending the bowl of popcorn flying from the couch.
Startled and frantic, Lubesha tried to push her off him. “What are you doing?!”
“Kiss me, Lubesha. Make me yours.”
“You’re drunk! Get off me, Alice.”
Whatever he said didn’t matter. Alice locked her arms around his neck and kissed him.
The door chose that exact second to open and someone entered…