The Drama Post part 4

Kendi sat down and looked at the check she had gotten from the Ministry, it was late and wasn't for only a few thousand dollars. She had already bluffed the Finance office into not dropping her classes by having her Uncle who was well connected in the Ministry of Education back home send a letter saying they would settle the balance. The new semester was here and she owed a few thousand dollars in arrears and had to come up with this semester's fees too. Kendi sat down and began to think of a way out.

Meanwhile Mary was back in the 'ville. She had Kendi's aunt drop her off where she was staying last semester with Aco and Mvaite. Aco had left town so now she knew that she could take his room for herself. She opened the door using the key Mvaite had left her, she made her way past the stuffy sitting room into her new bedroom. When she opened the door she saw a garish looking piece of exercise equipment staring back at her instead of a bed frame and study desk. She put her luggage on the near by couch and began to clean and rearrange the room to make it more girl friendly. As she got carried away doing this, she didn't hear the door opening.

Kamau had just finished his first day of orientation. The ville was not as big as Atranta but he already felt at home, besides he was over joyed to see cows on the long drive to the ville from the Airport, he always thought that there were no cows in America but machines that made milk instead. All that he was waiting for was to be set up in the free housing that schools give students like at Surambaya High School where he was teaching before he came over to the American paradise. During the first night he had been put up in a hotel room with another International student by the school but today accomodation was strictly on them, he knew the Housing Office would sort him out. He walked in and asked the young white lady reading a Cosmo magazine at the reception where he was supposed to spend the night. She looked up and asked him his name, he told her his name and she gave him a quizzical expression accompanied with the phrase "say what now?" little did Kamau know but he would come to hear this phrase many times in the days to come. He spelt out his name and she looked for his name on the housing list as she blew bubbles with the gum she was chewing, she looked up at him and said with her southern drawl,"Ahm sorry sir, but your name just isn't on the list. Did you pay for housing?" At that point the truth hit him! He wasn't in Kutus anymore, housing wasn't free and his $800 hardly even covered what he owed for fees. He walked out of the office and who did he see? Oduori! He remembered Oduouri telling him over orientation when they met about how he was going to make his apartment the ultimate bachelor pad, there was hope at last!

Oduori was strutting outside the housing office on his way to catch the shuttle to the University apartments when he saw Kamau waving at him with a big smile on his face. He wondered why Kamau would be so happy to see him, Kamau rushed to him and began walking in tandem with him, asking him how he was doing. Oduori has the feeling that this did not bode well for him for some reason or other but he dismissed that feeling because by looking at Kamaus ran down shoes and barely fashionable clothing he knew he could out smart him any day. The niceties soon ran dry and Kamau refered to him as a brother, put his shoulder on him and told him he needed his help. Kamau told him that his money was yet to be wired so he could not stay in the halls, he asked if he could stay at Oduoris. Oduori lifted one eyebrow, wondering what to do. These were the Kenyans his father had warned him about, the moochers. But on the other hand he felt some misguided kinship with Kamau since he was one of the few black male faces during orientation and he felt he could chat with him on a neighbourly level. Oduori remembered that his girlfriend was visiting in a day or two and there was no way Kamau was going to be on the couch as the two of them ravaged each other all over the apartment. He told Kamau he would put him up, but for one day only.

A few blocks up the road Mvaite couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mary was in the process of destroying his bachelor pad when she wasn't even supposed to be there in the first place. He angrily asked her what she was doing moving the couch and lamp, she sneered at him and told him that those were Aco's things and she could move them if she wanted to. Mvaite felt the heat begin to rise within him, Mary had always lorded her 3 years seniority over him whenever they had a disagreement and she was doing so now. He looked at her angry and she sneered, "Kijana wacha siasa mob"(Boy, stop with the drama). He felt the heat continue to well up within
him. He couldn't take it any more, he screamed and told her, "Utanapatia respect kwa nyumba yangu! (You will respect me in my own house)" He remembered another reason he was so angry, Mary and Kendi had stiffed him on their share of December's rent and utilities. He asked
her how she was expecting to stay there yet she hadn't paid for the past month. She looked at him defiantly, he met her gaze with his stony stare; at that point he wished they were in Imenti South where he would have taught her a lesson or two without fearing an early morning visit
from the Police. He told her that it was his house and that he could throw her out and she was of no use to him, she looked back at him with tears in her eyes and said that she didn't have to stay there. She angrily walked past him and slammed the door leaving her luggage behind.

A few hundred miles away, Kendi was being hit on by Muriungi. She couldn't stand his beer saturated breath and lusty hints. Ordinarily she would never be in such a position but Muriungi had a solution to her problem and she would string him around till she got what she wanted.

Kamau walked into Oduori's well furnished apartment and set down his suit case. Oduori motioned to the fridge and told Kamau to help himself. From what he saw in the fridge it seemed to him like Oduori was really well off, he didn't regret calling on him for help. He poured himself a large glass of South American mango juice and sat down on the couch. He tried to make small talk with Oduori but Oduori ignored him, picked up his lap top and went into his room. A few minutes later he came out and tossed a blanket at Kamau and went back into his room. Kamau got comfortable on the couch and watched movies on Oduori's big screen TV till
sleep overcame him.

Part 5: Where did Mary sleep, where will Kamau go next and what is Kendi planning?