Ipods in Accra (18 page)

After I'd finished my make-up, Mum took some photographs of us posing like supermodels around the house. Then Rafi arrived. We'd decided to meet him at my house so he could avoid another run-in with Nana-Sunitra. It was strange seeing Rafi with Bharti; he couldn't take his eyes off her. Mum took a couple of photographs of the two of them together, and
totally embarrassed me by actually crying and saying that she couldn't believe how quickly Bharti and I had grown up. At that point I was definitely ready to leave and even Dad got twitchy and hurried us into his car.

We got to the hall and had to wait a few minutes in the queue. As the number of students involved was so high, security had to be really tight: no one wanted gatecrashers ruining the night. When we got in, they put a tiny stamp on our hands so we could go in and out.

Once inside, we found three rooms – one was the chill-out room, which had mellow sounds, the next was the dance and indie room and the third was the urban room. All three rooms were decorated differently: the chill-out room had a tiny dance floor, massive cushions and two huge TVs, and pink, red and purple fabric on the walls. The indie and dance room had strobe lights and huge guitars on the walls all decked out in black and white. My favourite room was the urban room, where everything was silver, glass, or mirrored – there were chandeliers and even a disco ball. You could float between the three rooms and there was loads of space for us all.

Everyone was really amazed when they saw Bharti, because no one apart from me had been expecting her to look so stunning. It was the first time in ages that Bharti felt confident and comfortable with herself, and I think that this was partly because of her relationship with Rafi, as well as going to those dance classes.

‘Ohmigod, Makeeda, is that Bharti?' Laura said excitedly.

Laura and I weren't exactly best friends and, about year
ago, it had been more like enemies. It was mainly over Mel. Mel and I had been friends since nursery and all of a sudden she started spending more time with Laura than me. It didn't help that Laura was mean to me at every opportunity. Mel and I sorted things out, but she'd barely been in touch since she'd gone to study in Manchester. After Mel left, Laura and I didn't have that much to do with each other – we weren't feuding or anything, but we only spoke to each other if we had to. She had taken different options, so our dislike of each other wasn't too much of an issue.

‘Yeah,' I said, smiling broadly.

‘Bharti looks so …'

‘Great, is the word you're looking for,' I prompted.

‘Nah, I was thinking OK. I mean, she kind of looks pretty … well almost. I wouldn't have done my hair like that.'

I rolled my eyes. Laura still had to be centre of attention 24/7 and couldn't handle any threats to her queen bee crown. I looked at her short red dress – it highlighted her long honey-coloured hair and her spray tan. She always looked immaculate. Most of us had had our nails done specially for the prom, but Laura's hands were always perfect manicured and she'd clearly got even more obsessed with her looks – I'd heard she'd spent the summer in LA.

‘FYI, Mel's not coming. She's got track trials tomorrow morning or something.'

‘Oh, thanks for letting me know,' I said. I was a little disappointed, but I knew Mel would probably come back to
London sooner or later.

‘Is it true you dumped Nelson?' Laura asked.

I stared at her and decided not to answer.

‘It's just that I heard he's going out with Ava now,' she continued.

I tried to hide my surprise. I had thought Ava and Nelson were just friends.

‘You know what, we split up. Sometimes it just happens, but if you really want the details, why don't you ask him?' I said, and I left Laura standing alone. I knew for a fact that Nelson would rather die than reveal the details of our break
^u
p.

I went towards the dance and room and bumped into Jordan.

‘Hey, pretty lady! You're looking real good,' he said, kissing my hand.

‘Hey yourself,' I laughed.

‘You sure know how to fill a dress,' he added, so I hit him.

‘Behave!' I said.

‘So, I heard your best friend is a real woman. Is she looking for a real man?'

‘Who are you talking about?' I asked.

‘Your friend Bharti!'

‘Jordan, she's got a boyfriend,' I replied. ‘It's the guy who's holding her hand?'

‘What already? Man, the guys here are quick! So what about you? I heard about you and Nelson,' Jordan continued. ‘You got someone new?'

‘Sort of,' I mumbled.

‘Oh,
sort of
means you had someone but something went wrong, right?'

I was astonished. Jordan was actually being intuitive.

‘How did your GCSEs go?' I said, changing the subject.

‘OK, I got one A, five Bs and three Cs and a D, but D is still a pass!' he said, smiling.

‘Wow!' I said, barely concealing my shock.

‘Yeah, I know everyone thinks I'm a joker, but I ain't thick, Makeeda.'

‘Hey!' Nelson interrupted us.

We kissed on the cheek awkwardly. It was really weird seeing him again. He didn't look any different or anything; he just seemed a bit cooler with me.

Within minutes, Ava walked up to us and put her arm around Nelson's waist. I couldn't help it, I felt a pang of jealousy. It wasn't that I wanted to be that physically close to him, but I wanted to be able to do the same to Nick and not have him recoil in anger. The conversation was stilted – we began talking about our GCSEs and the hall decoration, then Nelson left to get ready for his set.

‘So you two gonna fight it out?' Jordan asked.

‘Jordan!' Ava and I chorused.

‘I'm just saying the ex and current girlfriend, it's kinda natural. Do you think it would help if you lost your dresses?'

‘Ohmigod!' I exclaimed. I was about to hit him again, when Ava whacked him with her bag.

‘Ouch! I see Nelson only dates the violent type!' he said and walked away.

Ava and I laughed. Jordan had definitely broken the ice between us.

I was surprised when Ava told me she'd asked the girls she knew at my school to vote for Bharti as prom queen. Everyone had to vote for a prom king and queen from their own school. An announcement was made for the final votes to be cast, so I quickly left Ava so I could cast mine for Bharti.

As I queued, I kept scanning the rooms for any sign of Nick. At this stage I knew there was no way he'd want to go out with me, so I really hoped he'd settle for friendship at least. I posted my vote and walked into the urban room and saw Nelson busy at the decks. He waved to me and I waved back. I could see Ava making her way towards him. It felt odd not to be that girl helping him out, but I was glad that we'd both moved on. He played an old song I liked, but instead of making me happy it just reminded me of Nick. It was a song from a film we'd gone to see together years before. I'd thought the film was a thriller, but it turned out to be a romantic comedy. Nick wasn't impressed, but we hadn't wanted to waste the tickets, so we stayed and ended up enjoying it. Every time we'd heard the song since, it reminded us of why I was now never allowed to organise cinema trips. I could feel my mood crash and burn, so I headed back to the other room to find Bharti and Rafi.

‘Where did you go?' Bharti asked.

‘Oh, I said hi to Nelson in the urban room,' I said.

‘Really? You must be bored.'

‘Where's Rafi?' I said.

‘He's gone to get us some drinks.'

‘Got him well trained,' I said, laughing.

‘No, it was his turn!' Bharti replied, laughing as well. ‘Come on, I can't even train a dog, let alone a human being!'

‘Listen, I'm not feeling this. I might go home,' I said.

‘Whaaaaaaaat, you are not leaving me!' Bharti said, horrified.

‘You've got Rafi.'

‘So, he's not you! Besides, I keep getting weird looks from the girls in our school,' Bharti said, turning to find three girls staring at us. ‘See?'

‘Yeah, that's because you look so good,' I replied.

‘Oh, shut up!'

‘I'm being serious!' I said.

‘Ladies and gentlemen it's time to crown our kings and queens of tonight's prom,' Mr Patel announced.

‘Ohmigod, is this going to turn into a cheesy teen film?' Bharti asked as everyone drifted together into a crowd.

‘Shut up, you love watching them!' I teased.

‘Bit American, isn't it?' Rafi whispered from behind us.

‘Gee, where's your team spirit?' I said back.

‘Bharti Mistry!' Mr Patel said, waving a piece of paper. The crowd erupted into instant applause.

‘Wow, someone's got the same name as me,' Bharti said.

‘So where is she? Spotlight please,' Mr Patel said.

‘It's you, you fool!' I said, just as the spotlight hit Bharti and a camera transported her face across the widescreen TVs on the walls.

‘No flipping way!' Bharti screamed.

‘Brilliant!' I yelled.

‘See, you never believe me! You're not just brainy, you're beautiful, too!' Rafi said, pushing her towards the stage.

Bharti flashed him the biggest grin and the cheering crowd parted for her to take her crown. She looked fabulous and deserved the attention. I was really proud her.

After the other kings and queens had been announced and presented with crowns and flowers, Bharti and Rafi had to lead everyone in a dance to a song of her choice. She chose an upbeat tune we both loved, and then told Rafi to sit down because she wanted to dance with me!

We danced to three songs before she let me sit down. I told her I'd decided to call a taxi to go home.

‘Do you have to go?' Bharti asked.

‘Yeah, I just don't feel so great,' I lied. I'd just had enough. I was missing Nick.

‘OK, we'll wait for a cab with you,' Bharti said.

The three of us headed outside.

‘I know you voted for me,' she said, linking arms with me.

‘Yeah, but it wasn't just me, was it?! More like our whole year did, and they don't even know what a great person you are on the inside. You look fantastic and you deserve it,' I said and we hugged.

Bharti's phone rang and she went to the other side of the pavement to answer it. I found that odd, but I assumed it was because the music from the hall was flowing outside of the building.

‘Blimey, if they don't turn the volume down, the police will
show up!' Rafi said.

‘Yeah,' I replied without thinking.

‘It's been really nice meeting you, Makeeda,' Rafi said, smiling.

‘You too, Rafi. Sorry, if I've been a bit …'

‘It's all right, I understand,' Rafi interrupted. ‘It hasn't exactly been straightforward for us either, so I get it if you feel weird about Nick.'

I must have looked shocked, but then I realised Bharti must have told him. I realised she must have really trusted Rafi to tell him about my problems with Nick.

‘Oh sorry, I made Bharti tell me,' he explained apologetically, seeing my face.

‘Don't worry about it. I'm just …'

‘Is that your taxi?' Bharti said, returning from across the pavement.

The taxi arrived, but it wasn't empty. The door opened and Nick stepped out dressed in a suit, clutching my letter.

‘Where do you think you're going?' he asked me.

I was speechless. He was right there, standing in front of me, and I'd lost my voice again.

He sent the cab away and turned to look at me.

‘Well?'

‘Nick! You made it!' Bharti said, hugging him. I watched in silence, as she and Rafi greeted him. Then they left the two of us alone.

Nick looked at me, smiling. ‘For someone who chats as much as you do, I can't believe you've gone all quiet on me
now. I got you that A in maths, you know!'

‘Er … I did all the hard stuff – the exams and being your model student.'

‘Yeah right, Ms Delusional! You owe me a dance,' he said.

For a minute or two, I just stared at him. I really couldn't believe he was here, but I still had something to say.

‘What?' Nick asked.

‘Nothing. I just wanted to say … I'm sorry about …' I began.

‘It's all right, I know,' he said, tapping the folded-up letter he'd placed inside his jacket. ‘Come on!' he grabbed my hand and led me back into the prom.

We went to the chill-out room and he laced his arms around my waist as we slow-danced. I wanted to apologise again, but he stopped me and explained that he'd lost his phone in Kumasi and was so angry with me that he decided to wait till I got back to London to talk things over. Then, when he arrived in London, he had to go straight off to Poland because his granddad was ill. He'd thought I didn't care about him, and couldn't believe he'd flown to Ghana to be treated like that by someone he cared for. My letter had changed all of that.

‘So I should be apologising, for not contacting you,' he said.

‘Seriously, how many times can you two say sorry?' Bharti was dancing close by with Rafi, and they were both smiling. ‘Just get to the good bit!'

‘The good bit?' I said, confused.

‘Makeeda, couples argue then … make up?' Bharti added meaningfully.

Nick blushed, then moved us away from Bharti and Rafi.

I remembered that Nick had always avoided kissing me in public.

I rested my head against his chest, wondering if we really were a couple as Bharti had said.

‘Makeeda,
mepε w'asem
,' Nick whispered.

‘Ohmigod, you learned Twi?' I said, looking up.

‘Aane
.' He smiled.

‘I really like you, too.' I smiled back at him.

I realised that I didn't have to hear the word ‘girlfriend' to know that I was one, just as I didn't need someone else's definition of Ghanaian or British to know that I was both.