The Girl with the Louding Voice

Fact: Some of the earliest sculptures were made in Nigeria. The most prestigious is the Bronze Head of Ife, which was given to the British Museum in 1939. Adunni follows Ms. Tia down a hallway and sees photos of the Dadas looking happy and in love. She wonders if she can have a relationship like theirs someday. Ms. Tia leads Adunni to the living room, which contains a white couch and a white Christmas tree. Adunni sees two drawings on the wall. One of them features a clay head with thin, long scars across its bare face, which Ms. Tia explains is the Bronze Head of Ife. Adunni remembers reading about this sculpture in The Book of Nigerian Facts.

Ms. Tia hands Adunni her surprise, which is a grammar book called Better English. The real surprise, however, is a small, thin phone for her to use that will be easy to hide from Big Madam. Ms. Tia has been concerned since Adunni told her about Big Daddy, tells Adunni that she can text her for help if anything happens again. Adunni can’t believe that a village girl like her has a phone.

Adunni is so overwhelmed by Ms. Tia’s kindness that she begins to cry. Ms. Tia asks Adunni what she wants most in life. Adunni decides that she would like to go to school, so that she can have what Mama called “a louding voice,” become a teacher, and give back to the community by educating village girls who wouldn’t otherwise have a chance at education. These girls, in turn, will grow up and raise strong, educated children of their own. Ms. Tia tells Adunni that God has given her the strength to accomplish these goals and urges her to always know that she is valuable, and to always believe “that tomorrow will be better than today.”

Adunni wants to believe Ms. Tia, though the many hardships she has endured throughout her life make it difficult to do so. Adunni keeps her reservations to herself and tries to believe in Ms. Tia’s optimism.

A car that Ms. Tia calls an Uber takes Ms. Tia and Adunni to the Balogun market. The driver, Michael, flirts with Ms. Tia, and Ms. Tia rolls her eyes at him, which irritates him. Michael drops them off at the market, which is bustling with customers and merchants selling food, clothing, fans, and other goods. Adunni holds tightly to Ms. Tia as they make their way through the packed streets.

Ms. Tia leads Adunni to a small stall to buy authentic ankara. While at the stall, Adunni ponders the similarities between Ms. Tia and Enitan. Both friends are excited by the things they want, but while Ms. Tia can afford everything she needs and more, Enitan wouldn’t have money to buy anything. Inwardly, Adunni muses that “Ms. Tia and I are friends, but not like me and Enitan.”

Speaking Yoruba, Adunni haggles with the ankara saleswoman who tries to overcharge Ms. Tia when she hears her speaking English. Adunni addresses the saleswoman as “Mama,” calling herself “[her] daughter-o.” She promises that they will return next week to buy more fabric if the woman gives them a good price, and the woman acquiesces.

After a long, exhausting day of shopping, Adunni and Ms. Tia make their way back to Frankie’s Fast Food, where the driver dropped them off earlier. Adunni says that she is “too-too hungry,” and Ms. Tia corrects her English, telling her to use the word “starving.” Adunni wonders how Ms. Tia could correct her now, given the hot weather and their mutual exhaustion. They go into the restaurant, and Adunni sits at a seat “that look like a rich man’s bench.” Ms. Tia brings back a variety of foods that Adunni has never eaten before, and Adunni wishes that Kayus and Enitan could enjoy it with her.

Ms. Tia tells Adunni that she will be traveling to Port Harcourt next week to care for Ms. Tia’s mother, who is sick again, and will be there through the holidays. She reminds Adunni that the only scholarship material left to complete is the essay. Adunni admits that she is scared and intimidated by this task, but Ms. Tia tells her to simply “write [her] truth.”

Suddenly, Ms. Tia spots Titi Benson, one of the women from the WRWA. Urgently, she tells Adunni to hide underneath the table. Titi approaches Ms. Tia and, seeing all of Ms. Tia’s food, asks if “there is a bun in the oven.” Ms. Tia changes the subject, complimenting Titi’s Chanel handbag. Finally, Titi leaves, and Adunni returns to her seat. Ms. Tia acknowledges what a close call this was—it would be very bad if Big Madam learned about Ms. Tia’s closeness with Adunni, or about their lessons.

When Adunni returns to the house that evening, Big Madam is still at work. After finishing her chores, Adunni goes to her room to write her essay. At first, she writes generically, describing her name, age, and hometown. However, after thinking about what Ms. Tia said about writing her truth, she scraps this first attempt and instead writes about her horrific marriage to Morufu; about Khadija, about Mama, Kayus, and Born-boy; and about how urgently she needs an education. She cites a few of the facts she read in The Book of Nigerian Facts. When she is finished, she titles the essay: “The True Story Essay of Myself by Adunni, the Girl with the Louding Voice.” The next morning, she drops off the essay at Ms. Tia’s house.