Dinner was already set on the table in a large bowl and several smaller ones. The large white porcelain bowl was filled with edikaikong soup, and in each of the smaller bowls were fried plantain, puff puffs, and sliced mango. On a plate were fist-sized balls of gray garri. The soup was heavy with periwinkle snails, beef, and stockfish, and it was light in palm oil. The perfect balance. Sunny’s mother didn’t make this particular vegetable soup. Edikaikong soup was an Ibibio dish, not an Igbo one. However, since Chichi’s mother was Efik, a subgroup of the Ibibios, Sunny had had it plenty of times at Chichi’s house, so many times that she’d grown a taste for it. When she finished eating, she sat back, satisfied and exhausted. Her eyes were drooping when a sliver of the conversation happening around her floated into her ears.

“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

“Great,” Sasha said, perking up. He’d eaten more than Sunny, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on him.

“I’m going with!” Chichi said. “You never take me out when I visit.”

“Ah, but these three are men,” Chichi’s uncle said. “It’s not the same.”

“Go where?” Sunny asked.

“To taste the local nightlife,” Sasha said. “It’s almost New Year’s Eve. Everyone’s off work and partying already. We’re in a new place, let’s go see what it’s like!”

Sunny looked at Chukwu, who wasn’t saying anything. He clearly wanted to go, just not with Sasha. Orlu even looked interested. “Um, okay,” Sunny reluctantly said. “I’ll go if everyone else is going.” And everyone else was. She groaned, but too quietly for anyone to hear. She’d rather climb into bed, read for a little bit, and then go to sleep. It had been a long, long day and tomorrow was probably going to be longer.

So this was how Sunny found herself at her first nightclub. Orlu had his arm tightly around her waist, and she was glad because the place was dark and packed with the undulating and wiggling bodies of people dancing, talking, and shouting. Not far away, she could see Sasha getting down on the dance floor, surrounded by five women who were close to twice his age. Chukwu was dancing with Chichi several feet away, but Chichi kept looking at Sasha. And who could forget Chichi’s uncle and aunt who were out there dancing like maniacs, too? Chichi’s uncle had a bottle of Guinness in his hand and was somehow not spilling it.

Sunny yawned, leaning on Orlu. Suddenly, he let go of her and started pushing his way farther in. “What are you doing?” Sunny asked.

Then the crowd surged forward, as people moved to get a better look. She was pushed along with it, and then she saw where Orlu was going. Two guys who looked to be in their twenties were swinging at Sasha. He ducked and one guy missed, but the other managed to punch him in the gut. Then there was Chukwu jumping on that guy, turning him around and socking him in the face. The guy stumbled back as two more of his friends joined him. They paused as they looked at Chukwu, who shouted over the music, “Come on, then!” He held up his fists. The guys weren’t as dumb as they looked because none of them took Chukwu up on his invitation to fight. Orlu grabbed Sasha, and Chukwu pushed them both along.