“Don’t worry,” Orlu said, pulling out a white plastic chair for Sunny. “I’m paying. Order whatever you want.”

Sunny’s pockets were full of the gold chittim that had fallen in the basement, but she didn’t argue with him. She’d been gone three days and all her friends could do was worry. They needed to feel as if they could do something. Especially Orlu.

“It’s late,” Sunny said. “My parents, my brother . . . maybe it’s best if . . .”

“Don’t worry about them,” Chichi said. “I’ve been going over there. They know you are at least okay.”

“What?! What have you been telling them?” she asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “I can’t. They already know you are part of . . . something. They’re beginning to understand. So all I’ve said is that you’re fine and will be back tonight. The first day, your father looked like he wanted to kill me.” She laughed. “Honestly, Sunny, your father doesn’t know if he is coming or going when it comes to you.”

“Your mother came to see my mother yesterday, too,” Orlu said. “My mother said she looked okay . . . just worried about the reason you were gone.”

Sunny ordered a plate of stewed chicken. Mama Put said it came with jollof rice, but Sunny asked to replace it with more fried plantain. She didn’t think she wanted to eat jollof rice for a while, or goat meat. She also ordered three bottles of water. When the food came, Sunny’s entire body responded. As she ate and drank and ate and drank, Chichi told her some surprising things.

“I called your brother that next day,” Chichi said. “Remember, you gave me your phone.” She reached into her pocket and handed it to Sunny.

“Thanks,” Sunny said. “What’d he say?”

“Nothing much,” she said.

Sasha sucked his teeth loudly.

“Oh, stop,” Chichi snapped.

Sasha muttered something under his breath, and Orlu’s eyebrows went up.

“What did you say?” Chichi asked, frowning.

“My brother,” Sunny interrupted. “My brother . . . is he okay?”

“He’s back in school.” Chichi grinned.

“What? Really?!”

“He didn’t believe me at first when I said he could go back. But then later that day, he got a phone call. His friend Adebayo couldn’t stop apologizing and telling him that it was safe to return. That the confraternity is disbanded. Chukwu didn’t believe it until one of his other friends who was not in the confraternity and knew nothing about Chukwu’s problem called his cell phone laughing and telling him that two of his professors had left their positions to join some born-again Christian group. When Chukwu returned, he found that the capo of the group had also become born-again, though he didn’t drop out.”

Her brother only missed a few days of school. Her parents never even knew he was gone. The next time he’d be home would be for Christmas, which was weeks away. He’d heal up nicely by then. Sunny looked at her phone. What was she going to tell him when she finally talked to him? She’d cross that bridge once she got to it.