4: 4
4.
The big rooster in my hands got loose for a second and jumped straight onto Darlene's head.
Then it dropped a runny yellow load of foul-smelling droppings that slid right down from the top of her head onto her face.
It was so disgusting she looked like a woman gone mad, some kind of shrieking ghost.
The people who'd just been crowding around her scattered, several of them gagging.
"I've seen a chicken drop its load before, but on someone's head? First time. That is just too gross."
"If you ask me, Darlene brought it on herself. Who tells a girl visiting for the first time to go slaughter a chicken?"
"And the very chicken that pecked her a few days ago, no less. Serves her right!"
Darlene frantically tried to shoo the rooster off, but the terrified bird raked several deep gashes across her face and still refused to come down.
She was screaming her head off, and Xavier just stood there gaping, forgetting to move at all.
Only when she was crying like a lunatic did I finally react and pull the rooster off her.
Her face had gone red, whether from shame or fury I couldn't tell. Probably both.
She wanted to curse at me, but the sight of the rooster clucking in my hands shut her mouth.
She whipped around and yelled at Xavier instead. "What kind of trash did you bring home? Nothing but trouble for me."
Xavier snapped to and immediately turned on me. "Ebony, are you doing this to my mother on purpose?"
I put on a wounded look. "But didn't you tell me to slaughter the chicken, ma'am?"
He was about to say more when the rooster flew straight at him and dropped another load right onto his white shirt.
Xavier nearly gagged from his own stench, forgot all about scolding me, and rushed off to change.
Darlene was beside herself. "Ebony, are you a curse sent to ruin this family?"
She'd finally caught on, and she'd guessed right too. Too bad it was too late. This was only the beginning.
I was busy chasing the rooster all over the place and pretended not to hear her cursing at me.
I even promised her,
"Don't worry, ma'am, I'll do as you say. I'll have the chicken killed in no time."
So I chased the big rooster around the yard on purpose, and plenty of guests got caught in the crossfire.
Kids were scared into crying and begging to go home, and quite a few people actually did leave.
I knocked over a good number of bowls and chopsticks too, and tipped over a lot of the dishes meant for today.
In no time at all, my chicken-chasing left the whole place in ruins.
Darlene forgot all about cursing me and just kept begging me to stop, saying she couldn't afford the damage.
Xavier, freshly changed, told me to knock it off too.
I turned a deaf ear, determined to prove myself. "No. This chicken did so many bad things. I am killing it today no matter what."
The more I said it, the more worked up I got, swinging the knife everywhere, until I hacked apart the new table Darlene had bought specially for the feast.
She watched with her heart breaking, too pained even to go change her clothes, and hurried over to stop me.
I looked at her and shook my head. "No. This chicken is too awful. Look what it did to you. I can't let it off."
Darlene felt like her chest was about to seize up.
Right at that moment, the rooster stopped in front of me.
I brought the blade down in a straight line, right along Darlene's belly.
Clang. The rooster's head hit the ground.
I grinned, fishing for praise. "I killed the chicken. See, I told you I could do it."
I looked up just in time to see the chicken's blood spray straight into Darlene's face.
"Ouch! "
The shock nearly turned her insides out, and in the end she just fainted dead away.
Xavier panicked and wanted to rush her to the hospital.
"No need," I said. "I've got a way."
The next moment, when everyone saw what I was holding in my hand, they were all stunned...
