CHAPTER 2 – BATTLE OF THE BRETHREN

©OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE
AS INSPIRED BY THE CREATIVE ONE

Smoke at the Choir Stand!!!

It didn’t take long.

By the next Wednesday…midweek service..her name had already entered group chats. Not church announcements o, WhatsApp ones. You know those coded groups that have titles like “Choir Flow ” or “Pastor’s Media Soldiers”?

Yeah. Those ones.

People were asking questions, dropping soft jabs masked as banter.

“That new girl sabi pray o. You hear her that Sunday?”

“Na only prayer she sabi? Let her wait small before showing herself.”

“Hope she’ll be committed… this our church no be where you shine and run.”

I acted like I didn’t see it, but I did. I always do .Mama ensured I was in all the group chats, and I always had an insider in the groups who will add my unknown phone number. My best Ally was Sharon. Sharon was everyone’s friend and gist partner( Let’s be our brother’s keeper by not using the real term- Gossip, so let’s help her ministry by calling her everyone’s gist partner). You get it? I am sure you do.

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Oh Boy! By Thursday, her picture was flying around. Someone had screen-grabbed a clip from our livestream…T.J., eyes closed, lips barely moving, right hand raised mid-prayer. The light in the photo? Too clean. Her head scarf? Sitting like an angel picked it out. People were re-posting it with captions like:

“Now this is how to carry fire and still look like a daughter of Zion.”

“ Fire wey get sauce”

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It even went beyond WhatsApp groups, it found its way to main social media and beneath such posts, I started reading comments like..

“ Address of Church Please!’

“ She looks like she is seeing the face of an angel”

“ This one no come church con look for brother, She came to see Jesus!”

“ Sis didn’t come to play, she came to pray”

“ In the same Church, you will still see children of Satan ooo”

“ Wife Material..1 billion yards”

Me I just smiled while reading the comments, at least it felt good that our Church was in the blogs without having to pay them. But deep in choir corner, storm clouds were gathering.

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Rehearsal that Saturday was tense. This was two Saturdays after she joined the church. I am not much of a singer, but I am in the choir, so I hear things; half gists, full gists, and gists that people think they’re hiding.

Sister Edna stood in her usual spot, head high, heels sharp, voice sharper. Who wears heels to Saturday rehearsals if not someone who wants to prove dominance.

“Let’s run that ‘My Altar is Calling’ again. Sopranos, come up or come out!” She said in her full commander mode.

But there was more to today’s rehearsal. She kept glancing sideways…to where T.J. was sitting quietly at the back, observing the rehearsal like she didn’t notice the chilly air being pumped in her direction.

The girl had quietly joined choir. Nobody forced her. During the “join-a-department” session the previous Sunday, she signed up. Even I was surprised. I thought she’d pick evangelism or intercessory. But no, she said “I want to join the choir” with a soft smile.

Edna told her she had to sit out some rehearsals to observe how things were being done. Immediately Rehearsal was over, T.J picked her bag and left.

I wanted to rush towards her when Edna held my hand…

“Mabel… her type. Always humble at first, let her sit for 20 rehearsals.. we will know her motive”

“20 rehearsals!” I wanted to scream…Five Months, Choir Probation after you must have been auditioned is 2 months( 8 rehearsals) and even at that, you would have started joining the rehearsals from the 2nd week. …She had not even heard her voice to know if she could sing.

Instead, I didn’t respond….

I knew who to speak with… Brother Solomon. The only person Edna could drop everything for. The most eligible Bachelor in our Church, Soft Spoken, Calm, fresh looking, Sharp looking, Money Speaking, handsome but God Loving brother of the Most High God.

You know those brothers that have it all.. Pink lips, Fair skinned with rich dark beards, His Outfit was always well ironed, he served the lord with all of his heart as an Usher. He is the Kind of Usher you want to Usher you to your seat and eventually to the altar where you will say “ I do” and the congregation will say “ God When?”

Edna had been hoping and Praying that some day Brother Solomon would just hint that he liked her, but Brother Solomon didn’t follow the path of his Biblical namesake. He was very disciplined with ladies. He avoided any form of ‘ situationship’, so if he asked Edna for one thing she would give him a 100 things.

By the third Saturday, I saw that T.J had joined the rehearsal, I smiled. The power of Brother Solomon….and of course Me.. Mabel.

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On Sunday morning that followed, the real drama began.

You see, during service, when the choir started singing softly during prayer…T.J.’s voice somehow floated in from the back. ( Back! Yes Edna ensured she sat at the last seat at the Choir Stand) Nobody gave her a mic, but you could hear her low harmony melting into the lead. It was beautiful. She wasn’t trying to prove anything or be seen, She was just singing from a place of worship that was so tangible.

Even Daddy G.O. paused during the altar call and said, “Hmm. Someone’s worship is reaching heaven this morning.” How her voice was so distinct in the large choir was a course to be studied.

Boom.

People turned.

Heads craned.

T.J. didn’t even lift her head. It felt like she was lost in worship. Her eyes were tightly shut.

But Edna? Her face showed the state of her heart. She adjusted her scarf. And I kid you not, she changed the next worship song on the fly…something sharper, something more technical. As if to say, Let’s see if you can follow this one, girl!

She announced it like this:

“Let’s go higher and deeper in his presence…key of D, tempo 3. Watch my cue.”

Indirectly, she was saying… This is not your random “I’m-spiritual” singalong. This is training-ground music.

T.J. didn’t try to follow. She just sang along like any regular member. But even in that, there was grace in her voice. There was sweetness. The kind that makes noise sound like noise.

By closing prayer, I could feel smoke in the air…not real smoke, but the kind that starts rising when flesh starts heating up. And trust me, I’ve worked at this church long enough to know when something is burning in people’s hearts.

On my way to return Mama’s handbag, I saw what should not have happened, in fact what has never happened before…Brother Solomon walked up to T.J. outside and said hi. She nodded politely, didn’t linger, and walked off.

A minute later, I saw Edna staring from a distance. Arms folded. Her face a painting of several emotions.

I whispered in my mind: Uh oh. Cain is sharpening his sword. Wahala be like what? Wahala be like when Cain noticed God appreciated Abel’s offering more than his, and because of that, he became angry.. Edna could see that Brother Solomon seemed smitten by T.J.

I could smell it!

It was about to get hot in church, and I was so sure all the Air conditioners in the building would not be able to cool off that heat.

To be continued… ( TO PAY FOR THE THE FULL ACCESS TO THE E-COPY of this Story, Kindly Chat +234-9069926797 to pre-order your copy)

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