A Bit of Difference. Sefi Atta

chest is pumped up and the watch on his wrist is as thick as a handcuff. His interviewer, Abi Okome, is also well known. How he resists looking at her breasts is a mystery. They are propped up like bread rolls on a platter.

      ‘In what way?’ she asks, smiling.

      ‘What way?’ Dára says.

      ‘Yes,’ she says. ‘Tell us how exactly.’

      ‘Well,’ Dára says. ‘People recognize you. You can’t just walk down the street any more. They call your name. At first, I was not sure ’ow to react, but I mean, I am sort of getting used to it now.’

      His accent is a mixture of Cockney and Yoruba. He looks self-assured, but his smile ends and there is a moment when he lets out a giggle, as if he still can’t understand what the fuss is about.

      ‘So is England home for you now?’ Abi asks. ‘Because you’re originally from Nigeria and my family is originally from Nigeria.’

      Her hair weave barely shifts when she tosses it back. She is an attractive woman and she has that essential smile, that big smile that shows a lot of personality.

      ‘Sure,’ Dára says. ‘England is ’ome for me now.’

      Abi faces the camera. ‘And Sir Paul said it wouldn’t last! Give it up for hip-hop sensation Dára!’

      Deola changes channels as the audience gives it up and woo-woos. England has changed. It’s a long way from finding her way to the only record shop in Soho that sold soul imports. It’s not just Nigerians; Black culture is everywhere now, but she is not satisfied. She turns off her television, mistaking her boredom and sense of unbelonging for an uncontrollable urge to sleep.

       Foreign Capitals

      On her overnight flight from Heathrow Airport to Lagos, she sits next to a woman who is reading a Bible. The woman started before the plane took off, mumbling psalms to herself. When the plane is about to land, the woman brings out a white rosary from her handbag and begins to pray out loud. The engine drowns out her voice. Passengers unclasp their seatbelts as the plane taxis. They grab their hand luggage from the overhead compartments. A flight attendant, who has not bothered to dye her hair in a while, ambles down the aisle saying, ‘Please remain seated.’ No one pays her any attention.