FED UP!

(…continued…)

          Mabel and her mother went after her. Cynthia ran outside and to Chuka’s apartment. She pushed the door and went in. They went in with her. When they got in, what they saw shocked them.

                They saw a little bottle of drugs open with some spilled on the ground. Then they saw Chuka lying on the floor, face down.

  “Chuka chukka,” they shouted as they shook him.

  “He is still breathing but he needs help as fast as possible,” Mabel said.

  “Let me go and get palm oil,” their mother said and rushed out.

  “What happened?” Mabel asked Cynthia.

  “I searched for him everywhere in the compound,” Cynthia said, crying. “Then I came here. I knocked but no one responded. I saw that the door was open, so I came in and met him like this.”

  “Did you tell anybody?”

  “No.”

                The door opened and two of their neighbours came in.

  “What happened?” one of them asked.

  “We just came and saw Chuka like this o,” Mabel replied.

  “Looks like he committed suicide,” the other one said. “Is he still alive?”

  “Yes he is breathing,” Mabel replied. “But he needs help as soon as possible.

                Their mother rushed in with a bottle of palm oil. The other neighbours rushed out to see if they can get a nurse or a means of rushing him to hospital.

  “What is the meaning of this na?” Mabel’s mother asked, fidgeting with the bottle.

                Mabel turned Chuka and faced him up. He opened his eyes and smiled. They were stunned and maintained their postures for a while, not knowing what to make out of it.

  “What’s funny?” Mabel asked.

  “Nothing,” he said, still smiling.

  “Chuka, why did you take these drugs to commit suicide?” Cynthia asked him.

  “I did not take them.”

  “What is going on? Why did you pass out? And what are the drugs doing here if you did not take them?”

  “I wanted to take them but changed my mind.”

  “And you made us believe that you were dead!” Mabel shouted in anger.

  “What kind of game is this?” their mother asked. “You think things like this are to be played with?”

  “Sorry ma. I didn’t mean for it to be like this.”

  “The whole street has heard that you committed suicide. You better have an answer for them.”

                The neighbours rushed in with some others.

  “Is he alive?” one asked.

  “Is he breathing?” another asked.

                They got their answer when they saw Chuka sitting on the floor.

  “We prayed for him and did CPR on him and he got up,” Mabel said, not wanting them to know what happened.

                They thanked God.

  “Still give him the palm oil to neutralize the effect of the drug,” one said.

  “Does that thing work?” another asked. “He needs to see a doctor now.”

  “Don’t worry he will be fine,” Mabel’s mother said.

  “Are you sure?” one neighbor asked her.

  “Yes.”

  “Imagine Chuchu trying comiting suicide,” one of them said and clapped her hands.

  “I did not try to commit suicide,” Chuka said.

  “Then what happened?”  

  “I did not read the prescription on the bottle. I took double the normal dose.”

  “That is risky. Be careful next time.”

  “I will. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

                Mabel’s mother carried her bottle of oil and left with the neighbours. Cynthia and Mabel stayed behind. When it was only three of them there, Cynthia went close and slapped Chuka.

  “Why did you do that?” she asked.

  “Am sorry,” Chuka said holding his cheek.

  “Do you know the kind of trauma you have put me through?”

  “What was I supposed to do? I felt insulted and abandoned.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

                Mabel just stood and watched them.

  “When the other guy came, you turned your attention to him. If I was there, you didn’t want to know. I saw the look in your eyes and the way you talked with him. You like him. Then you left me there looking like a fool and went inside because of him. When I was tired of waiting I went back to my house.”

  “When I came out calling your name, didn’t you hear me?”

  “I wanted to see what you will do next. Then I saw you holding him and the way you smiled when he held you. I concluded that I have lost you. Then I decided to end this. But when I got the drugs and still heard you calling my name, I couldn’t get myself to do it.”

                He paused and coughed. Then he continued.

  “Then I decided to know your reaction if you think I committed suicide.”

  “Now you have seen the reaction. Don’t ever talk to me again.”

  “I am so sorry,” Chuka said getting up and going towards Cynthia.

                Cynthia stretched her hand, telling him not to come close. He knelt down and pleaded with tears in his eyes.

  “It will not happen again,” he said.

  “You are intimidated by your fellow man. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  “I was jealous. The tush boys get all the chicks and hustling guys like us just can’t do anything about it. We take care of girls and then people with cars come and take them from us. It is normal to feel bad na.”

  “But not to the point of wanting to kill yourself,” Mabel said. “Nobody is worth dying for.”

  “It depends o.”

  “You have bigger things to be worried about now. You will now be known as ‘Chuka the guy who tried comiting suicide because of a girl’. How will you deal with that?”

  “My thinking did not go that far.”

                Chuka’s phone rang. He checked it.

  “My brother is calling me,” he said and hissed. He sat on the floor.

  “You see what you have caused,” Mabel said.

                He picked it. His brother told him that he heard that he had committed suicide and asked him what happened. He kept quiet. His brother asked him whether he was depressed because of not getting a job. He kept quiet for a while, and then he told his brother that he did not try to kill himself, that he just took overdose of a drug. His brother asked him what he was thinking that made him take the overdose. He reassured his brother that he is fine. His brother told him to come to the village the following day. He agreed and his brother hung up. He dropped the phone, sighed and put his head in-between his knees.

  “You need to put yourself together,” Mabel told him. “Focus on your life and stand as a man before you think of getting emotionally attached to any woman.”

                Chuka just looked at the floor.

  “Are you hearing me?”

  “Yes,” he said, looking up. “But it is hard. I really love Cynthia.”

 “If you don’t have any security to offer her, your love is in vain.”

  “Was it not because of her I fought the other day?”

  “That is not the security I am talking about. A woman needs someone who is matured in thinking and character, and who has money to take care of her basic needs at least. It doesn’t have to be much but it has to be coming steady.”

  “It is not my fault that I am jobless. I have tried my best to get a job.”

  “You will still get one. That is not the only thing. Don’t tie your life to a particular person, especially someone who is just a casual friend.”

  “I don’t know why I feel this way about Cynthia. I have tried to call myself to order but if I see her, I lose my senses.”

                Cynthia turned her face and chuckled.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP!

(…continued…)

                Ejike looked at Mabel who shrugged.

  “As long as your mum is around…”

  “Mabel is that you?” their mother asked from inside the house.

  “Yes mum,” Mabel replied. “Good evening.”

  “Ehe,” her mother said looking out through the window.

                Ejike greeted her.

  “How are you my dear?” she asked him.

  “Fine ma.”

  “Mummy meet Ejike, my former course mate,” Mabel introduced him.

  “Why is he standing outside?” she asked. “Bring him in.”

  “I won’t be long ma,” Ejike said. “I should be on my way.”

  “Is that how people of your generation now visit?”

                Ejike looked at Mabel and she shrugged again.

  “Come in if she said you should,” she said.

                Mabel led the way and Ejike followed her into the sitting room.

  “I am coming,” Cynthia said to Chuka and also went inside.

  “Cynthia please help me keep those things well,” Mabel told her, pointing at the nylon bag Ejike was carrying.

                Cynthia took them from him and went into the room.

  “She likes me,” Ejike whispered to Mabel when Cynthia was out of earshot.

  “Don’t count on that. She is naturally a nice and easy going person.”

  “Even your mother too likes me.”

  “Don’t conclude on that also. She is in the kitchen now. Who knows whether it is hot water she is coming out with?”

                Ejike moved towards the door.

  “I am kidding,” Mabel said, laughing.

  “Better be kidding o.”

  “Please sit.”

                He sat and Mabel sat on a separate chair.

  “Sorry about the hotness here,” Mabel said when he brought out his handky and wiped his face.

  “It is ok.”

  “You are already used to cool places na, as a big boy.”

  “Am telling you. But I can manage let’s see if light will come.”

  “Our transformer is bad so don’t expect light anytime soon.”

  “You don’t have a generator?”

                Mabel did not answer. Her mother came out to the sitting room and asked what Ejike wanted to take.

  “Nothing ma.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes ma. I am ok.”

                She wanted to stay a little with them and ‘interrogate’ him but Mabel gave her a look and she went out to the backyard.

  “You just saved me from the interview of my life,” Ejike said to Mabel.

  “Oh you noticed,” Mabel asked, laughing.

  “Yes o. In these situations, I am as alert as a cockroach.”

                Cynthia came out to the parlour.

  “What were you doing inside since that time?” Mabel asked her, laughing.

  “I was keeping them well na.”

  “I counted everything o.”

                Cynthia laughed. She hung around for a while, not doing anything in particular.

  “Shebi Chuka is waiting for you outside?” Mabel asked her.

  “I know.”

                She opened the door and left.

  “Let me leave now,” Ejike said and got up.

  “You are going after her?” Mabel teased him.

  “Not at all. I have a very busy evening today. I abandoned my guys because I wanted to see how you are doing.”

  “That’s nice of you.”

  “Tell you mum that I am leaving.”

                Mabel shouted to her mother that Ejike was leaving. She shouted back her goodbye. Ejike went outside. Mabel went out with him. They saw Cynthia standing and looking around.

  “Where is Chuka?” Mabel asked.

  “I don’t know,” Cynthia replied. “I came out and saw the bench empty. Even the drink and biscuit are not there.”

  “You kept him waiting and he left angrily.”

  “I think so. Let me look around for him.”

                When Cynthia went to look for Chuka, Ejike opened his hands expecting a hug from Mabel.

  “Come to papa. Come give me a hug.”

  “Taa. You have had enough hug for one month.”

                They laughed and Ejike turned to leave.

  “I will call you any day I am free,” Ejike said.

  “Ok. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate.”

                While Ejike was leaving, he made sure to pass close to where Cynthia was standing. He made sure to hold her hand as she told him ‘goodbye’.  Cynthia chuckled and withdrew her hand. He looked back at Mabel who gave him a hand signal to leave. He waved at her, went to his car and drove off. Cynthia continued her search for Chuka while Mabel went back into the house. She met her mother standing in the centre of the parlour with arms akimbo.

  “Tell me about him,” her mother said to her.

  “Let me undress first na,” Mabel said and went towards the room, laughing.

  “Be telling me as you are undressing,” her mother said and followed her.

                As Mabel changed cloths, she told her mother about Ejike.

  “So there is nothing going on right?” her mother asked her when she was through.

  “Nothing from my end. He seems to like me though.”

  “I think he likes Cynthia instead.”

  “Who told you?”

  “I saw the way he was looking at her. I can recognize that look anyday.”

                While they were talking, Cynthia barged in on them looking like someone who had just seen a ghost.

  “What is it?” Mabel asked her.

 “Chuka….it is chukka oo.” Cynthia managed to say and gave them a hand signal to follow her. Then she rushed out.

                Mabel and her mother went after her. Cynthia ran outside and to Chuka’s apartment. She pushed the door and went in. They went in with her. When they got in, what they saw shocked them.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP!

(…continued…)

                All the while, Ejike sat in his car pressing his phone and looking at her from his rear view mirror. When he saw Chuka leave Mabel, he came down from the car. Mabel smiled and went towards him. She brought out her hand to shake him but he moved faster than the hand and hugged both her and her handbag.

  “Ejike,” Mabel called him.

  “Mmm,” he answered still holding onto her.

  “The hug is too much na.”

                He let her go.

  “That’s for all the years I wished I could hug you in school,” he said.

  “Now people are looking, wondering whether I now sleep around with men.”

  “That’s their business. You know yourself.”

  “Ejike!”

  “Sorry. It will not happen again.”

                One of the opposite compound neighbours who was Mabel’s friend gave her a sign like ‘is he the one?’ She shook her head and smiled.

  “So what is wrong with you?” he asked her. “You said you sere not feeling well.”

  “Yes o. I fainted in the office.”

  “What! Are you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “What happened?”

  “I think I was stressed out.”

  “Everybody is stressed out but not everyone is fainting. Something is wrong.”

  “I did not eat and take my drugs before leaving for work today?”

  “That must be the reason. What are you taking drugs for?”

  “Long story. I have been a bit ill for some days now.”

  “So which drugs are you on?” 

  “They are just stress-relieving drugs. I think one is anti-malarial.”

                Ejike folded his hand across his chest and asked, “How could you not eat and take your drug? You missed a dose.”

  “I was in a hurry. I was running late.”

  “You would have called me to come and drop you off.”

  “As what na?”

  “As a friend.”

  “You are a busy person. Besides we just met, like met.”

  “I don’t like my friends going through things like this, especially those close to my heart.”

  “Eiyaa. That’s nice of you.”

  “My dad’s health issue developed this strange concern for people in ill health in me. I can suspend anything just to make sure someone is taken care of.”

                Chukka came back with the drink and biscuit and walked past them without saying a word.

  “Tell Cynthia I am around,” Mabel told him as he went in.

  “Ok,” he replied without looking at her.

  “Let me not keep you standing for so long,” Ejike said to her.

  “Yes. I really need to lie down and rest my banging head.”

                She turned a bit towards the compound in readiness to go in.

  “I really planned a nice TGIF outing for me and you today,” Ejike said.

  “Aww. We will have to reschedule.”

  “I will be traveling next week. That will be when I come back.”

  “Importer Exporter!”

  “We are just hustling o. Survival of the fittest.”

  “Remember me in your paradise o.”

  “Once things are set, I will come.”

  “Come for?”

                Ejike pretended he didn’t hear her question.

  “Let me get what I got for you,” he said, opening the back seat of his car. He brought out two nylon bags filled with provision and stuff. “For you.”

  “Wow, you wouldn’t have bothered yourself,” Mabel said to him.

  “It is nothing at all.”

  “It is too much for one person na.”

  “You have a sister and a mother to share with?”

  “If not for one thing, I would have rejected this gift.”

  “What?”

  “It is looking like a Trojan horse.”

                Ejike burst into laughter.

  “Trojan what? There are no strings attached biko. It is for old times sake.”

  “With the price tags I am seeing here, I hope you did not empty your account to get them?” 

  “Like I said before, this is nothing. If I had taken you out, we would have gone to somewhere expensive and I would have spent much more than I spend on this. Just accept my gift of love.”

  “Gift of..?”

  “Friendship.”

                Mabel tried carrying the Nylon bags but her hands were occupied already.

  “You will have to help me bring them in,” she told him.

  “Really? Your mother will not mind?”

  “She will mind but I will take care of that.”

  “If you say so. I fear protective mothers o.”

  “She is not harmful at all.”

                Ejike made sure his car was locked. Then he walked behind her into the compound, carrying the nylon bags.

  “Chei!” he said. “You go wound person o.”

                Mabel laughed and said, “Yeye man like you.”

  “Easy o.”

                When they got to the house, they met Cynthia and Chuka sitting on a bench in front of the house, with the biscuit and soft drink in her hands. When she saw them, she sat up and tried to hide the ‘cheap’ biscuit she was holding.

  “Welcome,” Cynthia said to Mabel.

  “Is mummy around?”

  “Yes. She is in the backyard.”

                Cynthia greeted Ejike.

  “How are you my dear?”

  “I am fine,” Cynthia replied smiling. “You brought my sister back?”

  “Kinda. Yea.”

  “That’s kind of you.”

                Mabel just watched them exchange pleasantries. Chuka didn’t know whether to offer his hand to him for a handshake or not. He just looked away so he would not be embarrassed. Ejike looked at him from time to time to give him the eye contact greeting but he did not look up.

  “I will be going,” he said to Mabel.

  “Just like that?” Cynthia asked him. “You don’t want to stay a while?”

                Ejike looked at Mabel who shrugged.

  “As long as your mum is around…”

  “Mabel is that you?” their mother asked from inside the house.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

                The call came again and she picked. She made sure to sound unwell. He asked how she was doing and asked why she was sounding the way she was. She told him she was not feeling too well. He asked where she was and she told him she was about leaving the office. He offered to come pick her up but she told him she couldn’t wait. He told her he would check on her when she got home. She agreed and he hung up the phone.

  “Who was that?” Ephraim asked her, standing in her blind spot.

                She was backing the office so she did not see him come out. She didn’t know he was standing behind her so his question took her by surprise.

  “I didn’t see you coming out?” she asked him

  “Is he coming to pick you?” Ephraim asked again, looking sternly at her.

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “The man who you were speaking with.”

  “No.”

                He sounded a bit harsh so Mabel wondered why he sounded that way. He seemed to know what she was thinking and changed his countenance.

  “Can we go now?” he asked nicely and walked towards his car.

                Mabel stood for a while and followed him. He opened his car, they entered and he drove out.

  “Sorry about the way I sounded,” he said as he drove.

  “What were you thinking?” Mabel asked. “Questioning me like you are my father.”

  “I am just concerned about you, that’s all.”

  “Don’t you think I am responsible for my private life?”

  “Sorry about that.”

  “Even my boyfriend will not talk to me like that.”

                When she said ‘boyfriend’, Ephraim coughed.

  “There it is,” Mabel said and burst into laughter.

  “What?”

  “Acting like my boyfriend.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I said ‘boyfriend’ on purpose so I will know your reaction.”

                Ephraim looked at her and smiled in an embarrassed way.

  “I always had feelings for you since I was transferred to this office,” he said.

  “But you kept it to yourself.”

  “Because you have always been with Segun.”

  “Okay.”

  “Still that doesn’t give me any right to talk to you the way I did. It was highly disrespectful.”

  “It’s okay.”

                They were quiet for a while. It was Mabel who broke the silence.

  “How can you be having feelings for me when you are about getting married?”

  “I don’t know. Can we not talk about that right now?”

  “Ok.”

  “You should be more concerned about people in the office who want you out.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “They are jealous.”

  “Tell me what is going on.”

                Ephraim went ahead to tell her some things that some people had said and done in her back, but he made sure not to give her clue as to who they were. When he was through talking, Mabel was quiet for a while.

  “Who are those behind this?” she asked.

  “You expect me to tell you that?”

  “I need to know who my enemies are.”

  “It will be wrong for me to tell you. You don’t have anything to be afraid of as long as I am still working here. I gat your back.” Ephraim said.

  “Thanks. You said they are angry with the way Mrs. Biodun treats you?”

  “Yes. To them it looks like partial treatment.”

  “And they are not seeing how hard I work each day I come here.”

  “There is nothing you will do to please all the people all the time.”

  “Is well o.”

                Mabel was visibly shaken by the revelation.

  “I did not tell you this for you to bother yourself. I told you so you will be a little more careful.”

  “Careful how?”

  “Don’t leave documents lying anyhow. Conclude every assignment you are given before you hand over.”

  “Ok. Thanks a lot.”

                As he drove her home, whenever they pass any mall or mini market, he would ask her whether she wanted anything. She always declined politely. From time to time, he tried to make conversation but she just summarized her response.

  “You are going to your place right?” he asked when he got to that junction.

  “No. My mother’s place.”

                He took the turn and headed towards her mother’s place. As he got closer, Mabel’s phone began to ring. It was Ejike. She exhaled and picked the call. He told her he was in her house and asked where she was. She told him she was close by. When she dropped the call, from the tail of her eye, she saw that Ephraim’s countenance had changed again.

  “What is it?” she asked him.

                He looked at her, looked away and said, “Nothing is wrong. I am just thinking.”

  “Ok.”

                When they got to the entrance of their house, she saw Ejike’s car. He was sitting inside it. She told Ephraim where to park along the road. He did.

  “Thank you so much for bringing me back,” Mabel said as she came down.

  “You are welcome,” he said. “Is he the one?”

  “Yes he is,” Mabel said, laughing.

                She opened the car and came out and said, “Not as if my private life concerns anybody but as a friend and colleague that you are, I will tell you who he is. He is my family friend.”

  “Don’t mind me jare. I am lost in so much thought right now.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Not as if my private life concerns you, but as a friend and colleague, I will tell you. You may not know what it feels like for someone you don’t have feelings for to be forced on you.”

  “Aww. What happened?”

  “That is story for another day. Your family friend is waiting for you.”

  “Whatever be the case, it can be sorted out.”

  “Having feelings for someone who has feelings for someone else is not a good situation to be in.”

                Mabel didn’t know what to say again. She knew where his talk was headed so she just kept quiet.

  “Let me not keep you waiting,” he said. “Have a nice weekend.”

  “Thank you,” she replied. “See you on Monday.”

                She stepped back and Ephraim sped off. She stood for a while watching his car recede into the distance. She moved towards Ejike’s car and met Chuka coming out of the compound with a part of his face a bit swollen.

  “Ah ah, Chuka,” she called him.

  “Mabel welcome,” he said.

  “Your face is swollen o.”

  “I know. I have taken drugs.”

  “Have you seen your wife today?”

  “Yes I have. I just left her now. Let me buy something for her.”

  “Haba. She asked you to buy something for her?”

  “No o. She casually said she wanted to take cold soft drink and biscuit.”

  “So she said you should buy it for her?”

  “No. She doesn’t know I went to buy it.”

  “Because I know she will not allow you use your money to buy it, especially with the way you are looking.”

  “That’s what we do for love.” He stressed the ‘love’.

  “I can imagine. What will you tell people when they ask you what happened to you?”

  “Who doesn’t fight? It is a normal thing.”

  “So you will tell them you fought.”

  “Yes but I will not tell them why and where.

  “Just tell them task force people beat you.”

  “Task force beat a whole me? That is an insult on my person na.”

  “Ok o. Tell them what you will.”

  “Don’t worry about what I tell those who ask.”

                He walked away from her.

  “Don’t fight again o,” she said as he walked away.

                He looked at her and laughed.

                All the while, Ejike sat in his car pressing his phone and looking at her from his rear view mirror. When he saw Chuka leave Mabel, he came down from the car. Mabel smiled and went towards him. She brought out her hand to shake him but he moved faster than the hand and hugged both her and her handbag.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

                When it was about closing hour, something happened that made her regret resuming work with as much commitment as she did.

She was standing with Mrs. Biodun at the entrance when she suddenly had a fainting spell and fell. Mrs. Biodun’s effort to catch her saw two of them on the floor. The other staff ran to them. They helped Mrs. Biodun get up.

  “Get water quickly,” she said to them.

                One of them brought water and she splashed it on Mabel. Mabel shook her head and opened her eye. She was surprised when she saw herself on the floor. She tried to get up quickly but Mrs. Biodun held her back.

  “Easy,” she said.

  “What happened?” Mabel asked.

  “You fainted.”

  “Kai. Again?”

                Mabel closed her eye and lay quiet for a while.

  “Mabel,” Ephraim called, nudging her.

                She answered and opened her eye.

  “Help me get up,” she said

                They helped her get up from the floor and sat her on a chair. She writhed and held her head.

  “What is it?” Mrs Biodun asked, holding her shoulder.

  “My head is aching.”

  “Do you need to see your doctor?”

  “No ma.”

  “Why?”

  “I saw the doctor few days ago when I was feeling like this.”

  “Then his prescription did not work. You need to see another doctor.”

  “No. I know why this happened.”

                They looked at her, expecting her explanation.

  “I did not take my drugs this morning.”

  “What?” Mrs Biodun said. “Why?”

  “I was in a hurry.”

  “Did you even eat?” Ephraim asked her.

                She shook her head.

  “Why would you do such a thing?” Mrs. Biodun asked her. “When you know that working here can be energy sapping and stressful at times.

  “I was running late.”

  “And so?”

  “I thought I could manage.”

  “You shouldn’t have even started work this week sef.”

  “I will be fine ma.”

                Mrs Biodun turned to one of the staff and told her to get sausage roll and malt for Mabel. She left to get it.

  “What will you do about your drugs?” she asked Mabel.

  “I have them with me,” Mabel replied.

  “You had your drugs and you didn’t take them since morning?”

                Mrs. Biodun was visibly angry.

  “Sorry ma,” Mabel said.

  “Sorry to who? Who is having headaches now? Some people can joke with their lives o.”

  “I will take them now.”

  “You can’t take a 2 times daily drug by this time. Since you have skipped the morning dose, leave it till evening.”

  “Ok ma.”

                She turned to the others and told them to go back to their work stations and round up for the day. Then she went into her office. Mabel got up to go to her own table and staggered a bit. Ephraim rushed to her and helped her to her work station.

  “You don’t have to stress yourself,” he said.

  “I need to round up too,” she said.

  “Let me help you then.”

  “Ok. Thanks.”

                Mabel placed her head on the table while she told Ephraim what to do. The lady who was sent to get the snacks for Mabel came in with it.

  “Get up and eat this,” Ephraim said to her. “It will help you.”

                She sat up and collected the snacks from the lady.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “No problem,” the lady said. “Try and finish it.”

  “I will. I am really hungry.”

                She ate it as she kept telling Ephraim what to do.  When he was done, he shut down the system.

                Mrs. Biodun came out with her bag. She asked some of the staff reports of their work for the day. They gave her. Then she went to Mabel’s table.

  “How are you feeling now?” she asked Mabel.

  “I am much better thank you,” Mabel said. “Hunger was the major problem.”

  “Don’t play this prank again o.”

  “I will not.”

  “Even if you are in a hurry, as soon as you get here, go and find something to eat. Quit playing iron lady.”

  “Ok ma,” Mabel said laughing.

  “Be laughing na. You think iron doesn’t break abi.”

  “So I thought o.”

                Mrs. Biodun pushed her face back and said, “Your face is a mess.”

  “I came with my make up kit. I will touch my face before I leave.”

  “Please do. How will you go? I am not going towards the house. I would have dropped you off.”

  “I will take public transport.”

  “I will drop you off,” Ephraim offered as he got up.

  “Ok.”

  “Take good care of yourself o,”

  “I will ma.”

                Mrs Biodun told them to lock up and she left.

  “When are you leaving?” Mabel asked Ephraim.

  “In ten minutes time. Let me tidy up somethings.”

  “Ok.”

                Mabel put the files and papers well in the table drawer, and then she did her make up as she waited for Ephraim to be through. When she was done, she called Cynthia who told her that she was in the house with their mother. She told Cynthia that she was on her way. As her colleagues left, they told her to take care of herself. She thanked them.

  “Ephy are you not through?” she asked when it was past the ten minutes that Ephraim had told her.

  “Almost done,” he replied. “Just give me few seconds.”

                Mabel took her bag and went outside. As she stood outside waiting for Ephraim, she got a call. She checked. It was from Ejike.

   “I am not in the mood for any hanging out today,” she said to herself as she let her phone ring.

                The call came again and she picked. She made sure to sound unwell. He asked how she was doing and asked why she was sounding the way she was. She told him she was not feeling too well. He asked where she was and she told him she was about leaving the office. He offered to come pick her up but she told him she couldn’t wait. He told her he would check on her when she got home. She agreed and he hung up the phone.

  “Who was that?” Ephraim asked her, standing in her blind spot.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

BIRTHDAY WISHES: DR. VIVYAN EZIAKU AKOMAS

Happy Birthday to a friend, Dr. Vivyan Eziaku Akomas, a WTI reader and follower. We pray this new season of your life will bring the fulfilment of all your heart yearns for. Have a wonderful celebration. Cheers!


With love,
WTI Team

FED UP

(…continued…)

Cynthia opened the door and left.

  “Girls of these days will not listen,” her mother said to herself after Cynthia left.

                About ten minutes later, Cynthia came into the house sweating.

  “Why are you sweating?” her mother asked her with shock on her face.

                Cynthia was surprised by the question and stood for a while.

  “Did you hear me?” she asked again.

  “I heard you mummy,” Cynthia replied. “Why are you asking?”

  “You went to see Chuka alone in his house this night and you come back sweating. What did you do?”

                                                      Cynthia burst into laughter and sat down.

   “It is not funny? Did you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “It.”

                Cynthia kept laughing.

  “I am not joking. Did he touch you?”

  “He did not.”

  “Then why are you sweating like this?”

  “The weather is hot. Even you are sweating.”

  “Yes but this kind of sweat you are sweating, I don’t understand at all.”

  “Mummy don’t worry about me. Nothing happened. When I got there, he was even sleeping. He managed to open the door for me. After staying for a while, he asked me to go so my mother will not burn him alive while looking for me.”

  “Thank God he knows.”

  “Mummy sef. If I want to do it, will it be under these circumstances, with someone who cannot take me shopping?”

  “Don’t mind me my dear. I am just being protective.”

  “It’s ok mum. I understand.”

                Cynthia went into the room and met Mabel asleep. She nudged her.

  “Are you not praying this night?”

  “Mmm?” Mabel asked, sleepy.

  “You want to sleep without praying. Come to the parlour let us pray.”

  “Ooohm, cover me in your prayer.”

  “No. Come let us go.”

                Cynthia held her by the hand and pulled her up.

  “Be going, I am coming behind you.”

                Cynthia went to the parlour.

  “Mabel is sleeping,” she told her mother. “So I woke her up so we can pray before sleeping.”

  “Ok,” her mother replied and put off the radio.”

                Mabel came out to the parlour and they prayed. Then Mabel and Cynthia went to sleep. Their mother listened to radio for a while, then she made sure the doors were locked, and went into her own room.

                The next morning, they woke up and did their normal routines, then their mother went to work. Mabel prepared for work also.

  “You will stay alone in the house today,” Mabel said to Cynthia as she did her makeup.

  “No. I have some things to do in school today.”

  “Are you sure you are fit for school stress?”

  “I am fine.”

  “Ok. What time are you leaving?”

  “Around 11am.”

  “Ok. Can you help me go to my house and check how things are before you go to school?”

  “So that whoever is looking for you will now jam me abi.”

                They laughed.

  “I knew you would say that. I was joking.”

  “So what will you do about it?”

  “I won’t be free to go there today, unless I plan to sleep there.”

  “No you are sleeping here.”

  “That means I will not go there today. I will go tomorrow. I will call Mama Risi and ask her to check for me.”

  “Does she have a spare key?”

  “No. She doesn’t need to enter. She knows whatever goes on in the compound.”

  “Ok.”

                When Mabel was done with dressing up, she got up to leave.

  “What about your meds?” Cynthia asked her.

  “I forgot,” Mabel said checking her timepiece. “I can’t take them now. I am running late.”

  “You need to take them o. Even if you just eat a slice of bread.”

  “No. I will take them when I get to the office.”

                She put her drug pack into her hand bag and confirmed that she hadn’t forgotten anything. Then she left for the office while Cynthia lay on the bed and waited till it was time for her to go to school.

                In the office, Mabel did her work with as much efficiency as she could muster. Her well-wishing colleagues were glad that she was back and they did not hesitate to let her know from time to time.

  “Thank you,” she would always say. “I am glad to be back also.”

                During the work hour, she got calls from Coker and Oge. They exchanged pleasantries and she continued with her work.

                When it was about closing hour, something happened that made her regret resuming work with as much commitment as she did.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac