Oluchi and I woke up really late. It appeared the beach party took a toll on us. I woke up feeling a bit sad and depressed. Why hadn’t Buchi bothered calling me up? I pondered with no answers. A feeling of sadness, hate, regret etc engulfed me. I was upset I put my heart out there and failed again.
I quickly snapped out of my thoughts of self-pity realizing I had to get to work. Oluchi had to get to work as well, but was too hung over after consuming large quantities of alcohol.
I quickly rushed out of the house and asked her to keep the keys underneath a stone. I spent over an hour at Ikate roundabout Lekki wondering where all the empty buses had gone to. Every bus seemed filled up and traffic was intense. I couldn’t help but wonder what Shade would say this time when I got to the office.
I had arrived late to work three weeks in a row and I feared for my appraisal.
Oga good morning ooo, I hailed the security and trembled seeing Shade’s car in the parking lot.
Shade was our no nonsense head of HR. She was very endowed physically , very hardworking etc and I often wondered why she was still single with all her endowments. Abi the guys in Lagos are wimps or blind? I often asked myself.
I did a sign of the cross as I entered my office tiptoeing and thanking God Shade was out of sight. Suddenly, a voice from behind echoed ‘’ madam the madam, you are late again. In my office now ‘’. Shade’s voice thundered with an obvious disgust in her tone.
After what seemed like 40 minutes of drilling, shredding and threats of a query and suspension, I finally returned to my office sad and disturbed and it changed my whole mood.
I needed a car to get early to work, but my savings hadn’t amounted to much, plus who knew most buses would be filled up.
‘’Tess, please Chris says to get our task done and sent to him. Why do you always come late though? It’s not like you are married with kids and have enormous responsibilities. You need to get your acts together’’ Bolanle my teammate echoed.
Urrrrrrgh, If not for my belief in God, I’d strangle her one of these days as I began having vivid imaginations of my hands on her neck. Purge me father, oh purge me realizing my thoughts were evil and I chuckled.
‘’Tess, did you get the mail I sent you? Mrs Ojo blahhhhhh, blaaaah , blaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh, the files, this that’’ Bolanle started again as usual and I tuned off with songs of Katy Perry’s Dark Horse playing in my head.
But I have stuff I’m working on at the moment, one at a time. Why not start with some, I retorted.
Bolanle was an overzealous schemer related to the Deputy Managing Director of the company. She was disliked by many as she exuded an aura of immortality and ran the office like she owned it. I guess she felt she was untouchable.
She never let anything get in the way of her dreams and goals not even our team leaders as she got one suspended (with connections) months ago. Everyone was simply careful with the way they related with her excluding me. I simply tell her the way it is, or tune her off and we were often at loggerheads.
She seemed so touchy and uneasy and I wondered what was eating her up. Some hours later, I got to learn that they had appointed someone else as team sub leader a position Bonlanle coveted and sidelined her.
It wasn’t official yet, but people sneered, talked laughed at her loss. She was the office gossip of the day.
Work progressed as usual, everywhere busy and everyone trying to achieve assigned tasks. Suddenly, we all noticed screams from the common room and everyone rushed to see what was up. Bolanle uptight and cranky had stepped on her office friend and confidante Shanira’s toes , a boisterous chic from Akwa Ibom. Shanira had rubbed the fact Bolanle was sidelined in her face among other personal issues Bolanle was dealing with and a fight ensued. Hair extensions, buttons etc were splattered on the floor, as the ladies continued to hurl insults at each other while staff and haters of Bolanle watched in delight and our unit head tried to separate them.
They were summoned by our superiors and everyone wondered what the major brouhaha was about.
The drama never ends , does it?I said to myself. First , it was Linda and the young man at the beach, now Shanira and Bolanle on a Monday morning.
Photo credits: Just Jared
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