The Right One

Ten

Contrary to what she had expected, the restaurant had been so busy that she'd barely gotten thirty minutes to herself. There were five of them working the morning shift and she'd managed to strike a somewhat friendship with one of them. Oke was a tall, lanky and awkward guy who was also a bit of a talkative but Hope surprisingly had taken an instant liking to him. In the space of the five minutes she'd had a conversation with him, she had gathered he was the third of five children, his mother worked as a cleaner and his dad was a taxi driver. He was working to save up some money against the next academic session where he would be a fresher in the university.

"See you tomorrow," Oke called out to Hope on his way out after their shift. Hope nodded and waved back. She'd changed out of the uniform into her own clothes and now made her way out of the restaurant. She was surprised to see Raymond's car already parked outside for the second time that day.

He was leaning against the passenger side and his lips shifted into a huge grin when he saw her approaching. "Someone order an uber?"

"Yes, please," Hope replied, pushing him away from the door and going in. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking you up, obviously." He rounded around to the driver's side and was about to open the car door when someone tugged on his shirt from behind.

Raymond turned around, surprised to see a boy about fifteen years old standing behind him and clinging onto his shirt as if for dear life while panting like he'd just run a marathon. The boy looked like he'd not taken a bath for days and hadn't eaten for much longer. He was so thin that his bones were almost visible through the thin layer of worn out shirt he was wearing.

"Oga abeg," the boy started when he could finally catch his breath. "My sister is in the hospital, she's very sick and the doctor said if I don't get money for her treatment today, she's going to die. We don't have parents and I don't want my sister to die. Please, help me. I beg you in the name of whichever God you serve. Any amount you have please, I don't mind."

Hope's nose turned upward in distaste, not buying the boy's story at all. He was a good actor, no doubt. There were tears running down his face and he really did look helpless, but she knew better. She had encountered many more who were better actors than him.

Her gaze shifted to Raymond and an alarm started to sound in her head at the look she saw on his face. "Don't you even -- "

"How much did the doctor ask you to bring for your sister's treatment?" He asked the boy and the clear sympathy in his eyes and words almost made Hope gag.

"Fifteen thousand for the down payment sir, but any amount at all is fine."

Raymond hummed and bent to address Hope who was shooting him a murderous glare. "What do you think?" He asked her softly.

"Don't even think about it. He's a scam, obviously," Hope replied hotly. "I've met so many of them with the same stories, little differences. Don't fall for it."

The boy's head shook vehemently as he refuted, his fear very apparent. "Ha! Aunty, I swear. I'm not lying. My sister is very sick--"

"It's fine," Raymond said, interrupting the boy's ramble. He opened the car door and reached over to Hope's side to open the safe in front of her.

Hope could do nothing but bore holes into him with her eyes as he brought out a bale of money and stretched it over to the boy who gaped down at the money with wide and disbelieving eyes.

"That's twenty thousand," he told the boy. "I'm sorry I don't have any more than that right now. This was meant for something else entirely but -- "