Resurgence

17. Kill Switch

“Ha, very funny.” Ose smirked, sitting up. “That’s like you saying people shouldn’t crucify a slut for being a slut, even if she has no choice than to be one and everything about her life is harsh and they’d never take a step to see things from their own point of view. People are people, Tari. They’re always going to talk no matter what you do.”

“Which is more reason why I shouldn’t be bothered about them.” He pointed his index finger at his friend and waved it. “It’s like being bothered about rain falling, when you’re inside your house and have no cause to step outside for anything. Sure, it changes things but it’s not exactly affecting your own activities outside.”

“Yeah, but if the rain becomes too intense—it could wreak havoc on your house in some way.” Ose protested even further. “Scrutiny and gossiping you can handle when it’s moderate but, when it becomes too much and becomes borne out of hatred and bitter feelings, then there is tendency for people to start doing things that could affect you. Like when you ascend to a position of very high status which is inevitable with your current trajectory path, people would come into a position to hurt you and when you’re not friendly, they won’t think twice before doing it cos friends stab each other in the back, not to talk of you.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t be too worried about that because my overseer is the one person who is on my side.” He motioned to Ose and he rolled his eyes. “I’m serious, or you aren’t? You don’t like to admit out loud that we are friends but you could have stabbed me in the back before but you haven’t. You’ve been in the position to in the past, where I’ve told you stuff that could implicate me and all—”

“I’m not the type that would stab anyone in the back,” Ose held up his right hand, disagreeing with him as expected. The man before him could never admit that the relationship between them was built on anything outside work relations. “Even the janitor who never cleans my office well for some reason, and is always giving me some sort of bitter look. I could have turned him over to the authorities, have his salary slashed but what did I do? Nothing. Not everyone is as nice as me, son.”

Tari nodded. “Got it, remind me to buy take outs for the guys the next time I’m at the office. Thank God most of them are men. They say the way to the heart of a man is through his stomach. Surely, it works even when it’s another man providing the food, right?”

“I really don’t know, but I guess you’re about to find out.” Ose said. “But do you really want to do this? I mean it is a sign of gesture and I know they’d all accept it in good faith because they’re all food mongers but what would they think afterwards? That you’ve ascended and have a fatter salary and now you’re bragging to them and shoving it in their faces.”

“Oh, okay maybe I’d write it into a note and paste it on the take outs that I’m not flaunting it and that I’m only being a Good Samaritan?”

“Yeah, sure that’d work—if something happens and all of them reduce in age by twenty five years or something and they become toddlers again.”

“It makes sense, the way they’re beefing and badmouthing for no viable reason they’re technically toddlers at heart.”

“Yeah but you know how toddlers like acting like they’re very much older and really hate it when someone else point out that they’re kids. Especially the males, they like forming like they’re much older. Their head swells a lot when someone else refers to them as a big boy. It works all the time when I’m trying to make sure Daniel doesn’t burst into tears in public. It works magically, you just tell him he’s a big boy and all the tears just stop and return back in.”

Daniel was the son of Ose, and once again Tari found himself at a crossroads lacking the knowledge on how to navigate the terrain. Ose was extremely secretive and guarded about details of his private life and so when he dropped little details here and there, Tari had difficulty responding in the appropriate manner. He didn’t want to take an overtly fascinated approach that’d discourage his friend and make him hoard details afterwards and he also didn’t want to sound apathetic or unmoved which would extinguish his friend’s sudden openness.