Resurgence

19. Death Knoll

“Well in their defense, you’re talking about a Yoruba Owambe party and this is a dinner party–”

“And so it is still the usual approach,” She cut him off. “Can’t you remember our dinner night back in UI? I don’t know if it changed after the one I attended but it was the usual scenery with the one I saw in parties. But this? This is different…” She trailed off, with her head facing his left. “Wow, so that’s the like the dining hall.”

He followed her gaze and confirmed her words. Concealed in the façade of caliginous illumination and shadows casted from the large pillages that held the building, was a narrow space characterized with steel tables and chairs, segregated in groups—coated in golden decorative filaments. The table was scanty and had no item on it, except an antique candle stand shaped flower vase that was packed to the brim with vivacious flowers. Magical, he thought. Simply magical.

“But then we shouldn’t be too surprised,” Lani continued, as they continued to make their way forward. “This place is the love child of an architect firm playing host to other rivals. Surely, the design was going to hit it out of the park. Some day when I get bored with being an interior décor specialist of houses, I could dabble into events decoration. I just need to go to an academy to take a course. It can’t be that difficult.”

“Yeah, but a lot of people don’t know how to go back to learning after school.” Tari replied. “Once they graduate and they’ve worked for several years, it’s just like very difficult to go back into a classroom, sit down with people and take notes from a person you’re likely to be older than. It’s the same way most people who took gap year after secondary school find it difficult to adjust when they resume college, because they’ve been doing nothing too intellectually tasking during their stay at home.”

“Yeah, I get your drift.” She said. “And I’d admit that I didn’t consider that before but I don’t think I should have a problem with that. Interior décor is something that changes a lot over time and if you can’t adapt and you keep using the old style that you were taught, no one would want to seek out your services. It’s like music production and the resurgence of the Electropop and Electronic dance music genre these days. The producers that birthed this genre are enjoying the acclaim its bringing, while many are trying to adapt and learn, so they don’t become irrelevant.”

“Ah, I get the picture also.”

“Yeah, architecture is also subjected to that, but it’s just that the changes don’t come until very long periods of time. While interior décor, it keeps on changing rapidly hence more adaptation. So every day, we’re constantly surfing interior décor sites, learning new stuff that is coming in and making sure we’re informed on the new trends that are taking the market by storm. Graffity has been really instrumental in helping its stylists adapt. Every month, we have this oriental seminar in which bigger experts come in to share their opinions and everyone else gets the platform to pass out information that could prove useful.”

“You sound like one big happy family.”

“More like one big, beefing, disconnected family.” She rolled her eyes. “No one is really pals with an employee outside their team, because in a way we’re all competing against each other no matter how indirectly. At the end of the year, each team has to present their projects and information related to it. How it has profited the firm, revenue generated and word of mouth expansion. So of course, there is always a team that comes out on top and one that comes under serious scrutiny.”

His face tightened. “That isn’t nice.”

“Well, that’s the way it is.” She said. They had halted in the center now and were standing by a mount of champagne. He had released her from his arm, so they could face each other and converse. The lighting that beamed from their sides went a long way in emphasizing every detail on her profile. The slight curve of her hooked nose and hooded, alluring eyes that mirrored multiple dots of light and her chin that was perfectly squared. He blinked his eyes to suppress the unhealthy thought forming at the back of his mind.