Revolt

5. The Undertaking

“Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time. What we really want is for things to remain the same, but get better.” – Sydney J. Harris.

•••

The gentle knock, stemming from the door—jolted Lekan out of his reverie. He had been up for about an hour, and couldn’t help his thoughts from ruminating on the way out of the maze he had deliberately, plunged himself into. Ever since he had severed all financial ties with his father, his mind had gone into overdrive, assimilating the full gravity of his rebellion and the downsides it posed, as well as a variety of options, he could utilize to get back on his feet and become wholly independent, free from his father’s claws.

Since, his house—an asset of his dad—no longer belonged to him, he had crashed at Sultan’s for the night, where he still was at the moment. He was still unsure of his future and its implication, but he knew there was no time to loiter about in frivolity. He needed to find a solution, before his dilemma morphed into a chasm and sucked him in totally, rendering him totally powerless.

Pushing himself off the bed, he crossed the length of the room to let Sultan in, who was probably knocking to inquire on the rudiments of his unpremeditated, crash landing in the apartment. The room had an exquisite interior of brown timber bricks and contemporary furniture, blended in a way that it boomed of potent masculinity. Just one glance around, and one could deduct from the atmosphere that it was crafted by a handy architect, who had a knack for grounded designs implemented from scratch as opposed to modern integration and fusions, of previously existing working themes. Sultan was still clad in the same grey, faded vest and black briefs he wore to bed the previous night. His friend closed the door behind him, while he turned to sink back on the plump, king-sized bed.

“Now that you’re not drunk out of your mind and wishing that you had a cloning device, so you could clone yourself and kiss your dad’s ass, while also living the true life you want to live—can you tell me the actual reason, why you’re here though?” Sultan was saying, as he wheeled out a desk chair, from a corner of the room to the edge of his bed. His friend’s dreads wasn’t packed, and so dangled freely about his profile. Sultan looked a lot, like a younger, dapper and less radical version of Burna Boy.

Lekan sat up, his back rested on the framework of the bed and his legs, crossed. “Dad and I had a falling out of the sorts, yesterday. It wasn’t pretty and some things were said, that can’t ever be taken back. Bottom line is, he has frozen all my accounts and taken all my belongings. So I’m sort of solo now.”

Sultan’s scowl deepened, and he shook his head in scrutiny. “While I’m not putting it past your dad doing that, why did he decide to take that sort of decision, now? Surely, he’s not just realizing how great a son you are, so there must be something behind it. Look, you have to give me the full gist man. Not like I care about your ass that much, but I need to know if I’m courting disaster with the man, by harboring you here. I don’t need my own privileges cut by my father, for aiding and abetting a fugitive.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Lekan scoffed, irritation seeping into his being. Not like he detested sharing the information with Sultan, but it was the fact that it bared him as a vulnerable, helpless man without his dad’s financial backing, that irked him. He didn’t realize that until the present moment. “He asked me to take over the company, and I said no because I have no interest in that. And he says, it’s either I’m in business with him or not and that’s it.”

“Now that makes much more sense,” Sultan nodded, and was that a smile at the edge of his lips? He seemed mildly amused, but not on the verge of bursting out in a chuckle or something. “But what exactly is your problem with running the company, huh Lekan? It’s not like you’re doing something else that you love so much, and is so engaging. Sure business is a hard man’s work, but your dad has done most of the work in setting up the company, and making it a business empire. Taking over from him shouldn’t be such a hard, imposing job. Plus, it’s just much more money for you to flex when you’re free.”