HEAVEN TO YOU |A Nigerian Romance|

Chapter 2.

UWA

Grrrrrinnn!

I stretch my hand to stop the alarm from ringing any further or else I will literally run mad. This is the fourth time it is ringing this morning. I set it for 3:30, 3:40, 3:50 and 4:00am so it can continuously ring and bring me out of my slumber to prepare for work. Well, this is the life of a lagos hustler like me.

"You'll set alarm as if you are preparing to go to heaven. Be disturbing someone's sleep." Where did this one even come from? I remember now. We were gisting last night and she slept off in my room.

"Oya, come and be going to your room." I instruct, tapping her feet in a bid to wake her up completely.

"I am sorry, please just allow me sleep. Wake me up when you are leaving." I hear her say before letting out a loud yawn.

"Close your mouth, bad habit." I tap her feet and she quickly recoils it to place it under the blanket.

"Pele (sorry), my mother." She snickers and pull the blanket very close to her that you would think it is a second skin before she finally gives in to sleep.

Today is going to be another long day with Lagos traffic. I wake up everyday by 4am, have my bath, dress up and I am out of the house by 5am, latest 5:30am to catch a bus going to my destination and I get home around 7pm to 8pm, exhausted. Only on rare occassions do I get off work by 4pm and those occassions are when there is a home service that I have to attend to. In a week, I work six days out of seven, so you can imagine the stress I go through daily.

I quickly rush into our shared bathroom to have my bath and heat up the remains of the jollof rice from last night. Thank God for Nimi who does the cooking most times, else I would not be eating breakfast on some days. I dish out the contents of the pot into a plate and eat up. It is satisfying but I will still need my coffee. It gives me the energy boost I need for the day.

"Nimi, I am off to work. Please take care of yourself." I say to her and leave, making sure to lock the doors securely.

On arrival at the junction, luck shines on me as a bus is already there with just one seat left. I board the bus and begin my journey for the day. So, by 7am, I am already at my workplace.

"Good morning, everybody." I smile at my fellow co-workers the moment I enter the parlour, sending a greeting their way and head straight to the locker room to keep my bag.

Waiting for fifteen more minutes so everyone can get settled, I ring the siren to gain their attention. Once they are all gathered, I begin to address them.

"Good morning, guys. As we all know, Madam has travelled to Abuja for important business. She has placed me in charge since we don't have a manager now. Please co-operate with me to make this period stress free for us. Sha, I trust una well well (Well, I trust you all very well)." I finish off with a smile and a thumbs up.

A loud hiss sound resonates the room once I am done addressing them.

"The rats play when the cat is not around." Kelechi hisses as she moves her hands frantically. Well, I have my own fair share of arch nemesis too. She is a masseuse just like I am and the urge to always steal the spotlight from me has been evident in all her conducts.

The other workers do a 180 degrees turn to look at her and John shakes his head while clapping his hands in addition, to emphasize his amusement.

"That will be all for today. Thank you." I say, ignoring her childish tantrums and we all disperse to do our work.

By now it is 7:40am already, meaning I still have twenty minutes free since we open officially by 8am.

"Let me quickly grab coffee downstairs in the coffee shop. I'll be right back." I call out to no one in particular as I run out for my energy giver, not missing out Kelechi's snide remark behind me.

"Shior! Peperempe." She hisses. Over the two years I have worked here, I ignore her bants because I know she does not like me, so I won't indulge her or give her the satisfaction of having to exchange words with her. I know that is what she wants but she won't be getting any because when it comes to Kelechi, I have developed a Ph.D in minding my business.

I get into the coffee shop and order for my cup of coffee with enough cream and little sugar. Oh, you all thought I drank that plain bitter thing most people take? No, that one is just torture to my taste buds and soul. I love me some creme de la creme, lol. I wait an extra five minutes till my order number is called.

"5b!" The attendant calls out. I walk to the counter and pay for my drink, saying a quick thank you to the cashier. My phone rings and I look at it to see it is my mum calling.

"Mummy. Good morning, ma." I say over the phone.

"My pikin (child), good morning. How you dey (how are you)?" She asks, stressing her voice. Old age has not really done well for this woman and I pray that soon enough I get a better paying job to relieve her of all the stress.

"Fine, ma. How is everybody?" I ask her.

"Na why I call you o, Osato don dey sick since last week. We bin dey treat  am with local medicine, e no work so we con go hospital and dem call one big sickness like that say the money na one hundred and fifty thousand naira, hmm. (That is why I called, Osato has been sick since last week. We treated it with herbs but it did not work so we went to the hospital and they said the sickness will cost one hundred and fifty thousand naira to treat)." She finishes, sighing. Osato is my younger brother and the last child.

"Mummy, I swear I don't have that type of money but I will see where I can borrow from so that we can at least pay deposit." Hmm. Where do I get this money from? I earn only sixty thousand naira every month, before houserent savings will enter, then transportation and feeding. At the end, I am left with barely enough to save, maybe I'll look for who to borrow from at the salon or ask Nimi if she has any amount to spare.

"Thank you, my pikin. God bless you." She says.

"Mummy, don't mention. It is my responsibil...." I am cut short when I hit a brick wall.

"Watch where you are going!" A voice says instead, I never knew walls could talk. I look up and I am met by a very furious man but what captures my attention is how strikingly handsome he looks.

"Will you just stand there looking? That's why I don't like dumb people. You poured your coffee on me, dumbass." How can someone be do rude? He called me dumb twice in the short span of how many seconds. I know I am wrong which means I am in the position to make things right. I look around and drop my coffee on the floor because apparently, that is the only place available.

"I am sorry, Sir." I reach out to wipe his suit with the serviette I picked from the counter but he withdraws himself much to my annoyance.

"Get your stupid hands off me, do you think this suit is as cheap as you are? It could buy you and your entire family." He hisses and walks out. That statement hurt me because deep down I know it could be true but wait o, I don't understand this man at all. If he did not want me touching his suit, then why was he ranting about the coffee stain on it? Some people just have problems and it is not my mood that one will come and spoil today.

Tell whoever sent you that you did not see me! I was tempted to see at his figure that is already going into the same coffee shop I just exited but I keep quiet. He looks like a wealthy person, let me not invite trouble to myself.

I pick up my cup of coffee from the floor and use the serviette to clean the bottom before tossing it into the waste bin. Coffee cup in my hand, I strut back into my place of work and head into the locker room to drink my coffee.

Yummy! I sigh in relief, happy that I still had some coffee left from the incident earlier. I am also glad that I did not allow that arrogant man get a hold of my morning with his bad attitude.

"Welcome to Ihe's place, how may we be of service to you?" I watch the receptionist say to the first customer for the day.

"I want to make my hair." She smiles back at her.