Ayomiposi Faleye's middle name could be dubbed Insecurity and it would suit her perfectly. Battered by her mother's verbal abuses and her father's abandonment, she longs for something or someone that can fill that void and replace the uncertainty sh...
A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. --Proverbs 15:1 (NLT)
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I hope these ones will get here on time today. Posi mused to herself. Any waste of her time today, they would hear from her. She'd left her office as early as 8:00am so she could beat traffic and also get to the proposed meeting point before her client arrived.
A waiter approached her and asked, "Good morning, ma'am. Would you like anything to drink?"
"Yes, a cup of coffee will do. Two spoons of milk and two spoons of sugar. Thank you," Posi replied.
She looked around and appreciated the interior of the room. It was most certainly a beautiful and charming one. The atmosphere was cool and the fragrance in the air made it so relaxing. She couldn't recognize the music playing but she loved it. She also saw some art works displayed. They were arranged on a particular wall on one side of the room, making it look like an art exhibit.
I'd take a look at those on my way out of here.
There were standard tables with high-backed cushion chairs decorated with pretty slim vases. And also, low tables which looked like coffee tables with single sofas decorated with cream-coloured embroidered table clothes. She'd chosen to sit in the latter located in a corner that allowed her see the entrance too.
People probably thought she just loved showing off her punctuality but that was so far from the truth as the east was from the west. Showing up early was more of a practiced habit than it was a principle for her.
At first, it had begun with her leaving her house early for school just so she could escape her mother's verbal whips, especially if she didn't want her day to be ruined. Then, she later discovered that being on time sort of shifted focus off her. At least, when she got anywhere early, nobody noticed her and she could pick the best seat to hide away from the eyes of other people.
Her self-esteem was so low that her mind interpreted people's looks as disdainful or condescending. So she avoided anything at all that put her in the spotlight. She didn't participate in any events either academics or sports. She was so intelligent that she always stayed in the tenth to twentieth position range in her class of thirty students.
Posi knew her classmates, from primary to tertiary institution, saw her as a snob. She couldn't explain herself to everyone and she wouldn't even do it if given the opportunity. Her defense was that everyone was entitled to their own opinion. And she wasn't even ready for all the wahala that came with people.
So being punctual became a habit plus she was a very shy person. People didn't believe it about her because of the way she carried herself and even spoke but it was true. What they didn't know was that her supposed bold disposition was all a front.
