Simi drew back and turned around; she ran down the staircase. Her eyes had seen something holy.
Simi’s eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. Her face turned pink.
One Faithful Sunday Morning
The choir joyfully gave their resounding performance while members of the congregation trooped out of the church. The noise of loved ones and friends, chattering, collided with breaths, feet-tapping, hums and impatience of members of the church, who made their way through the exit end.
Simi in her well tailored gray suit with a ready charming smile, stood afar off, and with her two arms, she busily pointed the way out. Some members who pretended to be in deep discussion, turned and dropped few slices of stare her way while they continued with their discussion, their minds were as transparent as a bottle of soda.
While the last set of people made their way through the door, a middle-aged man left the line and started towards Simi. He came towards her with a concerned look on his face.
Simi noticed that a huge looking man in his late fifties approached her. She turned to make sure that he wasn’t coming for anyone around her. When he got close enough, he asked:
“Young lady, how are you?”
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Simi was surprised. It was her second year as an usher in the church and nobody had ever walked up to her to ask such a question. The man didn’t wait for her to answer, either.
“I have been seeing you around. I love your dedication.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Where do you work?”
Simi was put aback by his question; it was as though he saw her present state. Simi put her head down, and said:
“Sir, I am unemployed at the moment.”
“Such a country we live in?”
As those words left his mouth, Simi felt his eyes travel the whole of her body: from head to toe. He didn’t stop at that:
“What would it take the government to employ the youths of its nation? See how dedicated you are to the service of God? Imagine if you put the same energy in the service of man?”
Simi kept quiet. It was not clear what the man actually intended for her. The place was already clear and church was long over. She wanted to go home and put something inside her empty stomach, but the man before her was not in too in a haste to leave. He had bent his head, and his eyes were on her legs: he was obviously in deep thought. Simi could see that he was already bald. After some seconds, he raised up his head to face her, and asked:
“What is your qualification?”
Simi was so happy at his question, that she almost forgot what she studied in the university.
“Emmm….,” the man took a good look at her, wondering if she graduated. “I studied International Relations, sir.”
He nodded his head, dipped his hand into his pocket and came out with a gold crested card. He handed it over to Simi and said:
“Have this. I run a lot of businesses. Come-by the office on Monday and I will know where to fix you.”
Simi smiled and brought her hand to take the card; she mistakenly brushed through the man’s cold palm.
“Thank you, Sir.”
The man nodded and walked away. Simi read what was on the card, over and over, until she got home.
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The Interview
Simi got off the bus stop at Chevron, crossed the road and made her way into King Publishers. The office was not too difficult to locate. She found herself at the reception area. The front desk officer was a young, loud, plump looking lady. Her face was void of any expression. She raised her puffy head a bit in order to get a good look at Simi. Simi came closer and said:
“Good morning Madam. I have an appointment this morning.”
The lady could not stop chewing on the gum inside her mouth. She just answered in-between yellow looking dentition and her tongue. Some of the red lipsticks on her lips had smeared all over her front teeth.
“What is your name, please?”
She keyed in some couple of information she got from Simi into her system. Afterwards, she heaved off the seat, after so many failed attempts, and while she made her way to a door, she said:
“Wait there.”
Simi didn’t know if she meant she should sit or stand at the spot. Before she had time to properly translate the lady’s words, a man came forward to introduce himself. His dark face was radiant with smile that it glistened like groundnut oil on a baby’s bottom: it was as though he brought sunshine into the room, unlike the front desk officer.
“Hallo Madam. I am Mr. Biola, in charge of HR.”
He made a way and Simi diligently followed.
When they got to his office, the man looked her up and then went over to his system. Simi had noticed that it was the exact look she got from the secretary and wondered why everyone gave her that same look. She wore a black suit and packed her braid up.
Half way through the interview, a knock came from the door. The person didn’t wait a second before she entered. A young lady walked into the room; she wore a very white short gown which dropped a little too low on her chest: her cleavage was visible to the sun.
“Good day, sir. I brought the manuscripts from Mr. Ekene. He wants his book to be published by the end of the year.”
“Sure.”
“If that would be all, I will be on my way.”
Simi didn’t believe her eyes. It was impossible to get her eyes off what the lady wore. The lady gave Simi a derogatory look before she turned towards the door. When the door was shut, Mr. Biola turned his attention to Simi, and said:
“I actually forgot to introduce you to the Manager’s PA. Well, you will be working hand in hand with her at the headquarters.”
Simi didn’t believe her ears. She had finally gotten the job.
“You can meet the front desk officer for your appointment letter. There, you will see your job description and your resumption date.”
“Thank you very much, Sir.”
Simi left with the good news; she couldn’t wait to share with her family.
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A Bad Day
Simi didn’t wait for anyone to wake her up on her big day: her first day at work. Her father volunteered to be her chauffeur for the morning. He placed her feet right in front of the gigantic building. Simi made her way into the building with her own pass. It was still a dream to her, even when she walked right through the corridors and passages which led to her office.
The doors of the elevator gave way and she walked right out of it. Her pump heels carried her to the office. She didn’t care to knock because it was a public place. Simi made her way into the office, but her colleagues hadn’t come to work that morning.
Simi heard giggles and chuckles which came from the far end of the office. She noticed that the door was a little bit open. She had gotten closer, and gently opened the door. Unfortunately, it was too late for the blind to see. Her boss was busy doing his business with his PA, who lay flat under his weight. They were busy at it, and heard only when the door was pushed open. Both looked up and saw that they had been caught, pants down.
Simi could not believe her eyes: and as she took her flight down the stairs, she still couldn’t believe that it was one of the men who stood on the pulpit every Sunday.
Written by Oluoma Udemezue.