Enitan woke up with the slight pain still in her right third molar and body aches. She stretched and rolled on her bed as if it will take away the weakness she felt all over her body. It was morning and she had to prepare for school as her roommates were all in the bathroom.
She jumped down from her bunk bed she shared with her roommate, and remembered the appointment she had reserved a week ago at the Lagos State Secretariat. Enitan wished she could postpone the appointment, but not again.
She hurriedly picked up her bucket and ran to the tap to fill it. There were few people waiting for their turn. In twenty minutes, she was on the road, in the hustling and jostling of numerous Lagosians on that bright Wednesday morning. As she walked to the bus stop to board a bus, the conductor in their usual manner screamed “No change o”. Enitan wondered if it was her responsibility to take change wherever she went. To avoid her usual drama that she has had with several bus conductors, she decided to search for change; she had one thousand naira on her. Sad and reluctantly, Enitan had to buy a bottle of Pepsi she never planned to buy, this usually happened, buying what she never planned to buy because sellers will always not have change. This old woman with a plastic bowl of drinks had change and did not complain about how Enitan had brought one thousand naira to buy a drink of one hundred naira. Enitan was happy and went back to board the bus going to the Secretariat.
Enitan got to the Secretariat and was directed to the exact location where the document signing was to occur. A young man walked her and this granted her ease of assess because he was an officer. Enitan was happy at the pace things went because if not for this kind man, those men in their blue and red uniform would have stressed her. In the usual manner of most Nigerian men, “My name is Ayo, can I have your number and you’re not looking bad” he said with a suggestive look.
Enitan thought, this guy doesn’t know his mate sha, just because you helped me pass over a loop doesn’t mean you deserve my phone number, this guy doesn’t know I’m in Law school, He can’t even stand me educationally, socially and intellectually. Poor thing building hopes in thin air. She felt sad for him as she walked to the secretary and he was left standing pleading for her number.
She was directed to the beautiful woman in customer care/information unit. Her beauty made Enitan smile and think she was intelligent and smart. She proved her wrong after Enitan had a little problem with the form filling. Enitan asked her a question but she didn’t deem fit to answer as if Enitan didn’t have a right to ask the question. Mscheew, very bad customer service. Human resource personnel should infact test job applicants more on their attitude than knowledge, Enitan thought as she walked out angrily from the Secretariat after signing.
She never knew she would later meet Ore at the Salon that same day with an excellent customer care service. That was Enitan’s first encounter in that salon along Law school. Ore used the words “Please excuse me” whenever she had to leave Enitan’s hair to do something urgently. She did her job so passionately that Enitan thought this 6feet tall girl should be on the runway with this beautiful character and beauty. Ore continued Enitan’s braid as the other hairdresser left for home. Enitan got to know Ore, how she has been modeling for two years and had not learnt hair dressing anywhere but just loved and knew how to, naturally.
Enitan was happy with Ore, her fears of leaving the salon with a bad style was alleviated as she continued reading Chimamanda’s Americanah, the book she had paid a hundred naira fine to collect because she read it during presentations in class and was seized by her lecturer. Enitan was soon distracted by the ping sound of her blackberry. She replied messages from her unit head as she was now made the manager of the editorial board. She drifted to see her recent updates and saw a picture of two of her newly engaged friends together, she had thought of doing a picmix of them both as their fiancés were both named Femi and were doctors.
She immediately saved the picture and updated her personal message, ‘The Dr. Femis’. Enitan thought about a Femi she had met few months ago and things were going interestingly for Enitan until she didn’t understand Femi anymore. He had drifted away from her and she now saw him with another girl taking walks round Law School Gardens. She wished things continued the way it was from the beginning and she could be part of the Femis. She missed Femi and she doubted if they were acquaintances not to talk of friends now as their chats only contained questions like how are you and replies of fine to all questions both of them asked.
She wished Femi will tell her what she did or did not do, where she got it wrong or whether he was just confused. Enitan however thought Femi is confused, immature and does not know what he wants. He did not even get to know her.
Ore finished the cornrows, it was beautiful and she liked it. There was this metamorphosis going on within Enitan that made her care less about her hair and looks, so that she only went to the salon once in two months, She really could not explain it. Her interests grew more in the arts, business management, organization.
Enitan got back to her room and realized it was study time and her study partner just sent her a reminder. She hurriedly had her bath and dressed. She walked to the library reminiscing on the day’s activities and she concluded that whatever job she will do, she will do excellently.
Enitan walks into her room from the library at half past 12am and remembered the doctor’s advice when she called the dentist earlier in the afternoon. She made the salt-water solution and gaggled her mouth with it as she hopes she would not have to say bye to her right last molar as she did her left.
On her bed now, Enitan prays for Ore, her lover who is to come and hopes for a brighter Thursday…