Aduke just got down from the taxi cab that brought her back, she had organized a get together with her two very close friends, Mimi and Katu, they had been distant for quite some time, they lived in the same thing but never had anytime to catch up, as they were too busy “adulting”, Aduke was into the entertainment industry, she had always bee touted to be very beautiful and had the physique of a model and so when she grew up she tried becoming an actress. Mimi had always been the brightest in the class, she was touted to be the one to be most successful because everything came easy for her, she had all A’s and was always the best graduating student in any schooling institution she found herself. Katu was the best in sports, she represented the school in all competitions and always excelled. Half the schools trophies came as a result of Katus excellence
Back then, the future looked so certain for all of them. Now, years later, certainty had disappeared. Aduke unlocked the apartment door and entered. She had spent most of the afternoon cleaning the place and trying to make it look presentable. A plastic table sat in the middle of the room with soft drinks, small chops, and jollof rice arranged neatly. She wanted the evening to feel warm, she wanted it to feel like old times.
Her phone rang. It was Mimi, I’m outside.” Mimi said , Aduke smiled immediately and rushed to open the door. Mimi stepped in wearing corporate clothes and low heels, holding her laptop bag tightly against her shoulder. She looked really exhausted “Look at you,” Aduke laughed, hugging her. “Madam CEO.” Mimi rolled her eyes and said “CEO of suffering maybe.”
They both laughed, although the joke carried more truth than humor. After some minutes, Katu arrived too. Taller than both of them, with sneakers on and headphones hanging around her neck. She looked strong as always. The three friends screamed excitedly and hugged each other tightly. For a while, everything felt normal again, then they started eating and gossiping. They laughed about secondary school memories, they argued about which teacher traumatized them the most. For almost two hours no one talked about life right now or the present, they were busy reminiscing .
Because at the end of the day thats what adults do, they pretend, they pretend all is well. Mimi after some time talked about “projects at work” with confidence, carefully avoiding the fact that she hated her job. Katu spoke about “training opportunities” abroad without mentioning she had been out of professional sports for almost two years. Aduke exaggerated some upcoming acting gigs that were honestly just side roles with no guarantees.
They were all performing, then silence suddenly fell into the room. Mimi was checking her phone and suddenly Aduke leaned back into the couch and said “ Omo!! I thought I’d be bigger than this by now.” Aduke looked embarrassed immediately after speaking.
Aduke swallowed hard an continued speaking “I really thought things would have worked out by now. I thought I’d at least be recognizable. I thought I’d have my own place. Sometimes I’m going for auditions with transport money I borrowed.”
No one spoke so she continued, staring into the blank space. “You know the worst part? Every time I post online, people think I’m doing well because I met one actor or attended one event or i took a picture with one popular actor, but most times I come home and cry.” She laughed weakly. “I’m actually tired.”
Mimi slowly removed her glasses and said “I hate my life too,” The others looked at her.
“I know everybody thinks I’m successful because I work in one big company now, but I’m miserable there. I work almost twelve hours every day, including Saturdays sometimes, I’m underpaid. I’m constantly anxious, all those years of being ‘the smartest student’ and I still don’t even know what I’m doing with my life.” She shook her head. “I thought by now I’d have built something meaningful. Instead, all i do is I just make PowerPoint presentations and answer emails.”
Katu leaned back and laughed. “At least you both still have careers.”. Again the room went quiet again. “When I injured my knee, that was it for me. Nobody tells athletes how quickly the world forgets you. One minute everybody is celebrating you and the next minute, silence.” “I coach kids sometimes now, but honestly? I feel lost.”
Aduke stared at her in shock. Katu had always looked the strongest out of all of them.
“I didn’t even know things were that bad,” Aduke said, “its because everybody is pretending,” Katu replied sharply. For the first time that evening, they stopped acting like adults who had everything together. They became the teenagers they once were vulnerable.
Mimi began talking about the pressure of constantly being called “gifted.” How failure felt illegal for someone like her. Aduke admitted she sometimes envied people with stable jobs. Katu confessed she still watched old videos of herself competing because she missed the person she used to be.
At some point, Mimi sat upright suddenly. “Okay. Enough please.” The others laughed. “I’m serious,” she said. “Maybe we’re not where we thought we’d be, but we’re still here. Maybe we should actually help each other instead of suffering separately.”
Mimi pointed at her. “You understand entertainment and social media. Katu understands fitness and sports training. I understand business strategy and organization. “Why don’t we build something together?” The room slowly came alive again and ideas began flying everywhere. For the first time in years, they were dreaming together again, just like when they were younger.
Outside, the city remained noisy and chaotic as always, oblivious to whatever anyone was going through, tomorrow will still come and people will move on with their lives. Life will not magically change. After her friends left Aduke was full of glee, it turned out that adulting becomes less terrifying when you stop pretending you have everything figured out and maybe success was not about becoming the people they once imagined.
Images are A.I generated!