Nedu lay on the bed, face up, his upper body bare, staring at the white ceiling. The ceiling fan had spun slowly to a halt after the power had been cut to the hostel where he resided, and beads of sweat had immediately started to form on his back, arms, and forehead. But he was too exhausted to even fan himself with a locally made hand fan.
Presently, his phone rang, bringing him out of his chaotic thoughts. He sighed, turned on his side, and picked up the phone with shaky fingers. His stomach growled lightly, and he remembered he hadn't had any real food since morning.
“Good morning, comrade.”
A joyful, vibrant voice reached his ear.
“Ah, comrade,” a smile came to Nedu's exhausted face when he recognized the voice. “Good morning. How are things going?”
The electoral committee chairperson sounded particularly bright on the phone.
“Things are fine,” he said. “I actually called because I've got some good news. From the results, you seem to have won the position of the General Secretary you're contesting for in the SUG elections, though the official announcement is forthcoming. Congratulations.”
Nedu had sat up in bed, and his pulse was racing like that of a 100-meter athlete.
“Wow,” finally came from his mouth. “I'm so glad. Thanks for relaying the news.”
“You were very easily the best candidate for that position. Your erudite nature and leadership capabilities won the hearts of most of the students who voted. Ezenwa was a close second in the election. The guy is good too, but not like you.”
“Thank you for all your support. In fact, I'm coming over to your place straightaway so we can talk. I'm bursting with joy right now.”
Nedu took a quick bath, grabbed a snack, and put on his clothes. He was in such a hurry that he paid whatever price the commercial motorcycle asked for, even though it was three times the usual amount. When he stood at the threshold of Usman's house, his phone vibrated and rang. He wanted to reject the call, but when he saw the name of the caller, he put the phone to his ear with haste.
“Hello,” came a shaky, unclear voice. “Nedu, Dad is dead.”
The voice came again, and at that point, Nedu wasn't standing at the doorstep of the electoral committee chairperson’s house with whom he planned to hold an exciting conversation; he was somewhere lost in a swampy, abandoned parcel of land in Dreamland. His temperature dropped immediately as if he had just had a bath from a bucket of chilled water. His heart was almost jumping out of his chest.
“Ho… how?” he stammered.
“A brief illness.” Nedu's younger sister, Ngozi, was sniffling in the background. “Please, I hope you can come home soon.”
“I will come,” Nedu said,
but his voice sounded like that of a stranger to him. He composed himself with great difficulty and knocked on Usman's door. Usman opened to him with a smiling face. The smile froze as soon as their gazes met.
Nedu had always had one great ambition: to get a good degree in business administration, get the best grades which would enable him to be employed by one of the best companies in the western region of his continent, NextSphere Innovations Ltd. His vision was to help companies expand and reach their full potential. He would begin in NextSphere, and after he'd gained some experience, he'd move on to fledgling companies and help them take off. That was one of the reasons he'd fought so hard to become part of the leaders on the university campus — so he could gain some experience in leadership.
Well, he had become one. But… he felt like someone who'd proudly raised a magnificent glass structure, and while he stood admiring it with satisfaction, a piece of rock had flown in and shattered it all. His dad had been his sponsor through his early years in the university. Now he was in the 3rd year, and everything had seemed to be moving so smoothly. When his dad was alive, he'd done some odd jobs here and there to cater for his other needs on campus — like study materials, clothes, and others. His dad took care of his fees and feeding. Now, with his dad gone, all the burden rested on him. He wouldn't have that much time now to attend to his academic dreams. And he'd have to support his younger siblings too.
He worked like a donkey to get himself through to the last year of his studies. His grades had been good — excellent even. He had the second-best GPA in their department. He bit his lips when his eyes scanned the results on the departmental notice board. Feelings of sadness rushed to his neck and belly. If not for his dad's untimely demise… he left the statement incomplete. Tolu, the best graduating student, came to his side and they exchanged pleasantries heartily. Tolu had a vibrant, commanding personality. Nedu often remembered hearing his vibrant laughter echoing through the lecture halls as he debated matters with fellow students. Nedu had worked under Tolu as the secretary in the SUG. Nedu was perfect for the SUG president position but felt he couldn't fit in the same frame with Tolu, though academically Nedu often seemed to have the upper hand.
The sadness of not coming out top of their class tormented Nedu for weeks. It had been one of the goals he chased tirelessly. He remembered nights he had to light candles to read because his electric lamp was out, amidst a power outage that lasted three days. On those nights, he was tormented by mosquitoes and the overwhelming heat, yet he kept at his books until the soft light of dawn crept in through his window. He'd then have a quick bath and move off to lectures. The burden created by his dad's death severely affected his academic performance.
Yet, he was jumping like a hart when news came through that his internship was going to be at a branch of the company, NextSphere,
the one he'd always admired working in. It wasn't regular employment, yet Nedu celebrated like it was; he felt closer to his dream.
He finished his internship and was immediately hired by the company as a logistics officer. That week, his joy could be best described as a river overflowing its banks. It was a juicy job offer, and Nedu's fortunes changed overnight.
He felt like a person who had just had a refreshing cup of cold water after long days of terrible thirst. That thirst, so to speak, was the dark cloud that descended on his life after his dad passed away. The cup of cold water was the recent job he'd landed in his dream company.
His first day at work was memorable. His boss's mouth was full of praise for him, and his shoulders seemed to have swelled with pride. His fellow employees often looked at him with a surprised twinkle in their eyes. He felt like a king among his subjects.
His boss called him to the office one day to complain of a job which he said Nedu had not done well. That job had been attempted by most employees, who didn't do it to the boss's satisfaction, so it went to Nedu. When Nedu submitted it, a sour look hung on his boss's face after going through it.
"Well…” he raised an icy gaze to Nedu's face.
Immediately, the look of expectation hovering on Nedu's face was replaced by a fearful one. He had to interlock his fingers behind his back to hide the tremors.
“You did a fine job, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. We need the best results we can get. So I'd love you to get back on the job.”
Nedu walked out of the room silent and dazed, like someone who's just witnessed the gruesome murder of a dear friend. He went back to work, but it was never enough. The job finally had to be outsourced.
Nedu felt like he was caught in an inescapable nightmare. His boss was making it very uncomfortable for him to do the job he loved. After the commendations of the first day, the commendations became few or non-existent. His boss took almost all the credit for every good thing Nedu did. And he was quick to correct mistakes in a way that hurt the feelings. It was like moving into your dream house but finding you had to inhabit it with a troublesome housemate.
Nedu laboured on as best as he could. He requested a transfer multiple times, but his boss blocked it. He knew he couldn't resign — that was not even an option. So he continued like a person who'd woken from a terrible nightmare and had to wait for the dawn. He hoped the dawn would be the transfer of his boss.
That dawn came quicker than he expected, but it wasn't the sack or transfer of his insufferable boss. One of the branches needed a manager. There were three qualified candidates for that position, but the board had picked Nedu. He was picked for his extraordinary skill and talent, though he was a little slim in the experience department. He breathed a very heavy sigh of relief and collapsed on the sofa when the news reached him. Even when he appeared before the board for the official announcement, he still felt like someone walking an uneven path — but comfortably, because the path he'd previously walked was full of pits.
All images generated with Meta Ai.
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