"Damn Bro, you are enjoying this soft life. I wish I was like you, for real," Victoria said on the other side of the phone, and I just smiled.
"Be careful what you wish for, Vick, not everything is how it seems," I responded.
She laughed. "Oh please, don’t tell me that. You wake up when you really want to, no traffic, no boss breathing down your neck. Just you, your laptop, and vibes. That’s the dream!"
I laughed, shaking my head even though she couldn’t see me. "That’s what you think. Truth is, I work longer hours than I ever did at the office. The only difference is now, I do it in my boxers and tops."
"Stop lying," she teased. "You’re probably watching Netflix right now while sipping coffee. Admit it."
"If only," I said, rolling my eyes. "Try juggling deadlines, endless Zoom calls, and neighbors who think because you’re home, you’re automatically free to run their errands or you are a yahoo boy (Fraudster). That’s my reality."
Victoria gasped playfully. "Wow, you make it sound like a nightmare. But still… I’d trade my own job for your so-called stress any day."
"You say that now," I replied. "But give it a week and you’d be crying to go back to your office desk."
We both laughed, but deep down I knew she had no idea what she was wishing for.
"Alright, Mr. Work-From-Home," she said finally, "I’ll let you get back to your ‘stressful paradise.’ We’ll talk later."
"Yeah, go enjoy your traffic jam," I teased before hanging up.
After the call, I took a deep breath while staring at my screen, then Mr. Akinyemi message popped on my screen "I need that video and document in the next one hour. Please make sure you submit it before the zoom meeting" As soon as I saw that message, I took another deep breath and started working. From AM to PM I would be indoor, doing meetnig upon meeting and getting all my task on Jira done but someone somewhere thought all I did was sip coffee while watching Netflix and ignoring my job. The truth is, many people don't know that working from home comes with its own stress. Now I am not saying working from home doesn't come with its own benefits, but people working in the office will not like to trade some of what they do daily for working from home.
Sometimes, in a week, I would only interact with an actual human being once, and that's when I go out to get my food stuff. I wish Victoria would understand that it not as easy as it looks. After I was done with my task for the day, it was just 4pm and it was the second time I was getting up from my seat to do something else.
I picked up my phone, put a call through to Victoria to ask her how her day was going and if she was done from work. I dialed her number and on the second ring, she picked up.
“Hello stranger,” Victoria’s voice came through, sounding tired but still lively. “Don’t tell me you’re already lying on your bed, Netflixing, while I’m stuck here in this office dungeon.”
I gave a small smile. “Well, I actually just wrapped up my tasks for the day.”
“By 4 p.m.?!” she shouted on the phone. “See what I’m talking about? You’re enjoying soft life. Me, I’m still here with a pile of files staring at me.”
“Vick, you still don’t get it,” I said with a sigh. “Yes, I finish early sometimes, but you know what that means? I’ve been at this desk since morning, barely moved, no break, just meetings back to back and deadlines chasing me.”
She paused. “Hmm. Still better than this traffic I’ll face after work.”
“Maybe,” I admitted, “but at least you’ll see people, hear voices, laugh with colleagues. Me? I can go a whole week without talking to anyone face to face. No friends around, no colleagues to gist with. It’s just me, this room, and my laptop.”
Her tone softened. “I never thought about it like that.”
“And it doesn’t stop there,” I added, seating back in my chair. “Some neighbors think I’m a fraudster just because I’m always indoors, glued to my laptop. Others assume I’m free to run errands since I ‘don’t have a real job.’ And the worst part? Half the time I don’t even sleep properly because deadlines don’t care if it’s 2 a.m. or 2 p.m.”
There was silence for a moment before she sighed. “Wow… I’m sorry, bro. I really didn’t know it was that tough. I guess I only saw the life, not the price paid for it.”
“It’s alright,” I said with a small smile she couldn’t see. “It just isn’t as easy as it looks.”
“Well,” she said warmly, “you know what? I’m coming over this weekend. At least you’ll have one actual human being to talk to, and I’ll make sure you don’t work the whole day.”
I gave a loud laugh, one I haven't had all day. “Now that’s something I’m really looking forward to.”
“Good. And please, don’t do anything too stressful. You’re going to be fine ok?,” she added gently.
We said our goodbyes, and after the call ended, I walked into the kitchen to finally prepare my dinner, feeling a little lighter than before. I turned on the music, then started slicing and dancing, with the hope of preparing something delicious for dinner.
The End.
Thanks for reading. My name is Fashtioluwa.
