Austere

Nina, the eldest daughter of the Henry family, approached Mark and said, "Mark! What are you doing outside? Dad wants to speak with you." Nina, a beautiful young woman aspiring to be a model, is also a student at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Mark took a while before responding to his father's summons, explaining later that he had been on the phone with his friends. His father, Henry, was slightly annoyed, considering the delay disrespectful. Mark immediately apologized to avoid further upsetting his father. Mark, the first male child of the family, is an extroverted young man who enjoys making new friends. Like Nina, he is also a student at the University of Lagos. While Henry loves his children dearly, he does not tolerate disrespect or misbehavior from them. Once Mark apologized, the family meeting commenced. Henry, the head of the household, has been married to Tina for about 30 years, and they have five children together: Mark, Nina, Lian, Sam, and Treasure. Henry began the meeting by addressing his children's recent bad behavior, urging them to amend their ways. He expressed concern about them staying out late at night and associating with bad influences, warning that he would stop paying their school fees if they didn't change their behavior. Mark, Nina, and Treasure, the older siblings, voiced their objections to the new rules. While they agreed to avoid bad friends, they resisted the rule about coming home early, as they were accustomed to attending nightclubs. Treasure, the third-born, was particularly upset by the new restrictions. She is an extroverted and lively girl who loves dancing, cooking, and making new friends. Having recently completed high school, she is currently seeking admission to a university. The three older siblings complained to their mother, Tina, about the new rules. Sam, the youngest child, was unaffected by the changes since he is still a child at 10 years old. An introverted boy, Sam enjoys accompanying his mother wherever she goes. Tina tried to persuade Henry to allow the children to attend parties, but Henry remained firm in his decision. Lian, the youngest daughter, overheard the conversation and entered the room to express her support for her father's rules. Lian, whom Henry adores for always supporting his decisions, is the most intelligent of the children and consistently excels in her class. Though she is still in high school, she makes her father proud. Nina, overhearing Lian's conversation with their parents, burst into the room, seething with anger. Nina, angry and frustrated, attempted to slap Lian in front of their father, Henry. However, Henry quickly intervened, grabbing Nina's hand and sternly warning her never to do such a thing again. Nina burst into tears, accusing her father of loving Lian the most. Despite Tina's attempts to console her, Nina remained inconsolable. The next day, Nina and Mark left for school without saying goodbye to their father. Upon arriving at the University, they each went to their respective faculties—Mark studying Mathematics and Nina in Mass Communication. Mark shared his frustrations about the situation at home with his friends, who advised him to disregard his father's rules and continue hanging out and attending clubs with them. Similarly, Nina confided in her friends, who encouraged her to ignore Henry's restrictions. They warned her that listening to him would hinder her ambitions as a model, insisting that nightclubs could open doors to new opportunities. Nina felt relieved and pleased with her friends' advice. Treasure, on the other hand, wasn't too bothered by the recent family drama. At 18 years old, her primary focus was on gaining admission to the university. She brushed off her father's words, feeling they didn’t affect her much. Meanwhile, Tina took Sam to school, where his teacher, Miss Ann, praised him for his excellent performance. She informed Tina that Sam was the best student in his class and had excelled in the last examination. Proud of her son, Tina bought him toys and snacks to celebrate his success. Miss Ann also asked Tina to pick up Sam's report card when she came to get him in the evening. Overjoyed, Tina rushed home to share the good news with Henry, who was equally pleased and felt relieved by Sam's achievements. At school, Lian answered all her teacher's questions correctly and was rewarded with 3,000 Naira for her brilliance. Excited, she couldn't wait for the day to end so she could show her parents the money she had earned. Lian also made new friends, encouraged by her teacher, Michael, who praised her intelligence and urged others to befriend her. When Lian got home, she greeted her parents politely and proudly showed them the money. They celebrated her success together. Later that day, Henry visited his company, which produces juice and biscuits, to check on his employees' punctuality and attendance. He doesn't visit often, but when he arrived, he discovered that many employees had either not shown up or arrived late. To his dismay, even the manager was absent. Furious, Henry made a quick decision to fire the manager and all absent employees. He also suspended those who arrived late for two weeks. However, he rewarded Alex, the only punctual employee, with 30,000 Naira and promoted him to the position of manager. After making these announcements, Henry left the company. That evening, while Henry was sitting in the living room with his family, the employees he had fired came to plead for forgiveness. Although Henry did not rehire them, he gave them some money to help them start over, but firmly stated they could no longer work for him.