The Undecided Love

"ARE YOU A THIEF?"

"Okay, I'm heading out. How do I look?" I came out of my room and did a quick spin so that they could see the whole outfit. Today was my first day of work and I wanted to look appropriate and not embarrass myself.

"Hmm...It is definitely not slutty. Quite a good balance of sexy and cute." Andrew rubbed his chin and I gave a slight bow to show my thanks.

"You're sure you don't need a ride?" Junior asked me and I shook my head.

"I'm not going to allow myself to be the first topic after a hot guy drops me off and he's being eyed by any fellow female co-worker."

"Sorry, you lost me at 'hot guy'." He laughed.

I was resuming work today and I was nervous as hell. I'm pretty sure my new boss has gotten more people and the idea of making friends with my new co-workers was frightening. Thinking of it, I miss Gbolabo and the others.

We had succeeded in painting my old room and my grandmother's the day after we painted my parents' room and moved things about. The rooms look pretty empty with just beds and empty shelves and closets, but I hope it doesn't stay that way.

We spent Friday shopping for foodstuffs and new work clothes for me, courtesy of Andrew, and pasting notices of available rooms for rent around. Grey had left saying he had to do some things and I didn't question him. Whatever he did with his life wasn't my business anymore.

Andrew and Junior also drove to my new workplace to check it out and estimate the distance between home and their campus in case they wanted to stop by once in a while.

"Wish me luck then." I kissed them both on their cheeks and left the house. The time was almost 7.30am and I had to be there by 8. I didn't want to be late on my first day, so I half ran to the bus stop.

When I got to the gate, I was in a hurry to get inside that I didn't see the guy in front of me. He almost dropped the bags he was carrying after I bumped into him.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there." I exclaimed and stepped back to examine the stranger. Looking at the load he was carrying, I assumed he was an employee too. I smiled and offered to carry the bags just to leave a good impression.

"It's okay. We don't allow customers to assist." He smiled and I shook my head quickly.

"I'm actually an employee here. Aren't you one too?" I asked.

"I want to be but my father won't allow me, says it would distract me from my school work," He turned to walk inside the restaurant and I stood there in a state of confusion. Who was he then?

I was soon brought back to the present when my boss tapped me on my shoulder from behind and I apologized, running inside to prepare for the day.

I didn't see the stranger when I got in but I saw four other people setting up the tables and I knew they were my new co-workers. My boss, whom I later discovered to be Mr. Ejiofor, clapped and told us to gather round and introduce ourselves.

I didn't want to say much because I was nervous. "Hi, my name is Adeola and I'm 19 years old. Let's work hard together," and ended it with a shy wave. If Andrew was there, he'd make fun of my shy introduction and wouldn't let me hear the end of it.

A guy wearing glasses cleared his throat. He was quite tall and he wore clothes which seemed expensive. I assumed him to be rich but didn't understand why he would be working as a waiter. "Sup, my name is Dotun and I'm 22 years old. I have just finished university. I needed to prove to my dad I was responsible. That's why I took this job."

A girl stepped forward wearing a really short skirt and I knew she'd be a flirt with every guy, employee or customer. She even seemed like she got her eyes on Dotun and I'm so prepared for drama. "I'm Anita and I'm also 22 years old."

The other two were twins; one was a guy and the other was a girl. They didn't look alike as twins, but you could catch similarities if you looked closely. Example, how they both had full eyebrows and a mole above their lip.

"I'm Joseph and she's Josephine." The guy spoke up.

"And?" Anita popped her gum and I rolled my eyes.

"Not needed." He smiled and we gave an awkward clap before my boss spoke up.

"I wanted you guys to introduce yourselves before we start so that you can feel familiar with one another. We come from different places, so we might have a lot of differences, but that should not be an obstacle to working together and working hard." Mr Ejiofor said, and we nodded.

"Also, we should have fun here. It can't be all about serious business. Let there be a light air around here. If there's a problem with a customer, let me know. Don't do anything that will risk your job." He dismissed us, going into his office, and I waited behind the counter.

Now we wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was carrying an order to a table when my phone rang. We picked up customers in the first two hours and we were pretty occupied. Joseph was manning the register while the rest of us were waiting at tables. My boss said the bar section wasn't ready yet, so we just had chefs and employees attending to hungry customers.

I used my free hand to fish out my phone from my waitress apron when I felt it vibrate and saw that it was Andrew calling me. I quickly walked to the table waiting for their order to drop their food and drinks and walked away to answer the call.

"Dude, you know I'm at work. Why are you calling me right now?" I whisper-yelled into the receiver as I walked to the bathroom to have the conversation.

"Sorry, just wanted to let you know that a girl came to check the room and she transferred the money to my account," he said happily. "I'll transfer the N40000 to you right now."

I couldn't believe it. I had my first tenant who was okay paying forty thousand naira a year for a room. If I get another tenant and save it up, plus my salary for 6 months, I'd be able to pay back Alhaji with no strings attached.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it." I yelled into the phone.

"I know right. It just remains you getting another tenant and you're good." He said and I felt like dancing, until the thought of actually not getting another person to rent the room struck me. I didn't want to tell Andrew though, so I just kept quiet and told him I needed to get back to work.

When coming out of the bathroom, I collided with the stranger I had met earlier. I was beginning to question why he was here if he wasn't an employee and my sense of security threat heightened.

"Are you a thief?" I asked him and he choked on the water he was drinking from a bottle.

"What? Why would you ask me that?"

"For starters, you're not an employee and you're loitering around." I crossed my arms while giving him a look.

"So even if I was one, you're not afraid of me harming you right now?"

I laughed, "Please, I've handled a fair number of boys, so don't let this skirt fool you."

"Okay, hold on. I'm only here to see my dad." He disposed of his empty bottle in the trashcan.

I paused. I don't think Dotun and Joseph seemed like dads unless-

"Oh my gosh, don't tell me you're my boss' son!" I gasped. s**t, I'm dead. He'd tell his father I was rude and I'd be sent packing. I haven't even been here for a day yet.

"I'm so sorry. I just didn't see you after this morning and you said you weren't an employee and you're in the restricted area.....Please don't tell your father." I pleaded. I was this close to crying. I would do anything, even if it meant kneeling down to beg him.

"Chill. I'm not telling my dad anything." He laughed again and I sighed in relief. It got pretty quiet after that, then I realized I needed to get back to the front and continue my work before anyone noticed I was missing, which would surely put me in trouble.

"I have to get back to work sir." I bowed and turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Can I at least get a name?" He asked me and I shook my head. There's no way I'm giving this guy my name and risk him giving it to his dad afterwards. He seemed like a pervert as he eyed me from head to toe and I felt like kicking him. Boss son or not, if he touched me inappropriately, I would shove my fist down his throat.

"Why?"

"My mum said I shouldn't talk to strangers," I said and left him in the middle of the corridor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After we closed the restaurant, the others were planning on going across the street for food to celebrate our first day of working together, then drink so much alcohol and wake up with mad headache the next day, being Sunday.

But not me.

I just wanted to get home and lie down and watch a movie or two. I'm not going to wake up on a Sunday with a banging head. Also, I need to keep a good image for the girl moving in tomorrow or I'll lose the N40000 I've managed to get.

I didn't meet anyone when I got home, so I assumed they had to go to a party and would be back pretty late. I decided to make myself noodles and just watch a movie on my phone, thanks to the many Anita gave me. She wasn't pretty bad from the few conversations we had together, but she was definitely a big flirt. She said she wouldn't be 22 forever and needed to find her future husband.

I was about to settle in after my shower and enjoy the rest of my evening when a knock was heard on my door. I stood to open it and was greeted by the sight of Grey right there with suitcases and I had to ask, "What the f**k are you doing right now?"

He only pushed me aside and carried his suitcases inside the house and I wasn't going to have it. The last time we were alone like this, hormones were thrown about and I really needed a break from boy drama.

"I'm paying you back by renting this room."

"Oh hell no! I can't allow that."

"Why? You're afraid something might happen between us?"

"I'm only concerned about the girl that paid for one of the rooms today. I don't want her having trouble living here living with a f**k boy."

"With you in my sight, why would I look at another?" he smirked and I almost fell for his words. Almost. I only rolled my eyes.

"That didn't stop you from sleeping with other girls with your quote-unquote sight on me." I folded my arms and raised my brows.

"Okay...I just wanted to help out. Besides, I needed to pay you back for the food the other day and used that as an excuse."

"And...?"

"My mum doesn't want me to be staying at home for the rest of the school year."

"I'm not surprised. I'm sure she was tired of the constant smell of s*x each time she came home." I gave him a look of disgust, then an idea struck me. "But if you want to rent the room, no s*x in this house."

"Got it, landlady." He gave me a salute and went into my old room to arrange his clothes.

"Oh, and for you, you're paying me N50000 then." I called out and went into my room to enjoy the rest of my evening.