THE CHRONICLES OF ANDREW(FROM PAUPER TO PRESIDENCY

“Hmmph” Andrew groaned in frustration as hot sweats gushed out of his face and fell to his shirt. His legs were aching in deep pain which prompted him to rest his back on the wall at the corner of the lobby. This was the fourth time he had cleaned the long and wide lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel where his in-laws managed. He had been instructed by his mother-in-law to do so and Andrew wouldn’t want to go against her to avoid further humiliation. He knew he had to do his work perfectly that morning even before she arrived. Most of the staff in the hotel felt pity for Andrew, having being treated like a slave unlike them. His stomach gave out a loud grumble and he realized that he had not eaten the whole day and it was already past noon. He thought about resting for a while but he remembered how his mother-in-law had humiliated him the previous day when he tried to take a short rest. He yanked the thought off and continued with his work. He took a deep breath as sweat still streamed down his face continuously. Claudia Gilbert, his mother-in-law ambled towards her office when she met him working, she glanced at him coldly. “Pauper,” she said in disgust. She spat on the floor before she briskly walked away. Andrew wasn’t happy with the way he was being treated by his wife’s parents but his love for Diana made him endure the pain being inflicted on him by his family-in-law. Andrew and Diana met three years ago at an event, after which they became friends and got married a few months later. It was after the marriage Andrew moved into the Gilbert mansion after he couldn’t afford to pay his house rent since he lost his previous job. It was due to Diana’s pressure on her parents that made them agree to give Andrew a job at the hotel as a Janitor. Diana saw potential and ambition in Andrew, a man who was determined to succeed by all means but everything changed when Diana was stripped of her right by her father for going against him. Andrew yawned uncontrollably as he stopped for some minutes, he glanced around to be sure no one was watching him. He heard some footsteps and turned to see his fellow janitors striding to where he was, his gaze fixated on them as they marched like soldiers approaching him, but let out a sigh when they walked past him. “Where could they be going,” he asked himself curiously. He wondered as the four of them walked down the place until they were out of sight. Andrew wasn’t surprised by their behavior, the constant humiliation from his in-laws had made other staff in the hotel belittle him. He was still there as two other janitors also walked past him, he tried to understand what was going on and why they weren’t on duty at the time, but he had no ideas flowing through his head. He turned and saw another colleague and stopped him immediately. “What is going on?” Andrew spoke out of curiosity. “Where is everyone going?” Andrew further questioned as he stared quizzically at the young man. “The manager has sent for all the janitors in the hotel”.The young man responded. “You didn’t know about it?” He asked, giving Andrew a skeptical glare. “No, Not at all”. Andrew answered obliviously. No one had told him that all the janitors were to assemble at that time. “Thank You”. Andrew mouthed to the man who nodded and continued walking down to where he was going. Andrew quickly rinsed his mob and bucket and rushed to the manager’s office. He came in still sweating as he saw the janitors in a straight line. He didn’t ask any questions and quickly joined the line. He saw the first person coming out with some money in his hand. “Ah”. He said slowly as he hit his hand on his head wondering why he didn’t remember that this was the end of the month. At first, he wondered why they had been called and the idea that they were getting paid today didn’t come to his brain at all. A small smile curved on his lips knowing he would be getting paid. He glanced at his in-laws from where they were and his eyes lit in surprise as he noticed that they had increased the janitor’s fee to $400. He screamed in joy within him because he knew that such an amount would go a very long way for him. They paid the sixth person before him and it came to his turn. He bowed to his in-laws and noticed Claudia giving him a disdainful stare, he ignored her stare since it wasn’t his problem at the time. He stretched his hand to collect his salary from Anderson, his father-in-law. Anderson gave him the money and at first, he could feel the small weight of the money on his hand which he wasn’t expecting. He calmed his breath as he checked it out and noticed the payment was not what others received. “What?” he screamed out in disbelief.