SEVEN (7)

Hey Buddy' sandy called out to fedo who was standing by a window, watching out from the control tower, a row of some magnificent planes standing as though they could start moving on their own. How he so loved that view. He turned back to face sandy whom he always thought to be beautiful. He loved her so greatly but he could not let her know, maybe because he always loved to keep everything professional at work or for just the simple reason that he was a very shy type. ‘fedo’ she whispered again. ‘ah-ah you are such a workaholic ’ He smiled as he turned finally to face her directly. She smiled too, getting close to him and fixing his collar. ‘thanks' he said before adding, ‘you know those plane aren't gonna fly themselves ’ ‘oh save me that fedo' she said as though she was upset by what fedo said, ‘don't you ever think about fun and stuffs like that?’ she made a sad expression. ‘i am not saying that', he turned to take a look at the planes again, ‘i am just saying I love it up there. The elevator seemed not to move as fast as it used to. Fedo thought probably the power was very low or more likely because he was very excited and anxious. Sandy had told him she had a surprise for him and his heart could not explain what it felt. It had been a long time since anyone had surprised him. And a surprise coming from his crush must be a very good one. Ding! the elevator finally reached the much anticipated floor. It's door slid open to reveal a group of people. Six men and a pretty woman to be specific. They all sat round a table with some sheets of paper in front of each of them. All looking towards the elevator to show they had been waiting for the people they expected it bring down. And to the relief their waiting was not in vain. ‘Sandy what took you so long', yelled the lady on the table. ‘its not entirely my fault’, sandy replied shrugging her shoulder, ‘the pilot would not lose site of his plane'. All at the table sighed save the lady who from the expression on her face seemed that the gesture was irrelevant. Fedo moved to settle on the only chair that was available on the table, while sandy moved on to grab something from a locker standing by the left. The room was big, just perfect a for cyber conference room. It had really large screens hanging round about. The walls had rugs for wallpaper to aid sound proofing(that is to prevent echoing when loudspeakers were in use) The walls on four sides also had four boxes that was embedded with numerous buttons. and round about on the flour stood many tables with various types of computer and electronic devices. The floor was covered with electronically patterned ceramic tiles. It was specifically crafted so no one could get into the room except through the elevator. ‘ok am here what is it that you wanted to show me', Fedo asked particularly to nobody. ‘ok it's just the plan for the journey', said the man that was sitting directly opposite Fedo. ‘yeah we wanted to show you what we have in mind since you are leading us', another man replied. ‘guys guys', Fedo said trying to resist the honors, ‘it's not like it's a mission, it's just a vacation'. ‘yeah yeah', the woman on the table whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, ‘Chuks' she called referring to the man opposite Fedo, ‘show it to him'. The man moved his chair away from the table to provide enough room for him to get up. He then stood up carrying a small and black rectangular gadget which looked like a remote, but for the fact that it did not have any buttons. He pressed the smooth surface of the gadget and it glow a white light, immediately bringing to life one of the large screens hanging from the roof. It was a remote after all. ‘ok, here we go', Chuks said before turning to his notebook computer system which hard no hardware buttons on it. He taped on the keyboard and made a few swipes and an image appeared on the screen. ‘wow!', exclaimed Fedo, ‘what is that', he added with a look of surprise. He looked at everyone's face but no one else seemed surprised. ‘suprise', Chuks said expressionlessly before adding, ‘as you can see that's a yacht'. ‘i know', fedo said dropping all the excitement, ‘i mean you should explain..', he stopped not knowing what to add. ‘Ok, we are spending our holiday on that yacht. We need to leave the air and land and remember how it feels to be on the waters again', Chuks stopped to see the impact his little speech would make on Fedo. At that moment all attention went to Sandy who now made a lot of noise from searching the lockers and cabinet simultaneously. ‘What are you looking for Sandy?', Ify the woman on the table asked. ‘nothing important' sandy replied. ‘Ok', said Tunde who was on the table. Drawing back the attention of all back to the screen., ‘what do you think Fedo?'. ‘i totally love the idea', Fedo said raising both of hands and lightly dropping them back on the table. Everyone smiled and giggled. One could even hear Sandy giggling from her distance. Everyone showed sign of relief except Fedo who was confused and did not really know the reason for their joy. ‘i told you he would agree', said Okon who was still laughing and who had not said a word until the moment. ‘are you for real', asked Emeka another man on the table. ‘of course', replied Fedo who by now had realized that they thought he would have not accepted the idea. ‘I have never traveled by sea before ’, he said flatly and dryly, which made everyone fall into deep laughter. ‘enough guys', Okon said. ‘yeah enough before you make him cry', added sandy who now leaned on the cabinets to face the others. ‘Ok everyone we are setting out tomorrow', Chuks Said interrupting the laughter and the jesting. ‘Mr Tunde and Okon had given us access to their boats on let for a month. No kids is allowed on the trip so as to avoid damage which could lead to extra charges'. He stopped. ‘non of us is married and non of us has kids’, Ify said rather flatly. ‘yeah!' exclaimed Vincent who had also been long silent for unknown reasons. Everywhere was awkwardly silent for some seconds before Tunde took it upon himself to bring the meeting to a close. ‘well ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your trip, or should I say vacation'. He moved his chair and created enough space to stand up. Okon followed suit and they both made for the elevator. ‘Take care of my boat Fedo' Tunde said before entering. Fedo turned and nodded with an assuring look. Everyone was talking to one another about the journey save Fedo who stood up and moved towards Sandy who had resumed her searching. He reached her just in time to hear her whisper to herself the words "found it". ‘found what', he asked startling her. ‘Nothing', she replied immediately dropping the small pink micro chip she was holding back into the drawer. Fedo watched her close the drawer and leave for the elevator before he started thinking about the trip with his six close colleagues. ©stories of ease Godwin Samuel