Patching Up Pieces

Chapter 3

CHAPTER ONE

TRESURE AKINBODE woke up at the sound of the alarm on her phone. Four O’ clock. She grumbled out of bed wondering why it was morning already. She had stayed up late trying to finish collating the data for a company and preparing a report on it. Deadline was that morning. It had taken her three days to complete and she was glad she met the deadline, but her body seemed not to be so happy about staying up late.

Setting her bathing water to boil in the kettle, Treasure was grateful for the power supply that morning. Most mornings were not so lucky and she would have to bathe with the icy water that way.

She moved towards the small army-green metal stove at the corner of her little kitchen in the one room-and-parlour apartment. Lifting it few inches above the ground, she gave it a little twirl and sighed in relief when she heard the tossing of kerosene in it. Breakfast was a given, thankfully. She looked over the mess she had not been able to clean up since the previous day and sighed. It would have to wait until later, she thought. She added to the untidiness after she was done with preparing breakfast.

Not planning on eating that early, she packaged her meal of egg sauce sandwich in a plastic pack and placed it in her black handbag. She rushed to have her bath and get dressed. Office hours began at 8 AM and she needed to leave early due to the distance and traffic.

She paused in front of the long, vertical mirror at the left side of her bed and took a lengthy look at herself. Her slender face – which was framed nicely by the afro extension she had on – had pronounced cheekbones and small lips which she had painted ombre. Her eyes, an almost pitch black with their ever penetrating glare were lined in black, her short curly lashes brushed out with a mascara. Her nose was wide and sat comfortably on her face. Treasure hated those two features – her eyes and nose – even though they seemed to add some extra spice to her looks. No negative thoughts, she ordered herself, shaking her head. Think happy thoughts.

Her eyes moved to the clothes she chose. Bright green pleated skirt, which brushed below her knees, over a white long-sleeved chiffon shirt she had tucked in. She liked the way the green looked on her light skin. Her shoes and bag were both black so they blended perfectly. Style was important to her. She picked up the black jacket she would have to wear to fight the morning cold and eased herself into it. She nodded in approval at her reflection and took a quick glance around to see if she was forgetting anything.

Treasure shuddered as the cold breeze smothered her skin. It was a distance to get to the main junction and she knew she would be bathed by the dew before she got there. Quickening her pace and hugging herself to keep the cold away, her eyes were alert to spot any weird movement. She had overhead her neighbour narrate how he was nearly robbed a few weeks back while he was leaving for work early one morning and ever since then, she had been very vigilant, her otapiapia always within her reach to spray in any harasser’s eyes. Thankfully, she saw a commercial motorcycle heading towards her. Empty.

“Okada,” she yelled as she flagged down the motorist. “Abeg, take me to Agboju.”

“Madam, your money na N200,” the motorist replied.

“N200 ko. Na N150 I dey pay.”

"I no get change o."

"I get." She mounted the motorcycle. That ended the bargain.

The sky was beginning to light up in a faint blue. The scent of dew on the wet ground filled the cool morning air. Treasure inhaled deeply. She always enjoyed witnessing sunrise every day, having to feel the cool wind brush against her face. She also enjoyed watching the way the city springs to life each morning. People were always on the move, no matter how early; market women, office workers, commercial workers, and school children. As she got closer to where she would drop off, she held her breath. The pleasant smell of the morning was replaced with the odour of the decomposing garbage that lined the corners of the street close to the main market.

When she arrived at where the buses were being boarded, she was again grateful to be the one to complete the seats of one.

Like she did every working day, as the bus began its journey, she hoped there would be less stopping for passengers to alight, which meant a faster journey. There was also traffic to consider, but so far, it appeared to be light.

Treasure looked out of the window after paying the fare, trying to cut her mind off from the loud voice of the man who had begun to preach.

“God wants to be part of our everyday lives,” the man said. “The Bible says that He would never leave us, nor forsake us...”

Treasure boiled within herself. These so-called Christians, she thought, always being nuisances everywhere they go. She recalled with disgust a few of them at the office who would always drop their religious fliers on people’s desks, invading privacy. To her, they all were merely hypocrites, unashamed to use religion as a license for their wicked ways.

Treasure felt her face heat up as she shut her eyes tight. More memories, which she had tried to push away appeared and she silently cussed at the preacher for initiating it.

After enduring the t*****e for almost an hour, she alighted from the bus and boarded another one to the Island. Instantly, she was happy to have something else occupy her mind. She enveloped her mind with the life outside of the bus, as they made the transition from the Mainland to the Island. The bus was quiet, with the only sounds coming from the engine of the rickety bus and each speed breaker they encountered, along with the other speeding vehicles overtaking them. The tall buildings began to come into view. Her mind wandered.

Treasure had been nursing the idea of moving to the Island. She had been saving up for it. She did not need a big place, no, just a better living condition, far away from anything that reminded her of her past.

When the bus got to the park, she boarded a keke with two other persons. The ride was short. Stepping out at her stop, she glanced at her watch. Seven thirty. She made it on time.

“Good morning, pretty,” a male colleague greeted as she passed through the gate. She could not place his name, but he was someone she would rather not meet that early in the morning.

“Morning,” she murmured, moving towards the swinging doors of the entrance.

“Hey, I am talking to you, miss. It’s rude to ignore someone who is talking to you.” He walked up to her side when she stopped and turned to face him. He had small eyes as though they belonged to a smaller person and a pointy nose, all on a very dark face, which contrasted the white shirt he had on. He was grinning, obviously not seeing or choosing to ignore the bland look on her face.

I really don’t have time for this, Treasure thought. Aloud, she asked, “What do you want?”

“Hey! Still rude, darling,” the man exclaimed. He moved closer. He seemed confident of himself, hands in the pockets of a black pair of trousers, with a lazy gait. Treasure willed herself not to spit on the stupid grin on his face.

“Just wanted to speak with you. ‘Been trying to do so for some weeks, but you always seem to be in a hurry to leave after work. You are really beautiful, you know that? Can I take you out sometime?”

Treasure was not certain if she wanted to gag or just stab him. She smiled inwardly at the thought of the otapiapia in her bag. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Mr...”

“Just call me Mark,” the grin widened.

“Mr. Mark, I have been here long enough to know what a cheap s**t you are. Your eyes can’t focus five minutes on anything that isn’t in a skirt. Sorry to disappoint you, I will not fall for your lame excuse of a personality. If you approach me ever again in this manner, I will see to it that I file a s****l harassment report against you and believe me, you will not escape the consequences.”

She turned and walked into the office. Mark, stunned, watched her leave. The grin on his face disappeared.

The security men by the gate laughed hysterically at him. He stood as though contemplating yelling at them. Then he adjusted his black tie and walked into the office building without a word.

Kemi looked up from the document in her hand as Treasure approached their corner, her round eyes brightening into a smile.

“Good morning, Treasure.” She paused. “You don’t look so good this morning. Well, you don’t most times, but still…”

Treasure shot a glance at the plump, dark woman she had begun to grow fond of since she began to work at the firm some months earlier, then softened her expression a bit.

“I don’t know why there are so many morons that are left to roam around, spoiling people’s precious mornings.” Treasure dropped her bag and slumped unto her chair.

Kemi rested her arm against the divide of their cubicle, facing Treasure. “Treasure darling, you can’t afford to let things get to you so easily. In life, offences will surely come, but we should learn how to thrive above them.”

Treasure looked up from unloading her bag. “Kemi, I know you are trying to help, but it’s not working. So, don’t bother.” She brought out her breakfast and began to munch away.

“Okay,” Kemi said, hands up in surrender. “And thanks for inviting me to come join you in your breakfast, as always.” Rolling her eyes, she sat back in her seat.

“Anyway,” Kemi continued. “Hope you are through with collating the sales data? You know how Mr. Kelvin gets when anyone on the team does not meet deadline.”

Sipping from the bottle of water in her bag, Treasure nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I am. Just let me eat my food in peace. This is eating time for me. Leave work related issues for now, abeg.” She turned on her computer and brought out some documents from her bag.

“Umm… Treasure?” Kemi said after some minutes, her voice dropping to a whisper.

Treasure looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

Kemi strained her neck forward for Treasure to hear her whisper. “Why does Mark keep looking at this direction with daggers flying from his eyes?”

Treasure followed Kemi’s eyes and found Mark quickly looking away before their eyes met. She scoffed and went back to her computer.

"What a waste," Treasure muttered under her breath.

“Don’t mind the p*****t. I gave him a piece of my mind this morning when he tried hitting on me again. I've stayed silent too long.”

Kemi erupted in giggles, holding her stomach as she did. “Don’t tell me he was the moron you were referring to when you came in?” Catching her breath, she shook her head as she went back to arranging the files on her desk. “I wonder what you must have said to warrant that look. I am positive whatever it was, coming from you, it was far from nice. Poor Mark.”

He is poor all right, Treasure thought. Poor and sick in the head. “If you are done laughing at and pitying poor Mark, let’s head towards Mr. Kelvin’s office for more work. I am done eating.”

Kemi nodded in agreement. “The hours of sitting up facing a computer is beginning to tell on me. My body is begging for a break. The workload is on the increase.”

“You are complaining. You who finished your share of work yesterday? I had to take the work home and stayed up till around 1AM to finish mine, yet, I had to be up at four.” Treasure shook her head as they made their way towards the Head Analyst’s office. “I like my job but I don’t like that it keeps me up when I should be having my figurative beauty sleep.”

Kemi chuckled. “Beauty sleep, bawo? Are you not beautiful enough? See people like Mark making advances even without your beauty sleep.”