Drowning

Mary.

5.

I arrived home safely after being away for a year. My mom was so pleased to see me return home as she helped in offloading my luggage from the cab I boarded home. My brother partook in the WASSCE coming out with distinctions. That night, we watched a movie after which we retired to our various rooms. As custom demanded, I said my prayers and was about sleeping when Raymond called. I wasn’t in the mood to talk and so had an abridged conversation with him.

It’s been over a year since Daniel and I last spoke to one another. I tried calling but it wasn’t going through. Since I had his house address, I paid him a visit on my arrival, I got to know that he was overseas pursuing his masters degree. Disappointed about the outcome of my visit, I headed for a diner where I met Raymond. On seeing him I pummeled the surprise face. We exchanged pleasantries and were soon chatting. He had this muscular physique, and also fits into the stereotypical image of toughness. We had our conversation based on our social life, we soon moved to the relationship aspect. “are you engaged to someone” he asked. “no I’m not” I replied.

I was never a fan of staying out late, and so I begged Raymond if I could take my leave. He obliged, and I was soon out of the diner. Adjourning all of my schedules, I began job hunting on the morrow. I had applications sent across various organisations. The rate of unemployment at that time could be attributed to the poor state of the country’s economy as companies rarely had vacancies. Only a few companies replied my mail. I was perturbed as to whether or not I would get a job. As a young lady, I wasn’t comfortable being idle at home and so decide to learn an entrepreneurial skill. I was interested in being a fashionista, and soon told my mom about it. My mom along with her connections helped me secure my admission at the school. In no due time, I was an apprentice at ‘ROGERS FASHION WORLD’. Punctuality and communication were my watchword while still under apprenticeship at the school. I became the customers favourite due to my good communication skills while interacting with them. To some, seeing a university graduate become an apprentice was absurd, to me it was an opportunity to get my hands busy. Taking measurements of our customers was always done meticulously in our bid to avoid mistakes.

MARY.

Always make the right choices in life as they would guide you to your success. This wasn’t the case with Mary. Mary looked dedicated the first time I saw her. I never for one day perceived that she could have a change of heart. On my first day at the school she was introduced to me as the oldest apprentice the school had, as others had graduated months before. Mary rarely talked, but was always keen to listen to the tittle-tattle of the community. Her commitment to learning was imponderable. In her search for a boyfriend (which was very common amongst youths of 16-25), she got hooked up with a rascal popularly known as ‘COBRA’ due to his cunny lifestyle. Cobra’s influence on Mary was quite invincible for sometime, as she laid low in the grass like a snake ready to pounce on its prey. From a godly and energetic youth to a lazy and irresponsible drunkard. During her final stages at the school I became more careful dealing with her. She became the true definition of peer group influence as she was a source of danger to people around her. Mary who was once faultless soon became feckless, as she breathed out all manners of immorality daily. After many attempts to see her change, the school decided to fasten her stay at the school. Having one year left for her course, she was made to graduate after only three months. I really missed her being the good girl she was initially. My stay at the school was a bliss as I was set to graduate after completing my course.