Stand by me

54. The flabbergasted Gina.

Safiyya glanced at her neighbor who pulled their chair back. It was a black-haired lady with red-painted lips and round eyes. She was lazily scrutinizing the new girl with scorn in her eyes.

"What's your name?" she asked instantly.

"Safiyya," Safiyya returned in a calm voice.

"I'm Ana. So you are a Muslim?" she asked eyeing the hijab.

"Yes," Safiyya nodded. Isn't it obvious?

"Don't you feel hot or restricted in that thing? Looks so uncomfortable," Ana scrunched her face.

So that's where she was going. Safiyya simply smiled and shook her head. "I don't. I would feel so if I wasn't."

Ana scoffed and said, "You are in black and white which means that you are from the lowest department here besides the cleaners. I wonder if you are good to work in here,"

Safiyya held the woman's gaze and replied, "The workers in black and white are workers too in Hill Corp and the fact that they have a department on them shows their importance. Whether it's the filing office or the delivery office, they play vital roles in the long run." she ignored the frown on Ana's face and continued, "As for whether I can work here or not, I am sure that Hill Corp won't hire someone in a department that they can't work,"

Ana was quiet before rolling her eyes. "Let's see how you run your mouth later when Mrs.Gina returns and finds out that you haven't done half of your work. You know, I pity you a little. On your first day, you got so much work. Sorry," she twisted her lips and drew her chair in.

Safiyya simply smiled and started work. With time, the files on the desk were shifted. Ana peeped and smirked thinking that Safiyya couldn't solve them.

Safiyya was working on the online files and before the lunch break, she had submitted them. She looked around as everyone was holed in their work and leaned into her chair, browsing in her phone.

A little while later, she heard shuffling and realized it was time for the lunch break. Safiyya stood up and watched as Ana stretched her waist earning quite some looks because the woman was busty. Ana didn't seem to care and she even flipped her hair.

She noticed Safiyya taking her bag and walked over to her.
"Hey, girl. Don't tell me you are going home. The fact that you couldn't solve anything today is not bad. After all, it's your first day," she said sympathetically. Of course, it was sarcastic.

Safiyya wasn't surprised by this and returned, "Don't worry about me, Ana. I wonder if there is a locker room here?"

Ana hummed and gave her the location before they went out with the others. Safiyya went behind them to the cafeteria and got her lunch before going to the locker room. Luckily, a bathroom was in there and she performed wudu and prayed dhur.

She returned to her desk when the break was over and sat down to continue her research. Ana scoffed at the behavior and told her she would be in trouble when Mrs. Gina found out.

That didn't matter to Safiyya and she was thinking of how she would leave the office to pick up Joseph from school. She thought about it and texted Alfred. It took a few minutes before his call came in and she quickly went to the locker room.

He immediately reprimanded her when she picked up the call, "What do you mean that you don't know how to pick Joseph today? Didn't we discuss about this,"

Safiyya bit her finger and replied, "I know that but that was when I was still in the filing office and Gab was not strict but I got promoted to the accounting department today."

"That should be for you to solve not to involve me," he said. "And you should be working in A5 or something close to that and they have fewer restrictions to the workers. So what's this fuss about?"

A5? She was in A20! But telling Alfred about that will stir trouble.
"Yeah. That's right. I will pick him up. Promise," she said and quickly ended the call. He must think that she was crazy.

Safiyya walked back to her desk and knocked on the wall separating her from Ana.
"What do you want?" Ana pulled back and asked lazily.

"When can a worker leave the office?" Safiyya asked.

Ana looked at her like some psycho and answered,
"Obviously when working hours are over or when you finish your work earlier which hardly happens. Jeez," she exhaled and returned to her work.

Safiyya hummed and checked her work again before the research continued. When it was 2:30 pm, she went over to Mrs. Gina's office. After the woman told her to come in, she did and stopped before the desk.

"I hope you aren't here to complain about your work," the woman raised her head and said.

"No ma'am. I sent the work to you earlier. I am done already, " Safiyya said and dropped the files in her hands on the desk.

Gina was agape before she broke into laughter. "You aren't joking around with me right girl?" she knew the work she gave her would take her the next days to finish.

"I am not ma'am. I thought you saw the submitted files," Safiyya returned calmly.

Gina narrowed her eyes and picked one of the files. She started checking and her brows furrowed at the finished work. She picked the others and became more surprised. She glanced at Safiyya before quickly checking her system for the online files and she was left hanging.

"You…." she pointed at Safiyya unbelievably and stood up. "Tell me who helped you work on this?!' she demanded.

Safiyya was astonished and replied instantly, "I did it myself,"

"Do you take me for a fool?" Gina scowled.

Safiyya took a deep breath and said, "I did everything myself, ma'am. No one helped me,"

"Let's see," Gina hummed and projected one of the files on the whiteboard in her office. "Explain what you did here,"

Safiyya patiently explained everything to Gina leaving the woman with no choice but to believe. She stayed quiet before gesturing outside. "You can leave now,"

"I am done for today. Can I leave the office?" Safiyya asked and Gina waved her hand. "You can go," Safiyya thanked her and went out.

Gina quickly called Lando. "Who did you bring to me, Lando? Even with the hard job I gave her, she finished before the lunch break, something others here can only finish in two days. She didn't even make a single mistake. I don't think she should be in A20. If someone finds out about this, I would be in trouble!"

"Calm down Gina," Lando told her. "I know who I brought to you and all you need to do is make her work for a while. She won't even complain. Since she is this fast, isn't that a good thing for you? She can even do your job for you?"

"But what if someone finds out?" Gina asked worryingly.

"Relax. Even if they do, you have a strong backup," he said.

"Oh…okay," Gina nodded and ended the call. What's going on?

Meanwhile, Safiyya who has called Old Xav was driven to Joseph's school. The bell rang and the gates opened. She sighted Joseph and waved at him. He grinned and ran up to her she caught him a be twirled him around.

"Welcome Mummy," he greeted and she dropped him down. "How were the revision classes?" she asked.

"Exciting, " he returned and she took his hand and they entered the car. Joseph narrated how some of his classmates wanted to be his friends now but he was cautious about them, knowing how rude they can be.

She looked at him and said, "You know what baby? Your classmates didn't know you too well before but now they are getting a sight of it. Loosen up with them but remember your close friend should be the one that loves you for who you are not your capabilities. They will stand by you even when you aren't awesome,"

Joseph nodded and she smiled. They reached home and freshened up before she cooked. That night, she was happy that Alfred didn't mention what happened earlier when they met. It's better for now.