It all began in 2020

CHAPTER FIVE😣

CHAPTER FIVE😣

GBENGA

My day could have been worse I kept on telling myself. To be honest, the events that happened a few hours ago didn't come as a shock to me. I was expecting it for a very long time, it just didn't come the day I planned.

I woke up early in the morning to thank God for the gift of life and have my bath, after which I went over to the kitchen to prepare myself some bread and tea. It was the only thing available anyway. I dressed up in my work clothes, a suit and a tie. I headed out of the house that morning. I wasn't happy about it, but I knew that it was one of the things I just had to do. It's not like I had a choice anyway.

I got into a taxi which was cramped with so many people just like me. A bunch of grumpy middle aged men waiting to be occupied with a job that offered a very inappropriate pay. I was one of the last people to be dropped and after paying my fare of about a hundred naira, I came down from the cab, fixed my tie and headed into the office. On getting in, I exchanged greetings with everyone, and many of them were pleased to see me, others... oh well, let's just say they woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I walked into my own personal office and set up for the day, rearranged my work desk and put on my computer. I was ready.

I was fully concentrated on my work which required me to create an analysis of the firm's expenditure, being the assistant to the deputy manager of the firm. I was like the second of the second. My job title didn't sound quite pleasing I must say, but at least, it paid the bills. I continued with my work, submitted it to the head of my department and I sat back down to rest. My head was placed on the table as I was reminiscing about the good memories I shared with the people around me. Of course, that didn't last long, because almost immediately, I was called into the director's office.

He called me to set up the board room for a meeting. Now, this was very unexpected as it wasn't my job, it was the job of his secretary, but seeing as she was well focused on her computer screen, I could only assume she was very busy. I headed into the board room, set up the projector, made sure it was placed at the right angle, cleaned every chair and table, placed the bottles of water where appropriate, you know, stuff like that. When I was done, I reported back to the director's office and he told me that he would love to see me after his meeting. Frankly speaking, I was scared. That director was one unpredictable bald eagle, but there was nothing I could do, he was my boss anyway. As my son would say, "this life no balance."

When he was finally done with his meeting, he called me into his office, and the scared me walked in. His office was really cold because of the air conditioner on and that reminded me of the table fan I was stuck with in my own office. Anyway, that wasn't the bone of contention at that point because, as soon as the director took his seat, he reached into his drawer and brought out an envelope. Now, everyone knows that could only mean two things, either I got a promotion, or I was being laid off, I could only hope for the best. I collected the letter and tore it open, then read the contents of the letter. Alas, my worst fears were finally here, I was getting fired from the only job I had, my only source of income.

"But sir... why?" I asked him with my voice trembling.

"The inflation in the country is just too much and we're afraid we're going to need to lay off some workers we deem as unnecessary in this organization."

"But sir. I am an assistant to your assistant, I help him with things he can't handle, how is he going to cope without me?"

"Don't bother yourself about that. Okay. He'll be fine. We'll be fine. Meanwhile, I would need you to head over to the accountant to collect your last pay check. It was nice having you with us. You were a very hardworking and reliant fellow. It really breaks my heart to tell you so but it's just what the senior management team felt."

"Was that what the meeting was about? To fire me? Are you trying to tell me that I basically set up my own hell?"

"To be honest, I had already had the secretary type out your letter before we had the meeting in the board room. We just went over to lay out how things would be running from now on, seeing that we'll be short on staff."

I stood there, dumfounded. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't think of how I would be able to survive without this job. Soon, I remembered all the responsibilities I had, all the bills I had to pay. They were just too much, and there was my wife, a full blown house-wife, there was no way we would cope.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to." the director said, while showing me the door. I walked out of the office, my face downcast as ever and I went into my own office, and packed out all my personal items. To be honest, I was actually glad I wouldn't have to be waking up at five thirty in the morning only to come back at nine PM or sometimes ten if they wanted to stress me out. It was just too bad it all had to happen at this moment. I put all of my personal items in a small carton. My wife's picture, my coffee cup, everything I placed in the brown cardboard box.

I walked out of my office, and as people saw me with the items in my hand, they were quick to say sorry. I was happy people were sad I was being laid off, or maybe they were just being polite, it didn't matter because I knew their sympathy and words wouldn't bring my job back. I finally walked out of the office with the box in my hands. There I was, standing like a man who just had his first taste of freedom. The sun was still shining bright outside, and it was just too early to return home. I didn't want to tell my wife anything yet, I planned on telling her everything later, while I tried shifting the incident to the back of my mind.

I walked a bit down the road with my cardboard box. Everyone's eyes were on me and I am sure some might have even taken me as a mad man, but it's okay, everyone had the right to think whatever they wished. After walking a few more metres, I arrived at a bar. I got in and the bartender was quick to notice me. I sat down on one of the bar stools and placed my box on the bar counter. He asked me what I wanted and I begged him to ask me that later as I really wasn't ready to order anything just yet. While I was sitting down, trying to rest my head and get rid of my headache, someone with a much too familiar voice shouted my name. I looked around to see where the voice was coming from. It was Sola. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So, let me start by saying a huge thank you to everyone that voted and commented on this book. Because of your undying tenacity, "it all began in 2020" is on the Wattpad hotlist and ranks at number 19 in "coronavirus"🤣. Anyway, there is no words I could use to describe how much I appreciate every one of you. Thank you all so much.