MEMOIRS OF PISCES (episode 1)

ANNIE

The mean generator stopped roaring around 3am, leaving receding echoes in Annie's eardrums. She was relieved and troubled at the same time. This same thing happens everyday and in the morning, she wakes up feeling drained. Everyone in the face me I face you compound has gotten used to Bros Zik's I better pass my neighbor generator but Annie doesn't think she ever will because, her room was just next to his thus, she suffered the noise the most, coupled with the smoke that came with it. On this particular night, Annie was more troubled because, she has an interview by 11 am at Lekki. This is the 15th interview she will be going for since the past nine months of applying to over thirty companies. She didn't even prepare for it cos she was already tired of studying her G-Math textbook and rehearsing the right answers, her smile and her grammar. No one can ever fathom what employers want in Nigeria so she was done trying to impress anyone.

She checked the time again; it was past 3 am now. She hasn't been able to sleep at all partly because of the noise and partly because of the interview. She was almost broke again and this time around, if it happens, she would have no choice but to go back to Calabar and resume patching up with her parents who were already fed up of her joblessness. She went on her knees and eyes closed with her hands together in supplication, she whispered into the hot room.

"Dear Lord, I'm at my breaking point. I'm tired of this place, this house, this rat race in Lagos and worse of all, these fruitless interviews. Just make this one work, okay? I don't mind going all the way to Lekki from here. It's gonna cost a lot but, just let me into the system first and I know you'll handle the rest. And please, could you just finally destroy this Bros Zik's generator? It's making me sick! Okay, I'm sorry. That was petty of me but, I'm just fed up of the noise, the smoke and all. Anyways, thanks for answering cos I know you've done it. Amen"

........................

Annie walked into the board room and stiffened when she saw that the panel waiting to interview her was totally different from the type she was used to. She had applied for the role of  a PA to the CEO in this Audit firm and from what she had read online about them, they've been in existence for over twenty years now. They're a huge deal with clients such as the who is who in Nigeria. Annie had developed a particular interest in that position cos she saw it as an opportunity to finally work in a field where she could grow and put to practice what she studied in school.

So when she walked into the board room, she was surprised to see that there were 6 men and a woman waiting for her in the room. They looked impatient and when she noticed the crease on their foreheads, she hastened to the seat that was meant for her. She had on the only corporate gown she had. It was black and clingy, accentuating her curves. She wore flats and carried her everyday bag which was a second hand nude colored Balenciaga bag she had purchased at Boundary Market. Her hair was pulled back in a tight knot and she had no makeup on because the heat from the Danfo Bus would have melted the hell out of the makeup like she usually saw happening to most ladies that boarded those buses.

The room was awfully quiet and she became uncomfortable.  One full minute passed and nobody said anything. Somehow, Annie couldn't look elsewhere so she kept her eyes fixed on no one in particular but on the seven of them. They in turn did same and Annie felt her heart beat accelerate. She felt thirsty too and thought if it would be rude to ask for water but thought better of it. Then, the woman broke the silence by saying with a voice that sounded milky but sure, unhurried and confident.

"Hmm, I'm impressed. You're not a chatterbox."
Annie was confused. She didn't know what to say to that. So instead, she shook her head. But the woman continued, smiling this time.

"I like the fact that you didn't try to fill up the silence with unnecessary chats. That's key for us. We value silence in this organisation but the issue we have with you is, you don't have any experience in such matter" she paused, flipped through Annie's cv and glanced at the other men who nodded in agreement while doing likewise. Annie sighed and spoke up finally.

"Ma'am, I want to assure you, I can perform every function in the job description. As you rightly said, I'm not much of a big talker but my actions far outweigh my words. In a positive, productive and effective way I mean. And I know I'm the right candidate for this job cos, I'm detailed, smart and I do not compromise standards for anything" she stopped and waited to hear what would come next. She felt she sounded cheezy but she had to. She needed the job and hoped they would consider her.
The woman smiled knowingly like she knew something only Annie and her knew then she said the familiar words that Annie was fed up of hearing.
"We'll get back to you. Thanks for coming. Do have a nice day" and with that, they all stood up.
Annie replied, "Thanks for having me. I look forward to hearing from you" then she walked out of the room, holding her head up and struggling not to slouch in dejection.
..................

The traffic was hell and by the time Annie got home, it was 6 pm. She had been called into the board room by 3 pm cos she had met a crowd of candidates by the time she got to the company. Bros Zik was at it again.The moment Annie walked into her one room apartment, she heard their moans and groans and this time, she felt like screaming out loud or breaking something. She plugged in her ear piece to her phone and played Magic's "Let your hair down" to block out the noise but she could still hear;
"Ewo! Zik, hei! Ah! easy biko. Ewu! Chimo!"
"Who's ya daddy? Who's ya daddy? You want am?"
"Yes. Yes."
"Oya take am. Ah baby. Take am."
Annie was furious cos she could still hear the noise so she changed into a jogger and a tank top then left the house to take her usual evening stroll. I can't deal with such crude sexual expressions today she thought to herself as she left the Compound.

BURNT (Episode 1)

Her fingers worked with a frenzy on the keyboard. She was desperate to beat the dead line of 10 am and it was already 9:45 am. Her boss will skin her alive if the script wasn’t ready by that time. The intern that was assigned to her had not even resumed to commence work on the second script. “What a morning!” she thought. She typed in more words, added a few more lines, adjusted her glasses and then added the final full stop and that was it. She was done. She quickly printed out the 5 pages of the script and hurriedly left her cubicle to her boss’s office.

Mr. Duke quickly scanned through the papers with a speed that always left her stunned cos at the end of every scan he did, he never missed out on any error. He nodded his head in satisfaction indicating that she was free to leave. She was almost at the door of the spacious office when he called her back;

"Mila”

She turned around waiting for his scolding to come in their usual bouts but instead, she was surprised at what came next.

“This is one hell of a script you wrote. I’m impressed. Lunch’s on me”

That said, he turned around to face the beautiful lake side view outside his window. Mila couldn’t conceal her smile that almost made her dance for joy. Anyone who knew Mr. Duke would know that he was never generous with compliments.  He was a tough boss to please.  As she walked back to her cubicle which was in the third open spaced office, she took the moment to reflect on her journey to this point of working for one of Nigeria’s largest and most successful advertising agency.

…………

Mila had been a freelance writer with her focus mainly on reviews. She had started as a result of not being able to secure a job after a year of graduating from college. At first, it had started as her passion but later on, she had gotten serious with it as she realized that her writing had started drawing the attention of the right audience. Her breakthrough came when she was contacted by Mr. Duke himself for a chat. She had been skeptical about the identity of the caller.

Mr. Duke was the CEO of the ACE Group. She knew of the company and had fantasized about writing a script for one of their adverts on countless occasions.  The company was situated at Victoria Island in Lagos Nigeria thus whenever she found herself on the Island, she would deliberately ask the Taxi driver to take the route where the company  was situated so that she could feed her eyes with the magnificence of the building  and also inhale the intoxicating richness of the environment.

Mila had gone for the “Chat’’ which turned out to be an interview. She passed the test as it really was a test. Mr. Duke, coupled with 3 other members of his management team had asked her so many questions which required her to provide just one answer to each and though, she couldn’t recall what her answers had been, she passed. They had shared a glass of wine to welcome her to join the company and each had expressed admiration for her reviews.

That was 6 months ago. Now, she had come to realize that it wasn’t an easy feat working in such a high paced environment. Though, the pay was more than enough for her 25 year old self to go by as well as pay her bills, she found herself working beyond the regular 9-5 hours.

She got to her cubicle, sat on her seat, rested her throbbing head in her palms for a bit and then set to work on the next script. She was mid way typing when she heard the familiar giggle of the intern, Simi.

“Oh hell!” Mila cursed softly under her breath.