ANGEL OF HOPE PART TWO.

LIFE OUTSIDE HIGH SCHOOL.

While we were expecting our results, many of us traveled out of Lagos. Some of us began learning one handiwork or the other. The rest of us began working in different p[laces as office assistants, cleaners etc. on my part, my mum got me a job as a messenger in a law firm. The work was good but the pay sucks like seriously. The firm was owned by two renown SANs and it was the most prominent law firm in Mushin with over ten staff excluding the drivers, messengers and cleaners.
In June, our result came out but I failed woefully because I had 7 Ds and 2 Es. I almost cry when I checked it online. I knew I was not smart enough to study hard for the exam yet, I needed someone to hold responsible and to blame for my failure. I felt it unfair that I could failed woefully like that. When my mum saw the result in the evening, she was sadder than I was.
I told you she said. Michael, despite all the money I borrowed from a Corporative Society, see the result you brought home. Assuming your father is alive it would have been better but now I have to be looking for another money to register you for another exam. Mercy too needs money to register for her common entrance examination. I spoke with the H.M. today and she said her exam fee is N12,000 . Where do you think Ill get all that, where?! she turned and hurried away so that I won’t be able to see the single tear that was running down her cheek.
In the evening, I visited some of my mates that were still around and all of them have at least six credits in their papers and when they asked me if Ive checked mine, I quickly said no. I returned home, sad beyond words. So far, I was the only one I knew who flunked the exam in our school. For several minutes, I felt as if the world has come to an end for me and that all hope that I had to study criminology in the university vanished. That night, I didnt eat anything. instead I just locked myself inside my room and continued thinking of what I should have done but which I didnt do and finally what to do.
The following day, I received a letter form Rose. She had travelled to Abuja the next day that we finished our papers to live with her aunt who was a lecturer at the university of Abuja. Her mother had gone visiting and she sent the letter back through her. I tore open the envelop to reveal the letter inside. I opened it quickly and somehow expecting to see that she had failed too (not that I really want her to fail but knowing that someone else was passing through what I was passing through would make the pains bearable).
Xup M?,
Its been a lonnng time n I missed U like kilode. How are you n your sibs? How is your mum too? Im so sorry that I have not been able to 2 reach U since I left Lagos but its bcos of the distance btw us n I believe dat Ull understand.
First n foremost, I want to tell U that I now own a mobile phone P5 techno mobile. The phone is amazing that u can do almost anything on it. Where is my no: 07065430914. I cant wait to hear Ur voice again plz call me immediately U get dis letter.
Also, Ive checked my result. I paused from reading the letter and took a deep breath, knowing and scared of what she would say next. I read on anyway it was very good. I had 4 As, 4Bs and one C. my aunt bought the phone for me to celebrate my success. God I feel so apy. I can now imagine myself a lawyer in embryo. I feel so glad I stopped reading the letter and flung it away angrily. Why must I be the only one that would fail?!
The next day at work was worse. Seeing my employers in their smart suits and court robes and wigs made me think of Rose and my failure. Pepper was added to my wound when Baba (one of the SANs personal drivers) was disgraced by one of the secretaries because he didnt arrive at the office in time to take one of the SANs to the high court for the hearing of a case he was handling. The secretary couldnt have been more than twenty eight years old and baba must be somewhere in his sixties. Yet Baba was apologizing and begging her all the while. I knew that what made the difference was education and that had it been that Baba was educated as much as the lady or more, it would have been a different story.
When I got home in the evening, I stole my mums cell phone and called Rose. I have been dreading the call throughout the whole day but by the time I picked up phone to call her, Ive already made up my mind about things that I would tell her. We talked about everything; my result and my next plan which I said was to obtain Nov/Dec GCE form. She advised me to study hard and try to clear the paper once and I promised her that I would.
I was determined to make my result but something happened which destroyed that determination and turned our lives in our family upside down.

It was a beautiful Friday morning, mum had gone to work and my sibs had gone to school. I didnt go to work but Ive called and took the day off, telling them that I was sick. Actually, I had taken the day off to read for the upcoming exam. I was still reading and concentrating real hard when my mum came in sobbing.
I was as surprised then as you are now. I threw my book away and sprang up from the chair and ran to meet her at the doorway. I took her handbag from her and made her sit down, all the while she was still sobbing. Mum, whats wrong? I asked but she didnt reply, instead, she sobbed harder and her sobbing gathered momentum and throttled to a full anguish wailing that hurt my ears and made my heart break within me. I almost cried myself but I held on, expecting the bad news that made her cry that much.
My mum was a strong woman. Even when my dad died, she had been the one comforting all of us but now that the comforter cannot be comforted, I felt really scared. After much pestering, she took out an envelope from her bag and gave me. I opened it and took out a letter with racing heart and trembling hands. It was a letter of retrenchment. Due to the non- functionality of NIPOST, the federal government had decided to lay off 60% of its workforce and my mum naturally was among those sixty because she was employed at a time when school cert was the minimum qualification for government employment and had not been able to upgrade the result since then till she was retrenched.
I sat down and began thinking. That was the beginning of the end for us in our family. We had no friends nor families that were financially okay enough to cater for their own needs let alone ours. Dad had died a year after building our house through borrowed money and mum has been paying that debt every month since then from her salary but now that the only source of income has been blocked, it was certain that the corporative society would seize the house, sell it, remove their balance from the proceeds and give us the remaining change. I knew all these even before mum spoke and I knew it was part of the reasons why she cried that much. After a very long time, she began to talk;
Michael, here is the reason why Ive been telling you and begging you to be serious. Ive known all along that this will happen one day and here it is now. Theres no way out, the corporative society will sell the house and send us packing. They will give us some change and we could have used that to send you to school and within the next four or five years, youll graduate and the suffering will stop when you secure gainful employment but now you dont even have a certificate let alone proceeding to higher institution. Now that Im jobless, Ill use whatever I have to take care of your sibs. I hope you understand?
I didnt say anything.
Also it is important to let you know that now that you are working, you must contribute to the family finances and that henceforth, your needs are your responsibility and no longer mine because even though I really want to be there for you as a mum, I cant because I have to keep everything in order around here

Now you see that life is not fair? Im less than twenty years old. Just out of secondary school without a result and just as if that is not bad enough, I am now on my own. Financially, academically and in other areas as well. Mum told me that we need approximately N25, 0000 each month to live averagely and shes been the sole provider all along but now that she is jobless, no hope until she is able to secure another job.
Well, I have no option than to comply. After all, she is not trying to encroach on my rights and freedom of free living which is undeniable. But the fact is, its either I help as much as I could or all of us will plunge deep into a financial abyss. The following day, I left home earlier than usual. When I got to the office, only the cleaners were around and it suited me perfectly because they were the ones I intended to see. Ive thought about all these throughout the night and decided that being a cleaner is better than being a messenger. Once the cleaners have cleaned the offices and the johns in the morning, they usually have the rest of the day off to themselves while we the messengers run from one part of Lagos to another, delivering mails, court summons and subpoenas to both clients and non-clients. This means that I can pursue other jobs IF I join the cleaning crew and that means double income. Once I have double income, I can give none to mum to support the family and used the next one to pursue my personal and educational dreams.
Xup Math? I greeted the younger cleaner casually, his name was Mathew.
Hey M! he bellowed delightedly. He was always happy even when everybody is sad and crying all their juice out. How you broo? He asked cheerily.
Im cool. I said quickly Can I talk to you for a second please I said.
O yeah, sure! he said and paused from what he was doing. He leant the mopping stick against the wall and stared vacantly at me. Whats wrong bro? You look twenty years older than you looked yesterday he observed.
Thanks Im ok. I dont want to be a messenger here anymore. I want to join the cleaning team. I said and he looked shocked.
Are you OUT of your mind bro? he almost screamed You can be funny sometimes you know? he said incredulously.
Can we swap position please? I asked quickly, afraid that he would say no.
SWAP? You mean you want to be a common, dirty cleaner instead of being a posh neat messenger? he asked and looked at me as if I had gone nuts.
Well, I just want a change and I think that you will like it too?
Of course! he said I envy your position in case you dont know bro. It sucks to be sweeping and mopping the same floors and offices every day. I need fresh air. So when do we start? he asked eagerly.
Now if you dont mind. You can leave the rest of it to me, Ill clean the remaining I collected the mopping stick and the brush from him and began cleaning.
Thanks to you guy! he said over his shoulder as he exited the johns excitedly. Moments later, his head appeared at the doorway again. Sam is in the conference room, dusting and brushing with his bare hands. Once more, thanks broo he left and I prayed that he won’t show his face again to make me feel miserable.
Arrrgh! I shouted and spat angrily. Thank God, the first step in my plan is working out. All I have to do next is to look for another cleaning job as a part-time cleaner.
I went to the conference room and met Sam. I told him that I was the new cleaner but he didnt attach any meaning to that, he was indifferent. He had been working at the firm for 20 years so he had seen many cleaners come and go. He thrust a brush in my hand and said very calmly You dont need orientation to scrub a toilet or do you? he said rhetorically.
No, I didnt.
Two weeks later, I changed to cleaning the offices instead of running errands, I got another (part-time) job as a cleaner as well. I was very happy when I got that job and when I told my mum, she only nodded her head without showing any emotion. For a very long time now, she has stopped being an active mother to almost a recluse. Though she wakes up early in the morning as she used to do before but the spark and the enthusiasm of everyday life had drained from her face. She did things without emotion. My sibs noticed this and confronted me about it.
Mike, Seyi the eldest among the three began while both Reuben and the young Elizabeth looked at me inquiringly. Seyi (Mercy) was in Pry 6, Reuben was in Pry3 and Elizabeth was just in Nursery 2. I doubt if she understands what we were saying but she looked on expectantly anyway Is mum sick?
No I quickly replied Why did you ask?
Because she looks awful, distracted and ‘saddy if you understand what I mean by that she said with as much emotion as she could muster.
Before I could reply, Eliza spoke. I think momma is pregnant with my new baby sister! she said excitedly as if it was true.
Reuben snorted and hissed. Thats dumb Elice he said
Dont call me lice again!:Elizabeth shot back angrily.
Whatever! Reuben said again.
Okay! Okay!! Everyone calm down I said quickly and the bickering subsided. Mum is okay. She is not sick. She just needs a little time for herself.
But why was she crying in her room all alone yerster night? Seyi pointed out defiantly, trying to pry out the truth. You can always trust her for that.
Crying? I said and feigned innocence Maybe you are mistaking
Mike its true and you know it, so dont deny it! She insisted and Reuben supported her by nodding vigorously. I felt at loss for words. What will I tell them? How do I explain mums ordeals to a bunch of under ages?
Well, I finally said, trying to make everything okay It s a good thing that we all care about mum but dont let that make you sad. As much as we need to laugh, we also need to cry because life is a mixture of both happiness and sadness. Are we on the same page? I asked but only Elizabeth said yes both Reuben and Seyi were deliberately looking away from me. Reuben was looking fixedly at his toes. I continued anyway. Mum is passing through a difficult situation now and nobody should disturb her. If you need anything, ask me okay?
What about our school fees? Will you pay that one too? Remember that you are earning just ten thousand naira monthly? Seyi said again. She was trying to make us all sad but I wouldnt let that happen.
Yes, tell me when you need it I said without meaning it. Elizabeth walked away from the kitchen where we were discussing. The topic of our discussion was obviously boring to her. Even Reuben too looked as if he hed leave the kitchen any moment soon too but only Seyi looked matured, interested and ready to talk but I quickly changed the topic. Seyi, let me teach you how to cook my favorite dish, indomie pallazziani I said to end the topic about our mum and I knew she would love that after all she has been disturbing me to teach her how to prepare my invented dish.
Yes! she said excitedly. Soon, we both pushed the thought of our mums state of mind out of our minds and concentrated on the food. Reuben bolted from the kitchen, glad to be free at last to play video games on our PC.
My new cleaning jobs deal was ten thousand naira too. The deal was to be resuming for work by 2PM each day after the first cleaner had left. It was a book factory where I had to be packing paper cuts from the time of my resumption to 7PM the closing time. Ive already made a deal with Sam to be leaving the office by 1pm each working day but to be doing the greater part of the cleaning every morning. So far, the deal has been going on smoothly though it was very stressful because each working day for me was full of 12hours of nonstop working.
My mum became moodier and docile. She seldom talks but stared endlessly at something that we couldnt see with that faraway look in her eyes. Good enough, my sibs behaved well around her. They didnt disturb her or ask her anything and speaks in whispering voices in her presence as if afraid of breaking some fragile connections she was silently building.
At this juncture, I think that if shes working things will change but we were unable to get her any job. Not that we searched for it seriously though she didnt do anything about finding one. All she does was sitting and staring at some unseen destinations. On my part, my schedule was too tight to allow me 5 minutes break let alone going out to find a job for her.
Four months after she was retrenched, some men came to our house on a Saturday morning. They came in without knocking. We were all in the living room, watching Tom and Jerry. Mum was in her room, probably crying or just staring at nothing as usual.
What do you want? I sprang up and demanded from the intruders, meeting them halfway in the middle of the room.
Where is your mother? One of them asked, his looks reminded me of Mr. Bones in that funny movie where he had went into a casino with his stupid dressing and out-of-place crown.
My mum? I asked. What for and who are you?
Thats not a proper way to address an elderly person Another man rebuked angrily.
Well you didnt come in properly too. You invaded our privacy so I can address you anyway I want or deem fit I shot back
The men laughed and loosed all the frowns on their faces. One of them strode forward and extended his hand. Tentatively, I shook his hand.
I am Simon from Diamond bank. Here are my colleagues: John, Habass, and Tom. I nodded as he introduced each person.
You are welcome but how may I help you?
Can we speak to your mum please? She is the one we are here to see.
No way, my mum was not even capable of eating by herself without being supervised let alone attending to them.
Im so sorry, that will be impossible and you can talk to me instead because she is sick and whatever you want to say to her, tell me. Im the next of kin and her first born.
Okay then The one called Tom said and I offered them seats. This house was mortgaged by the owner in person of Mr. Smith. I assume that was you dad?
I nodded. I already knew what they were there for.
He borrowed money from a corporative society to add to the money he had then to build this house. He promised and agreed to be paying back within the period of seven years with interest but he died two years after that. We felt sorry about that but this is business and this money is not ours, we are just keeping them. I hope you understand all that? The corporative borrowed a huge amount of money from us which it was unable to pay in time. Eventually, it turned all its debtors over to us. Weve tried to talk it through with your mother but she wouldnt oblige us. We sent mails, placed phone calls to her, and did so many things but she didnt respond. So we are here to value the property.
That was a very big blow to us me at least. My sibs didnt seem to understand because they were still very young.
Can I beg you for some time more? I pleaded.
The men smiled and shook their heads sadly.
No, the only solution now is that you pay four hundred and fifty thousand naira and the one hundred and twenty thousand naira interest rate that has accumulated over the years Mr. Simon said.
Thats five hundred and seventy thousand naira altogether? Whats the value of this house? I asked and Mr. Tom spoke.
It depends on what you want. If you want to leave the furniture and the electronic- you dont have much anyway. The value will be higher but it will be lower if its just an empty house. Which one do you want?
What if we pack half of it and leave the rest? I asked.
Thats possible too he consented, all smiling.
Lets go with that. How long do we have left?”
Just two weeks. After that, the interest will increase again

I signed the papers. With the help of the bank, we were able to get two rooms in a face-me-i-slap-you house. The house was sold and after the commissions and our debts were deducted, we raked in two hundred and fifty thousand naira, at the end out of which we paid for the two rooms. I paid my sibs school fees in advance before the money runs out and I saved half of it. The rest I used to stock food at home because I knew that if theres food, all other problems would be simple. In the meantime, I kept working at the two places.
With my salary, I obtained a WAEC GCE form and sat for the exam. Two months later, the result came out but I had f9 in Maths,D7 in English and literature in English but I passed the remaining subjects at credit level. I decided to register fro the next WAEC or NECO to get the remaining result.

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