APART

Chapter 4: WELCOME TO NIGERIA

   Four nights had passed by and now it was 8:00 am of my final day in the hotel. I'll be checking out by 12pm. Oh, Lord, i don't want to meet any of my relatives. I wish a fairy could appear and make my wish come true. They all behave like my mum. While i still lay on my bed thinking, my phone started ringing. I stretched out my hand and picked it from the side stool beside my bed.

     The caller id read "MUM". Oh, goodness, not this early morning. I ignored the call and just held my phone to my chest. It started ringing again. Now i had to answer even if i hated doing so. I wouldn't make the mistake of letting her call the third time. It would be chaos. So i draged the green answer icon.

   "Hello, good morning mum" i greeted with my voice sounding hoarse. I didn't really care if she heard me or not.

   "Irisi, how was your night?"

   "It was good mum"
 
    "That's good to hear. I've told your uncle to pick you from that hotel by 10 o'clock. Make sure you don't keep him waiting."

   "10:00 am!!!" I exclaimed " Why so early mum? It's not like i plan on going anywhere when i get to his house." Oh, i wish someone would tell me this is a nightmare. I'm not just  going to my uncle's house, he'll be coming to pick me by 10am and this is already 8:16 am.

   "Irisi, he'll pick you himself so that the both of you can go to the store. You have a lot to learn when it comes to selling textile especially in Nigeria. You need to know how their currency works and how to import and export textile from other african countries. With all that being said, your lessons start today" this is not happening. My mum really hates me. "If i were you," she continued "I'll end this call and get ready. That'll be all for now. Bye!" she hung up.

   Now i wanted to bash my head on the wall. What should i do now? I've not even packed my clothes. Why didn't she tell me this last night so i can get myself set.

   Without thinking much, i got myself out of the bed to the bathroom. I rushed everything and within 15 minutes, i was done in the bathroom. I applied some lotion and walked to my box to see if i had any outfit that i had not worn.

   Lo and behold, there sat a long gown my mum bought for me in italy. I have a feeling today we'll be a bad day for me. Having no alternative because all my outfits were dirty, i wore it. It was a blue colored gown with some yellow flower prints on it. It had a waist belt to give it some dimension. I hated the gown so much. Anytime time i put it on, i would look five years older than i am, making people that were older than me respect me. I wonder what made me pack it in the first place.

   Without thinking too much about the gown, i walked to the dressing mirror and brushed my hair giving it a middle part. I cared less about my looks. I sprayed some perfume, put some make up on and wore a pair of silver stud earrings. Now I'm good to go.

   I quickly checked the time on my phone and it was 9:20 am. I need to eat. Still seated at the dressing table, i remembered the room service telephone and a paper containing some numbers that lay beneath it. I dialed the kitchen number and called. The phone rang for sometime before i heard it connect.

   "Hello, good morning. How may i help you?" said a male voice.

    "Good morning, i want to order for breakfast. What do you have available?"

    As if reading from a script, i heard the voice talk again "We have bread, egg sauce and tea, jollof rice, chicken and fried plantain, Moi moi, yam and egg sauce, rice and stew, pasta, and some snacks. Which would like?"

    First of all, i only knew two food from all that was mentioned. "Which would you advice me to pick?"

   "Jollof rice, chicken and plantain would be a good one."