JUST FOR YOU

《35》Toxic Relationship.

I was really desperate for an apartment closer to the bank but because I had no stash of cash anywhere to rent another apartment, I had to move in with Alex. To be honest, I didn't like Alex's neighbourhood. I felt I didn't belong to the ghetto part of an area and that was exactly where Alex lived.

But as they always say 'half loaf is better than none.'

During the week, I took some of my belongings to his house. Saturday came and I took the rest of my stuff to Alex's house and moved in at last. Before I left, I gave Mr. Wale his house key and bade him goodbye.

■■■■

I reported to the boardroom in the bank along with nineteen other people where we were to commence training. The training was for six hours a week from Monday to Friday with one hour break every day. Then there was a thirty-five thousand naira pay or should I call it compensation for the money we spent attending the training sessions.

The training was kind of a revision for most people. For me, it was a whole new level of teaching. I was glad that there was training because I wouldn't want a situation whereby, I had started working and I didn't know much about what I was doing.

The first three months of the training consisted of the basic things in banking like tellering, receiving of cash and paying out cheques and customer's service. Then there was this kind of rotation where after a week of theoretical training, we would go to the main bank to get the practical training. It was really fun and boring at the same time because I hadn't made any friends. It was also stressful because the week I worked in the main bank, I closed late.

After about a month and half of the training, I had not made a single friend. I was waiting for someone to walk up to me and ask to be friends with me. I forgot this wasn't secondary school or university. Though the major reason why I didn't make any friends was because, immediately after the training sessions, I always rushed home to avoid being outside late at night. All thanks to where Alex lived.

I had a very bad habit and I knew it. You'd think after a month and almost three weeks, I'd have a swarm of friends but I had none, zero. But all that came to an end one day when a lady talked to me. She probably saw me and felt sorry for me because I was always alone and, on my phone, whenever we weren't having training.

"I'm Damilola, what's your name?" The petite lady walked up to me, sat beside me and introduced herself. No 'hi' or 'hello', she just came to introduce herself like I begged her. I scorned.

"Hello, I'm Janette." I looked at her with a bored expression.

"Janette." She smiled before asking a silly question. "Why do you always keep to yourself?" I looked up abruptly from my phone and glared at her.

I was so not expecting that, like was that the next thing you say to a person you just met? Even though she smiled, it didn't sound less rude. "I honestly don't know what to say to that. Is that the first thing you say to a person you just met?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Sorry, don't be offended. What I meant to say is, you don't socialise with the rest of us. We are going to be colleagues soon." She rephrased.

"That's how I am." I shrugged.

"Well, there's a bunch of people that would like to meet you and be your friends." She pointed to a group of people sitting on one side of the room. "Let's go over to them, you would absolutely love them, they are amazing people." She pulled me by my hand without hearing my opinion and led me to them.

"Are you like their spokesperson?" I muttered under my breath. What's even so special in me? I'm not a people's person, I whined to myself.

"Everyone, this is Janette. The most quiet and lonely woman in this training." She jeered.