Between Tides

Just the one

Between Tides
It came on a Tuesday afternoon. Just merely glancing through my email, saw it has a new arrival. My office was very small, barely enough space to accommodate my desk with a chair which made it more stuffy. It also had a fan, and a tiny window to support ventilation. Life as an office assistant wasn't as lucrative as it sounds. My laptop, my most prized possession, and the longest servicing item were wide open. As I saw it I didn't even know to celebrate, I requested for full but I was seeing that I got just half of it. How would I cope? How would I get the other half? How would I survive? This is what I have been waiting for, my last three years has been on running this, my whole savings went to this. My nights are gone, up all night reading and working all day. Haven't I told you what I got? Pardon my manners.
My screen shows that I have just been accepted to a dream university abroad, not just any abroad but Abroad, I mean The United States of America. But my issue now is that I was applying for a full scholarship but they were offering just half of it, half tuition, half boarding fees, just a handful for pocket money. It was barely enough for anything but my consolation was that I was also given a working visa which meant I could earn money to support myself. This was great news and I didn't know when I jumped up and screamed for joy, my hands almost touching my squeaky ceiling fan. People rushed over when they heard them and they rejoiced with me also. This was going to be a perfect week ( so I thought). I went through all my day like a boy who didn't read for his exams but passed all his papers very well. I promised myself that nothing was going to ruin my mood. Not even my grumpy boss who just grunted when I told him my good news. Sucks to him because I wasn't going to be around to take his rubbish and overworking me. My day ended usual but instead of my sluggishness, I was really happy to go home. The home was a room and parlor I shared with two other gons in the outskirts of the notorious Mushin in Lagos. We didn't have a personal bathroom or toilet so we shared with the rest of the compound nor did we have a kitchen so we cooked outside and took the food instead after we were done. I got home first and the rest came back about half an hour after I did. I told them and they rejoiced with me too. Then the whining and teasing started, how I was going to come back with an accent and three-piece suit. How I wasn't even going to recognize them or come back with a white girl. We all laughed and went out to have a drink and eat pepper soup, a rare treat but this was a special occasion. I called my parents when I got home. If I was with them, I knew my mum will be dancing with joy while my Dad will be saying how proud he was and how my siblings should be more like me. The next day at work was with more congratulations, even people that didn't talk to me or reply to my greetings because they thought they were better than me. A common office assistant.
I opened my office door and found it was arranged well, the cleaners must have heard and given me a rare treat of cleaning the office instead of the normal sweeping and dusting my desk. I saw a strange envelope on my desk. My boss didn't use an envelope, he either sent for me to come and tell me verbally or he had a note flipped under my door. I opened it fast and there it was, a letter with the head office heading. I read it and read it again, this couldn't be happening. This was good news, I was been promoted. Not just any promotion but bigger than my current boss. I was to get an official car, a three-bedroom furnished apartment at GRA Ikeja, health coverage for six years, a bigger office on the tenth floor ( this is where big men were ), and a promise for another promotion in three to five years. I saved the best for last, my salary was to be in six digits, more than my current boss. The letter also included a handwritten note from the CEO of my company, he was apologizing that the promotion hadn't come sooner, they did an investigation on a proposal that was submitted to them from our branch on how they could grow the company and open more branches across the country and then across West Africa. I had spent nights working on that proposal and also reading for my exams. I was killing two birds with one stone and I knew my big break was coming. When I finished with it, I complied with it with my research and gave it to my boss to pass it on to the headquarters on my behalf. The more was apologizing that they were going to offer the promotion to him but he was going to defend it first and tell them more about it but he couldn't, so they pressurized him to tell them how he got it so he mentioned me. He was also wishing I took the offer, to be the new head of branch as the old one was retiring. He needed a reply within one week. That my cunning boss, no wonder he was not so happy when I told him of my scholarship yesterday, he was jealous. I was so happy and felt like screamed and I did. People rushed again thinking maybe I had lost my scholarship but they saw their letter and another round of congratulations begun, my crampy office was barely enough for me not to talk of the crowd that squeezed themselves to get a glimpse at me and talk to me. Someone said something and it HIT me then. I looked at my laptop and remembered my scholarship and the letter in my hand reminded me of my promotion. I was at a crossroad, I asked which one I would choose to no one in particular. People started talking at the same time, some said I should take the scholarship and go abroad for a better life while some said I should the promotion offer since it was why was even going to school in the first place. I was just getting more confused, they were both making points but also confusing too. My day was filled with confusion, my week wasn't going to be as fun as I planned yesterday. I got home with both options on my mind. Thankfully, both my roommates were at home, they worked together so they came home together. Dare and Toni were my guys from Uni and we still stayed together. As I came in, they started shouting 'American' in fake American accents. I just smiled and they wondered why I wasn't so joyful, I explained my plight to them. Dare said I should forget the promotion and go abroad because the grass may be greener over there and even gather more experience. Toni said I should stay in Nigeria, take the promotion and get a better life because there is no assurance or me succeeding abroad and I could go there and just incur debt that would take me years to pay off. I still didn't get an answer. Telling my parents would mean the same thing. Contrary views everywhere, what was I going to do. Never thought someone could be caught by a good problem, people would kill for one of my opportunities but here I had two but I just couldn't decide.
Now am throwing it out there, which one would you pick, stay in Nigeria and become successful, take care of your parents now, probably get married soon and earn fat cheques or go abroad, work during the night, school during the day fair the next four to five years? What would you have chosen? This is a huge question? I have a time frame on both, the school needs a response in two weeks while The CEO needs a reply by Wednesday next week. I just imagine little me with a meager salary of twenty thousand nairas per month to have two huge opportunities to better my life. If I chose the job offer, what if I lost the job after was? Will I go back to square one? How would people look at me? Or? Take the scholarship and go abroad. What if I fail in school? What if don't get good grades? What if I don't get a good job? What if I can't pay my fees? What if I lose the scholarship? What if? What if? All these questions race through my mind as no continue to ponder over what my decision would be. Why would you choose???

By
Uyok Daniel