WATER FOR PAIN I

Eze sprang out of bed immediately he heard the alarm set on his phone ring. It was already 6am. But judging by the early rays of the morning sun through his room window, he knew he was already running late for the job interview.

He grabbed a towel and made a slight dance wearing his rubber slippers. "Rub and shine", he said to himself as he left for the bathroom clutching an iron bucket with enough water.

Next, he made for the cloth rack in the corner of his one-room self-contained apartment.

In a flash, he picked a white shirt and decided to match it with his old black trouser and a black tie. Dressed up, he headed out rushing for the bus stop where he stood for over ten minutes before finally joining a bus heading for Ikeja.

Eze fought his way into the bus and finally got sandwiched between two sweaty fat women who by the baskets on their laps and loosely tied head ties are traders. They seemed pretty not happy with the extra occupant. He knew this and wondered why they had not paid for the space if they wanted comfort in a commercial bus.

Lagos and its trouble he thought. "They told me once I get here, I'll find job. But every morning, everybody is all dressed up rushing to and fro. You don't just know who is actually working and those fooling around seeking avenues to rip people of their possessions. Lagos is just a PR trap after all and opportunities are limited. Maybe people are just too much and that's why I can't seem to get a job...”

"Hehssssss!... alààyè owo e da?" Eze's thoughts were cut abruptly by the coarse baritone voice of the bus conductor’s request of the bus fare. He quickly paid but his thoughts were drowned by the voice of Brymo's 'In the City' playing loud from the bus radio and soon he found himself humming along.

The pressure had been much on Eze to look after the family after losing his father to a sudden and mysterious illness. As a First Class graduate of Accounting, Eze Okoro had decided to leave Nssuka for Lagos to try out his luck on advice of his childhood friend, Emeka Benson, who landed a job the previous year. This job hunt routine has been on for three years without a fruitful result.

On the other hand is the pressure to join the life of crime – internet fraud for instance, has been really tempting especially with the exotic cars and lavish lifestyle some of his old friends now live in highbrow areas of Lagos Mainland and Highland. But last Sunday, he thought, the pastor had promised that he will get this one job he has been chasing. This gave him a slight tinge of confidence and he soon decided to bury all thoughts hinging on pessimism.

Few meters from the bus stop where he was to alight, Eze jolted to reality. The thoughts disappeared. "Owa ó!", he quickly shouted to alert the conductor. He got off the bus and walked a few meters to the address he had jotted and knocked on the company's gate.

The gate opened and the bald headed security guard eyed him suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"I'm here for the interview sir", he replied.

"Sorry, no more vacancy. The company don finish hire since last week".

The guard said some other things of which suddenly felt distant to his ears. What remained ringing in the young man’s ears was 'no more vacancy'. The gate was closed while he stood shocked for minutes. This was because he had earlier mailed his CV and was given an appointment to visit the company.

Eze gathered his thoughts and headed home but this time without enough money to board a bus. He decided to trek halfway in order to save Two Hundred Naira to have a meal.

(To be continued)