Emma woke up to the persistent pinging sound coming from her phone that signifies she has an incoming email. She tried ignoring the sound by burying her head deep under her pillow.
'Better...' She thought to herself and heaved a sigh of relief. She was about to drift off to sleep when her small alarm clock started with its high and sharp shrilling noise that penetrated through the pillow even.
'Oh bloody hell!... It's six am already!?' She wondered in annoyance. However late she slept the previous night, she knew if she wants to have any hope of beating the Lagos traffic, she ought to get up and starts preparing to go for her interview at the Salvadorian Empire
'Five more minutes.' She said to herself sleepily. 'I will get up after five minutes.' Stretching her hand to feel around on the nightstand where the alarm clock always sits. She hit a button that immediately snoozes the alarm.
'Ah!... blessed silence.' She thought and sighed to herself in relief when she was finally able to snooze the darn thing.
Exactly when she was drifting off to dreamland again, her phone started playing Celine Dion's 'Mama you gave life to me' song which was the ringtone she used in saving her grandmother's phone number.
That fully woke her up as she hastily got up from the bed to reach for her phone
[Grandma, is everything okay?] She immediately asked. Her voice that was still heavy with sleep sounded worried.
[Good morning to you too Ayinke. Hope you had a good night's rest?] Mama Silver said instead, ignoring Emma's worried question.
[Uhm... Sorry! Good morning grandma...] She replied awkwardly to the mild reprimand she just received from her grandma. [I hope that everything is fine, this one that you're calling this early in the morning...] Emma asked tentatively
Ever since her grandma promised to talk to a friend about how to find a solution to the difficult situation she found herself in. She has been in anticipation to find out what needed to be done to make everything right in her life.
[Don't tell me you're still on the bed when you're supposed to be on your way to your interview already?] Mama Silver evaded her question once again
[Uhm... No! I was actually about to get up when you called.] She replied taking her phone along with her towards the bathroom
[You should hurry then! You know traffic situation is always bad in Lagos every monday and today is not a day you want to be caught up in the traffic.]
[Okay grandma]
[Ayinke, I don't want you to be worried about anything right now... All the members of my fraternity are meeting today and I'm sure a favorable and lasting solution would be given to us, so just concentrate on your interview and make me proud.]
[I will grandma, Emma answered with a smile. I love you...]
[Love you too honey... Good luck.]
After the call with her grandma ended, Emma opened her mailbox to check the email she got earlier, which reads...
'We are pleased to inform you that you have been shortlisted for the internship interview at the Salvadorian Empire.
The venue is top floor, The Executive department of the Salvadorian Empire
Time: 8 am prompt.'
'Shortlisted? Executive department?' Emma wondered with confusion since the whole interview process was supposed to start on that same day, plus she has already gotten a confirmation email from the Empire's human resources department to that effect.
She checked the message again and found she was indeed right. The email she got from the human resources department of the Salvadorian Empire said the interview would be held at the human resource department, not the Executive department.
What made her question the authenticity of this current email was that it was sent from a Human resources firm located in Abuja.
'Something is definitely not right... Otherwise, why would a reputable organization send emails that contradicted each other? Aside that, why would an Abuja-based firm send a letter for an internship job I applied for in Lagos?'
So many questions that were begging for urgent answers which Emma was pondering to herself when her phone started ringing again. It was her mentor Dr. Shitta.
[Did you also get an email?] He asked as soon as Emma picked her call.
[Yes sir... I did and I was just wondering what it was all about]
[Well stop wondering too hard because all your peers also got the same mail. The venue is now the Salvadorian Empire's executive floor. Time is 8 am prompt...
And according to what I heard, The Empire is going through a major reform hence the change. Do you now see that you can easily get that job as I said before?...
Emma, I have no doubt about your capabilities, I'm sure you'll ace every test given to you. What I'm concern about is your attitude.
Salvadorian Empire is the best in the country. Please check your attitude while you're there because you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Get there early and make sure you leave a good impression, okay?] Dr. Shitta asked firmly.
[Yes sir!] Emma replied and rolled her eyes upward.
'I don't know why he's always giving me speeches like I'm the worst person in the whole of Unilag.' She thought to herself.
***
[When was the decision to shortlist interns made and why were my candidates not among the ones picked?] A voice shouted through the phone at the Salvadorian Empire's director of the human resources department.
[Sir, nobody knew that was going to happen as we all just got to know about it this morning. The CEO suddenly took that decision on his own and...]
[Who made him CEO!?...] The voice angrily cut the director off mid-sentence. [He is just an interim, and he will be removed at the next board meeting.]
[Sir I still...]
[I don't care what you do and how you'll do it! I want the names of all my six candidates back among those shortlisted, otherwise, kiss your job goodbye.] The person shouted and ended the call abruptly.
The director of Salvadorian Empire's Human resources department, Mathew Adebayo slumped back in his seat with exhaustion.
He closed his eyes and massaged his temple to get rid of the nagging headache that has now come to be part of his everyday life just few weeks after he started working at the Salvadorian Empire.
This job that he once loved and have high hopes for has now turned into something he dreads. Going to work is now becoming too unhealthy for him since he now loses sleep at night whenever he thinks about going to work the following day.
Even though his family needed the money he's making from this job, maybe it's a good thing if he just quit on his own.
He no longer wants to be part of an organization where there's distrust and dishonesty among senior executive members. A world where people would laugh with you and act like they're your friend while they stab you in the back. A world where his ethics and values are being compromised.
At first, he taught compromising and cooperating with the man that got him his job was necessary for survival in the Empire. Now he realized that he is gradually chipping in his own quarter of wickedness that would weaken the solid foundation of the Empire and eventually bring it to its end.
'My parents are good Christians who brought me up in the way of the Lord. How could I descend this low? What happened to the rules, values, and morale that they had internalized in me while growing up? Where is my conscience!? God! They will be very disappointed in me! Heck! I am disappointed in myself'.
Director Mathew Adebayo, thought to himself while silent tears trickle down his eyes.
***
Check out 'Fire & Ice' for Abby's story.