I was a young adult in a strange city among strange people who spoke a different language. I was determined to make things work for the one year I would spend there.
So I hustled and was hired to work at a courthouse. Luckily, the probationary job came with accommodation but I had to wait for one of the apartments (commonly called boys' quarters) to be vacant. I stared in shock at the human resource manager when she relayed the information.
"Where am I to stay in the meantime?" I asked.
She shrugged, checked her wristwatch and grabbed her fancy handbag. It was almost lunchtime and also her closing time. "You are not a child naa," she said and stood up. I stood too. "Don't you have a friend around here?"
"No, I don't. I travelled down from Lagos, as stated in my documents," I replied calmly and hoped she would understand. Instead, she frowned and advised me to find a place to stay pending when the apartment would be empty.
I'd been squatting sort of with acquaintances that I met on arrival because I couldn't afford a hotel room. Securing the job was my priority because I knew an accommodation would come with it. Then I was told I had to wait for the occupant to vacate the apartment whenever she was ready.
The human resource manager left the courthouse premises that afternoon and I became miserable. I felt so alone.
Word had gone around the courthouse that a new assistant had been hired. Some staff greeted me enthusiastically. I forced a smile and tried to be nice because I would be working alongside them.
I went to the courthouse restaurant and sat down at one of the tables to strategize my next move. A waitress begged me to give her a few minutes to take care of a customer before taking my order. I nodded, quietly pulled out my phone and began to scroll through.
Then someone pulled out a chair beside me and sat down. I glanced up and a fine, young lady with ample physique grinned at me.
I was surprised. I was not used to strangers being nice to me or straight up giving me an inviting wide smile. I think I gave her a wobbly, slight smile in return, waiting for her to say something.
"Hi! My name is Elsie," she said cheerily. I liked the sound of her voice, it was singsong and a bit sharp, like a child's. I couldn't help but smile better at that point.
"My name is Kemi. I'm new here," I replied.
"I know! Manager told me that you will move into my apartment after I leave in about a few weeks."
Ohhh. Now the meeting made sense. I became curious and before I could ask why she was still around, she added, "I'm waiting for one of the judges who travelled overseas to return and sign a recommendation for me. He'll be back in about two weeks. Why don't you move in with me today or now, if you like?"
I was miserable before but after talking with this cheery lady, I felt so much better. That was how our friendship began. We had lunch together that afternoon and got to know one another better.
I moved into the apartment the following day after work and the state of the room was unbelievable! Elsie and I were polar opposites. I liked my environment neat while she was carefree and so was the state of the room.
"Put your things anywhere. It's fine by me," she said, waving around the room and turning on the TV to watch a movie with a bottle of chilled Coke.
Rather than make an issue out of it, I relaxed and watched TV. Her extroversion and carefree attitude were what I needed at that point in my life. She lightened up the apartment and there was no dull moment with her.
But I worried every minute about the untidy state of the apartment. She noticed and apologised that it was who she was and she would be leaving soon anyway. I could decorate to my taste after. I smiled and tried to ignore the situation so it didn't come between our budding friendship.
The following day was my day off. As soon as Elsie went out, I pounced on the apartment!
I took out cleaning brushes, detergent, a mopstick, a broom and got to work. I turned the entire place upside down. While cleaning I found some cash stashed away under some old books. Within hours, our apartment was sparklingly clean and tidy.
I laid down to rest when I heard Elsie yell my name from downstairs in her singsong voice. She often did that to piss me off in a funny way. When she opened the front door, her mouth fell open, her handbag and takeaway lunch fell from her hand to the floor.
"Kemi!!! What did you do?"
I guffawed at the look on her face. She was impressed and much more so when I gave her the money I found. I was proud of myself for the work I'd done.
The following day when I returned from the courthouse, the apartment was in disarray.
I stopped trying until she moved away.