ALL FOR NOTHING
Episode Seventeen
As I sat down to take in the bottle of beer which was in front of me, I felt alive. Suleiman and Sodiq have been my friends and I was gradually learning from them. Though they’ve not introduced me to the way they were making their money, I still felt okay being with them. It was a Sunday evening and the casino was shut down that day because of some internal issues between the chairman the person of Chief Omotayo and the manager of the casino. All the workers were forced to go on a public holiday. I had earlier received an invitation from Suleiman and Sodiq that a friend of theirs was throwing a birthday party in one of the hotels and since I wasn’t at work that Sunday, I decided to honour the invitation.
“Hope you are enjoying yourself?” Sodiq asked me.
“Yes I am.” I replied. Some beautiful and promiscuous ladies were also around dancing wild and without shame. Sodiq left to meet one of them and I continued with the beer that was in front of me. I was doing all that just to make Sodiq and Suleiman believe that I could do exactly what it was they were doing that was fetching them so much money.
One of the girls walked up to me. She was wearing a skirt that could almost reveal her pants. Her eyes were fully decorated with all sorts of nonsense and her her blouse revealed her cleavage.
“Hello dear, you are not from around here.” She said.
“Hello, no I’m not.” I replied as politely as I could because what I was seeing was already making me angry.
“May I have a seat?” She asked.
I wanted to tell her to disappear but that would be very rude of me.
“Yes you may.” I replied turning to the bottle of beer that I was gradually and slowly taking in. That was actually my first time of taking alcoholic beverage.
“My name is Damilola but you can call me Lola.” She said as if I asked her for her name.
“I’m Ayomide but you can call me Ayo.” I replied.
“Who invited you?” She asked.
I was already getting irritated with her questions and wished she would just leave me alone.
“Lola, please if you don’t mind, I’ll prefer to be alone for now.” I replied and this time a bit rude. She understood and left me alone.
I was really missing mama but I just couldn’t go back home yet. Suleiman and Sodiq returned to the table where I was looking drunk. Girls were flaunting around them and they were displaying all sorts of immoral conducts right in front of me.
The celebrant Pelumi came and with a bundle of cash in his hands, he displayed what it means to be rich. He was really drunk and so was almost every other guy there. I wasn’t really drunk but I could feel I was gradually being overshadowed by the influence of the alcohol. I was really carried away seeing how young boys of less than 20 years could have so much money that they could spend them in such a reckless manner.
Driving back home with Sodiq and Suleiman really got me scared. I thought I wouldn’t make it home that night because we almost had an accident on various occasions but God was merciful enough to make me get home in full piece.
As I lay on my mattress that night, I began to see myself as the young boy who was displaying earlier at the party with the bundle of cash he was holding. I knew it won’t be long before Suleiman and Sodiq will tell me what I needed to do to be able to get so much money like them.
The following day, the Casino still didn’t open as I was hearing that the manager was stealing from Mr Omotayo. The case as I heard was still under investigation and if found out to be true, the manager might go to jail.
I was still in room that morning when the secretary sent me a text message that Mr Omotayo wanted to see me. I was really scared because Mr Omotayo was not the type who would just send for me unless I was in a kind of trouble. I quickly dressed up and headed for his office which was still within the building.
“Good morning sir.” I greeted.
“Good morning Ayo, please have your seat.” He said pointing to the chair in front of him.
I sat down with my heart beating really fast.
“Do you know why I sent for you?” He asked.
“No sir” I replied.
“Well, I must say I’m very happy to have you in this casino. Your record keeping is really commendable. If not for you I wouldn’t have known that Femi my manager has been stealing huge sum of money from this casino. I really appreciate your good work.” He said.
I heaved a sigh of relief knowing that I wasn’t in a kind of trouble.
“Thank you sir.” I replied.
“Tell me Ayo, what are you actually doing here in Republic town? You are supposed to be in school studying. The very first day you set your foot here, I knew you were exceptional.” He said taking a sip from the glass of juice that was on his table.
“Sir, it’s a long story.” I replied.
“I’m listening.” He replied.
“I finished from Achievers high school Utti but…”
“You mean you are from Utti?” He cut in to interrupt me.
“Yes sir, I was born and raised in Utti.” I replied.
“Me too, I’m from Utti. I had my primary education there before my father moved to Republic town.” He said.
“There was this friend I had then in primary school, his name was Rotimi Akintunde. That boy then, he was a great scholar. I wonder where he is now.” He said.
At the mention of the name Rotimi Akintunde, my heart paused. Rotimi Akintunde was the name of my late father.
“Sir, you mean Rotimi Akintunde was your classmate in primary school?” I asked.
“Yes, you know him?”
“Sir, that’s my father.” I replied smiling.
“You don’t mean it. Now I see where you inherited your smartness from. So how is he? And why didn’t he send you to school instead of allowing you to come to Republic town and to work in a Casino?” He asked.
“Sir, my father died about seventeen years ago.” I replied and I could read the shock that came upon Mr Omotayo immediately.
“I’m sorry about that. So what about your mother?”
At that point, I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Mr Omotayo that I left home without Mama’s knowledge. I was ashamed of myself for doing something like that to mama.
“Are you okay?” He asked when he noticed tears dropping down my cheek.
“Yes sir, I just miss mama.” I replied.
I wanted to tell him everything that happened to me in Utti but I didn’t know if it was necessary. I didn’t want to be indigent boy anymore. I was tired of being pitied by the rich. I didn’t want anyone insulting me someday because they had money to help me at a time in my life.
Mr Omotayo opened his office drawer and gave me an envelope.
“That is for your honesty and good work. Incase you have anything you really want don’t hesitate to come to me. Your father was a very good friend to me and if there is anyway I can pay back the good he did for me back then in primary school, I’ll be more than willing to do that through you.” He said.
I took the envelope after thanking him. As I walked back to my room that morning, I was still in deep thoughts. I didn’t understand what Mr Omotayo meant by the good deed my father did for him while they were still in primary school. But what really troubled me the most was that I wasn’t really honest with Mr Omotayo. I should have really told him the truth about what happened to me at Utti and that I left without Mama’s knowledge. But on a second thought it won’t change anything. I just had to stick to my plans of getting to know how Suleiman and Sodiq and the other boys I saw at Pelumi’s birthday made so much money.
When I got to my room, I opened the envelope and it was the sum of #15,000. I never saw it coming and I was really pleased. I felt really happy to have been able to get a reward for being honest and hard-working but deep down I knew it wouldn’t be long before those virtues will be gone from me too…
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