Foreign: Faith or fear (cont'd)

 A living hell 

Introducing: the Alexander family of Elizabeth Alexander, Emmanuella, Austin and Pastor Alexander.

*

"Mum! Austin doesn't listen!" Emma screamed at the top of her voice, clearly exasperated and consequently frustrated by her younger brother's heedlessness towards his school work. 

They both sat face to face at the dining table. Their mother who was washing dishes in the kitchen and tired as a result of the demand at her work today, now peeked into the dining area. "Austin?"

"Yes Momma." He answered, looking up at her.

"Stop giving your sister a tough time and do what she tells you okay?" 

"Okay momma."

"Yeah, that's my baby." She smiled at him lovingly before returning back to the kitchen sink. 

Emma, however looked her brother over with that annoyance that says: I wish I could just slice you to the gods that be so my life would stop being this difficult with you in it. 

She couldn't do it though. It was a thing she felt once in a while and in moments like this when she couldn't get Austin to obey what she says without having to report him to their parents. 

Pastor Alexander walked in through the front door. Without blinking, Austin jumped out of the chair and towards his father. He wrapped him up in a hug. It was tradition. 

"How was school today?"

"Fine daddy. But Miss Efe would not stop yelling at the other ruthless kids. It was a little disturbing."

"Ruthless? Where did you learn that word from?" His father asked, surprised at the vocabulary and maturity in the speech of the seven year old. 

"Duh. I read books too."

The man of God, chuckled lightly. "What? If those books get you saying Duh-uh to your father. I guess we better get rid of them."

Austin's eyes went wide. "But Dad! Aunty Grace and Emma read books a lot too." He protested. 

"Just kidding baby boy. Where is momma?"

"In the kitchen."

They walked hand in hand till they reached the dining table. Austin returned back into his seat while their daddy kissed Emma on the top of her head.

"Welcome daddy." 

"How's it going my princess?"

She smiled up sweetly at him. "It should have been going so great dad. But —" She glared at Austin whose head was bent over his notebook and sighed exaggeratedly. "—that boy right there has been ruining it." 

Her dad ruffled her braids. "You're really dramatic for a big sister, Em." 

She smiled again. She always liked the way he played with her hair. He continued into the kitchen where he would meet his beloved wife. 

Emma's phone rang and she quickly swiped right immediately she saw the name. 

"Aunt. G.!" She chirped into the phone.

Austin's eyes widened and he hopped down from his chair and moved closer to his sister. "I want to speak with her too." He whispered.

"Shhhhh. Do your homework." Emma retorted before continuing with her call.  "It was Austin. I can't put him on... He's busy with his homework... Yeah... Okay Sissy.. Tomorrow? Yes I've packed... Oh. You know mum. She supervised every thing and even bought more than enough... Yes, I'll be ready before seven... Yes Sissy... I love you too! My love to Baby Joel. Bye!"

After the call, Emma stood up and walked into the sitting room. She dropped lazily into one of the sofas. She picked the remote and turned on the television. 

Like a weight on her eyes, the image she first saw was downpressing. Fire burned on the TV. Some fire men tried to put it out. But it kept burning furiously. 

Like hell. 

Dear God, I don't want to go to hell. This looks like one. 

Suddenly feeling the wave of guilt and regret wash over her, she begged for forgiveness for thinking about slicing Austin to the gods that be. 

One. She discovered she just thought of murder. God forbid! 

Two. She realised that she just displayed idolatry in her mind. 

Oh Lord! 

I'm so sorry, Jesus. 

She closed her eyes briefly before the voice coming from the television brought her back to reality. 

"Another fire incident occurred minutes ago at the famous Faithful food pub in Drew Estate. The short video clip now displayed on the screen was the intensity of the fire when it first broke out. As of this moment, the National Fire Unit, NFU has been able to successfully put out the fire. The police has revealed that it was not an accident but an action carried out by an uncertain identity called Breeze. The incident took away ten lives and left fifteen others severely injured."

"Wow." Emma breathed.

*****

Duty Calls

New Characters: Ms. White, Mr Stephen Adebayo, Seyi Adeleke.

*

At the administrative building on Ivory Towers Campus. The second floor. The plate on the office marble door read: STAFF ADMIN.

Seyi stood studying the letters for some seconds longer. She had been elected the new president before the last session ran out. Once she got the call from Ms. White that evening, summoning her presence in her office, the reality of her position started dawning on her.

She would get used to it. Things would get better and maybe next time, her heart would not race this fast for the cause of fear. 

Fear of the known. Fear of the first official assignment awaiting her behind this door. Fear of disapproval if she makes mistakes. Fear of anything going wrong.

What was she even scared about? She would get directions and she would follow them accordingly. That should be no big deal. With her charisma and intelligence, it should all work out this session.

"I can do this." She muttered before turning the door knob and walking inside. 

Ms. White sat behind her usual desk in the left corner of the room writing something down. True to her name, she was white. Her skin was white and her hair was primarily dark, making the whiteness of her skin stand out. A man sat in the chair opposite her.

No discussion was going on.

Seyi eased herself into the silence of the room before speaking. "Ms. White." Then, she walked deeper into the room. It was spacious enough regardless of the crammed files, arranged neatly on a shelf by the right side of the office. 

Ms. White raised her head. "Oh. You're here."

"Yes ma'am." She replied, focusing all attention on her.

Ms. White rose up with a gracious sense of formality and started gesturing between her two visitors. "Miss. Seyi, I want you to meet Mr. Adebayo. He is newly employed, into the Arts department as a lecturer. Mr. Adebayo, here is the student body president of the School, Miss. Seyi Adeleke."

The young man stood up from his seat and extended a hand. He offered a smile. Seyi smiled too. "Nice to meet you sir."

"Yes. Same here." They shook hands briefly.

"Congratulations and I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay."

"Thanks. I greatly hope so."

Ms. White butted in. "Miss Adeleke please show him around."

"Um. What about his apartment?"

"Oh yes. You can assist him in locating the staff houses. He has his apartment number. Enjoy the rest of your day."

"Alright ma'am."

The new lecturer and the president exited the office together and they set out on their journey.

"So what is your major?" Adebayo asked.

"Business."

"Really? That's nice."

Seyi calmed down as she heard the lecturer speak to her. He seemed friendly and kind.

They got down the stairs and Seyi showed him the different buildings and what they were for. "That's the church over there. The mosque is the one opposite it."

"Oh. I'd like to check the church." 

"No problem."

Seyi was leading the way towards the church when she spotted Sharon walking towards them. 

Sharon saw the duo. She made to look away but her gaze held on to Mr. Adebayo's face. Her heart raced as she got closer. He really looked familiar. She ducked her head and started jogging past them in a hurry.

Mr. Adebayo felt uneasy because he caught her expression when she looked at him. Maybe she was bothered by something else. He mentally shrugged and overlooked it.

Seyi spoke first. "That was Sharon. She's an Arts major. So, she should attend your classes."

"Oh." Mr. Adebayo said, because he didn't know with what else to reply at the moment. 

Sharon. The name sounded familiar. 

Then, her expression came back to bother him. He pushed it away and focused on the moment. Getting to know the major places on the campus. He would be back to Sharon's case later. He concluded that it was a good thing that she would be in his classes.