"Mom...no thanks." She adjusts her blanket, rolls to the other side of her bed to continue with her sleep. She senses her Mom's presence, and realizes she's still at the door. She looks up, "You know how much I hate eating from a food-flask. Besides, I love my eating my meals really hot. So, no again. But thanks, Mom." This time she covers her face with her red and brown blanket. She has an emotional attachment to this blanket. She has had it for ten years now and plans on keeping it for much longer.
"Ok then. You're going to have to sort yourself darling." Her mom replies softly.
It's still 6:45am. The cloudy skies tell just how cold the morning is. The air conditioner in Tade's room isn't exactly helping matters.
Tade completed her university education about four months earlier and has been home since then. For a minute, she's wondering why her mom barged into her room at 6:45am to talk about breakfast. The she remembers...the path to a career in fashion designing begins this morning. She had talked to her mom about wanting to learn how to sew.
Fortunately for Tade, the renowned CEO of the prestigious FAITE couture is her mom's childhood friend.
"What better place to learn how to sew if not with Tolani?" Her mom had said excitedly. They decided it would be wonderful for Tade to learn and master the art of sewing while she waited for the compulsory NYSC scheme, which wouldn't be starting till the following year anyway.
After heaving a deep sigh, she struggles to get out of bed. She is supposed to resume at 8:00am and close by 6:00pm.
"What was I even thinking when I agreed to this 8-6 ish" Tade mutters to herself.
She says a quick prayer, picks up her bible to read her favorite verse, Numbers 23:19;
"Is God man that he should lie or the son of man that he should change his mind. Does he speak and not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"
Her bed is in a terrible state; piles of clothes in one corner of the bed; three of her bags are just beside her pillow; and she put some cash under her pillow the night before. The present state of her bed is the least of her worries though. Whenever her mom complains about the state of chaos in her room and on her bed, "There's always order in my chaos" she'd reply.
She takes a glance at the wall clock. It's 7:15am already. This time she jumps out of bed, grabs her towel and is off to the bathroom. She takes a quick shower and rushes back to her room. Of course, she forgets to moisturize as usual. She hops into her pair of everyday jeans; it's her favorite. What better day to wear it anyway? She matches that with a white tank top and a pink shirt. Tade loves dressing in layers. "It's hard to predict the weather these days." She always says.
She grabs her phone and earpiece; throws her journal and novel into her bag; attempts to straighten her bed, but worsen the situation of the bed; and then leaves the room hurriedly.
Since Tade hasn't perfected her driving, Baba Sulia—her mom's driver—is dropping her off at her new oga's fashion house.
E kaaro sa
Pele. Kaaro. Mommy ni o fe kose telo.
Baba Sulia inquires with a big grin.
Yes sa.
It's a fifteen minutes drive to FAITE from Tade's home, but she's lost in deep thought anyway. She's unsure of what to expect in this new phase of life.
"Odabo sa, O dirole." She bids Baba Sulia goodbye. She opens the gate to her future and strolls in.
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