In my office the following day being a Monday, I try to act lively and forget the woeful weekend’s happenings.
The Heads of departments meetings are ongoing and it would take like centuries before they head back to their respective departments.
While I sink into my chair, I occupy myself with swiping through the screenshots Nana sent me. I find Grace’s hair to be very gorgeous. She must have really stunned the hall as a wedding guest. Considering the silky texture of her weave I can bet that it’s original human hair. It’s pretty straight, black and like 16inches length. The glueless frontal makes it look even more epic.
“Nengi this one you’re so relaxed!” Dinmah cuts in walking in from the door.
“Nothing much o.” I reply casually.
Dinmah’s stilettos are making soft koi- koi sounds as they encounter the tiled floor. She’s holding her a cup of vegetable smoothie as she heads for her seat and begins to sip from it once she settles down.
“Seems you’re done for the day! How was the weekend with the kids?” She questions as usual after a brief pause from relishing her smoothie while gazing at me.
I nod.
“Great!” still swiping my phone.
“Which book are you guys talking about this weekend? You should invite me sometime you know. Nana says you’re doing a great job with them!”
I place my phone on the table and go back to working on my keyboard.
“We continue with Who moved my cheese, hopefully we would begin with the Alchemist next week. I’m already pages gone!”
“Hmmm, interesting.”
My phone buzzes. It’s Chibueze calling as I peep at it.
I wonder why he would be calling me but I choose not to ignore him.
“Hello!”
I glance briefly at Dinmah as she works away at her own laptop. We’ve got deadline to submit our reports for the previous week.
Her fingers clicks the mouse at intervals as she’s acting like she’s not paying attention to my phone conversation.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m good, you?”
“A bit worried, Grace won’t take my calls. Have you spoken with her lately?”
I feel a knot in my throat as I pause to think of a reasonable response.
“Not really!”
“I don’t get. Grace is your friend!”
“Yes she is. See I’m busy right now. Maybe you can leave her a message or something. See if she would respond!”
“I really want to know if she’s ok and why she is ignoring me. Is there anything you know?”
I roll my eyes. “He shouldn’t be asking me silly questions about Grace. What’s my business?” I think.
“Chibueze, please try calling or texting her again. I believe she would respond to you, eventually. Let me get back to work!”
I end the call with a beep and rub my head in despair.
“I hope all is well?” Comes dinmah’s Mild voice.
I nod and get to my feet. I need fresh air from outside.
“Yes!” I manage to say before exiting the office.
***
“Why would she be spreading false rumours about me? If I ever sight her she won’t like what I’ll say to her!” I complain to Nana, later in the evening while sitting on the dinning table in Nana’s family house.
“You should just pause with Chibueze’s story or whatever you call it”
“This is total disruption to my work! We’ve been told to research new stories and I’m seriously counting on this one to add up in my story collection!” I voice out angrily.
Nana heaves a sigh and continues with the slicing of her orange in a circular pattern. She cuts off a tiny bit and sucks it.
“You care?” She asks raising the other juicy part at me, totally ignoring my countenance.
“No! I would get hungry very fast if I have that!”
I take a deep breath, then pick up the fancy plastic apple among others in the wide vase on the dinning table.
“Of all times to enter into Grace’s case! And she would hold her opinions about the whole matter so high!”
“If she doesn’t want to accept that nothing happened shay it’s her own cup of tea. Leave her there!”
“Where you not the one that told me that when she came to fix her nails, she was talking me down in front of her clique! I’ll go to her house, seriously, I’ll take it out on her!”
“That won’t be necessary, trust me!” Nana advices.
“What would? Sitting and keeping mute? Acting like nothing is happening or what?”
Nana shakes her head and stares at me pitifully.
“I didn’t tell you this so you can go and fight her!”
“Then why did you tell me?”
“Fighting her still won’t make her change her mind. So you know” Nana carries the orange peels in the plate and heads for the kitchen leaving me to my thoughts while my frown lingers.
Nana and I are roughly in the same age bracket. I’m 21 while she’s just 20. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember even before I became friends with Grace or Grace wriggled her way into my life, but I think she doesn’t get me on this one. I’m really mad at Grace.
Read previous episodes here, DREADLOCK LADY- EPISODE TWO
Now, Read the remaining episodes here,
https://ritafictions.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-dreadlock-lady-episodes-4-6.html?m=1