Rigozo
‘Good morning, everyone!’ Ama called as she breezed into the office. She looked like a K-doll and smelled like a flower shop.
Terry rose from his seat, all facial hair and buck teeth, and wrapped Ama in a bear hug.
‘Girlfriend mi! Good morning, Ama-zing. OMG, you look and smell so good. Yum! Is that Chanel?’ Terry gushed.
In my opinion, Terry’s personality and voice were a disappointment when compared to his profile. He should be in a documentary for evolved wildlife on Nat Geo Wild – all that body hair was not normal.
‘Ama! Why didn’t wait for me yesterday?’ Dorcas cried as she rushed over to them, ‘I called you but your number was not reachable.’
She tripped, and almost knocked Ama down. Dorcas was thin as a bird and was always tripping.
‘Dorcas, careful. I’m so sorry, forgive me. I left a note on your desk that I was leaving early to pick my parents up from the airport. Did you not see it?’ Ama asked.
‘I didn’t see it. Oh! I’m sorry, it was my fault for not reading your note…’
I sat at my desk, opposite from them, and my eyes twitched.
Don’t they ever get tired of talking? Isn’t it too early to be so preppy and wide-eyed?
I suspected that Ama woke up in the morning with a smile on her face. I had to consume a gallon of coffee in the morning before I could have a decent conversation with another person. She was Snow White, and I was the Grinch.
Ama giggled and I swear I heard somebody sigh. I tried not to roll my eyes.
I was extra moody because my rent was due, and my landlady was her usual mouthy self before I left the house. I had asked for patience on my way to work so that I don’t end up in jail for choking my colleagues.
‘Hi, Bami. I hope you slept well?’ Ama was talking to me. I spied Terry sulking in the corner.
‘I brought you some herbal tea that my mom made herself. I told her that you caught a cold last week, and she insisted that I give this to you. It does wonders for the body.’ Ama said in a rush as she brought out the tea from her bag.
I wanted to pull my hair. What is wrong with this woman? I thought. I was just daydreaming about strangling her and everybody else, and here she was worried about me. Why was she talking to her mother about me? I just couldn’t understand.
I knew that we were different people with different personalities. It was not good to dwell on it or to make comparisons. While Ama was a great PR and the department’s sweetheart, I didn’t land my job because of my people skills.
I was melancholic, listened to super depressing rock bands, and had no social life – I loved it that way. And Ama was all sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns, and everybody loved her. She was different from me. I had to remind myself whenever she rubbed me the wrong way.
‘Are you alright? You look pale. Did you see the doctor?’ She placed the tea on my desk.
‘Yes…yes. I’m fine.’ I cleared my throat, ‘Thank you for asking, and for the tea.’
‘Oh! You’re welcome,’ Ama said as she moved to her desk, ‘And If you feel tired, just let me know, I’ll help you out with your work.’
Sigh. She made it really hard to not like her. I checked above her head to see if I would find a halo. Nope, just air. Maybe I couldn’t just see it.
I took deep breaths to steady my nerves because there was always the possibility that I would lose my patience and take somebody’s eye out.
Waking Dreams Unmasked 