Chapter 6

Precious called me two days later to ask if I was interested in working in Lagos. The pay was even double what I earned at the snack shop.

"Omg!! Do you even need to ask? I'm so in!" I shouted happily. Now, I can save money for school, I thought. I even dreamt of joining Feranmi at UNILAG where he schools

The job involved helping at a large restaurant. The pay was fantastic. And I had meals too. Awesome!!! I definitely wanted the job but how do I explain to my mother that I was going to another state for work?

"Don't tell her anything. Just go. You can call her after you must have spent like a week or two there and you are sure that you like the place" Raina advised when I told her my worries that evening.

It seemed like a good one too. Forget my moving out of the house, I'm aware she knows exactly where I stay and worked. In fact, on one occasion, when I just moved to Raina's place, I got to work one morning to have a woman from the house next door call me aside to tell me what a terrible child I've been for running away from my mother's house without a thought as to how she would feel. The woman was very delighted to explain how my mum was knocking on doors with tears in her eyes trying to trace Raina's house, saying she hadn't seen me in weeks. The woman said I was a young girl and only bad things happen to young girls that ran away from home without provocation. All these, early in the morning too. I was so angry. I went straight home that morning and confronted her. It was brutal. I wasn't ready for the same thing to happen but I knew telling her before going will only get me a resounding NO!

I made arrangements with Lola to collect my salary from her boss and to keep it for me till I returned, then I packed my bags and prepared myself for another Job.

The next day, we arrived at Lagos

Just being in the city where my sisters were currently making it filled me with joy. I won't tell them I was around but would show them I could be better, I decided. I was ready to work to get there too.

The restaurant was called Bo's Diner. It was located along the very busy Ikeja road and since it was a one-storied building and made entirely of glass, it was also very difficult to miss. It wasn't the type of place you entered just to have a bottle of water though. Rather, it was the kind that makes you check your pockets and wallet well before you entered because you knew you were coming to eat good and very expensive food. It was operated like one of these fancy fast food restaurants with fancy chairs, beautiful centerpieces and uniformed staffs. The only thing that set it apart from those fast food places was that it sold only swallowable foods. By that, I mean African dishes such as Eba, Pounded yam, Amala, Fufu, Semovita and wheat with six (6) varieties of soup- Ewedu, Gbegiri, Ila alasepo, Egusi, Vegetable soup and Efo riro. They also offered wide varieties of fishes and beef – you know, the borkoto, ponmo, assorted meat, the catfish, fresh and fried fish with their various names. Thinking about it makes me salivate! The place was a food heaven and an African man's food paradise. Bo's specialty however, was Amala. In fact, I call it The Amala Spot from the moment i stepped there because it seemed like that was the primary food people came for.

I got settled immediately and was assigned to work with the kitchen staffs. In the kitchens alone, we were up to 10 staff. I suppose cooking that much food for the population that passed through daily required a vast number of people. I was assigned to people that picks and cleans the vegetables before it was given to the cooks to prepare. Being assigned to the kitchen also meant that I would be joined with those that were to clean the dishes that had been used as one of the newest and youngest staff. I didn't mind it much. Working there felt like it was going to be exhausting as my first day showed me but I was thankful for the job especially when our supervisor filled me in and told me that I would be given two meals and two hundred naira (#200) as allowance money everyday.

Work soon closed that day at a very late time of 11pm and then I realized one thing that I never thought about from the beginning- where the hell would I sleep? I turned to Precious who I had not seen all day as she had been working inside the eating section, "Babe, where are we going to sleep? I forgot to ask earlier?".

"I don't know. I've been trying to reach my aunt since morning but her phone is not reachable". She replied looking worried as well

"Sissy! Sissy to se de! (Young lady that came today!)" We heard a woman call and turned to the back of the restaurant. Some of the women that I worked with in the kitchens were sitting around. I counted about five of them. They didn't look like they were going anywhere either.

"Good evening ma" I and Precious greeted. I figured since they were all women, one greeting was enough.

"You did well today Dara, one of them, I think her name was Shola, greeted me. I had worked side by side with her all day. I figured in a new place, I needed a friend especially since it was beginning to look like Precious and I are parallel lines that can never meet. "This is Mummy Tiwa, Aunty Blessing, Sister Folawe and mummy Ola. You saw them in the kitchen today". She told me.

"Do you have people you are planning to stay with?" Mummy Ola asked us

"My Aunt, but her phone hasn't been reachable all day" Precious replied.

"Well, you can stay here with us till you reach her. We sleep there" she pointed to one of the rooms I had assumed was for storage near where we stood. I turned to look at the place and looked back at Shola with question in my eyes

"Some of us kitchen staffs stay quite far from here and we have to start working as early as 6a.m so the bosses gave us that place to use during the week. Everybody goes to their houses on Saturday night or early Sunday morning and return very early on Monday morning" she answered my unspoken question correctly.

I went ahead to the room to put down my bags and was amazed at how comfortable it looked. There were mats and fold-able mattresses with mosquito nets tied over them and everywhere was neat. They had two ceiling fans for ventilation and some of the more regular plastic chairs I was accustomed to from home.

"You can sleep with me and your friend with Aunty Blessing" I looked back to see that Shola, Precious and Blessing had followed me into the room. They pointed out their sleeping space to us and we kept our belongings there. I hope no one snores or it was going to be a long night!

Back outside, I asked Shola to tell me about the Restaurant. I haven't been here long enough to know much. I joined three months ago. I only know that its not owned by a single person" she shrugged

"How do you mean? How can three months not be long enough to know anything" I was genuinely puzzled by her not knowing anything despite working there 3 months already

"The name of this place was formerly Boluwatife's Amala Spot". Mama Tiwa spoke up. See, I was right about the Amala spot thing! "It was owned by a man popularly known as Baba Bolu, who married three wives. He and his wives were running it till he fell ill. The first wife had two children (first and third born) while the second (second born) and third (last born) had one each. At the time of the man's death, he willed the restaurant to his four children to be joint owners of it. He told them that they must not sell or abandon the business because it was his sweat and pride. If they did, nothing they did will ever progress. Trust the elderly and their curses. Not that I believe in such things! As long as the business is thriving, all their personal businesses and anything else they decide to do will thrive as well. Since the children are all well-educated, they decided to brush up the place, give it a facelift and take turns coming to oversee the restaurant daily. Yesterday was the turn of the third born, Balikis, that's why you saw her here. All earning are deposited to an account by the supervisor."

"Oh! That makes a lot of sense then. I've always wondered about the man with the suit that come here in the evenings every 4 days or so to discuss with the supervisor. I take it he's one of the sibling then?" Shola asked.

I looked at her incredulously. "You don't mean you are serious about been here for three months and not know who you are working for?"

"Ha ha ha!! Dara, not everyone is sofo like you! Shola, the man is Omobayonle, the eldest of Baba Bolu's children and the only boy among them. He works in a bank. I think I heard that he has a shoe making business on the side as well" Mama Tiwa laughed at us.

And she calls me sofo. hmmm! I silently fumed. How did she know all these?

"Its almost 12a.m. We would be up in five hours. Get some sleep". Mama Ola called to us on her way inside the resting room.

As I laid down to sleep, I thought back to the day I just had. It wasn't bad really and the food was superb too. I felt I was going to enjoy working here much.

I prayed whatever chased me from Ogun state remained behind and not follow me to Lagos.