I Feel Your Pain

“Are you trying to say our madam is also corrupt?” Sharon asked. She took a defensive stance. Aisha did not answer Sharon a word. Rather she just went on to file her nails. Sharon felt irritated by Aisha’s attitude, ignoring her as though she did not mean anything.

“Lanre is not like that. She is not corrupt. She is a good woman”. Aaron said. Pascal who was busy dressing a clients hair said he supported Aaron’s words.

“Me sef! Maram (madam) no de do dah kin thing (Even me! Madam does not do such”. Uduak said as well. Sharon laughed at Uduak’s accent.

“Uduak! Na today I de even put ear for you word. So you sef get Calabar accent? Maram! Hehehe!” Sharon laughed mockingly at Uduak. Uduak frowns at Sharon. Then she threw a foam at her.

“If you no laugh person, you no go de alright?” Udauk asked Sharon if she won’t be fine without mocking somebody. Sharon shook her head. Then she went to sit down as she did not have any work at hand at the moment.

A few minutes after the last client left, a young lady stepped in. She seemed lost from the way she looked, her eyes hovering around in fear.

“Hello pretty lady! How may we help you?” Aaron was the one to address the young lady. The young lady was dark in complexion. She was quite chubby and had three tribal marks cutting through her cheek. She was not so pretty, but one won’t say she’s ugly either.

“Good evening Sir!” She said timidly. Aaron answered to her greeting making sure to call her “ma” as he did not like being called Sir. She told him not to call her ma while he told her not to call him sir either.

“I am looking for a job”. She said. Sharon laughed. She asked who looks for a job by this time of the day.

“Sharon!” Pascal gave her a warning look. She asked him what. He shook his head pitifully. She shrugs showing her “I don’t care” attitude.

“What can you do?” Aaron asked. The girl told him that she knew how to give body massage and that she could also do foot massage as well as pedicure and manicure. She also told Aaron if she could not be offered any of those jobs, she wouldn’t mind being a cleaner.

“God knows how far I’ve come looking for a job. I have been walking since morning looking for job”. The girl cried. Uduak immediately burst out crying.

“I feel your pain!” Uduak said out loud crying as though she was the girl who was looking for a job. Everyone in the shop was just looking at Udauk shock expressed on their face. Even the girl who had come looking for a job became quiet and wondered at the drama Uduak was displaying. The next thing they heard was,

“Sharon, I just de look you one eye for this shop o! Na because of madam, if not me ran (and) you for don fight for here. Every time you de laugh me. If I speak English you go laugh. If I speak pidgin you go laugh. If I use my language, you go say I be village girl”. Udauk said feeling pained. She was complaining over her plight with Sharon who mocks her whether she speaks English or pidgin. And when she speaks her native language, Sharon calls her a village girl.