Chapter 6 – Father's call

Mrs. Tonia didn't say anything after Flora exited the room. She sighed and walked up to sit beside Anita on the bed, as Favour and Esther left the room next.

"You shouldn't be harsh with your sister. Fighting with Flora wasn't necessary," Mrs. Tonia said as she sat beside Anita.

"I know, Mom, but they disrespect me too much, and it's getting out of hand," Anita replied.

"It's okay. I can understand, but don't change yourself because of them. Keep being my sweet and calm daughter," Mrs. Tonia advised.

"Okay, Mom," Anita sighed as she stared at their mother, while Glory walked up to sit on the bed too.

"I have to go now and join your father. Glory, go pack your bags and come join Anita here," Mrs. Tonia said.

"Okay, Mom," Glory replied. She stood up from the bed and walked out of the room, heading to the one she shared with Lisa.

Flora was there, arranging her bag of clothes, but she didn't say a word to Glory, who picked up her own box of clothes and left.

Lisa sighed as she returned from the kitchen and found Flora in the room she had previously shared with Glory. Lisa didn't ask any questions, as she also disliked Anita and Glory.

Glory exited the room and walked back to join Anita in hers. Anita was busy texting Temisa, but Temisa decided to call her instead.

"Hello, girlfriend. How's home?" Temisa asked.

"All fine, and yours?" Anita replied.

"All good, but," Temisa responded, sadly.

"What's up? You don't sound too happy?" Anita asked first.

"I know; it's a long story. Remember my father didn't show up at the ceremony, and now he's asking for my results and telling me to submit them to the Benson Group? Like you know, I don't have any interest in working with them," Temisa ranted.

"What? That's good news! You should be happy. It's so quick—like you just graduated, and you already have a job at your doorstep, unlike us who would have to wander the streets and companies submitting applications," Anita said.

"Hmm, you can say that, but that's not what I want, at least not for now. Besides, with my results, I doubt I'll get the job," Temisa complained.

"Hmph, it's fine, girlfriend, but be happy at least—you have your father's support, unlike mine," Anita ranted, and the phone call went silent for a while.

"It's okay. But the truth is, I'm not having too high hopes in working with the Benson Group. I know they're the most sought-after group of companies, but I'm not interested," Temisa said flatly.

"Hmph, I know, but you can still apply. I'll be submitting mine there too, but I didn't want to bother you about it earlier or ask you to help me talk to your father. Probably, if I submit mine now and they approve me, we can work there together, and you won't be bored with office work again," Anita said.

"Really? So, you have plans to submit your CV to them too?" Temisa asked.

"Yes, but I didn't know your father also had plans for you to work there. I didn't want to bother you about it," Anita said.

"Oh! There's no problem then. I'll just submit my application and give you updates on when they approve me. Although you know it's through my father, so no too much stress," Temisa said, beaming.

"Yeah, lucky girl," Anita hyped her.

"Thank you, but I'm only submitting because you said you will. If I don't get to see you there, then I'll quit," Temisa informed her.

"Okay, I will, but let's hope they accept me too. Good night," Anita ended the call after Temisa responded, "Good night too."

Anita put her phone down and noticed Glory in the room, arranging her box to fit into the wardrobe she had previously shared with Flora. She sighed.

All her siblings had dark skin, except for Lisa, Glory, and herself. Lisa was fair brown but not as light as Anita, while Glory was brown, with the rest dark.

"Did Flora ask you anything when you went there and carried your box?" Anita asked.

"No," Glory responded and walked to sit beside Anita on the bed, as she was done arranging her things.

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier," Glory apologized faintly, and Anita smiled at her.

"It's okay. None of it was your fault. Let's just hope Flora, Favour, and Esther stop annoying me in this house." Anita smiled as she placed her right palm on Glory's hand.

"Hmph, I hope they don't," Glory sighed.

"It's okay. So, what did you want to discuss with me before Flora interrupted us?" Anita asked her.

"I just wanted to ask about your university. Is it difficult studying business administration?" Glory asked.

"No, not too stressful. You just have to keep your focus high and not get distracted by the handsome guys in your department who might ask you out," Anita replied, as she turned and switched off her laptop, feeling tired.

"So, you don't have a boyfriend in school or any guy who likes you?" Glory asked, surprising Anita.

"Glory! What do you know about boyfriends?" Anita questioned, with her eyes wide open, and Glory only smiled.

"Okay, I don't have a boyfriend because I don't want to lose focus, and you shouldn't either," Anita advised her little sister, while Glory continued to smile.

"It's okay; you'll show me your results for this term since I'll be around. I can be your extra coaching teacher," Anita said to her, and Glory jumped up happily from the bed and hugged Anita tightly.

"Thank you, big sis."

"You're welcome. Can I breathe now?" Anita asked, as Glory was almost suffocating her with her tight hugs and chubby body.

"Okay, let me go and ease myself before sleeping." Glory let go of Anita and walked to the restroom, while Anita sighed and decided to play with her Android phone, as it was already late.

Anita decided to browse information about the Benson Group to learn what the company was like. She typed a search for the Benson Group of Companies and saw recent news updates about it.

Anita read through some of the recent news and saw details about the new handling of company ownership to Master Liam Jackson. She sighed as she stared at the photos from the company's conference hall and down to those of the new CEO.

Lost in her thoughts and search, Anita didn't even notice when Glory returned and climbed into bed, drifting off to sleep.

Anita sighed as she heard Glory snoring peacefully behind her on the bed and scrolled through the timeline posts of the new CEO, checking his profile page. His profile didn't have many updates, and Anita sighed before clicking on his profile picture, wanting to see the face of the new boss she might be working with if her CV got accepted.

The photo was from six years ago, and he looked younger, making her sigh again. Anita left the CEO's profile page and browsed how to submit her letter of application and certificate instead.

Finally, she found an available application form and checked the available positions left. She copied the company's email address and decided to write a letter of application to them, as that was the only way to submit an application to work with the company.

As she was tired, Anita decided to type a fresh letter of application to the Benson Group the following day. After copying the email address, she put her phone on the shelf and drifted off to sleep on her bed.

*****

The following morning at her home, when Anita awoke, she heard her father scream, "No!" She hastily jumped down from her bed and rushed out of her room to find out what happened.

"What happened?" They gathered in the living room, as their father sat on the couch, placing both palms on his head as he fought back the urge to cry.

"Mom, what's the problem?" they asked their mom, and she shook her head, not responding, and paced up and down in the living room too.

"Father, what's the problem?" Flora asked, sitting beside their father on the couch.

Mr. Joshua shook his head in regret and wiped away the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Mom?" Anita walked up to their mother and held her hands.

"What's the matter, Mom?" Anita asked, and Mrs. Tonia responded, "I don't really know, Anita. Your father got a call this morning, and the next moment, I heard him scream while discussing with the caller. I don't know what the problem is."

Mrs. Tonia stared at her husband, seeing he was trying hard to prevent his tears from falling. He stood up from the living room couch; as he was dressed in his deep blue suit, ready to leave for his office work on this fresh Friday morning. But he sighed and walked back to his room, shaking his head regretfully.

"Father!" Anita, Flora, and Favour rushed up to him, but their mother quickly stopped them.

"You girls should let your father be. I'll talk to him and find out what the problem really is," Mrs. Tonia said to them.

"Are you sure, Mom?" they asked in confusion, wanting to see their father.

"Yes, just give him some time. I'm sure he will let us know what the problem is," Mrs. Tonia replied, before closing the room door on them.