Chapter 6: Mother's Advice

Mrs. Tonia didn't say anything after Flora exited the room; she sighed and walked to sit beside Anita on the bed, while Favour and Esther left the room as well. 

"You shouldn't be harsh with your sister. Fighting with Flora wasn't necessary," Mrs. Tonia said to Anita as she sat next to her on the bed. 

"I know, Mom, but they keep disrespecting 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 as well.

"I've got to go now and join your father. Glory, you should go now, pack your bags, and come join Anita here," Mrs. Tonia said. "Okay, Mom," Glory replied, standing up from the bed and walking out of the room to the space she shares with Lisa. Flora was already there, arranging her bag of clothes in the wardrobe, but she didn't say a word to Glory, who stepped in and carried her own box of clothes out.

 Lisa sighed as she returned from the kitchen and found Flora in the room she used to share with Glory; she didn’t ask any questions since she also didn’t like Anita and Glory either.

 Glory exited the room and went back to join Anita while Anita was busy texting Temisa, who instead called her. "Hello, girlfriend, how's home?" Temisa asked.

 "All fine, and yours?" Anita replied.

 "All good," Temisa responded sadly. 

"What's up now? 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? You know I don't have any interest in working with them," Temisa said.

"What! That's good news. You should be happy. So quickly! You just graduated, and now you already have a job at your feet, unlike us, who would have to start wandering about the streets and companies submitting applications," Anita said.  

"Hmmm, you can say that, but that's not what I want, at least not for now, and besides my results, I doubt I will get the job," Temisa complained.  

"Hmph, that's well, 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, Anita. But the truth is I'm not having too many high hopes about working with the BENSON group. I know they're the most sought-after company, but I'm not interested," Temisa deadpanned.  

"Hmph, I know, Temisa, but you can still apply. I will be submitting mine there too, but I didn't want to bother you about it earlier nor ask you to help me talk to your father about it. If I submit mine now and they accept me, then we can work there together, and you won't be bored with office work again," Anita said.  

"Really, do you plan to submit your CV with them too?" Temisa asked happily.

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

"Oh! There's no problem then; I will just submit my application and give you updates on when they approve me. Although you know this is through my father, so not too much stress," Temisa beamed.  

"Yeah, lucky girl," Anita hyped her friend.  

"Thank you, but I am only submitting because you said you would; if I don't get to see you there, then I will quit," Temisa informed Anita.  

"Okay, I will, but let's hope they accept me too. Good night, girlfriend," Anita said as the call finally ended, after Temisa replied, "Yeah, good night too."

Anita puts her phone down and finds Glory in the room, arranging her box to fit into the wardrobe they previously shared with Flora. Anita sighs as all her siblings had dark skin, except for Lisa, Glory, and herself. Lisa has a fair brown complexion but is not white like Anita, while Glory has brown skin, and the rest are dark.

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

"No," Glory responded, walking over to sit beside her on the bed after arranging her box in the wardrobe.

"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, Favor, and Esther stop annoying me in this house," Anita said, smiling at Glory while placing her right palm on Glory's hand.

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

"Okay, so what did you want to discuss with me before Flora interrupted us?" Anita asked.

"I just want to ask about your university. Is it too difficult to study business administration?" Glory inquired.

"No, it's not too stressful. You just have to stay focused and not get distracted by the guys and girls in your department who might be asking you out," Anita replied, turning off her laptop as she was already tired.

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

"Glory! What do you know about boyfriends?" Anita questioned, her eyes wide open and wearing a smile unique to Glory.

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

"Is that okay? You will show me your results for this term since I'll be around. I can be your extra tutoring teacher," Anita said to her sister. Glory jumped up happily from the bed and hugged Anita tightly.

"Thank you, big sis," Glory said.

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

"Okay, let me go and relieve myself before sleeping," Glory said as she released Anita and walked to the restroom while Anita sighed and decided to play with her Android phone since it was getting late.

Anita chose to browse information about the Benson Group to learn about the company. She typed the search button for the Benson Group of Companies and saw recent news updates on her phone screen. She read through some recent articles and noticed the new handling of company ownership by Master Liam Jackson, and she sighed.

Anita stared at the photos from the company's conference hall and then down to the photos of the new CEO.

Lost in her thoughts and search, Anita doesn’t even notice when Glory steps out, climbs onto the bed, and drifts to sleep. 

Anita sighs as she hears Glory snoring and sleeping peacefully behind her on the bed while she scrolls through the timeline posts of the new CEO, checking his profile page, which doesn’t have many updates about him. 

Anita sighs and finally clicks on his profile picture, wanting to see the new boss with whom she will work in the future if her CV is accepted. However, as she stares at his display picture and notes the date it was posted—six years ago—she realizes he looks younger in the photo, making her sigh again. She leaves his profile page to browse for how to submit her application letter instead. 

Anita finally finds an available application form and checks for the positions left. While copying the company’s email address, she decides to write a letter of application to them, as that is the only way to submit an application to work with the company. 

Feeling tired, Anita decides to type a fresh letter of application to the Benson Group the following day. After copying the company’s email address, she places her phone on the shelf and drifts off to sleep in her bed. 

–––

The following morning, upon waking up, Anita hears her father scream, "No!" Immediately, she jumps out of bed and rushes out of her room to find out what happened. 

"What’s going on?" They all gather in the living room as their father sits on the couch, his palms on his head as he fights back tears. 

"Mom, what's the problem?!" they ask, and she shakes her head in silence, pacing the living room. 

"Dad, what’s wrong?" Flora asks, sitting beside their father, but he shakes his head in regret, wiping away the tears that threaten to fall. 

"Mom?" Anita approaches her mother and holds her folded arms. 

"What’s the matter, Mom?" Anita asks, and Mrs. Tonia finally responds, "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 glances at her husband, noticing he is trying so hard to hold back his tears. He finally stands up from the couch, already dressed in a deep blue suit, ready to leave for work as if it were a fresh Friday morning, but he sighs and walks back to his room, shaking his head regretfully.

"Father!" Anita, Flora, and Favour first rushed up to their father, but their mother quickly stopped them. "You girls should let your father be; I will 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 am sure he will finally let us know what the problem is."