Chapter 6- The Scream

Mrs. Tonia didn't say anything after Flora exited the room. She sighed and walked over to sit beside Anita on the bed, while 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 on the bed.

"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."

"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," 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 in the room, arranging her bag of clothes, and she didn't utter 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 had previously shared with Glory. She didn't ask any questions, as she didn't like Anita or Glory.

Glory then exited the corridor and walked back to join Anita. Anita was busy texting Temisa, who called her instead.

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

"All fine—and yours?"

"All good," Temisa responded sadly.

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

"I know—it's a long story. Remember my father didn't show up at the graduation ceremony? Now he's asking for my results and telling me to submit them at the Benson Group. You know I don't have any interest in working with them."

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

"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 well, girlfriend, but at least be happy—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 many high hopes about working with the Benson Group. I know they're the most sought-after company, 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. If I submit mine now and they approve and accept me, we can work there together, and you won't be bored with office work anymore."

"Really? So you have plans to submit your CV 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."

"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 teased 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 set her phone down and found 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 white as Anita, while Glory was brown, and the rest were dark.

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

"No," Glory responded. She walked over to sit beside Anita on the bed, having finished arranging her box into 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, 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. Was it difficult studying business administration?" Glory asked.

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

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

"Glory! What do you know about boyfriends?" Anita questioned, her eyes widening. 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. 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. Glory jumped up happily from the bed and hugged Anita tightly.

"Thank you, big sis."

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

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

Anita then 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 the company.

Anita read through some of the recent news and saw the handover of company ownership to Master Liam Jackson. She sighed as she stared at the photos from the company's conference hall and then at the images of the new CEO.

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

She sighed as she heard Glory snoring and sleeping peacefully behind her on the bed. She scrolled through the timeline posts of the new CEO, checking his profile page.

His profile didn't have many updates, and Anita sighed before finally clicking on his profile picture. She wanted to see the face of the new boss she might work with in the future if her CV was accepted. But as she stared at his display picture and the date it was posted—six years ago—he looked younger in the photo, making her sigh again.

Anita left the CEO's profile page and browsed how to submit her application letter and certificate instead.

She finally found an available application form and checked the open positions.

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 for a job at the company.

Since she was tired, Anita decided to type a fresh letter of application to the Benson Group the following day. Having copied the email address, she set her phone down on her shelf and drifted off to sleep on her bed.

The following morning at home, Anita woke up and heard her father scream, "No!" She swiftly jumped down from her bed and rushed out of her room to find out what had happened.

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

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

"Father... what's the problem?" Flora asked as she sat beside their father. He 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 finally responded, "I don't really know. 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 back at her husband, seeing he was trying so hard to prevent his tears from falling. He then stood up from the living room couch; he was already dressed in his deep blue suit, ready to leave for 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 first, but their mother quickly stopped them.

"No. You girls should let your father be. I'll talk to him and find out what the problem really is," Mrs. Tonia informed them.

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

"Yes—just give him some time. I'm sure he'll finally let us know what the problem is," she replied.