Chapter 6 - The Scream

Mrs. Tonia didn't say anything after Flora exited the room. She sighed and walked up to sit beside Anita on the bed, while Favour and Esther exited 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 understand, but don't change yourself because of them. Keep being my sweet and calm daughter."

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

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

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

Flora was in the room, arranging her bag of clothes, and she didn't utter any 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 previously shared with Glory. She didn't ask any question, as she also disliked Anita and Glory.

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Glory exited the room and walked back to join Anita.

Anita was busy texting Temisa, but Temisa called her instead.

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

"All fine, and yours?"

"All good," Temisa responded.

"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 ceremony? Now he's asking for my results and telling me to submit them at the Benson Group. Like, you know I don't have any interest in working with them."

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

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

"Hmph. It'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. But the truth is, I'm not having too much high hopes about working with the Benson Group. I know they're the most sought-after group of companies, but I'm not interested," Temisa deadpanned.

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

"Really? So you have plans of submitting your CV to them too?" Temisa asked.

"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."

"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 beamed.

"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. Goodnight." Anita ended the call after Temisa responded, "Goodnight too."

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

All her siblings had dark skin, except for Lisa, Glory, and herself. Lisa was fair brown but not white like her, while Glory was brown, and the rest were 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, after she 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 and placed her right palm on Glory's hand.

"Hmph, I hope they stop it," Glory sighed.

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

"I just wanted to ask about your university. Is studying Business Administration difficult?" Glory asked.

"No, not too stressful. You just have to keep your focus high and not get distracted by the handsome guys and beautiful girls in your department who might ask you out," Anita replied, turning and switching off her laptop as she had already grown 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. 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 smiling.

"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.

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 almost suffocated 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.

Anita sighed and decided to play with her Android phone, as it was already late.

Anita decided to browse for 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.

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

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

Anita sighed as she heard Glory snoring and sleeping peacefully behind her. She scrolled through the timeline posts of the new CEO, checking his profile page. His profile didn't have many updates, so she sighed and finally clicked on his profile picture, wanting to see the face of the new boss she might work for in the future if her CV got accepted.

As she stared at his display picture on his profile and looked at the date it was posted—six years ago—he looked younger in the photo.

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

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

Anita copied the company's email address and decided to write an application letter to them, as that was the only way to submit an application to work with the company.

Too tired, she decided to type a fresh letter of application to the Benson Group the following day. Having copied the email address, she kept her phone on her shelf and drifted to sleep on her bed.

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The following morning, Anita woke to her father's scream: "No!" She swiftly jumped down from her bed and rushed out of her room to find out what happened.

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

"Mom, what's the problem?!" they asked their mother. She shook her head, unresponsive, and paced up and down the living room.

"Father, what's the problem?" Flora asked as she sat beside him. 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?" She asked.

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." She stared back at her husband, seeing him trying so hard to prevent his tears from dropping.

Mr. Joshua stood up from the living room couch. He was already dressed in his deep blue suit, ready to leave for his office, as it was a 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.

"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'll let us know what the problem is."