AVERAGE LIFE

The last paper for the final year class came to an end after two hours. The beaming students trooped out of the class amidst loud cheering and ovation from junior colleagues. Dressed in matching outfits redesigned with different colour markers, the fresh graduates converged behind the department to celebrate, and the next minute witnessed a water fight that left none of them unwet. Later that night, they gathered at a pub. The clinking and toasting of glasses to better days ahead, flashlights from cameras and soft music playing in the background triggered the ambiance until they could no longer control their emotions. The Twenty-three year Ejike was the first to breakdown in tears when asked to give a speech. He had been the class representative from first to final year. He composed himself and wiped his eyes before he began to speak slowly.
“This is the day I ever wanted to see come to a reality, even though I now wish it came a bit later than this. The five years we stayed together have been nothing but a pure rollercoaster, even though some of us left halfway through the journey. I salute your doggedness to stay strong and fight to the end. Now we can finally admit that the tassel is worth the hassle. As fate would have it, we part ways today for good. I wish and pray that we stay in touch, distance notwithstanding. Remember that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Today, I say goodbye to my family and …”
He was about to say something else when tears rolled from his eyes and brought his speech to an abrupt end. The mates consoled him and led him back to his seat. The rest of the night continued with eating and drinking until dawn when the meeting ended. They exchanged warm hugs and prayers for each other before they dispersed for home. Six months after their graduation, Ejike did his clearance and was mobilized for the compulsory one-year duty to his fatherland. During the service days, he had great plans to save enough for the rainy days, despite the little responsibilities that had begun to heap on his head as the first son. Contrary to his plans, the bills to settle were more than his wallet. To this, he found himself struggling to get by in the community secondary school where he served. Reality finally dawned on him weeks after he concluded the service. He spent the first two months submitting his credentials online to different companies with a feeling of optimism. The promises and assurances from the people whom he could count on catalyzed his hope of securing a good job immediately, not until pressure from family members overshadowed his patience in the third month. He found himself walking from one company to another with hard copies of his curriculum vitae neatly folded in files and clasped under his armpit. The move later seemed futile months later when he did not receive an invitation from any of the fifteen companies that promised to call him for interview. When the responsibilities and needs increased, he resorted to a little business with the help of a loan from a cater-cousin. The clothes he sold in front of his house was a hand-to-mouth business that could barely cater for him; he had little or no gain in some materials he sold. Comments from friends and family members were enough for him to know that his physical appearance had become a little better than a mentally unstable man. It took a short time for him to realize that he had slowly nosedived into frustration and depression. Two months in the clothes business, he ran into an old schoolmate at the market. Now a busty fat woman with a strong smell of an expensive perfume, her appearance looked much better than Ejike who looked shabby. They exchanged pleasantries and the next minute they were lost in a hearty chatter. All through the minutes they conversed, Amanda stylishly threw her hands in the air, occasionally for Ejike to notice the shiny ring gracing her fourth finger. A lot had changed in the space of two years.
“Congratulations, Amy.” Ejike finally granted her wish afterthought.
“Thank you. How is life treating you?”
On a normal day, Ejike would have feigned to be comfortable, but he felt he had grown past that.
“Horrible, very horrible.” he replied and bit his lips, sweat drops hanging on his face.
“You will be fine. Just trust in God.”
“As always.” he forced a smile and patted the cheek of the sleeping baby in her arms.
“Please give me your contact. I will talk to my husband about you. He is a staff in a construction company, and I am very sure he would be of help.”
“I will be very grateful.”
From his tone, it was obvious that he had lost all hope and was only pushing on with faith. They exchanged contact numbers and parted. Ejike felt renewed and hope alive again, Amanda wholeheartedly sorry for a brilliant mate facing bad days.
“Truly, what we deserve and what we get is never in balance.” she shook her head as she entered her car and drove home.

A phone call the next Saturday evening was enough to salvage Ejike's situation for the meantime. He met with Amanda's husband, who took his credentials and promised to send feedback. True to his word, he did phone again two days later with good news that surprised Ejike. The company had agreed to take him; he was fully qualified and fit for the job, but the manager needed a grease.
“Ejike Sampson, my wife told me everything about you and I feel bad that someone like you should pass through all these. You see, you are not the only one in the struggle to get this job. My colleagues are also in the race to get their persons there, and I would not want you to miss it. I also did pay my way in; it is normal here. If the finance is the problem, I do not mind paying for you, then you repay me with your first three months salary and a little interest.”
Amanda's husband was honest with him. Ejike had no choice but to agree to the terms, and that was it. An oral interview was done a week later, and he resumed work the next month as a clerk after closing down the clothes business that had made him a debtor in all parts of the market. The first two months in the job was the worse period of his life. He became a shadow of himself; his salary went to Amanda's husband. Ejike looked older than his age when he finally cleared the debt. By this time, families and friends had lost all hope in him and were already talking behind his back. The fourth-month salary was the first he received. He used it to settle the cater-cousin who loaned him money for the clothes business and was ready to start life afresh. Unfortunately, the construction company became bankrupt two weeks into the fifth month and had to terminate and dismiss all contract staff, including Amanda's husband.
Ejike felt the whole world dropped on his head heavier than it ever did in the past. His rent expired that same month. Despite the fact that his ill luck and misfortune were seen all over him, his plea for the landlord to bear with him fell on deaf ears. Pa Nedu pasted an eviction notice on Ejike's door the next week. He had a month to vacate the house. A discombobulated Ejike met with his pastor the next morning and explained his plight to him.
“There is more to this. I will organize a three-day deliverance for you. Things will surely fall in place for you.” Pastor Phillip consoled him.
“Thank you, pastor. But I would not mind doing a menial job for the meantime, pending when it pleases God to help me.”
“Brother Ejike, you are too big for menial jobs. Come around tomorrow, by then I must have contacted friends for any available job. Do have a nice day and God bless you.” he pressed the bell for the next person to come in.

The next day was just one of those days. Ejike went very early to the church, feeling pessimistic. Inside the pastor's office, there sat a lanky woman with big spectacles. They replied to his greeting with a nod and continued with the chatter. Pastor Phillip finally gestured at her to pause.
“Mrs Helen, here is Ejike I told you about.”
She took a quick glance at Ejike and turned back to the pastor.
“Everything is just as I explained.” the pastor added.
“I understand” she replied and turned to Ejike “do you have your credentials with you?”
“No, I did not come with them.”
“Not like it is needed anyway.”
This was a relief to Ejike who had become sick of carrying the papers that were almost useless to him at the moment.
“I am the assistant comptroller in a parastatal, but I have a private business that takes my time. So here is the deal: you cover for me, and we take equal halves of the salary.”
The happening seemed too fast for Ejike, but he played along with rapt attention.
“Note that the allowances and bonuses remain mine.” she added and gazed at his face to see his reaction.
“Fair.” he replied weakly.
“Since you two are okay with the terms, I wish you the best.” Pastor Phillip dismissed the meeting with a smile on his face.
Ejike joined the woman in her car as she drove to the office. On their way, she explained some things in details.
“Young man, I hope you know that the risk I want to take is because of the relationship I have with pastor Phillip, your referee. I pray you do not mess up.”
She looked too mature and advanced judging by her appearance, but the words she spoke to Ejike were opposite.
“Make sure you do not step beyond your boundaries there and only do what you are asked to do. There are a lot of benefits to enjoy if you behave yourself.”
Ejike smiled and nodded to all her words until they arrived at the complex. A storey building that looked somewhat dilapidated. She took him round the offices and introduced him to some colleagues. To his greatest surprise, no eyebrows were raised when she informed them of her plans with Ejike. Instead, they praised her for being a sharp lady.
“Deb, please help me show him what to do before oga comes.” she pleaded with a young who seemed like the closest to her.
“That reminds me! Is oga aware?” Debs whispered.
“Yes yes! For your information, he is oga's brother. Oga travelled out of the country eight years ago, two years before you were employed.”
The shock on Deb's face left her muted.
“Just do as I have asked, I will settle you by month end.” she hurriedly dashed out, leaving behind a novice Ejike who had been silent all along.
The colleagues were friendly and playful. It took less than an hour for Ejike to get along with them. At noon, they went on break and the noise in the office almost made Ejike deaf. He did the day's job a little above perfect for a beginner, and the colleagues commended him.

The dark part of Ejike's life finally met with glims. The end of the first month brought light to Ejike once more. The agreement with Mrs Helen went as planned. He paid his rent and bought new clothes to change his look. Things were beginning to fall in place for him. The same thing happened in the second and third month. Then there came a new story in the fourth month when Mrs Helen invited Ejike to her house after one Friday.
“You see, I have worked in this firm for thirty years, by the grace of God I would be retiring in five years. My son wants me to join him in the States, and I would not be needing the pension. How about you pay me a certain amount for the management board to wipe my details from the system and replace it with yours, have you imagined how glorious it would be for a young man of your age to start receiving the pension and still have energy to work?”
It sounded like a fair deal to Ejike. He agreed to buy her spot in the firm.
“How much is it?”
“One million naira. No negotiation.”
He noticed the sense of finality in her reply.
“Accepted.”

He talked to pastor Phillip about it that evening, and he accepted too.
“Opportunity knocks but once.” he advised him.
Ejike took a long-term loan from different friends and finally paid Mrs Helen the next month. The replacement was done smoothly, and colleagues at work congratulated him. Just as Mrs Helen had told him, she travelled out of the country at the end of the year, but continued with the salary slashing with him as usual. The months rolled by and Ejike prayed earnestly every day for the remaining four years to come sooner than later.

At the end of the third year, the government sent supervisors to the firm. Assessment was done, and a lot of corrupt and underperforming workers were relieved of their jobs, including Mrs Helen, who was now Ejike Sampson. For him, this was the biggest blow and surviving it would take a miracle and the grace of God. On the day they received the letter of termination, Ejike felt his head became twice its normal size. He was lost in deep thought as he struggled to find his way back home. He unknowingly strayed into the middle of the busy road. A loud screeching of a car from behind and a curse from the driver revived his touch with the surrounding.
“Get out of the road, old man!”
Ejike jumped to the pedestrian walkway, where he paused and rested his body against a parked car. It was from the tinted windscreen that he saw the strands of grey hairs all over his head and jaw.
“What next?” he muttered to himself to confirm his sanity, “What next? What next?!”
His phone vibrated inside his pocket. He checked and saw a text message from his bank. It was to wish him a blissful thirtieth birthday.
“The journey is still far, Ejike.” he reminded himself.


Ephraim Reuben Peter
Statistics Department
Faculty of Physical Sciences
University of Calabar