COCK CROW AT DAWN

The shrill ring of the alarm broke through her torpor. It grated on her nerves.She had been dreaming of her hair being blown by the wind as she drove in a red,topless convertible. She struggled to pry her eye lids open. It was very hard.

'I have to get up', she muttered. Eventually, she opened her eyes and sat up on the bed. She looked up at the clock. It was 4.45 a.m. The Mobil job interview was at 8.00a.m. A frisson of anticipation shot through her nerves. She had been jobless for eight months. She got up and picked out a shirt from her wardrobe. Grabbing the iron, she immediately proceeded to the ironing board. On plugging the iron plug in the socket, the power went out.
'Arrggh, Nepa', she said.
She went out to the back of the house and tried to put on the generator. She tried six times to pull the rope, but it just won't start.Muttering,she stomped off to go and call the maiguard to help. With the first pull, the rope came off in the maiguard's hand. She couldn't decide who she was angrier with - the maiguard or the rope! Swearing silently,she marched into the house to find an unrumpled shirt. There wasn't any!
She was going to have to wear the rumpled shirt and cover it with a jacket. It was 5.15a.m.

She bathed and dressed in record time and ran out to the Ajah bus stop. A crowd had gathered. There were no buses. She opened her mouth in horror, but quickly shut it. She had to try and get a cab. A cab eventually pulled up. No one struggled with her because they were all waiting for buses. She heaved a sigh of relief and uttering a silent prayer of thanks,she scrambled in and ten minutes after the cab had been moving, she still sat leaning forward with her muscles taut; willing the driver to go faster.

It was 6.15 am. The cab was speeding so much that it couldn't stop when the red light blinked. A bike was run over with its rider on the floor writhing in pain. Her heart was thumping. The anguished look of the bike rider troubled her --but only briefly because she looked down at her watch and screamed, 'Move!'
 

The cab driver turned to her to ask if she was a Christian. She winced and said she wasn't. The cab sped on. They arrived at the Lekki roundabout. The traffic was formidable. She uttered a string of four letter expletives that would have made her Sunday school kids gawk in awe. The cab driver said he agreed with her - that she wasn't a Christian! A cloud of remorse settled all over her. Quickly shaking it off,she made a mental note to repent after the interview.

She arrived at the front of Mobil Oil at 7.30 a.m. She was delirious with joy. Clutching her briefcase, she trotted to the gate. There were five people on the line.

'It’s not so bad', she said to herself, 'I still have thirty minutes'. Twenty minutes after, she was still on the line. The man in front of her was arguing.Clenching and unclenching her fists,and tapping her feet,she said, 'Please, I have an interview at eight'. The security men called her forward. They asked for her identification.

She rummaged her bag for it. It was nowhere to be found. She freaked out. Her watch was ticking. A tear escaped. She lifted her left hand to wipe. The ID was in her left hand! She had taken it out in the cab. She wanted to kick herself. Hands shaking, she handed it to them. They let her through. She had three minutes left. She dashed to the reception. She was trembling all over.

'Please, where is hall C12?' she asked the receptionist who was on the phone laughing loudly.

All she heard was the receptionist's cackling. She modulated her voice three notches higher. The receptionist paled, stopped laughing and mouthed the directions.

The journey in the elevator seemed like a lifetime. It was 8 a.m. She hoped her watch was faster than theirs. She willed the door open. The door obliged her. She raced up the corridor, frantically searching for the right door. She soon found it. It was locked! Perplexed, she brought out the invitation letter. She looked down at it. Tears were blurring her vision.

'It says here, C12, and this is C12', she thought aloud. 'I can't miss this interview; I've been sitting at home for too long!' A man strode down the corridor .She proceeded to tell him her sorry tale. He asked her for her letter. Heads bent, they peered at it together. Venue was Hall C12, time 8.00 am, date 10-05-10. That day was 1-05-10.

It took an effort for to raise her head!