Chapter 3. Olima's begging
1695 Words
Olima paused at the kitchen door, not willing to give up on begging her stepmother.
She had graduated as the best student in her school, and if she had known, she could have accepted the school scholarship program that was offered to her then.
But she thought her father had better plans for her.
She turned and begged Mrs. Gina again, “Please, Ma, I really need to write the university entrance examination to gain admission into any university.”
Mrs. Gina growled, “And who will sponsor your school fees, Olima?
Did you forget how your loving father cast me and Mia away?
Well, in case you've forgotten, let me remind you that the money I’m using to feed you now is the money I was supposed to use to pay the previous maids I’ve sent away.
There's no money in this house, and I cannot take my business money to sponsor your education.
Why am I even explaining all this to you? Just get out of my sight now! Before I break your head!” Mrs. Gina shouted, and Olima finally went back into the kitchen.
Nathan, the gatekeeper of the mansion, knocked and walked into the living room.
He stepped in to inform Mrs. Gina that the school bus had arrived to take Mia to school.
Nathan knew that Mrs. Gina wasn't the madam of the house before, but after his late madam passed away, Mrs. Gina finally took over the mansion and became the new madam of the house.
He greeted Mrs. Gina, “Good morning, ma. The school bus has arrived to take Mia to school.”
Mrs. Gina sighed and replied, “It's okay, Nathan. You can leave us and inform the driver that Mia will be outside soon."
"Okay, Madam," Nathan bowed and immediately left the living room.
He was a 35-year-old man, and he sighed as he went outside to inform the school bus driver to wait.
Mia had finished her breakfast, enjoying the noodles and fried eggs that Olima had cooked.
She stood up from her chair, picked up her black schoolbag from the next chair, and said to her mother, “Mom, I'm off to school. Take care.”
“Okay, my baby. Take care too," Mrs. Gina replied with a sigh as she watched her only child exit the living room.
Mrs. Gina stared back at the dining table and picked up the dirty plate and tray that Mia had used.
She wondered what Olima was still doing in the kitchen, so she went in to find out for herself instead of calling her.
Olima stood beside the kitchen sink, washing her face. Her big brown eyes were pure red.
She heard the sound of the kitchen door slide open and turned to see her stepmother walking in.
Mrs. Gina glared at Olima and immediately asked, "What are you doing beside the kitchen sink?"
Olima quickly replied, "Nothing, Ma. I was washing my face."
"Hmm," Mrs. Gina was silent as she walked to the kitchen sink to drop the dirty tray and plate, leaving them for Olima to wash.
She glanced at the opened carton of noodles on top of the cabinet and noticed the three noodles and two eggs that Olima had carefully placed there to cook.
She asked Olima, "Why did you put the noodles and eggs there?"
Olima nervously replied, "I want to cook them, ma."
"Hmm," Mrs. Gina walked toward the carton of noodles she had bought the previous week and inspected it, noting that it was a smaller packet.
She asked Olima, “How many noodles did you cook for Mia today?”
“Two noodles, ma,” Olima nervously replied.
"Two noodles, and how many noodles am I seeing here that you want to cook for yourself?" Mrs. Gina asked in shock, staring into the almost empty carton.
Olima shuddered and replied, “Three noodles, ma.”
“Three noodles! Just for you alone! My goodness!" Mrs. Gina gasped, looking back at Olima, who was shivering in fright.
Mrs. Gina asked, "Did you plan to turn me into a thief overnight? How can you eat three noodles and two eggs at once? No wonder you still look so fresh and beautiful even after killing your late parents..." Mrs. Gina's eyes burned fiercely at Olima, who trembled in fear as Mrs. Gina turned to count the noodles.
She said, “Only one noodle and one egg is enough for you from today onwards. If I find out that you cook more than one noodle and one egg per day for yourself, then you will see the other side of me.”
“There are only ten noodles left in this carton. When I bought it, there were 40 packets... So automatically, you and Mia have eaten 30 noodle packets just this week, and I am sure you ate the most. Now return two packets back to this carton to make it twelve, and you can cook just one noodle and one egg for yourself. But before that, prepare my tea and bring it out to the dining table now.”
Mrs. Gina let go of the noodle carton and walked out of the kitchen while Olima sobbed and quickly rushed to the teacup cabinet to prepare her stepmother's tea.
Just the way she knew her stepmother liked it.
Olima finally stepped out of the kitchen and into the dining room, carrying a tray of hot teacups in her hands.
She walked up to the dining table and served it in front of her stepmother, who sat there patiently waiting for her.
Olima then went back into the kitchen to prepare her own breakfast.
As she prepared one noodle and one egg for herself, she didn't want her stepmother to punish her.
Once she finished cooking the noodles and egg, she sat on a stool in the kitchen and started eating her noodles quietly, sobbing.
She missed her parents and knew that her late father was a billionaire and that money had never been a problem.
Tears freely rolled down Olima's cheeks as she realized that her stepmother hated her and wondered who would speak to her stepmother on her behalf. None of her relatives seemed to care anymore after her stepmother had arrested them before, as they were only concerned about her late father's properties, his oil company, and his mega houses.
After finishing her breakfast, Olima stood up from the kitchen stool and dropped her plate in the dirty sink to wash it.
Later, she stepped out to the dining room to check if her stepmother was finished with her tea so that she could wash the teacup and tray too.
She saw that her stepmother was no longer at the dining table, and the mansion seemed silent.
She heard the sound of a car starting in the garage, and she walked to the dining room window, seeing her stepmother drive out of the garage in one of her late father's expensive new cars.
Olima's late father had up to five brand new spotless cars, including three Jeeps.
She sighed and went back into the kitchen to wash all the dirty plates and teacups before heading upstairs to her bedroom to sleep and rest for the day, as she was tired and home alone.
After her bath, she put on another light blue gown, lay on her bed, and wondered how she would overcome her stepmother's daily brutality before falling asleep.
***
Later in the evening, Mrs. Gina arrived home from her boutique shop, where she sold women's clothing. She drove into the mansion premises and parked the car.
She stepped out of the red car and locked the door using the car remote.
She remembered how her late husband had agreed to buy a car for her after Mia had grown into a 5-year-old girl and complained that Olima's mother had a car. Her mother needed a car too.
That was when Mr. Leo finally decided to buy a new small car for her, which she had been managing since then.
Mrs. Gina sighed and stared at her small black car still parked in the garage.
She shook her head and walked up to the mansion entrance to go into the white house, where they had a beautiful fountain at the center of the compound and many flowering plants at the front, as late Mrs. Zoe had been a lover of flowers.
Nathan finished locking the gate and greeted Mrs. Gina again, "Welcome back, Madam," as he saw her walking up to the mansion entrance.
"Yes, thank you, Nathan. Did anyone come to look for me?" Mrs. Gina asked, and Nathan replied, "No, Madam."
"Okay," Mrs. Gina answered, and she finally climbed up the mansion steps and went into the living room.
Olima sprang up from the black couch in the living room when she saw her stepmother walk in.
She hadn't heard the sound of the car engine because she was watching an interesting romance movie with Mia, and the flat-screen television was so loud that Olima didn't notice when Mrs. Gina arrived.
Mrs. Gina was wearing a long blue gown that accentuated her figure and was carrying a black handbag.
Olima quickly greeted her, "Good evening, Ma."
Mrs. Gina's black eyes burned fiercely at Olima as she didn't respond. She shifted her gaze to the living room wall clock and saw it was already after 7 p.m.
Olima hadn’t come to her shop in the afternoon to collect the money she would use to prepare dinner for the night.
Mia also stood up and greeted her mother, “Good evening, Mom.”
Mrs. Gina finally turned to Mia and replied, “Evening, Mia. How are you doing today? Have you done your assignments from school yet?”
“Yes, Mom, I have. Olima helped me with it,” Mia responded, and Mrs. Gina sighed, "Hmm."
She stared at Olima whom walked away toward the dining room and asked, “Olima, have you prepared dinner yet?”
Mrs. Gina knew there were no foodstuffs in the house, but she still had to ask Olima that question.
- Writer
