Mrs. Tonia doesn't say anything after Flora exits the room. She sighs and walks up to sit beside Anita on the bed, while Favour and Esther exit the room next.
"You shouldn't be harsh with your sister. Fighting with her wasn't necessary," Mrs. Tonia says as she sits beside Anita on the bed.
"I know, mom, but they disrespect me too much and it's getting out of hand," Anita replies.
"It's okay. I can understand, but don't change yourself because of them. Keep being my sweet and calm daughter."
"Okay, mom," Anita sighs as she stares at their mother while Glory walks 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 replies as she stands up from the bed and walks out of the room, going to the room she shares with Lisa. Flora is in the room, arranging her bag of clothes and she doesn't utter any word to Glory who steps in and carries her own box of clothes out.
Lisa sighs as she returns from the kitchen and finds Flora in the room she previously shares with Glory. She doesn't ask any questions as she also doesn't like Anita and Glory too.
Glory exits the room and walks back to join Anita in her room. Anita is busy texting Temisa while Temisa decides to give her a call instead.
"Hello girlfriend, how's home?" Temisa asks.
"All fine, and yours?"
"All good," Temisa responds.
"What's up, you don't sound too happy?" Anita asks her first.
"I know, it's a long story. Remember my father didn't show up at the ceremony, and now he's asking for my results and telling me to submit it 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 would have to start wandering about the streets and companies submitting applications."
"Hmmm, you can say that, but that's not what I want. At least not for now. Besides my results, I doubt I will get the job," Temisa complains.
"Hmph, it's well, girlfriend, but be happy at least, you have your father's support, unlike mine," Anita rants, and the phone call goes silent for a while.
"It's okay. But the truth is, I'm not having too much high hopes of working with the Benson Group. I know they're the most sought-after group of companies, but I'm not interested," Temisa deadpans.
"Hmph, I know, but you can still apply. I will be submitting mine there too, but I didn't want to bother you about it earlier, nor ask you to help me talk to your father about it. Probably if I submit mine too now and they approve of me and accept me, we can be working there together and you won't be bored with office work again."
"Really? So you have plans of submitting your CV too with them?" Temisa asks.
"Yes, but I don't know if your father also has plans of you working there too. I didn't want to bother you about it."
"Oh, there's no problem then. I will just submit my application and give you updates on when they approve of me. Although you know it's through my father, so not too much stress," Temisa beams.
"Yeah, lucky girl," Anita hypes her.
"Thank you, but I'm only submitting because you said you will. If I don't get to see you there, then I will quit," Temisa informs her.
"Okay, I will, but let's hope they accept me too. Goodnight," Anita ends the call after Temisa responds, "Goodnight too."
Anita put her phone down and found Glory in the room arranging her box to fit into the wardrobe they previously shared with Flora. All her siblings had dark skin, except for Lisa, Glory, and herself. Lisa was fair brown, not white like her, while Glory was brown like the rest of them.
"Did Flora ask you anything when you went there and carried your box?" Anita asked.
"No," Glory responded, walking to sit beside Anita on the bed after finishing arranging her box in the wardrobe.
"I'm sorry for what happened initially," 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 said, smiling 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. Is it difficult studying business administration?" Glory asked.
"No, it's not too stressful. You just have to keep your focus high and not get distracted by guys and girls in your department who might be asking you out," Anita replied, turning and switching off her laptop as she was already tired.
"So you don't have a boyfriend in school or any guy who likes you?" Glory asked, surprising Anita.
"Glory! What do you know about boyfriends?" Anita questioned, wide-eyed, and 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 to smile.
"It's okay, you can show me your results for this term since I'll be around. I can be your extra coaching teacher," Anita said to her, and Glory jumped up happily from the bed, hugging Anita tightly.
"Thank you, big sis."
"You're welcome. 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, while Anita sighed and decided to play with her Android phone as it was already late.
Anita decided to browse information about the Benson Group and to know what the company was like. She typed the search for the Benson Group of Companies and saw recent news updates about the company.
Lost in her thinking and search, Anita didn't even realize when Glory returned and climbed into bed, drifting off to sleep. She sighed as she heard Glory snoring peacefully behind her and scrolled through the timeline posts of the new CEO, checking his profile page. His profile didn't have many updates, and she sighed, clicking on his profile picture to see the face of the new boss she might be working with in the future if her CV was accepted. The photo was six years old, and he looked younger, making her sigh again and leave his profile page to figure out how to submit her letter of application and certificate to them instead.
The following morning in her home, as Anita woke up, she heard her father scream "No!" She immediately jumped out of bed and rushed out of her room to find out what had happened.
"What happened?" They all gathered in the living room, where their father sat on the couch, supporting his head with both palms as he fought back the urge to cry.
"Mom, what's the problem?" They asked their mom, but she shook her head, not responding, pacing up and down in the living room.
"Father, what's the problem?" Flora asked, as she sat beside their father. He shook his head in regret and wiped away the tears daring to fall from his eyes.
"Mom?" Anita walked up to their mother and held her hands.
"What's the matter, mom?" Anita 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." Mrs. Tonia stared back at her husband, seeing that he was trying so hard to prevent his tears from falling. He finally stood up from the living room couch, already dressed in his deep blue suit, ready to leave for his office work on this fresh Friday morning. He sighed and walked back to his room, shaking his head regretfully.
"Father!" Anita, Flora, and Favour rushed up to him, but their mother quickly stopped them.
"You girls should let your father be. I will 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 will finally let us know what the problem is."