The crowded bazaar was filled with people in gowns. The excitement in the air was heavy and the joy was almost tangible. The college graduates were happily mingling with their friends and family as they waited for the graduation proceedings to begin. While almost every person buzzed around with joy and anticipation on their faces, one lone character stood out. She sat on her assigned seat all alone and waited impatiently for the ceremony to begin. While her classmates took selfies with each other, she could only manage a weak smile. All she could think was how much money she was losing so that she could take a day off. Her phone rang just then and interrupted her trail of thought. It was her father on the line.
“Hallo dad,” she said when she answered the call.
“Hi Jess. Has it started yet?” Jack asked in a faint voice.
“Not yet dad. We are all waiting for the faculty to come. How are you feeling?” Jess asked while dreading the answer.
“I’m feeling much better,” he said and coughed a little. “I’m so sorry I can’t be there today.”
“I can feel you here. I know you are proud of me and that is enough for me”, she replied with tears filling her eyes.
She really wanted her father there but he was too weak to leave the house. If she had been able to make raise enough money to fuel his car, then her father would be here cheering her on. She barely made enough to feed them and pay their utility bills because the biggest chunk of her salary went to medical bills. Three part time jobs hardly covered their expenses but she was proud to take care of her father.
Things had not always been this hard. Jack, Jess’s father had always been a hard-working man who provided for his daughter. He had raised her alone after Jess’s mother died when Jess was only 8 years old. Jess had enjoyed the love and affection of extended family members as she grew up and she never felt the absence of her mother. She was fondly remembered by Jess as a kind and loud woman who was always laughing. Jess grew up adoring her father who would sacrifice his time to attend most of her special school projects. He had also saved for her college tuition and he paid almost all her fees upfront. Things would have gone well if he had been able to continue working until she completed her education. Unfortunately, he had developed a respiratory disease that made it difficult for him to breathe. It became difficult for him to do the simplest of tasks without exerting a great deal of effort. He had then lost his job through early retirement on medical grounds, and been denied his pension. He had tried running a small retail business but it had failed and sunk all of Jack’s remaining savings. The army of relatives that had previously swarmed around them were now reluctant to associate with them. Their reputation among friends and relatives became those of beggars, and the calls reduced slowly until they were isolated in their world of problems.
Jess had been forced to grow up really fast and take up the role of the bread winner. The last two years of her life had been particularly difficult as she watched her father’s condition get worse. His medical bills seem to increase each month and when she took a third job, she struggled to find enough time for her studies. This was why this graduation was a bitter sweet celebration. Jess began to think of her mother more often. She imagined her as a supportive and kind figure who would rescue Jess and her father from their anguish. The possibility of a better life seemed to lie in the far away memory of an ever loving, dependable and kind mother who would take care of Jess and Jack. Just for today, she wanted to be a child with two loving parents and a bright future. But all she was, was a struggling, broke graduate who had to go into the world and do the best she could to survive. She had had never missed her mother more than she did at this very moment.
*****
On the other side of town, William sat absent minded in his office in the NextGen office complex. He was going through dozens of pages of reports and he had developed some kind of brain fog as a result. His father depended on him to provide crucial information that would later be used to make a decision on the steps to move the company forward. Compiling the information on his desk into actionable steps was not an easy task. However, he knew that he had to this to secure the success of the business empire that had served their family for generations. He looked through the final page of the report and was surprised to find a proposal attached. It was from the human resources department and they had some insight on a new hiring technique that would improve their staff performance. The idea was based on the concept of creating loyalty by hiring fresh graduates, who would then grow within the company as time went by. The company would benefit from fresh input and a sense of loyalty from the grateful graduates. In return, the company could mould the new employee into a custom-made version of the model employee. William leaned back into his chair and laughed out loud. He had never read such a ridiculous concept in his life. There was no way a person could mould another to the point where they cultivated loyalty. In his short time in business, he had learned that people were either loyal or they were traitors. There was no middle ground where a person could be changed through persuading.
Theron, William’s father walked into the office just in time to hear William laugh. William described the proposal to him excepting to inspire similar emotions. Instead, Theron looked on with deep interest and began to ask question after question. When the questions ended, William sat up in his seat and asked,
“You are not seriously considering this are you?”
“Yes son. I think it’s a brilliant concept.”
“Dad, you can’t be possibly thinking about hiring naïve college graduates who bring nothing to the table.”
“They bring enthusiasm, hope and hunger.” Theron said.
“They also bring greed, impatience and a microwave mentality. They will soon demand exorbitant salaries and sports cars to match their lifestyles” William said with pure disgust.
“Yes, they will but out of a group of 10, we will get 2 or 3 excellent employees who will dedicate their lives to this company.”
“So, you are willing to waste resources training and offboarding 8 people, just so that you can identify 2 sterling employees?” he asked with awe.
“Yes. To spend money, you have to make money. And don’t look down on them. You are not much older than them,” Theron said getting up and walking to the door.
“Well, you forget that I started being active in the family business since I was 12 years old. “
“That was actually part of what I wanted us to talk about at dinner tonight. 7pm sharp. Don’t be late” Theron said then walked out. William shook his head and frowned. His dad always made plans without consulting him. “I guess it’s awesome that I don’t have much of a social life,” he chuckled to himself then continued working.
*****
The graduation ceremony went well and soon Jess headed out. She stopped for a few moments to take a few photos with her friends then hurried to go tend to her father. Her first stop was the grocery store where she bought some vegetables and support fine cut of meat. She smiled as she thought how they would celebrate with a simple dinner for two. On her way home, she passed by one of her jobs and talked to her supervisor. Her colleagues were surprised to see her here today, even as they congratulated her. She put in her request for extra waitressing shifts and then left. The bus ride home was uneventful and she took some time to reflect. The qualifications she had just received gave her opportunities to improve her pay grade. A well-paying job could give her endless possibilities. Better living conditions for her father and improved health care. As the bus drew to her stop, she got off the bus and reality hit her. This was her life now and she had to accept it. She walked into the house with her load of groceries and placed them on the kitchen counter.
"Dad", she called as she strolled through the house trying to find him. He was in the dining room sitting at the window seat. "Hi dad, “she said with a smile. She leaned down and hugged him gently. He looked up with a sad smile on his face and said, "I'm so proud of you". They stood there in silence for a few minutes before they were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Jess walked to the door wondering who it could be. They rarely had any visitors. She opened the door to find the neighbour Maedin at the door holding a beautifully decorated cake. "Congratulations dear child", she said with a gentle smile. "Thank you so much", Jess said with tears in her eyes. Maedin had been their neighbour for years and she was one of the few good friends that Jack had. She was happy for Jess's success. They got into the house together and placed the cake on the dining room table. Jess got into the kitchen and started taking out the groceries as her father and Maedin chatted. Just when she was about to wash the vegetables, the doorbell rang again. However, this time she didn't have to open the door because the visitors let themselves in. "Surprise!" they shouted in unison. Jess was indeed surprised to see her friends Todd and Leslie come in with another group of people.
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked. "Well, I decided that since I couldn't have you miss my graduation party then we had to bring the party to you," Leslie said. This time Jess couldn't hold back her tears. She cried as Leslie hugged her and they spent the next few minutes in an awkward silence. Todd broke the tension when he asked where the caterers could set up. A couple of minutes later, some of Leslie's family and friends arrived and they were joined by a few of Jess's neighbours. Soon everyone was eating and drinking as Jess and Leslie celebrated their graduation together. The party went on till late in the night, when the guests began to leave at their own pleasure. Her father went to sleep then and Jess stayed up with Leslie as the caterers cleaned up. "Where is Todd?" Jess asked.
"Probably dozing in the car. He wants us to go to the club". Leslie replied.
"Then go. Your boyfriend won't be too happy that I'm hogging you", Jess nudged.
"What about these guys," she asked referring to the cleaning crew that were just finishing up.
"I'll handle this. Don't worry. You've done so much for me already" Jess said. Leslie hugged her and she left shortly after.
Jess watched the crew for a few minutes then she took out her laptop and began applying for jobs. This was the arrangement that would have to work because her part time jobs did not allow her much more time for job hunting. She put in two applications by the time the clean-up was done. The house was suddenly quiet when the last worker left and Jess was finally alone. She gazed at her final job application with a mixture of sleepiness and anxiety. This job would be perfect for her because it paid as much as her three jobs combined. The working hours were slightly more than half of her current work load and the company even offered medical insurance. She really didn’t have any hopes of getting it because it seemed too good to be true. However, she had applied anyway and was looking forward to launching her career. "Time for bed," Jess said to herself as she shut down her laptop and headed to her bedroom. As she curled into bed, she smiled as she thought back on the beautiful day she had just had. Her heart was filled with gratitude and hope and she slept very happy.
Jess woke up the next day with a smile on her face. She had a feeling that today would be a good day. She got into the shower and freshened up then got dressed. As she headed downstairs, she wondered why the sun was shining so brightly so early in the morning. As she opened the fridge to get some things to prepare breakfast, she caught a glimpse of the wall clock. It was quarter past seven am. She exclaimed with horror when she realized just how late she was. Her first shift should have begun at 7am and yet here she was at home. She would have to drive to work if she was to save at least some of this shift. She took out some of her savings from her room and painfully put the money in her purse. This would seriously dent her budget for this month and she would have to find a way to make up for this. She quickly wrote her dad a text message and then grabbed her car keys and left. The hotel she worked for was only ten minutes away. Jess usually managed a bus ride when she had plenty of
At the hotel, she had very little work to do because very few people had checked out in the afternoon. Her shift ended earlier than she had expected so she finally had a few minutes of rest. She called her father and when she was sure he was comfortable, she relaxed. It was now time to meet this man who had been a pain in the neck all day. The address was only a short drive away from the hotel so it took a few minutes to get there. She was surprised when she arrived at a large luxurious facility that was calm and serene with beautiful landscaped gardens. She walked to the large house and was ushered in by an armed man in a suit. Before she could satisfy her curiosity about this place, she was led into a large room filled with young people. Drinking and dancing seemed to be the main agenda and everyone was in a party mood. She could not believe the amount of noise that they were making, considering it could not be heard from outside. Here she met the man from earlier and he was danci
Jess coffee sat in the staff lounge drinking a cup that she had just bought from the vending machine. She was tired after a long day of double work. As she sat replaying the activities of her day, she could not help but marvel at her poor sense of judgement. She had agreed to work for a stranger just because she desperately needed the money. This business made no sense and she was sure that it had some element of illegal activity. Which adult in their right mind would hand over envelopes of money to perfect strangers who she had never met? What if something went wrong and the cash ended up in the wrong hands? What if someone denied that that they had received their package? What would she reply if the police asked her what she was doing? Why did this man pick her and not anybody else for this job? Jess could feel her head spinning from the endless possibilities of disaster that she had just exposed herself to. She tossed the empty disposable cup into the dustbin when she finished he
CHAPTER 5: TWO SIDES OF A TRIANGLEIn the boardroom of NextGen, William was going crazy. It was already past midnight, yet his team could not agree on the final candidates to shortlist. The company was in the process of hiring some marketing executives that would steer the company into the global market. The human resource department had carefully chosen candidates that had a proven track record in their various industries. The candidates had been put through a vigorous interview process throughout the day and several candidates managed to survive the elimination process. The secretary had already been instructed to prepare the offer letters for the team of ten new marketing executives that would be joining the company within the next two weeks. This had been the easy part that had been concluded earlier in the day. The hard part came about when the team attempted to
The restaurant shifts went really well and Jess was kept occupied for a good chunk of the day. On certain days of the week, the restaurant has a two for one offer on selected menu items. Those days were the busiest time in the week, and all the staff avoided the shifts on this day. Jess liked the work on these days because the tips were generous. She went through the day with the energy that was required. She was forced to cover the shift that she had cancelled because of the extra workload. The manager had requested for her assistance, while promising her two shifts off the next day. She finally got to take a break at about six when the evening shift was about to begin. Her phone rang just as she was rubbing her feet from exhaustion. It was Leslie on the line.“Hey. Where are you,” Leslie was shouting because she seemed to be in a noisy place.&ldq
Jess and Leslie got home and found a quiet locked house. Her father seemed to have stepped out as the car was also missing. Jess panicked even more as she imagined that her father had fallen ill and was rushed to hospital. Jess let herself in using her key and then she called her father to check if everything was ok. He let her know that he had gone to pick up a cheque and then decided to do some shopping with Margaret. A relieved Jess began to brew some hot chocolate for Leslie so that they would calm down. She was terrified because of Todd’s arrest, and she couldn’t help but think that she was next on the police’s radar. She served Leslie some chocolate and some pastries and Leslie sat up from the sofa where she was lying down. She had been very quiet since they got home.“Jess, I think I’m going to raise this baby alone,” she said softly.
It was a chilly Monday morning in the city and everyone was bustling around getting ready for work. Jess was headed to her morning shift after making some soup and porridge for her father. His breathing was becoming more strained and she tried to keep him as warm as possible all the time. She had also paid all the utility bills in time for the first time in a long time. Before her father’s medical condition became worse, he had taken the car for some much needed servicing and some minor repairs. She was then able to drive to work in less time and consume a lower amount of fuel. She had hoped that Pete would give her more work but he had been very quiet. He had sent her last pay through a gift box that was filed with all sorts of candy and underwear. Jess remembered how she had blushed when she opened the box accompanied by fresh flowers. She had called him immediately to thank him for the generous bonus but he had not responded. Her phone
Three weeks had passed since Jess's father was admitted at hospital. His condition was stabilizing but he was not entirely out of danger. The treatment was expensive and it had almost exhausted his medical cover. Jess was relieved when the doctor said that he would be discharged soon. Her schedule had become more and more complex because she had to spare time each day to see her father. The repaired car helped her to deal with her crazy shifts and still ensure that she was with her father each evening. Pete had finally reappeared one day. He had turned up at her house one evening after work and they had talked at length. He sympathized with Jess's situation, and he offered more work. The arrangement worked out in her favor as she was able to permanently drop one shift. This time was spent visiting her father. Pete had not pressured Jess about the situation with Leslie at all. He had become a really good friend and he occasionally visited her father wi