THE PLAYLIST CHAPTER EIGHT

Femi woke up earlier than usual and left for the police station. He was disappointed as he couldn’t see his father yet. It was too early in the morning. He went straight to work to face his query.

Just like he expected, he was summoned by the manager. He sighed deeply on getting to the manager’s office.

“Come in Femi,” the manager beckoned.

“You did not come to work yesterday and you did not send any notice. I’ll ask you this question since I’ve always known you to be hardworking. Why was that?” he asked, with both of his eyes trained on Femi.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t send in any notice prior to my absence or afterwards,” Femi apologized.

“You of all people, Femi, should know that I don’t accept apologies. I requested for the reason, not an apology,” The manager said sternly.

“There was an urgent family issue,” Femi answered shortly.

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do to help you. You were fired yesterday, that’s the letter.” He pushed a white envelope to Femi who walked slowly to retrieve it from the table. Femi’s heart had skipped a beat at the news and he looked so downtrodden.

The manager’s face softened. “I’m sorry about this. I’d at least have given you a chance, but that can’t happen because this is an order from the chairman. He came in yesterday, asking for a vacant post. There was none but you were absent. Presently, his son occupies that post you were fired from. The boy needs some experience before being transferred somewhere else to occupy a better position. I hope you get through this.” He told him curtly.

Femi looked at the letter once again. He stood there, affixed while his mind replayed all that had happened the previous day. He looked up and found the manager still staring at him.

“If you need a recommendation for another job, just contact me. I’ll help you but right now, you need to leave my office.” The manager’s stern face returned after that.

Femi managed to leave the company without falling apart. He was going to vent his sorrow at home, in the presence of the Lord.

On getting down from the okada, it was the sight of a weary Bimbo being carried into an ambulance that welcomed him. He hurriedly paid the rider and ran to Sandra who watched on with tears in her eyes.

“What happened?” he asked, his sorrow fleeing instantly.

“I came to see her this morning. When there was no response, I forced the door open with the help of a carpenter and found out that she had committed suicide. The mark of a blade is on her wrist. There is still a pool of blood in her room.” Sandra rattled off while she sobbed.

“Suicide? Was it just an attempted one or she’s dead?” Femi asked and became lost in thought, brooding over possible reasons why she tried to commit suicide.

“She said something about dying yesterday. You shouldn’t have told her anything about that. You should have just told her that Jesus can save her,” Sandra held on to the arm of his shirt and tugged at it, blaming him. “You shouldn’t have. Now, see the result.” She continued tugging at it.

“You’re not saying that I killed her ?She’s my step-sister.” Femi said.

“What valid reason do you have for me to not say that? You’ve been the one knocking on her door since day one. What if it isn’t a suicide? If it isn’t, I won’t exempt you from the suspect list.” Sandra’s voice had gotten louder over time and a few people were gathered around them. Femi looked at the strange faces who looked like they were believing Sandra’s narrative.

“Sandra. You need to calm down,” Femi managed to say.

“The more I think about it, the more plausible it seems. If your dad couldn’t do what he was here for, he could have sent you, or tell me, why are you here at this moment? To see if she’s dead?” Sandra asked, confident that she had nailed him with the question.

“I lost my job,” he said simply.

Sandra loosened her grip on his shirt when she heard the reply. She opened her mouth but closed it immediately as her hands dropped to her side. was stronger than she had perceived him to be. He was in pain but still had time for someone else. She looked up at him again and he nodded.

“ How sure are we that he’s not lying?” a woman from the surrounding mob asked loudly.

“He’s not lying,” Sandra tried to defend him to cover for her earlier hasty judgement. Femi brought out a sealed letter from his bag instead and handed it to one of them who had his hands outstretched. The man snatched it and tore the envelope open.

The man quickly read the typed note. His countenance softened as he looked at Femi, who watched on with uncertainty. The man walked off after a woman had collected it from him.

Femi thought about the mob. They were not unaware of the noise from Bimbo’s songs. None had offered her help, yet they were seeing him as a suspect, all because he tried to help.

He walked towards the ambulance as the driver tried to drive off.

“Sandra!” he called. “Are you going or not?” Sandra immediately ran from the small circle of people to join Femi who was about to enter the ambulance.

Femi felt a man’s hand on his shoulder. He looked and found out that it was the landlord’s son.

“I’ve been watching you. You’re a good Christian. Have your letter.”

Femi nodded and collected the sack letter.

“You know, you can pray for the girl. I’m sure God will listen to you.”

Femi nodded at him again before entering the ambulance. As the driver drove off, he thought about it. Such encouragement was hard to come by. He glanced at Sandra who sat beside him, she was deep in thought and had her arms wrapped around her.