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Salame isn't what one would call a conventional beauty. In fact, she doesn't believe she fits into any definition of beauty. With her short stature, dark complexion, and melancholic disposition, she certainly doesn't stand out. To make matters worse, her parents bestowed upon her the name Salame Dan Allah fa, what were they thinking.

Duk sunan duniyan nan fa,they could have just called her salma, easy peasy everyone happy, but no. she must be called Salame like her namesake her grandmother kaka salame, yuck!

The only good thing she got from kaka salame aside from the fact that she give birth to her loving mother. Was her long hair, every thing else was just yucky.

Despite her perceived shortcomings, Salame never allows them to hinder her ambitions. In fact, she sets her standards higher than the towering heights of Mount Everest.

Dan kana da kudi da kyau doesn't mean you are enough for Salame. She has a specific set of criteria in mind: he must be wealthy, have a light complexion, an athletic physique, possess a romantic and humorous nature, and the list goes on. Salame is dead serious about finding a partner who checks all the boxes, Relidiculous boxes.

___________________________________

Some people, especially workers and students, wake up to their alarm every working day. However, for Salame Bukar, her wake-up call is not the usual alarm clock but her mother, Iya, yelling about one thing or another. This morning was no exception, the only problem is it was the morning she had decided to stay in bed and fake being sick, hoping that Iya would nurse her and she could avoid going to work.

She was cooking up what to say and how to act when she called the manager, planning to explain her "sickness." But her thoughts were interrupted by Iya's furious call,

"Salameeeeeeeeeeee!" She didn't need to be told; she knew exactly why Iya was calling her. And honestly, she would rather go to work than face Iya's wrath.

With a sudden determination, she abruptly stood up, going to work was the better option. In just a few minutes, she managed to get dressed in her work uniform, with an abaya over it.

She was about to sneak out when Iya threw her door open, her voice filled with anger and frustration, "You would do anything to get out of marriage, this girl!" Salame knew that her usual tactic of arguing that the guy was not up to her standards wouldn't work this time. She had truly messed up, so instead of engaging in a heated argument, she quietly maneuvered around Iya and headed for the door.

"Idan kika sake, kika fita ni dake ne," Iya was quick to stop her. "Yanzu, abin har yakai kiyi karyan tsintoki, mukayi just to get out of marriage, Salame!" Iya's worry was evident in her voice now, overshadowing her anger.

This morning, her sister, Auntie Hindu, called to let her know. The boy's parents wanted nothing to do with a girl who had no known origins. Even after Hindu had explained to them that it was a lie, they still believed it would be best to find another girl for their son. Iya understand their perspective. Kawai she didn't know what to do with salame.

She studied her daughter intently. Gaskiya, she believed Aljani ya aureta ne kawai. Otherwise, she wouldn't be rejecting suitors left and right at her age for seemingly trivial reasons.

"Do you have someone you want to marry?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. Salame shook her head, pouting. she simply didn't want to marry the guy because he was just two inches taller than her. Being tall was number two on her list, right after handsome, and it even came before wealth. She wasn't ready to give birth to dwarfs, she thought stubbornly.

"Toh, jeki Allah ya bada sa'a," Iya decided it was best to let her go for now and wait for her father to come back from his trip.

Salame mumbled a quiet "I'm sorry, Iya," before walking out, her heart heavy.

~°~

Salame rolled her eyes as she walked into the bustling supermarket, her worn-out nametag reading "salma." Idan akwai abinda ta tsana bayan sunan ta shine MK super store inda take aiki.but she has to work to support her impossible dreams.

She made her way to the break room, where she knew she would find her partner in sarcasm and solidarity, vivian. As she entered, she caught her glaring at Gloria who is organizing a stack of cereal boxes into a perfectly balanced tower.

The only good thing about working at MK super store is Vivian, her and messing with Gloria.

"Vivian, my fellow inmate in this retail prison!" she exclaimed, leaning against the doorframe with a grin. "What mischief awaits us today?"

Vivian chuckled, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "Oh, my dear salame...." Salame's raised brows cut her short " sorry Salma " she correct herself "you won't believe the memo I stumbled upon this morning. Little Miss all work no play here is the employee of the month .... Again " she wispered glancing at Gloria who is busy working

"Wasn't she the employee of the month last month? Salame asked

" And the month before and every month ever since we started working here" Vivian answered walking towards the door " they should just make her manager already" she added sarcastically

They exchanged knowing looks, "they can make her the building landlady for all i care, am only her for the cute wealthy potential husband's and the fat tips i get" salame declared smiling at Gloria who happens to look at her direction

"Good luck with that " Vivian Said with a chuckle and a hint of sarcasm while walking out " am going to go help Bello is you know what i mean" she added .

Salame knows exactly what she meant , she use to be her before Bello distroyed her fantasy. If not for his being to romantic and extremely needy he would have been the one.

She let out a long sigh as she walked into the room to store her bag, abaya, and lunch. Today, she was in charge of the register alongside three other colleagues. Sighing once more, she swiftly made her way towards her designated post.

As soon as she sat dawn Sani's voice came from behind her. "Salame, the manager wants to see you ASAP," he said. "He asked me to notify you as soon as you came in."

She turned around with a displeased expression on her face. "And you're just telling me now?" she exclaimed, getting up from her seat. "Now he'll think I came late." She quickly headed towards the stairs.

"You actually came late," Sani defended himself, but she ignored him and continued walking.

She stood in front of the office, contemplating what to say in her defense. It would have been easier if she knew exactly what she had done wrong. Not that she was being negative, thinking she had done something wrong, but there were five people that everyone knew were always in trouble when the manager called them, and she happened to be three of them.

"Uhmm," she heard the manager clear his throat from behind the door, a signal that he knew she was standing outside. She chose to ignore him and turned to leave.

"Come in, Salami," the manager called, "I can see your shadow under the door." He quickly added, knowing her well enough to anticipate that she was considering running home.

"Yes, sir?" she responded with a pout, disliking the way he called her name even more than she disliked the name.

She walked into the office with a forced smile. Honestly, today was not a good day for her. She should have just stayed in bed and lied about being sick, as she had initially planned to do before Iya got on her nerves. And forced her to come to work.

"Have a seat," the manager said, bringing her back from her thoughts.

"Good morning, Mr. Kunle," she greeted him, widening her fake smile.

"I'm not happy, Salami," he quickly responded, knowing fully well that she was about to start praising him to get on his good side and make him forget the reason for her summons. But not today.

"Toh, idan ranka ya baci sai iyita kuka ran ubana ya baci ko?" She muttered under her breath, hoping he wouldn't hear her.

"What did you say?" he leaned forward, trying to catch her words.

"Nothing, sir," she lied. "Just saying that you look great as always. I'm sorry, I know I'm not supposed to say that, but..."

"You've left two hours early three days in a row and have been consistently late, salami" he cut her short.

"I was sick, sir," was all she could say. Hating how he always says "salami" at the end of each sentiment.

"You're always sick, Salami," he responded, grinning because he found it amusing how she constantly lied about being ill.

"Ba dole ba tinda ba biya na da kyau kukeyi ba sai Dan banzan sa ido," she chose to speak in Hausa.

He knew that whatever she was saying in her native language couldn't be good, so he chose not to comment on it.

"That's not even the reason why I called you," he said, adjusting his sitting position. "You broke two of the POS machines and you took the coffee machine home," he stated, massaging his nose as he often does when stressed.

"Who is the liar that told you all this?" she asked, widening her eyes in disbelief.

"The surveillance camera," he replied, shutting her up. "Now, since I can't fire you, I'm going to deduct the costs of the POS machines from your salary. And please bring the coffee machine back, Salami. It's for the whole staff, not just for you."

At this point, she had nothing to say in her defense, but one thing she knew for certain was that the coffee machine was not coming back, and the microwave would be the next item to go.

"And I'm going to have a talk with Hajiya about at least suspending you," he added, sensing she had nothing more to say.

"Toh, Dan gulma Small thing you will start threatening me with Hajiya," she muttered to herself. Looking at him with a grin, she said, "Habba sir, no need to involve her. Mana, I'm sorry, it will not happen again," she pleaded. "In fact, I will take two shifts a day to pay back for the machine," she added.

He stared at her for a few seconds, assessing her sincerity. "We both know you can't handle two shifts, Salami. You can't even handle one properly," he replied firmly. "I will deduct from your salary, like I said, and if your behavior doesn't improve, I won't hesitate to inform Hajiya. That is final. You can go now."

She let out a sigh of relief and stood up. "Thank you, sir," she said, thanking him as she walked towards the door. And for the first time in about four months, she was determined to stay until her closing time.