Chapter 13

I couldn't recollect if the Director mentioned cigarette as one of those things that revolted MOHAMMED ALI . MOHAMMED ALI had so many

rules that it wasn't an easy thing remembering all of them.

I passed the General office and after giving Mmembe a sweet look I went out to the kiosk. There I bought Maclean toothpaste and asked for water from the owner of the kiosk with which I

brushed my mouth. I did this three times. I bought five sweets and took them.

I also bought a bottle of mineral and drank it.

The next thing I did was to buy a packet of peppermints which I finished on the spot. This done, I became convinced that the odour of cigarette had left my mouth. I stayed there for three hours to ensure that there would be no mistake by the time I go back to MOHAMMED ALI. One thousand naira a month wasn't an amount an ex-convict should miss because of cigarette smell, Ithought.

I left the kiosk and went back to the office. I knocked on

MOHAMMED ALI's office and entered.

Simultaneous with my entry, some papers fell down from his wife's table. I nearly went there

on impulse to pick the papers for her when I suddenly remembered that it was a crime to have a glimpse of her face.

'I have come back sir' I said. MOHAMMED ALI was busy writing and did not answer me when I spoke and was not even aware that a fly entered his office.

When he looked up he asked 'who are you?? Terror ran in my bones like the flow of blood. I told him I was the one who came with a letter from the Director of Lake Chad Research Institute, and that my name was Akaa lyortyer.

You are the smoker.'.

I didn't know whether this was an assertion or a question. The only thing I knew from this was that I knew I wasn't going to be given this job. He picked a letter which he had already written and

gave it to me. Then observing my legs with the Italian Shoes I was wearing which to me was a model pair, he said "you dare to enter my office with these dirty shoes. Go to the receptionist and

get a broom." I resisted a strong urge to tell him that my shoes weren't dirty, and that people have in deed admired them. Since this was certainly going to deny me the job, I didn't say it.

And although I knew I had already lost my chance of working in his company I didn't know the content of the letter he gave me. I had to conduct myself properly since the content of the letter

might be positive. This looked remote, but I had to hope for the best.

I went to the receptionist and told her that I was told to come and get a broom from her, and confessed that I didn't know why I was to get the broom. Did you enter his office with your shoes? She asked. I nodded. That was careless of you' she said, we pull our shoes before we step into his office.' I protested against this because apart from Moses whom God specifically told to do this, nobody pulls his shoes because he is entering

into the presence of another man.

'I wear my shoes even to the church' I said. This is not a matter of God. It is a matter of MOHAMMED ALI I heard.I revealed to her that I had come to seek for a job and that she should intimate me with the system I could employ to ensure I get the job.

Why didn't you tell me this before?' She asked 'I

thought you came for a business transaction.' I told her I was far from coming for a business transaction. If you came for a job you have already lost' she said 'rush there and sweep the room which your shoes have soiled. When he orders anybody to sweep the room, such a person has lost in everything-business, job, respect and so on.' I left her and went to MOHAMMED ALI's room with the broom. 'Sweep all the dirt out of here' he ordered.

I started to sweep until I swept the whole room neater than any cleaner could have done. I nearly ran into trouble because when I was sweeping under the table where his wife was typing, my neck was paining me so much that I nearly stood up to take a brief rést.

This would have been deadly because it could make me see the face of the wife. For all I knew, MOHAMMED ALI would say I did so because I was interested in his wife, which would have been

terrible for me.

When I finished sweeping, I returned to him for further instruction. "Vamoose from my office' he ordered after giving me a letter to the Director. I left the office with the broom which I gave Mmembe. I asked her for a biro and a paper. She gave them to me. I wrote my name and the address of Kwaghtagher's house and told her to check for me there. 'I want you to see me

tomorrow at four O'clock because I have something for you' I told her. She promised me she would come.

My aim of giving her this invitation was to make her come so that I could tell her my mind in a good atmosphere. She was a beautiful girl I wouldn't like to miss. If it was an offence to have

a girl friend from MOHAMMED's office, then I was ready to commit the offence.

Leaving that place, I entered a taxi and told the driver to take me to Lake Chad Research Institute. I spent all my time in the taxi thinking how I would get MOHAMMED ALI's job worth a thousand

naira monthly. I prayed that the letter he gave me to the Director should contain some promise towards this end. I was tempted at a point to open the letter and see the contents but I discovered

that this wasn't a good thing to do. I was banking on the hope that MOHAMMED ALI would give me the job since the Director was his friend.

When I dropped in the Institute, I headed for the Director's office. I knocked and entered, giving him the letter which content I needed very badly to know. I sat opposite the Director and waited for him to tell me what it was all about.

'Is this from MOHAMMED ALI?' he asked. I nodded. He opened it and started to read, showing no facial expression. When he finished reading the letter, he gave it to me. My heart skipped a

beat.