Bella eventually arrived home after her university days of a period of four years, welcomed and greeted by families, friends, and some other well-wishers.
Things have changed at home. And guess what? Joe had started to pray for real and perform other acts of worship for real. What happened to him?
As the faith in their mother’s heart continued to grow, she repented from some prohibitions she had been falling into. Some of which in the form of prohibited things she viewed on satellite and TV stations. So she disconnected the satellite, and she got a video player which she used to view Dawah and useful videos. What that meant for Joe was that there were no more music videos, no more reprehensible shows and skits to be viewed on the television in the house. This was against his wish anyways, but he couldn’t prevent his mum from doing what she did. So whenever Joe came home and wished to view television, he only had the option to view what had been made available by his mum of Dawah and useful videos.
It so happened, that there were times when Joe would see some lectures of Dawah on the television, and after some time, he started developing interest in viewing such lectures. As time went on, his heart started experiencing some changes, and he would be moved by what he has viewed. And it got to a time, when his heart softened and he repented to Allaah, and started praying for Allaah. As time went on, he started repenting from some prohibited things he fell into. No more girlfriends, no more music, no more music videos and the list goes on.
So when Bella came home, she realized things have changed at home. But, she was feeling uncomfortable. Her own ways were different from some of the things going on at home. The girl is a striving feminist, dreaming for a world of equality between men and women and even not wanting to get married, and a video is there playing, and on it is someone saying that Islam made the husband the protector and maintainer of the wife and gave him the responsibility of heading the household and it is obligatory for the wife to obey her husband with exception to some cases. Those experiences they used to have where their mom would take them out to the cinema, and comedy shows had ceased. The opportunity to view her favourite reprehensible TV shows on the television in the house had ceased, satellite access gone. Her brother had changed, and some of the things they use to share or do together stopped. No talk about music, artists, Hollywood and so on and so forth.
And I did talk about how their mom wanted to influence the family after she repented and started practicing Islam, she didn’t leave Bella out. She started telling Bella about prayers and feeding her with words of Dawah. But, the girl’s brain had been immensely manipulated by feminism and some ideas different from what her mom would tell her during the course of giving Dawah to her.
It eventually got to a stage where Bella decided she was not going to live with them anymore and go somewhere else. She then connected with some of her fellow cohorts in the feminist movement, and after some interactions and efforts, she was able to get accommodation to live with some of them. Without the knowledge of her mother and brother, Bella was able to abscond from the house and move in with her cohorts who welcomed and received her. Bella feared that her mom and brother may be thrown into perturbation and distress if they do not hear from her, so she put a call through to her mom and declared that she had moved out of the house and was fine where she was. She also added that since she had graduated and become qualified for work, she thought that she would be able to chase her career choices in the new domicile she has found better and more conveniently than she would do if she lived with them. To further keep their hearts at rest, she professed that she would keep getting in touch with them and keep them updated about how it goes with her.
Bella got out of her family home, and once again she fell into the midst of people she shared some things in common with, the feminists. These set of feminists she now lived with had a particular lifestyle they lived. They appeared like they were into some deals and businesses, they would go out of the house like someone seeking to achieve something in the worldly interest or seeking to earn some sustenance. Because Bella had not found any formal or official job to do, she often stayed at home. On some occasions, she would witness her roommates receiving different phone calls and engage conversations on phone which seemed to her like they were securing appointments or doing business. The way they dressed for their outings, the flashy possessions they had and utilized and the lifestyle they lead all caught Bella’s attention. To her, these people were leading auspicious lives, they were making it. What she had witnessed about these ladies got into her head and she felt it was time for her to start making a living too. She started seeking opportunities and she met a man named John, who was working in one of the big telecommunication companies in the country. There was vacancy in the company where John worked, so John was disseminating vacancy notices on social media which eventually caught the eyes of Bella. Bella saw that as an opportunity, and connected with John. The telecommunication company where John was working was quite a big one in the country, so people of expertise were required to manage, run and involve in the affairs and operations of the company. Bella did not have any working experience that could show the level at which she is skilled in the job, so she fell short of the vacancy’s requirements. However, John was assigned to manage operations at the quarters which had the vacant office, so he had some power to influence the decisions of the company. After some confabulations between John and Bella, John declared he would offer her some help, and she was invited to the office.
“Good Morning, Sir”
“Oh! Good Morning, are you Miss Zaynab? (Remember, Bella was a name she chose for herself)”
“Yes Sir, I am.”
“Oh! Please have your seat. I’ve been expecting you. And I also commend your punctuality. You came right on time.”
“Thank you very much sir”
“So, I’ve contacted the management at the top and we arrived at some conclusions. We have agreed to employ you into the vacant office by virtue of the first class grade you graduated with. We are well aware that you don’t have any working experience to merit the requirements of the Job which is capable of disqualifying you from having the job, as our company hires individuals who rank in the expertise level in their skills and potentials. So we have decided to employ you on trial and you will be on probation for three months. We have set a list of the requirements we would look out for in you and we have contrived some mediums through which you will be duly assessed, all of which we choose not to disclose to you. However, this shouldn’t make you spooked or perturbed, rather it should push you to ameliorate your potentials. You know what you would be employed for and you know the office you would occupy, and you should also know that position is not distinguished or unique to our company; rather this office is also available in various companies across the world. Do your research, widen your reach and seek to become abreast of the behooveful ideas you can implement into your work. We hope your record at the end of your three months in operations will be marked with auspiciousness and adroitness. Congratulations, and here is your employment letter. Resume work on Monday by 8:00 am.” John said.
“Thank you so much sir. I really appreciate all the efforts you have exerted in helping me secure this opportunity. I will try all possible best for me to be retained in this company. Thanks you once again sir.” said Bella.
John and Bella discussed some other things of an informal nature, which included family to personal life. Eventually, they rounded up their discussion. Bella stood and left.
Bella left the company and arrived home, full of delight. She thought things were working for her and she was optimistic that she would accomplish her goals. Bella picked up her mobile and phoned her mom about the development. She then opened a CHATBOX on her phone and decided to connect with somebody.
(On CHATBOX)
Bella: “Hi Adele! You know what? I finally made it. I’ve finally secured the opportunity to work in one of the big telecommunication companies in this country.”
Adele: “Are you serious? Oh! This is good news. I’m really happy for you.”
Bella: “How far about you and our former roommates? Any developments?”
Adele: “Actually, we haven’t achieved something of solid significance. None of us have been able to accomplish the plans that we professed after we graduated. However, we are still pushing, and we hope that we come out successful in our struggle. Anyways, I’m really happy for you. And please, try to update me as it goes.”
Bella: “Okay girl. Stay strong. And help me extend my regards to Ellen and Genevieve”
Adele: “Okay. Bye for now.”
Monday morning, 8: 00 pm, Bella was already within the premises of the company. Bella was shown to her office, and her work experience in the company commenced. As a customer service representative, Bella was given the duty of interacting with the company’s customers to provide them with relevant information required to address inquiries regarding products and services, and also to deal with and help resolve any customer complaints. The next day, while at work, Bella received a call from within the company.
“Hello Sir”
“Hello, see me in my office now. I have some information I want to share with you.”
“Okay Sir”
(While in the office, Bella already seated)
“The Director of this company has summoned your appearance in his office tomorrow morning and you are expected to be at our headquarters latest by 8: 30 pm. He wishes to confabulate with you and will possibly ask you some questions for assessment. Make sure you appear there in a decent manner and you respond diligently to any question he asks you. As a customer service representative of this our reputable company, he expects you to be outspoken and eloquent in your speech and sterling in comportment. These are the standards of our company and I hope you would not fall short of our expectations.
You are however relieved of your duty for today, to give you the chance to duly prepare yourself for tomorrow’s meeting. I hope you will do well” John said.
“Okay sir, Thank you very much. Good bye sir”
(At the Director’s office, Bella already seated)
The Director was a man of average height, and a hefty build, dark in complexion and his belly didn’t protrude much. His name was Mark. He had a stern look on his face, and when he would speak, his voice was thick and his words came out firm. The appearance of the man and the manner with which he conversed with her sent some messages into her senses and she was like “my stay in this company means no playing games, I have to be serious”.
However, her meeting with the Director didn’t take a long while and he didn’t ask much questions. He just wanted to know more about the personality they just accepted into the operations of their company. In fact, the conversation was more of informal than formal. He asked questions about the personal life of Bella and disclosed some information about his own personal life to her. They discussed some other things and eventually…
“Okay, you can go and if I need to see you again, I would get across to you on phone. Do have a nice day”
“Yes sir. Good day sir” said Bella.
Bella continued to work in the office and was hustling to secure her retention in the office. She was not paid her due salary for that office because she was on probation, but John would give her some money from his own pocket to supplement the salary that the company would pay her. One month of working experience passed, another followed and the third month was running. One night, Bella got a message on her CHATBOX. It was from John.
(On CHATBOX)
John: “Hello beautiful damsel, how are you doing?”
Bella: “I’m doing well, without overlooking the point that you sound unusual tonight. I hope no problem sir?”
John: “Well, I wish to pass some information across to you. But, I would like to ask you. What do you know about the circumstances surrounding your probation contract in our company?”
Bella: “I know that I’m officially employed on probation into the company, and I have to work for three months on trial. And if I meet the requirements of the office, the probation would be lifted and I will be officially recognized as a staff in this company. And so far, I think I have been doing well and meeting the expected standards and requirements of holding that office according to my research so far. I’m optimistic that I would pass the test and will eventually be officially retained in that office. During some of my confabulations with the Director, I’ve also received commendations from him for my work, and this also raises my hope.”
John: “Bella, you amuse me with your words. Are you really sure that you know the standards and requirements of holding that office? Now, let me take you on a journey through memory lane. If you can remember, the first day you visited my office responding to the invitation offered to you, I told you we chose not to disclose the requirements we would
look out for in you.”
Bella: “Yeah, and I also remember that you added that I should do research as that office is not unique to the company, which I’ve been doing and I’ve been implementing on my discoveries.”
John: “If truly, you’ve been implementing upon your discoveries, then it seems your research wasn’t good enough. Some vital things are still missing in the information you’ve acquired so far. Well, let me tell you a story – I mean real life story. That position which you are only conditionally holding had also been conditionally held by some people before you. In our company, as you are also aware, we do not deal with or settle for low class qualities and potentials in the operations or affairs of our company. So that means those people who previously held those positions also ranked high in their academic potentials and reports. Those people also possessed some impressive qualities in them which qualified them – to a remarkable extent – for the post. These people also tried different ways in which they could secure their retention in the office, but they were eventually thrown out. And for your information, they were also women. So if you analyze, you will realize that you share some things in common with those women as regards your qualities and potentials with which you applied for the job. Your situation in that company is quite similar to that of the women who were thrown out. And for your information, they also received commendations from the Director also. So reason and ask yourself, what do you think you’ve got or can do or will happen that wouldn’t make you experience the dismissal that they experienced?”
Bella: “But sir, I’ve been doing thorough research. I wonder what I’ve missed out on and how important it is. Our company is not the only telecommunication company in our country, and the world at large. So I am sure that this office that I hold is not the only one that exists in the world and I consider such office to be widely known. Some women in this our country are also customer service representatives and I’ve researched about the possible ways through which they got into their respective companies.”
John: “You appear to me like dismissal from that company is staring at your face and you are trying to hide away from it – perhaps due to ignorance. Year after year, different women graduate from respective institutions and many of them opt for making a living and are consequentially thrown into the search for livelihood sources. Amongst them are women who are qualified for the field in which you have applied. In this our country, the vacancies available for that field are relatively low to admit the number of people applying. Do not forget that a man can also be a customer service provider, so men also join this competition or struggle. Hence, there comes a struggle amongst these women in securing the available slots, and they all try different means which could enable them secure the slots. For those who you say are also customer service representatives in this country, do you think it was so easy for them to get there. Girl, wake up to the reality. In this our country, where corruption is widely perceived in various corners of the country? Let me tell you, many of those who were able to secure those offices you say did not get it easy. They offered some sacrifices and exchange some of their assets and possessions in return for the posts. And those sacrifices they took and things they offered are also part of the “requirements” of securing the offices. Even if those “requirements” are usually considered unofficial, they are still vital. And for you information, our company is not an exception. If you really want to be duly employed and secure you stay in that company, you would have to take some sacrifices to achieve that. So get that and deal with it. The question now is are u ready and willing to take sacrifices too? Are you ready and willing to exchange some of your assets and possessions too in return for your official retention?”
Bella: “I would like to know of the sacrifices and other things at stake before I answer those questions”
John: “Now, you are talking. Let me tell you, those requirements which you got in your research are not really important as far as that office in our company is concerned. The main deal is the information which you are seeking to know. Anyways, I don’t want to disclose such information in this manner – while chatting. So, since tomorrow is Saturday and we are off work, I want us to meet tomorrow. I will send an SMS to you which will contain details about the venue and the time I want the meeting to hold. And also what you should do when you get there.”
Bella: “Okay, Sir”
Some minutes later, Bella received a text message. And it read:
“COMFORT HOTEL, 27, Ceaser Road, Luta LGA.
6:00 pm.
When you get there, just go to the reception deck and asked for receptionist. If you get there, tell her you are Bella and that John asked you to collect a room key from her. Once you collect the key, just go straight to room 17, open the door, settle down in there and call me to notify me that you are there. I will join you shortly afterwards.
Remember the purpose of our meeting. Remember how important it is. I’ll be expecting you tomorrow evening”
“Comfort Hotel; 6 pm in the evening; I should go and wait for him in a hotel room? What is this man up to? And the purpose of this meeting means so much to me. For me to secure my retention in an office in that big company, enjoy the huge rewards that come with it and possibly become exposed to more big opportunities? I really aspire to achieve this. Well, meeting in a hotel with a man is not a big deal anyways, but for that time. Anyways, I will go and see him.”, Bella said to herself.