I felt really happy after I got the new job, the pay was four times my salary as a teacher and I was inspired to work since it was an opportunity for me to save more money for my education. I calculated my wages weekly, I checked how much I could save weekly and it made me so happy that I wished to begin the job immediately but I had to wait.
"I will talk to my boss and hope he agrees that you resume with us soon," The words of the lady who told me about the job played in my head repeatedly and a day wouldn't pass without me praying about the job.
It would be my first time working in a factory and I was quite eager to see how things would turn out.
To be sure I was just dreaming in vain and giving myself false hope, I spoke to the lady who gave me the link to the job again and she assured me that I was going to resume the next Monday. As Monday approached, I got a few things I needed because I won't be returning home until the weekend again.
Very early on Monday morning, I set out to meet with the lady and we both went to the factory which was about three hours journey. It was a new atmosphere for me and the first time I was working in such a crowded place.
I settled in well and it took me about an hour to understand the job. I started working immediately after I understood the job and it was kind of tiring. The job required sitting on a spot for as long as you have to work and because we were paid as we worked, people spent about 12 hours sitting.
I stood and stretched several times, I took a stroll around the factory and the workers there didn't stop laughing at me. I could tell that I reminded them of their first day at work and someday, I would laugh at someone as well.
The day didn't end as quickly as it used to so I got my earphones and plugged it into my Symbian phone. I scrolled down to my favourite playlists and hit the play button.
Immediately after the song started, I felt refreshed and managed to continue with my work as I sang along. The day ended and I embraced the first-day routine throughout the week. I resumed the following week and things were a lot better because I didn't feel much ache for sitting too long.
"Good morning Dee," One of the ladies working at the factory greeted me when we met in the warehouse.
We work on the same floor but we don't interact probably because I was new and poor at making friends.
"Good morning," I replied.
"You were singing a song earlier upstairs, can you please send it to me?" She asked.
"I have sung and listened to more than ten songs today and don't know the exact one you want," I replied.
"I don't know the title but you sang along all through and I love the lyrics," She replied.
"Whiskey by Ice Prince," I replied after humming the beat.
"Yes, that's it. Can I get it now or later?" She asked and I reached for my phone immediately.
I sent the song to her and showed her more if she would love them. She requested more songs and we returned to work after.
We greeted each other a few times that day and we gradually became closer as weeks passed. We chatted a lot at work about music and instead of using my earphones, I played music through my phone speaker so that we could listen together since she brought her table closer to mine.
She lived within the company environment while I had to go home every Friday and return on Monday morning. An incident happened at the company and we were told not to sleep in the factory anymore. It bothered me a lot and I thought it would be best to stop the job because my wages will only end up as transportation fare.
I didn't resume work the week after the announcement was made and my new friend wouldn't stop calling me. She persuaded me to come so we could talk better and I did.
"You can stay at my place, I told grandma about it already and she is not always around because her children are in different states and she spends more time with them," She said to me while we were discussing.
"No, that can't work. Just the two of us doesn't sound cool," I replied and she burst into laughter.
"Don't tell me you think I am crushing on you?" She asked.
"Why would I think of such?" I replied.
I thought about it again and didn't see anything wrong with just crashing at her place at night. I made up my mind and started crashing there at night. I didn't just get a place to sleep but I also got free dinner from her even though we were colleagues.
We soon became the topic of discussion at work and people assumed that we were dating. When we were together at work, nothing else mattered to us than ourselves. We would chat and sing for hours, the stressful job soon became very easy for me.
Months passed, I couldn't sleep that night and just sat on the couch. I started listening to music, they were emotional songs and my shaky voice interrupted her sleep.
She joined me without asking what was wrong and just took one of the earphones. We listened together for a while and she encouraged me not to give up on becoming whatever I wanted in life. I wasn't the type who poured out his mind always but from the songs I listened to at a particular time, you can tell what happening in my head.
We became best of friends and I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea if she was my girlfriend because we love each other a lot.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" I asked her on her birthday.
"I would love to but I chose to be your best friend forever," she replied.
"Being my girlfriend means we are best friends," I replied.
"That's not true and we are young. We could have a little quarrel as lovers and that would be the end of us. I don't want that," She replied.
I didn't push further because I understood her clearly and this year would mark our eleven years of true friendship.
