The first day at work for Ezekiel at his newly employed firm, a bank, was a dramatic show for him. Time was exactly 1:00 pm when all the staff both those inside the deposit bulk room walked out with their small food flasks of different sizes and colors, wrapped in a nearly transparent black fainted nylon, to a section not visible in the sight of customers queued in the bank hall. He wasn't fully at work as it was his first day, he was observing, so his eyes were capturing every moment and it was shocking to him how everyone rose from their duty post to the corner.
He was still wondering when the staff, Anthony, who was coaching him on how to sort out paid receipts, walked back and saw that he didn't get up and followed him when he got up.
"I was expecting you to come with me to that room I went to. I know you're confused about what's happening" Anthony said as he moved past him a little and sat on his seat just at the front of where Ezekiel was sitting.
"Yes man, I'm yet to catch my sense on how you guys, I mean, all of you, got up and walked to that corner as if you guys have a chip that pinched you at that instance," Ezekiel said in a whispering tone in order not to be heard by customers around.
"Hahahahah! Look at that guy" Anthony pointed at a guy, a security staff putting on the dark blue designated uniform who was standing at the walkway to the door where all the staff rushed to.
"Yes?" Ezekiel looked up in the direction.
"It is the guy that signaled us by beeping our telephone on our tables and it's a sign that the food vendor, who is his sister, is around with a very special dish that's only prepared by her in this entire city."
Ezekiel got more curious, he left his seat and squatted very close to Anthony with his height very hidden below the counter making him not visible to customers and he asked, "Which food is that?"
"It's iron beans, I don't mean the normal ones that are sold in the market, no, this is the original iron beans, it tastes better than the normal beans and...." Anthony was still saying when Ezekiel hissed and moved back to his seat
"Mtchwww! Just beans"
"Okay, let's see, once you taste it, you'll never think of any other food again for your lunch hour. Do you know how long we've been eating this particular food for our lunch? It's never tiring." Anthony felt a little bit disappointed, so his voice was raised a bit without minding if the customers close to them were hearing or not.
"Leave him there, once he tastes it, his tongue and ideas for other food will be arrested forever to that iron beans alone", Mercy, the next cashier on the counter who has been hearing their tiny talks chipped in so loud that the customers on the queue heard it and muffled a slight faint laughter.
The whole talk was weird for Ezekiel to believe, he kept asking himself how all of them could stick to one food for lunch and they don't get tired and the most surprising thing was that the food wasn't a big deal, an ordinary beans they called 'iron beans'
At first, he wasn't ready to give in to testing the food but when Anthony, his main guy called him to the room when the hall was less filled with customers, he followed him and when he was given to test, he laughed, collected the spoon, scoop a portion and when it entered his mouth, he stayed mute, didn't chew it for some seconds and Anthony who was seated opposite to him on the table locked his eyes on him to get the full reaction Ezekiel was displaying.
Ezekiel remained calm as he carefully allowed the juicy beans in his mouth to stain every part inside of his mouth which circulated the delicious taste all over and sent signals of a certified lunch food to the brain.
"Wow! Now I see why you guys are keen on this food. I haven't tasted this kind of beans before. It's so delicious" Ezekiel began to take the spoon filled with the beans into his mouth in a rushing manner.
"Mtchwww! When I was telling you, you thought I was saying gibberish." Anthony got up, gave him a weird look and left him on the table to satisfy himself.
From the following day, Ezekiel joined the club of iron beans by keeping small food flasks in the office every day for lunch.
Thanks for reading.