NEW YORK_ BET media house.
Delilah slumped on her seat with a frown on her tired looking face, a colleague sitting next to her needn't to ask what was wrong with her, she guessed already.
" What now? Luke again? Why do you guys quarrel this much?" Her colleague and friend, Nina asked with a silly and knowing smile.
" You don't need to worry anymore, I broke up with him already. I still care for my mental health, okay? I can't keep up with his nags and troubles anymore. I wonder what I even find appeasing in him before." Delilah hissed, muttering the last part to herself.
" I hope you really did this time, I know you'll go back to him as always." Nina shrugged but Delilah ignored her knowing if she kept replying the talkative and tiny lady, they might end up not doing anything but talking till the day ends.
Delilah sighed then sat up as she opened her drawers, Nina had returned to her table when she wasn't having any audience but Delilah still looked around carefully and immediately swallowed the several types and colours of medicines down her throat with a little sip of the water in her bottle.
" Finally ran out of drugs," she sighed, palming her forehead with a sigh, how'd she live well without her medications now?
" Hey Nina," Delilah called and the tiny lady turned interestingly but when she heard the request from Delilah, her face immediately fell. " Can I get a few bills from you? I need to get some stuffs from the hospital, I'll repay you whenever I have it."
" The remaining dollars with me are for my son's fees, I'd like to help but I can't. We aren't even always sure of a monthly pay in this gone and destroyed company." Nina scoffed, seething.
" I'd have told you to ask others but we're all the same, broke and employed people. Sorry Dee." Nina blew a flying kiss and turned back to her table.
Delilah knew she was right and she was even feeling guilty for asking the single mother for money, for the last six months or maybe more than, they had not been paid. Their boss, Felix was a sweet talker and was always making fake promises, many had left already but if she left too, what would she be doing at home and sitting idly with that evil aunt of hers?
As for Nina, the lady was still waiting for their so-called salary which Delilah knew they wouldn't get, where would they get it from?
" Ms Faye and the others, to my office now!" That was Felix, their boss.
" I hate the way he still calls us with that annoying authority in his rugged voice, isn't he supposed to sound appeasing to us for all what we've been going through for him and this good for nothing media house?" An older staff who was also the departmental director hissed and others nodded in agreement as they walked to Felix office.
" Our problems are scoops, if we have new and interesting scoop, BET will surely regain it's popularity again." One insisted and everyone glared at her, most especially the director who talked first.
" Oh please, who doesn't know Felix embezzled the company's money?" Another hissed and that was how they kept going and talking on about their bankrupted place of work but when they reached Felix office door, everyone kept silent as they slowly entered.
Delilah was the only one keeping silent as she walked like a black sheep behind them, even if they shouted, complained till thy kingdom comes, would it still pay their bills?
She needed to move out of her aunt's house to a small condo she could proudly call hers but how'd she achieve that? She needed to buy expensive drugs that'd help to keep her alive till her time comes but how'd she achieve it too?
Sometimes, she thought of turning back the hands of time and using the funds she had then for squandering now instead of using it for her education that now turned her to a jobless and unpaid person.
" Faye." Felix loud's voice rang in her ears and she shot back to reality, everyone was staring at her.
" I'm sorry, I got lost in thoughts."
" Lost in thoughts about what? Is that why your hair's looking like a bird nest?" Felix asked irritatedly and Delilah casted a furious glare at him.
" A bird nest? Lost in thoughts about what? Why won't I be lost in thoughts? Why? Why? Why? Just tell me! Why won't my hair be looking like that of a bird nest own when I don't have the money to take good care of myself? Why won't I be lost in thoughts when I spent so much years in school to just end up like this? Just tell me!" Delilah yelled furiously, pouring all her bottled up and pent up anger on Felix.
Her colleagues who looked startled at first nodded at what she said and averted their furious and accusing gazes at Felix who was looking quite shocked but fustration was more written on his face.
" I know that and I'm sorry about that but this is not because of me. I know all of you think I squandered this company's fund but have you all ever thought of the higher-ups above me and the competitions against this media house? No, you've not. I've tried my best but it's all moving to nothing but I think I came up of a solution." Felix said.
" What's that?" The female director asked gruffly.
" Since there's basically nothing we do here in the company rather than sitting, discussing and cursing me all day, I thought of giving you all a break, a short term break." Felix smiled but his words didn't elicit any reactions from the staffs who were staring at him like he was a comic character.
" Break? You're giving us a break so you'd finally sell this media house away?" The departmental director scoffed and Felix sighed.
" No, there'll still be other few staffs around. I'm giving a break for you all to go around, go out and find out about things, things you know that when we publish them, it'll blow the world off. Our company will be known again, your careers would boom again." Felix illustrated with his hand that a staff shifted back slowly to avoid being hit.
" So you're telling us to go on adventures about things that would shock people, right?" Delilah asked and Felix gave her a thumbs up.
" Exactly, if we can do that, you'd be giving reports every single seconds of your lives. We wouldn't be this idle and should I say, jobless anymore, just think about it."
" You're kind of right. At least, it's better than coming here all day without doing anything, I volunteer, I would do it. I'll make sure I come back with something really useful." The director said and gradually, everyone volunteered.
" How long? The break?" Delilah asked again.
" As long as you return and bring back something useful, take your time." Felix smiled.
" Alright then, fighting! I would make sure I dig out and explore the cave of the ghost silita." Nina grinned dreamily, the dreamy looked disappeared when she met the strange gazes everyone was throwing at her.
" I didn't ask you for a suicide mission, Nina." Felix shook his head and everyone laughed at Nina's bashed look.
~~~~~~~~~~~
" What about you, Dee? What'll you go for?" Nina asked, holding on to Delilah's arm as they closed for the day.
" I don't know yet, Nina. Let's watch and see, aren't you picking up your son from school, you forgot him again?" Nina immediately halted and opened her mouth in shock.
" Oh my! That's right, I almost forgot, I'll see you later, Dee. Call me before you go for your break, okay?" Nina shrieked and Delilah just nodded.
The tiny lady paused then turned back to Delilah with a sorry look on her face.
" I'm sorry I couldn't be of help then, Dee. I really don't know why you still acknowledge me as a friend even though I never did anything really tangible for you since we met, you've been the only one helping me." Nina pouted which made Delilah crack.
" Silly Nina, I never did anything for you, okay? I'm doing everything for Gavin and not you, just take care of my baby and that's all. You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine." Delilah smiled, referring to Nina's little son.
" Thanks, Dee. And oh! Don't forget to call me if that witch ever tries anything silly to you, imma cut her hands off."
" Copied ma." Delilah nodded, laughing deep down as she looked at the arm Nina wanted to use to cut her aunt's bigger ones off.
Nina left in a cab after a while and Delilah waited for hers, today had been quite unadventurous for her, she had broken off with her rude, narcissist and spoilt richy rich boyfriend. If she decided to count and remember the times she had been of help to that rude bastard, she'd go to his house right away and break his head.
But not now, she had an appointment with her doctor and she needed to ask if she could still bear a little longer without her medications.
