Iona wished she didn't have to get out of bed when the alarm sounded. Infact Iona wished she didn't own an alarm.
But it was essential, especially today when she was going to an interview for a new job. A job she couldn't afford not to take.
She had only been jobless for seven days and she was already feeling the effects. Living in the city was bad enough but Iona was also a part time student of Marine Engineering at the university.
Though she was on partial scholarship she was still racking up an incredible debt in student loans and spending much of her money on rent and school equipment. As she was a nanny, she ate most meals with the family she cared for. When she wasn't eating with the family, instant noodles in cups always came through for her.
She had worked for a rich family that lived in an exclusive housing estate. The Stevenson family.
The family had two little girls Emily and Stacey both of whom Iona loved. Mr Stevenson was a successful stockbroker and Mrs Stevenson was a successful stockbrokers wife who evidently loved her kids but was hardly home and left them in the care of her nanny, chef , chauffeur, maid and house security.
Iona loved working for the Stevensons, they paid her well, she got a lot of bonuses, the chef always included her and Emily and Stacey were easy children.
She had planned to keep her job as a nanny till she could enter the corporate world of Marine Engineering but the Stevensons were moving out of state and though they had offered Iona a pay raise if she went with them, she wanted to finish her degree in her dream university.
Fortunately Mrs Stevenson had left her a card of a single father of two boys who had just moved into the estate and needed a live-in nanny.
Iona had first had her reservations about living with a single father, but she had considered a few things.
The first being that she knew how rich households co-habited with the help. The house would be really big and the help was always roomed a good distance from the family. The men in the household were usually too busy and rarely seen within the house.
The second thing was that she barely had a choice. If she could take rent off her expenses she would be able to save much more. Being a live in nanny meant she would be needed more often but it also meant that all of her meals were accounted for and her living environment would be free and a lot nicer than the studio apartment she was paying through her anus for.
Iona had contacted the number on the card the evening before and gotten a scheduled date for an interview which happened to be that morning.
Just thinking about not having to pay for rent or food again got Iona out of bed and in the spirit of excellent performance.
She was going to be the black nanny McPhee. For a moment she paused and looked in the small mirror in her tiny bathroom and cursed herself.
Her full 4a hair was in large twists beneath her bonnet. She hadn't used a wig in a while because the Stevensons had begun to see her past her hair. But what if her new employer was intimidated by her fro. Her only wig was synthetic and without much care the past few months it was sure to be stiff. She didn't even know where it was.
'It's fine Iona', she whispered to her reflection 'Lots of gel, undramatic edges, a plaited and wrapped pony tail and you are good'.
Thankfully she had some hair from the beauty supply and her hair was moisturized under the bonnet.
Knowing she lacked the time to style her hair to perfection, she yanked a brush through her curls and used enough gel till her hair looked flat.
Holding it into a tight ponytail, she braided the beauty supply hair with the end of her natural hair. She didn't braid too long before she wrapped the plaited ponytail around it self and held it with a bobby pin.
She looked at the result in the mirror, she woukd have still preferred a wig for extra security but this would have to do.
Without much time to spare, Iona took a shower and dressed up.
She wore a light white turtle neck and a black high waist office pant with slip on flat shoes.
For accessories nothing more than a simple necklace and microscopic earrings.
There was still Twenty-five minutes till her interview appointment. Iona grabbed her phone and purse and left her apartment in a hurry towards Oakley Road.