" Is it broken?" I ask the doctor after he examines it for a second.
"It's not that serious, It's just a scratch." He says reassuringly .
" Really?" I ask unbelievably because it hurts , okay fine... it doesn't hurt that much, I might have been exaggerating about the pain.
" Yeah, I'll clean there then you can see it yourself. " he says.
"No wait" I take my phone out and take a selfie , blood on my nose and send it to my family's whatsapp group , with a caption "I fell so badly and now am in a hospital, but they won't treat me because they say I need to pay first , I think I've broke my nose."
I think it worked because they start calling me as soon as the message goes , I don't need their calls , I need some money.
" Honey , where are you , I'll come see you right away." Mom says the moment I pick up her call .
" You don't have to, I just need some money to pay and after they treat me , I'll try and go for the interview , so no need to come ."
" You don't have to go to the interview , you concentrate on getting better , I'll send you money right away , and update me after every minute, okay? You can go to another interview some other day."
"Okay mom." I say smiling and a minute later a message come in , and another message, and another. Four of them , including dad , my brother and sister .
And now am rich again! I didn't lie, did I? I mean, am hurt, I need to pay for the hospital... which is not even a quarter of what I have now.
" Can you put there a bigger bandage, am going for an interview and am late but I must attend it , maybe if they see me this hurt they'll understand the reason am late." I tell the doctor and he looks at me with an amused expression but still does what I've asked him.
"Naughty , Now that I think about it , I think my daughter always lie to me , she gives me many reasons that sometimes just don't make any sense , for me to send her money , anyway don't you think this suit of yours is too big for your tiny body?!" He asks.
" Not really , am fine in it , thank you doc." I answer as I rush towards the door after he's done.
Now I know why people are looking at me strangely today, the suit, it is way bigger for me , but I must wear a suit to look decent and ready for work, shouldn't I?
I didn't even tried it on , I just picked it and paid , then shuu.. I was gone, mom laughed the whole day yesterday and even this morning , but I don't give a shit as long as am wearing a suit!
I skate faster than I should , and it's G*d's grace that I've arrived safely .
I sprint up the company's steps, I yank open the heavy glass door and slip inside, gasping for breath.
The bandage on my nose itches, but I keep it there – it's my ticket to a little sympathy, maybe enough to make them forgive the fact that I'm ridiculously late.
I spot the woman at the front desk, with that straight-laced, no-nonsense look that tells me she's the gatekeeper.
"Hey, hi!" I start, flashing my best "I'm harmless, am here for the interview" grin, but she just raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.
I switch tactics, limping a bit, pointing to the bandage. "I had a… an accident this morning. Really, I should be in a hospital bed right now. But here I am, determined as ever."
She looks me up and down, clearly considering how much trouble I'm worth. "You're late," she says, folding her arms in a way that tells me she's done this routine before.
"Only because of this," I say, tapping the bandage as if it explains everything. "If it weren't for that… dramatic tumble in the street, I'd be sitting here with plenty of time to spare. I mean, it was tragic. Tragic!" I add, laying it on a little thicker. "Regardless of the pain am in , I've still managed to rush here , don't you think it will be unfair to refuse me like this?" I press on.
I can see her expression soften just a bit, a flicker of exasperation turning into something like pity.
" Okay fine , follow me , but I can't guarantee that you'll have an opportunity, the person conducting the interviews today doesn't tolerate shit , no matter the situation or the reason!" She says .
Victory! I keep my face composed – don't want to blow my cover with a smirk or anything – but inside, I'm doing a little dance because at least she has let me in and there's no going back no matter what and no matter who is in there.
" Wait here , I'll see the situation in there first." She asks me to wait outside the door .
" okay" I say and the moment she goes in and closes the door , I follow going near the door to eavesdrop.
.....
Yeah shit! He's not gonna let me in no matter what she says , so Imma just go inside and fight for myself.
I adjust the bandage on my nose, trying to look as pitiful as possible. Just before knocking on the door, I take a deep breath, summoning every ounce of confidence I can muster, then push it open without waiting for a reply. Not exactly polite, but I figure it'll make an impression.
And I stop dead in my tracks.
Holy crap! I shouldn't have come! Okay, this is got to be my imagination! But why would I be imagining about this dude who broke my nose!
Thought what I did in the morning was pretty clever at the time.
Right now, though? Not so clever.
The guy—no, the CEO—just stares at me, clearly relishing my shock. I can feel my mouth open and close like a fish out of water.
He's giving me this look that's somewhere between amused and murderous, and I know I'm toast. Forget the interview; I'll be lucky if he doesn't throw me out on the spot.
But I've never been one to back down. So, I clear my throat, give him my best, most innocent grin, and say, "Small world, huh? Fancy seeing you here… uh, sir." I drop into an exaggerated, stiff little bow, hoping maybe it'll win me a laugh.
He doesn't laugh.
"On the second thought, I'll let him have the interview." He says.
The lady and other two men sitting with him , including myself, look at him surprised, we both that expression of , is he serious?! I just heard him say 'A no is a no!' Now he's going to let me...
He leans back in his chair, steeples his fingers, and just watches me, like he's figuring out exactly how to make me squirm.
And I do, for a second. But then, something inside me clicks, and I think, well, he's not going to hire me anyway, why not make it memorable?
"So… before we start, I just want to say," I begin, looking around the office like it's the most interesting place I've ever been, "I've heard great things about this company. Really solid place you've got here. Love the vibe, the… professionalism." I gesture around vaguely, I pull out the chair and sit.
"No one asked you to sit." The man beside him says.
"I've been waiting to be asked for some time now but no one did , and as you can see am not feeling so well , I had an accident this morning, someone broke my nose and my leg , so can I just sit even if you didn't ask? Anyway, am Julian Wilson and am so sorry for being late but it wasn't intentional, and thanks for letting me have my chance anyway."
He leans forward, and a slow, devilish smile starts to spread across his face. "Yes , Sit, I bet you are in so much pain" he says sarcastically.
His tone is all calm, but there's this gleam in his eyes, like he's already planning something.
And then, out of nowhere, he says, "Congratulations. You're hired."
My mouth drops open. I'm so stunned I barely process it, and for a second, I can't even get a word out. He's staring right at me, and there's no mistaking the glint in his eyes now.
He's got plans for me, alright—and they're not the kind where I'm lounging in a cushy office chair with a view.
"What? Sir , this kid is a total mess , trust me , you don't want to hire him , especially not even after an interview, we've got many good interviewees, we can hire one of them." The other man says.
" No, I think we should hire him , I mean, he's in pain but he still managed to rush here, he's exactly what we're looking for! A determined person!" He answers sarcastically.
I couldn't believe my ears. I look at him shocked beyond words but the side of his mouth raises , smirking at me.
" But sir.." the other tries to argue .
" That's final. And he is starting now." He says eying me and walks out of the room .
" What the hell?! Is he serious?" They start asking themselves, saying how he didn't even interview me like he interviewed other people and how they did great than me!
A moment later, the same lady from before comes in with a paper full of many words that irritates my eyes , she ask me to sign, I don't even read anything on it , sign and she goes away with it.
Am sure that, that man is upto something, hiring me like that. But who cares what he's up to,, I have a job, huhuu..