Freebies

They gathered at the dining table at the summon of their parents Mr. and Mrs. Clifford ukoh. Who kept wondering how it’s always then that calls for the meeting of this kind each term. John and Alice the two in junior secondary school living in the dormitory seems to have one thing in common as far as first day in school is concerned. They don’t want to see the school gate at least three days after resumption date. They always have this line: “Things set well in the school after five days of resumption” excuses. “They are still cleaning things and cutting grasses” as if ‘they' in that excuse represent ghost or Aliens and not their fellow students.

“Sit down both of you. From your report card and radio as well, I heard you will be starting school tomorrow. How come none of you is asking if what you submitted to be bought have been bought?” he asked. “ don't you want to return to school with provision?”

In their characteristics way, they eyed each other with that expression of what is wrong with him?- oh not again written all over their faces. “ Ha!, dad, we still won't be going back in the next four days, there's still time to buy all the provisions and books recommended” John stated. “How do you mean next four days, the news and your report cards said tomorrow morning” Alice eyed the father and then the mother wondering why they always want them to be repeating themselves on the same issue each term. “ The thing is that even fifty percent of the teachers and students don't always return to school on the first day but from fourth day. The classes starts around that period not before. There are cleaning to be done and pantry to be stocked, grasses to be cut and all those similar manual labour works going on” “ And who supposed to be doing those manual labors if all the students sit at home like both of you?”

They eyed each other and John took over from there again. “ The students doing that work are considered saboteurs and those guys are mostly dunces that are seeking to enter into the good books of the school management and the teachers. This is not spy family, are we?”

Mr. Clifford eyed him and eyed his wife for a minute and had he not been their father and know them to be smart in the class rooms, he would have wondered if all is okay with the boy in the head. Illiterate students always seek for excuses for school not to re-open. Over there in Pakistan according to the news, it is the Jihadist shooting students and in America, if students are not shooting themselves, their uncles will enter there to do the shooting for them. At times, you even wonder if the dunce among them were the ones inviting those shooters for them to have excuses to stay home. “ how do you mean Saboteurs?” “ of course, that's what all the students named them, those doing such work. Why would a school the students pay this kind of school fees and still the management want us to be cutting grasses manually, can't they afford mowers like other schools?- that is where five days on top of resumption date started. Let them cut those grasses themselves and they will quickly buy those mowers”

What they said made sense but Mr. Clifford is tired of them getting in his way for almost three weeks now. “ One can't even hold his wife hand without fearing intrusions and sending wrong signals across to these adult kids” like he prefers to address this two. He wants them out of the way. Dormitory is safer for both parties. He wants them out of his way tomorrow not four days time. “we are not family of conspirators, we don't believe in coups, do we? What the authorities anywhere said, that is what stands. We don’t challenge constituted authorities do we?- if the management of your school said tomorrow, then tomorrow it must be. Shower both of you, I have your list and we are entering market and we are going to get you both everything in those list and both of you will be following the management opening date of tomorrow not yours. Don't want saboteurs and plotters in my house. Shower, you have fifteen minutes.

Mr. Clifford deals in wholesale articles. He came a long way from doing supply runs to some of the supermarkets in the city there for years to raise money to being a wholesaler for five years that sees his fortune improved tremendously. He hired a sells girl to be paid monthly instead of going the route of bringing in apprentice to live in his house for seven years and settle them afterwards with heavy sums, Nah, monthly salary is better. Not only that the salary isn't huge to break him monthly, the girl is doing good works and so far so good as far as good behavior is concerned.

They had gone half way to the market when a call came in from the sales girl Nkechi informing him that Mr. Mahama was sighted in town. His tinted Peugeot car was seen not far from their area and there is rumor that he came to see things for himself. Mr. Clifford changed course and headed to his shop. Mahama is the Lebanese manger of biscuit producing firm in port Harcourt city, three states away from them. What would bring him to town? whatever it is will have tremendous impact on the wholesale dealers of the firm. The kids, their provisions and the books needs to wait. Had his wife not been kindergarten teacher, or Nkechi not needed in the shop if Mahama comes, one of them would have taken the kids to the market to buy those things but Mahama first. No matter the urgency or orgy, solidification of his distributorship with this company that have proven to be money generator must take precedence first. He took the kids to his shop and drop them there. 

He found the kids to be even plus to his identity as solid, trustworthy and family oriented distributor. He eyed them and smiled to himself. He stayed with them there waiting for the Lebanese manager no one knows if he has gone back to Port. The kids ate their breakfast and launch there, still, there is no sign of Mahama. Around four in the evening. he tootled into their line and all his distributors in that line all rushed to shake hands when he parked. When the man has gone through their shops one by one with the same expression on his face they all failed to read its meaning, it was 5:23pm. Purpose of his visit, he never disclosed, they learnt he still have two more days to stay in town and no one knows if he will come visiting again considering that the man following him was jotting down things no one knows what it was.

For that three days, he focused on his shop and kids and provisions forgotten for awhile. If rumors running around no one knows it’s source is true, he want to be one of the lucky few to be listed as qualified to receive one lorry full of new product the man want to hand over to five customers to see it’s penetration rate. He seems to know that his distributors don't like taking unnecessary risk. They won't agree to pay upfront for new product no one have seen before or tasted. That must have been reasons among many he came himself. He wondered for two days if he had been doing okay or not with his early arrival and late departure. It’s always good to live one’s normal life in occasion of this nature. On the third day, someone they know not came and handed over questionnaires to the distributors and asked them to fill it up that he will be coming in the evening to collect them. Trying to scrape any info from him failed. A 1513 lorry full of biscuits will put in the pocket of any lucky guy after selling it if the prices happens to be like others a hefty gain. Is it the rate of turn over that the Lebanese manager was checking or something else? When the story of Mahama left night gossip subject list, in that family, five days has gone without any hearing of what became the fate of the questionnaire or heard from Mahama.

Mr. Clifford lost interest a little from Lebanese and everything that concerns his free lorry full of biscuits, flesh urgings and went to market with his kids after they have pestered him for three days nonstop now. They went to return to the dormitory.