WOES OF KOOSAM
EPISODE 1
By Cobby Grant
Kobina Sam sat staring but not exactly seeing the flickering images of the TV as he pondered on how life and fate had managed to drag him to the lowest ebb. He hardly had enough to eat, and even for him to have a single meal in a day was proving to be a daunting task.
He had managed to complete the Purchasing and Supply programme at the Takoradi Technical University attaining First Class but that was all there was to it.
The Certificate had so far not been able to get him any gainful employment.
Not even after he had given his all when he did his National Service at a gold mine at Tarkwa was he considered for employment.
“I should have known that rich people only employ rich people when I was killing myself trying to please everyone there.”
And so, he, handsome, muscular and at the prime age of 25 years had no job nor money to his name except the certificate.
What had sustained him were the chanced construction jobs he managed to land from time to time but even those were not earning him enough.
Kobina Sam woke up on a sunny Monday morning with the resolve to scout the harbour business area in job hunting.
He had hardly slept a wink the whole night but he got out of bed feeling fresh and determined to go from company to company to try his luck with the numerous businesses in the enclave.
Humming a song, he took his time as he ironed the chosen attire for the day. He was soon done and polished his black shoes, bearing in mind that making himself presentable was going to be favourable with any potential employer.
He had a cup of tea with no milk not because he was on a diet or something but because he couldn’t afford to buy one. It didn’t affect him as he was used to it.
Whistling now, he locked up the single room he was occupying in Lagos Town and stepped out responding to greetings and hails from neighbours and others. He walked leisurely as if he had nowhere to go in mind, with a slim leather folder that contained about ten unaddressed CVS in his hand, which he planned on handing over to managers personally.
He walked from Lagos Town to the harbour area, unwilling to use the few cedi notes in his pocket for transport fares.
So he walked and kept his eyes wide open to any establishment he could go in to seek employment, mentally making notes of sights and scenes along the way and smiled at some of the scenes he found funny.
He also wrote down phone contacts of bills he saw posted on walls and gates advertising job openings ranging from house boys to part-time teachers, which he was sure to contact later, more as a means to ends than ends by themselves.
His target area came into view after more than an hour of walking and he went into action, entering one office to another but with no success. It was either a curt reply that there were no vacancies or was looked down with disdain by people who were employees themselves and who spoke to him as if he was there to take their jobs away from them
He didn’t let them get him down. He managed to leave his resume with some of them, hoping against hope that something could come out of them.
He took a break when he saw that he was getting a little unsteady on his feet and sought refuge under a shade provided by a Bank.
He rested as he sipped the cold water from the bank’s water dispenser and watched idly as people went about their business. They came and went but he was invisible to them and he preferred it that way. It was only the Bank’s Security man who incessantly cast suspicious glances at him but he allowed him to be.
There was one company he wanted to try his luck at before he called it a day, and as he thought about being on his way he saw that in his absentmindedness, he had failed to notice that the skies had darkened making him pause as he thought of what to do.
Thunder rumbled and the rains came down in torrents getting his shoes soaking wet. He stared at his feet in dismay as the rains fell, cascading off a ledge of a corner he had taken refuge from.
Gratefully, it stopped as suddenly as it started and the sun came back shining brightly as before.
He stepped forward gingerly in a bid to get his shoes muddier than they could be. But a passing taxi cab, at an insanely top speed, passed by and splashed mud water that had gathered in a pothole all over him.
Shattered, he stared, close to tears at his now muddy khaki trousers and white Lacoste top. Feeling extremely embarrassed, he quickly rounded the corner to get away from people who were beginning to stare at him in his predicament.
He sought another refuge at a chop bar close by and used his handkerchief to clean away some of the stains.
He didn’t pay any attention to the only occupant, a beautiful dark-complexioned lady who had an apron on and was sitting at the entrance to the serving area going through her phone.
Then he left when he saw that he had managed to remove most of the brownish stains from the white top, making him fairly presentable.
We may also like The Truck Driver by Cobby Grant: http://aaron-ansah-agyeman.com/2020/09/23/guest-writer-samuel-cobby-grant-the-truck-driver-episode-1/
Finally, he reached the company he had his eyes on and suddenly, his usual -self-confidence left him. It took a dip and he was unsure of what to do.
He debated with himself whether to go home and make it another day. As he pondered what to do, a black brand new Toyota Pickup drove into the large parking area of the company.
Suddenly determined, he made his way to the car and waited respectfully for the driver to get out, whom he greeted when he stepped out finally.
“Good afternoon, Sir”
“Good afternoon,” the man replied, waiting for him to go on about what was on his mind.
“I am looking for a job, Sir,” he said and went on, “I need any job available. I have walked from Lagos Town to this place in search of work. I am very desperate.”
The man looked at him with pity and concern clearly shown on his face. He saw the desperation on Kobina’s face. The face of a very desperate unemployed graduate.
“Give me your phone contact and I’ll call you later for discussions. I’m late for a meeting,” he told Kobina Sam.
It was then that Kobina saw that he had lost the little notebook he had with him. Even the pen was nowhere to be found. He had used both the book and the pen that very morning. He was so confused that he continued to search through his pockets.
The man, seeing his dilemma, reopened his car’s door and brought out a pen and paper, both very cool from the car’s AC.
Though the paper was so shiny and difficult to write on, he managed to scribble his phone number on it and thanked the man profusely and left, forgetting to also take his number.
As he walked away, the man called him back and rummaged through his pockets and brought out some cedi notes and coins which he proffered to Kobina who initially didn’t want to take it. It was a job he wanted not charity but the man impressed upon him to accept it.
“Take them okay? I think I know you but we’ll talk about all that when we meet again when I call you.”
He thanked him once again and left, happy that at least, he wasn’t going to sleep on an empty stomach.
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We may also like The Truck Driver by Cobby Grant: http://aaron-ansah-agyeman.com/2020/09/23/guest-writer-samuel-cobby-grant-the-truck-driver-episode-1/