AFLOAT SEASON 1 Ep. 6

 

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

― Plato

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“Miss Dapper!

He sounded excited like we were old friends;

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. Yes, I wanted to inform you that we would be picking up the costumes together. I hope you don’t mind?"

Wait! What? This must be a joke, I thought with indignation. Mabel must have hit his head too hard against the wall during their make out session because there was no way I was going anywhere nor picking costumes or anything with the man.

“I think you are confusing me with someone else sir. I am not in the logistics unit. I am a dancer." I explained firmly.

“I know who you are.” He said and took a step in my direction.

"Sir it’s late and I am supposed to be at home at this moment ...”

His smile widened and he nodded as if in agreement with me;

"Allow me to apologise for the short notice." He explained camly; "actually, Mrs Mabel got an urgent call, emergency at home I suppose. The other girls are, well, should I say, not bright enough. So that leaves you. Besides, someone mentioned that you have keen eyes for apparels, am I right?”

Urgent call indeed, I thought and snickered before I could stop myself.

His eyes met mine and glinted as if we were sharing a friendly joke. I wiped the smile off my face and frowned

"I understand sir and I don’t know who mentioned what to you but...”

“Consider this as the end of your probation period and your first sacrifice as a member of the troupe. We all have to make one or two minor sacrifices and I have a confession.." he interjected.

Before I could utter a word, he continued almost immediately;

"Sincerely, I have no idea whatsoever about costumes and I might end up messing everything up. There's nothing like a woman's touch and professional opinion which is why I am pleading. Don’t say no, okay.”

Did he just say that my probation period which was supposed to be three months long just ended in two weeks? My heart thumped with joy as my protest withered and died slowly with his compelling argument.

“How long will this take because I really need to be home before 8pm? I am actually famished.” I conceded.

"Thank you so much. It’s just down the road. Come along."

Picking up his keys, he headed out of the rehearsal room. The moment I stepped out, he turned off the lights and locked the door. I followed his movements with my eyes and that was when, for the first time, I saw Brad in the eyes of all the drooling girls in the troupe.

Brad definitely deserved a rank in the league of handsome men. His physique and rippling muscles which could not be concealed by his shirt revealed that he was more than a card carrying member of one of the gyms in town. He had a compelling personality. From his friendly eyes to his carefully groomed face and glowing skin, which I had seen severally during rehearsals whenever he showed off in any of his numerous sleeveless T-shirts, it was obvious he put in extra care into his appearance.

My conclusion; Brad was a man who knew how to play his cards well to get whatever he set his mind on. But why did he choose the Chairman’s wife? The man was either daring or in a haste to rest in peace with his ancestors because everyone knew that Tito; our Chairman, was a rattle snake and Mabel was his prized possession.

"Are you still coming?" He asked whilst unlocking the car doors.

Sighing, I reluctantly dragged my bag along and walked over to join him beside his car; a gray Toyota Camry. Suddenly, a new thought crossed my over active mind; Nobody in that troupe knew about my entanglement with cloths and fashion. It was a family secret, so who could have told him about me?

I scrambled into the passengers seat. The car was still warm having being parked under the sun all afternoon so I kept my side of the door open and tried not to think too much.

He settled behind the wheels and closed his door, so I did same. 

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