Chapter 2: Chapter 2

We managed to fall asleep without even eating anything but now,it was daybreak so we could see everywhere clearly.

The room wasn't that big but it was manageable and opposite where the bed stood was the window which allowed ventilation and that was our only means of fresh air since we didn't have a fan.Apart from our bags,the only other thing in the room was the small bed.

"Hope you slept well?" Comfort asked beside me,but I wasn't sure I did as the thought of Vincent was heavy on my mind.

"I tried,but I couldn't stop thinking of Vincent." I told her.

"You would be fine,and I'm here to protect you, remember?" She asked,and I wanted to laugh because beside Vincent she was small and there was nothing she could do but then it was the thought that counted.

"Yes,and I'm grateful for that." I replied.

"Good,now let's do some serious cleaning and get something to eat and maybe shower because I'm starting to stink." She said, sniffing herself.

You're not stinking,but yea let's do that." I said looking at the spiderweb on the wall.

As we opened the door to the room,we saw other tenants like us all sitting down and while some looked intimidating, others looked somewhat gentle but I've learnt not to judge a book by the cover.

"Good morning." We greeted them.

"Aha,I told you we had new housemates." One of the guys standing said to the rest instead of answering our greeting….rude.

"Good morning,hope you both slept well and welcome to the compound." Another one said, smiling nicely.

"Thank you." I replied, returning his smile.

"What are your names?" The first guy asked us.

Comfort and I then introduced ourselves and the guys four of them did the same.the one who spoke first introduced himself as Jerry while the one who answered our greeting was called David the other two both who I thought looked intimidating were called shedrack and Benjamin.

"As you know, we're new here,and we need to clean up but we haven't gotten our stuff yet,so if it's okay for you to lend us your broom or something we could use." Comfort said and I elbowed her to keep shut.

"What?They looked nice." She whispered.

"Of course, David answered by getting up and a few moments later,he handed us a broom and mop and he was nice to even give us a bucket alongside.

"Thank you so much." We said it together again.

"You can get water from the well over there in case you need water." Shedrack said and we nodded.Thanking them once again,we made our way back to the room to start work.

We focused on the cleaning, starting from the web to any insect that had made our room their home.when it was time to mop,I realized we didn't have detergent so shyly I went back to ask where I could get but David gave me his which I thanked him for. So hours later,we were satisfied with how everything looked, especially now that we'd cleaned the window making space for more ventilation and light.

"I'm really hungry." Comfort complained.

"Me too,but we can't go out to buy anything looking like this." I said pointing to our clothes which had become dirty from the dust.

After another thirty minutes,we freshened up in the bathroom we shared with the others and we put on a new set of clothes which was more presentable than the former but still not the best.

"That was one hell of a meal." Comfort said, rubbing her stomach in satisfaction and I agreed looking at our now empty plates which once contained beans and the empty nylon of bread beside it.

"I agree. Now on a serious note,what are we going to do?We can't sit around doing nothing all day." I asked now,resting on our now laid bed using my wrapper as a pillow.

"We'll look around for vacancies at any restaurant since it's like the one thing we're good at." She said.

"You don't have to remind me that we didn't go to school." I joked even though I wanted to go but I wasn't opportune.

"You know I'm joking." She said.

"I know,now let's make a list of what we need so we don't end up using our whole money to buy food."

"But it's so good." She whined but I ignored her.

We went on to write a list and everything was about twenty thousand and Comfort suggested we pay for the coming month in case we didn't get a job on time.

"That is a lot, but it's better we get them out before we run out of money." She said.

"I know, let's go now before it's late." I suggested.

We made our way to the market with the directions from the neighbors.Many of the buyers tried to convince us to buy from them but after a while,we settled for one of them who promised a good discount…. exactly what we needed right now. True to her words, the seller helped us and we didn't spend up to the amount we budgeted for and some of the things she didn't have,she got from a friend which we thanked her for.

It was almost evening when we got back to the room,and we now have gas,two pots and some foodstuff to last us maybe a week or two.

"You guys were gone for so long,did you get lost?" David asked.

"No,we walked around a while and then took a bike straight here." I explained.

"Okay,we must be hungry,I made food if you want." He offered,and it was really nice of him.

"Thank you,but we can manage." I kindly rejected his offer.

This was the first time since I met Vincent that I was talking to a boy out of work and him being nice but again, Vincent started nice too.

"Who turns down free food?" Comfort asked.

"Well, technically I did but people do it all the time." I defended myself.

"Give me an example, or have you ever seen me rejecting food?" She asked.

"Well….." I was speechless because I have never seen her reject food.

"I thought as much." She said,but there was nothing she could do,the deed had been done already.

We prepared dinner while there was still light and as usual,we started talking about different things until we fell asleep after a while. I hope tomorrow brings good things and we don't just sit around doing nothing.