ELENA MARLOWE POV!!
Five dollars.
Five.
That's all I've managed to make since I came to sit here at six in the morning. Damn it.
I stared at the bills in my palm like they had personally betrayed me.
It was two in the afternoon now, I had been sitting here for six hours..Ah God!. Somebody shoot me now.
Six whole hours of smiling at strangers, adjusting fruit baskets, pretending I did not want to scream into the sky.
And what did I have to show for it?
Five dollars.
Wow. Incredible. Truly inspiring. At this rate I might retire by the time I am ninety.
I shoved the money into my purse and slumped back in my wooden chair, glaring at my perfectly arranged fruits.
This was supposed to be a rich neighbourhood. Huge houses. Imported cars. People with gym memberships and personal trainers.
I thought these people cared about their bodies.
Apparently they prefer plastic surgery and overpriced detox pills over actual fruit.
"Hey! Hey you! Are you f*cking deaf?!"
A deep voice cusses making me lift my head sharply.
A potbellied man in a suit that probably cost more than my monthly rent stood in front of my stall, staring at me like I had offended his ancestors.
"Are you here to sell or sleep?" The man asks with disgust laced in his voice which he doesn't bother to hide.
No, sir. I am here for the scenery.
I bite my lip hard, praying to the heavens my lips doesn't slip else I would have given him the insult of his life.
"I am selling, sir," I said sweetly.
"I need oranges worth three dollars. And pineapples."
"How much pineapple would you like?"
He squinted at me as if I had asked him to solve a physics equation.
"Apart from being stinky and poor, I didn't know you were deaf too. Why would you bother to sell when you're deaf?"
Dear God, give me strength.. Give me strength. I pray silently.
I'm so tempted to pick up this pineapple and bash his head in with it. I f*cking swear.
"I meant the pineapple sir. How much worth of pineapples do you need?"
"How much is that one?" He pointed at the largest pineapple.
"Three dollars each."
"Give me two."
Of course you want the biggest ones.
I packed them carefully into one of my special printed bags. I bought those specifically for people like him. If I dared hand him a plain black plastic bag, he would probably call the police.
"Would you like me to peel them, sir?" I asked, reaching for my knife.
"No." He recoiled slightly. "God knows where that knife has been."
Oh trust me, sir, it has not been anywhere near as disgusting as your attitude.
I swear if murder wasn't a crime, I would have murdered this rude, potbellied man, rich ass man, butchered him and sold his meat in a coldstore. I'm sure I'd get so much money from his meat that probably contains fat.
But I smiled politely instead.
He handed me exactly nine dollars.
Not ten. Not even nine fifty. Upon all the rudeness he couldn't even have the decency to give me a tip..
Just nine.
Would it have killed him to tip one extra dollar? Would his bank account collapse?
He walked away without another word.
I counted the money again.
Nine dollars total for today.
Fantastic.
At this rate, Leo and I will be dining on air tonight.
By three thirty, I packed up my stall and started heading home….
.....
The school bus honked the moment I stepped into the building.
Right on schedule.
"Mama!"
Little footsteps ran toward me.
Leo launched himself into my arms and suddenly the nine dollars did not feel quite as heavy.
"Hey my little man. Did you enjoy school?" I asked, crouching down.
"Yes!" he said with a grin so wide it could power the entire city.
I helped him out of his uniform carefully. Water only runs properly twice a week in this neighborhood. Laundry is not something you waste.
"Are you hungry?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
He nodded.
Of course he did.
Children are always hungry. It is like they have a secret agreement with their stomachs.
I opened the fridge and stared inside.
Half a container of stew.
Rice.
Two eggs.
And the last cup of orange juice I had made yesterday.
I had planned to drink that juice myself.
Look at me. Planning luxuries.
I poured it into a cup for Leo and added a few biscuits.
"Eat this first," I said gently. "Mama will cook something warm."
He nodded and shuffled toward the television that looked like it might retire before I do.
I stood in the kitchen debating with myself.
If I make jollof rice, I finish the stew.
If I finish the stew, tomorrow morning becomes a problem.
Plain rice and stew stretches.
Survival wins again.
Rice and stew it is.
Exciting menu. Five star restaurant energy…
…..
Later that night, when Leo was asleep, I lay back against the wall and stared at the ceiling.
I'm only twenty four years old, single mother and an orphan.
I get questioning stares everywhere I go just because I'm a single mother. Being a single mother
doesn't bother me.
Not one bit. I love my son to death.
I do love him but the problem is I do not know who his father is.
I spend every night and day wondering if he'll ever show up.
Wondering what he looks like.
Wondering if he knows he got me pregnant.
Wondering if his child is alive somewhere.
Wondering if he's searching for us maybe.
No, I'm not a slut or a prostitute if that's you're thinking.. I'm neither of these.
The truth is a bitter pill to swallow, It's something that jerks me awake every night wondering who Leo's father is.
Because believe it or not, I only realised I was pregnant after four months when I went for a check
up because I was getting too sick often..I had realised I had been gaining a few pounds too.
I had fainted when the doctor had pronounced me four months pregnant.
Hell! I thought the doctor was playing some stupid April fool's trick on me but no.
I had ordered for another test because damn I could never accept that fact, which by the way
turned out positive too.. To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement.
I was shocked to the bone. In fact I was in shock for an entire month.
You may think I might be exaggerating but wait until I tell you why.
The problem is, I've never...
And when I say never…..I mean never ever ever in my life had SEXUAL inter course.
Yes, I've never slept with a man before. And yes, you guessed right.. I got pregnant while I was a
VIRGIN.
A 100% virgin girl with her hymen still intact.
I was carrying a child yet I had no idea how it happened.
Because I was a Virgin and yet... Yet I had a son.
But that's not at all.
No.
Aside from being a fruit seller and a virgin mother, I'm also a spy and a con-artist.
Yes, as shameful as this sounds, I work as a spy for the most notorious gang leader you could ever
come across. And how I became a spy, it's a long ass story!!….