23/09/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 84

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

John and D’arby had been living at Fanta’s place for about a month but John still wasn’t used to waking up in his own room. And it was so quiet that it made him feel lonely.

John rushed to get dressed so he could see Fanta and D’arby before they left for the day.

D’arby was drinking coffee and looking out the window when John walked into the dining room.

“I’ve got something for you” said D’arby and he handed his library card to John.

John was very happy because he knew this meant he could access all the journals he needed to continue D’arby’s research on special pills. So far all John had been doing was reading the papers D’arby had already collected but he knew there was a lot more out there. John noticed that the card didn’t expire until the end of the year and was determined to become an expert by then.

Fanta was just heading into the kitchen to make breakfast for her sisters when it was time for D’arby to leave for work. John thought D’arby looked nervous but very happy as he set off down the street.

John was feeling hungry but sat patiently at the dining table, waiting for Fanta to finish what she was doing in the kitchen. He’d learnt that there was only room for one person in the kitchen at once and was careful to not get in Fanta’s way in the morning because she had so much to do to get her sisters off to school and herself off to work.

Ruby and Nancy came into the dining room and sat down at the table. Ruby had a hairbrush in one hand and was looking a bit cross.

“What’s wrong?” John asked Ruby.

“I have a big tangle at the back of my head and Fanta doesn’t have time to untangle it and Nancy hurts too much when she does it” compained Ruby.

John stood up behind Ruby’s chair and looked at Ruby’s hair. It was the most tangled thing he’d ever seen, but he’d seen Fanta untangling it before and so John pretended he knew what to do. He went and got the squirt bottle full of homemade ‘de-tangler’ and got to work. Ruby was silent as John worked, which he took to be a good sign because she usually complained when anyone touched her hair. John kept working while Ruby ate her breakfast and by the time she needed to go and clean her teeth her hair was looking presentable.

Fanta gave John a big smile when she saw Ruby’s hair. And John was still smiling back when the three of them had left for school and work.

John looked at his watch and calculated the time he’d need to leave the library in order to open the restaurant in time for lunch. Then he picked up D’arby’s library card and headed towards the uni library.

There was a roaring sound whenever the automatic sliding doors of the library opened. John enjoyed walking through them. He tried to hide his nerves as he approached the barrier gates. All the security at the library made John very nervous. John used D’arby’s library card to open one of the gates and was feeling so excited when he made it through them that he had to suppress the urge to jump up and click his heels together.

 

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09/09/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 83

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

Syafika was just about to leave work when her phone rang. It was Rose.

“I know you usually go to Fanta’s place for dinner on Mondays but could you please come home for dinner tonight? We want to have a nice dinner together and then talk about what is going to happen when Zikpi comes to film tomorrow” asked Rose.

Syafika couldn’t help groaning. She wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow. Zikpi had insisted Syafika be there for the final filming and Syafika was cross about that because it meant she had to take a day off work. Also, Syafika had been looking forward to seeing Fanta that evening because she wanted to talk about what had happened at lunchtime. Syafika had once imagined that she and Fanta would be able to have lots of nice chats at work, but it had turned out that opportunities for that were rare because work kept them both so busy. They couldn’t even walk home together because Fanta usually had to leave work early to pick up her sisters.

Syafika paused while she made a quick plan in her head. “Ok. I will come home for dinner but I am going to pass by Fanta’s house on the way home. I will be about an hour and 15 minutes” said Syafika.

After Syafika hung up the phone she ran downstairs to get changed into her running clothes. She had calculated that if she ran to Fanta’s place she’d have enough time for a decent chat about Anthony before she had to leave to run home for dinner.

When Syafika arrived at Fanta’s house she was puffed but happy. She’d managed to get there as fast as she’d hoped. Syafika took some deep breaths while she waited for Fanta to answer the door.

“I’m glad you are a bit early” said Fanta when she opened the door. “D’arby is cooking and wants an early dinner because he has to start his new job tomorrow”

Syafika had to try to control her expression because she felt like scowling. She hadn’t run all the way there to talk about D’arby.

“I can’t stay for dinner – Mum wants me at home to plan for tomorrow. I just ran here so we could have a quick chat about what happened at lunchtime” said Syafika.

“Ahh, ok” said Fanta and she came outside and closed the front door so she and Syafika could talk in the relative privacy of the front yard.

“You did see Anthony, didn’t you?” asked Syafika.

“Yeah, I guessed that was him. Who else would you bother chasing?” said Fanta.

“What did you think?” asked Syafika.

“I thought you were an amazing runner” said Fanta.”But didn’t he notice you were chasing him? I think I would notice if someone was running so close behind me”

Syafika felt a bit embarrassed. She answered “I don’t know…” but really she did know. She’d just realized that Anthony had known she was chasing him, and must have also noticed the last time she did it.

“Celine seemed to notice too” said Fanta. “When you went to get changed she kept asking me questions about you and about whether you knew someone called ‘Lawrence’”.

“Ah ha! So Anthony must have been pretending to be Lawrence when he met Celine in the café that time” said Syafika.

When Syafika started jogging home from Fanta’s house she was feeling a bit embarrassed that Anthony had noticed her running after him, but it was also thrilling to think that they were both playing a secret game. Syafika had a chuckle and ran a bit faster.

When Syafika crossed the road in front of her house a car came roaring along the street and beeped the horn as it almost hit her. This made Syafika really cross. Her street used to be quiet but recently there had been a lot more traffic. Syafika made a mental note to be more careful crossing the road there in future, and to make herself feel happy again she ran up the garden path and bounced up the front steps.

The house was looking very tidy and Syafika initially wondered why, but then remembered it was all for Zikpi. Syafika had so far avoided being filmed for Zikpi’s documentary but she knew she couldn’t escape it tomorrow. As Syafika changed out of her sweaty running clothes she had a little daydream about Anthony turning on the TV and seeing her strolling happily in her beautiful back garden.

When everyone had finished eating dinner Rose explained the timetable for the next day. It sounded like it was going to be a long one. Zikpi and the film crew would arrive at sunrise and they would stay as long as it took to get good footage and interview everyone.

“They won’t interview me though, will they? I’ve had nothing to do with it” said Binta.

“I don’t know” answered Rose.

“You can hide in my room if you like” offered Syafika.

Binta looked like she was going to say thank you but the phone rang and she was sitting closest so she got up to answer it instead.

It was India on the phone. She’d called to tell them that the first episode of Zikpi’s show was about to be broadcast and that they should turn the TV on.

So everyone moved to the loungeroom and sat down while Ousman found the right channel.

At first it was enjoyable to watch Zikpi’s show. The episode was about a couple renovating an old house that was in such bad shape that it could apparently collapse at any moment. Everything was respectable at the start but then it started to feature more of the couple arguing than of the work they were doing to stabilize the walls.

“You two didn’t argue infront of the cameras, did you?” Syafika asked Festus and Rose.

Rose assured Syafika that they hadn’t but realized that the footage of her crying would probably make an appearance.

Syafika looked at Mamadou. He looked appalled.

“I don’t like Zikpi anymore” said Mamadou. There was silent agreement from everyone else in the room.

The rest of the program was predictable. The couple managed to save the house and at the end of the program they looked reasonably happy together.

Syafika looked at Mamadou again to see if she could tell what he was thinking. When she saw Mamadou’s devious smile she started looking forward to what might happen during filming tomorrow.

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02/09/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 82

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

Syafika, Celine and Fanta were all heading to the Botanic Gardens for lunch, but only Syafika was wearing running clothes. Celine and Fanta were coming with her, but instead of running they were going to have a nice lunch at the café, then walk back with Syafika.

As Syafika started jogging away from Syafika and Celine she hoped that this time she’d see Anthony. It had been months since she’d seen or heard from Anthony and she was beginning to doubt she would ever see him again. But Syafika knew that her regular running trips had not been wasted. Instead of getting puffed after a couple of hundred metres, Syafika could now jog around the gardens for the whole of lunchtime if she wanted to, and she noticed that she was able to run much faster. Syafika thought it was sort of funny that since she’d become determined to spy on Anthony she’d only caught sight of him once, but she also considered her running scheme to be a kind of spy training and it comforted her to know that if she finally did come across Anthony she would be better prepared than ever to follow him on his run.

Syafika sprinted up a slope to see if she could make it to the top. When Syafika made it to the top of the slope she turned around and ran back down again, enjoying how effortlessly she could run downhill and how running made her feel graceful. Syafika remembered the first time she’d run down that slope a couple of months ago and how silly she’d felt. It made Syafika smile. She was really happy when she was running.

Syafika jogged towards the shadiest part of the gardens where there were lots of windy paths to follow. As she turned a corner she caught a glimpse of a runner disappearing around the next corner. Syafika had chased runners around corners many times in the last couple of months only to find they weren’t Anthony, but this time Syafika knew it was him.  She sped up and was able to get close enough to be sure it was Anthony. Anthony turned his head enough for Syafika to worry he might have spotted her, but he showed no sign of having noticed her and so she continued her persuit.

When Anthony took the path that led to Government House Syafika guessed that he must be at the end of his run and she slowed down because she anticipated that he would soon stop to stretch, but he didn’t. Instead Anthony turned down a side path that headed back towards the café. Syafika sped up and was almost close enough to reach out and touch Anthony by the time they were at the café. Then Syafika saw Fanta and Celine sitting at an outside table and she remembered she was supposed to meet up with them to walk back to work together. Syafika stopped running immediately and looked at her watch. It was time to stop running. Syafika watched as Anthony disappeared around a corner, and then she walked over to Celine and Fanta.

“You run fast!” said Fanta. Fanta was amazed. She’d never imagined that Syafika would run so well. Fanta desperately wanted to confirm that the man Syafika had been chasing was Anthony, but because Celine was with them she couldn’t ask.

Celine was feeling confused.  She’d seen Anthony run past too, only she knew him as Lawrence. Celine wondered what Lawrence was up to and hoped he hadn’t been spying on her. Celine also thought it was suspicious that Syafika was running so close behind him.

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26/08/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 81

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

D’arby had always imagined that when he submitted his thesis he’d be handing in a bound copy and so when he discovered that all he had to do was upload the file he found it a bit underwhelming. Still, as D’arby left uni after doing the upload of his thesis he felt like he was floating instead of walking. Then he realized he’d started walking in the wrong direction – he’d been headed to his old flat instead of to Fanta’s place. D’arby felt sad that he couldn’t go home to the old flat to celebrate this huge milestone and so he decided that he’d walk past the flat anyway, before going ‘home’ to Fanta’s.

The block of flats looked so sad behind the temporary fence that had been put up around it. It was as if the building knew what was going to happen to it. D’arby started crying, and as he walked to Fanta’s place he made a note to avoid walking down his old street for a couple of months so he could avoid seeing the building being knocked down.

When D’arby got back to Fanta’s place there was nobody there. D’arby wondered where John was because it was Monday and the restaurant was closed on Mondays.

D’arby sat down near a window and stared out at the garden. He suddenly felt empty and very tired. D’arby calculated that he’d only had 12 hours sleep in the past four days and decided to have a siesta.

Just as D’arby was drifting off to sleep the phone rang. D’arby struggled to get up and answer the phone but was glad that he had. It was Rudnika and she wanted to tell him about the plans for his first day of work tomorrow.

D’arby wondered why he’d agreed to start his new job without taking a break to recover from all the last minute stress involved in getting his thesis ready for submission, but it was too late to change things now. D’arby wrote down the time and place he had to meet Rudnika tomorrow and then went back to bed.

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23/08/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 80

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

Binta opened the kitchen cupboard and was confronted by Rose’s set of indistinguishable tea cannisters. As Binta tried to guess which canister contained the Earl Grey tea she made a mental note to stick discreet labels on the cannisters so she wouldn’t have to play this game everyday. Binta, Ousman and Mamadou had moved in with Rose a couple of days ago and Binta still felt a bit awkward but things were generally very good. Ousman and Binta had their beds in the back room upstairs. The wardrobe was half full of Rose’s craft materials but Binta didn’t mind. Squashing into the house with Rose reminded Binta of when they’d been kids. Binta liked feeling like a kid again because she hated the weight of responsibility she felt when she realized she was an adult and mother.

While Binta made tea, Rose and Mamadou were sitting at the kitchen table but Festus was outside in the rain. Mamadou smiled as he listened to the rain falling on the roof. “That sound is better than gold coins falling from the sky” said Mamadou.

“What?” asked Rose.

“You can’t buy rain” explained Mamadou.

It was a Monday afternoon in March and to celebrate the last day of work on the renovations they were having a special afternoon tea. Zikpi and her film crew would be coming to film the next day and everyone was going to be proud to show her around because it had all been done on time and under budget, and best of all, the result was amazing.

Mamadou’s garden had been finished before the house, and the plants were thriving. There were already plenty of green vegies ready to pick. As the rain fell Mamadou was imagining the roots of plants drinking it up and the leaves being washed clean. He knew that tomorrow the garden would be looking lush.

Festus had told the others that he was out in the rain to check for leaks in the guttering but really he was standing and watching the stream that Mamadou had built. He wanted to see what happened as it filled with rainwater and flowed through the yard to the waterfall. Festus looked over his shoulder to check that nobody was watching him before he walked over to the waterfall. He was secretly amazed by the water pump Mamadou had built. Festus moved the handle up and down a few times and as he did this water was pumped from the small pond at the bottom of the waterfall up to the tank hidden behind rocks at the top of the waterfall. Festus stopped pumping and watched as water trickled out of the tank and ran down the waterfall, ending up back in the pond at the bottom. As rain ran along the stream into this pond the height rose and eventually water started flowing out of it and continuing down the little river to the big pond at the back of the yard.

Festus took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He could feel rain running down the back of his neck. Festus couldn’t believe how the yard had changed in the last couple of months. The small trees Mamadou had planted and the tiny river he’d dug made Festus feel like a giant standing in the countryside. Festus the giant turned and walked into the house, passing the tiny fields of vegetables that Rose had planted all the way up to the back door.

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19/08/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 79

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

It had been a productive month. Mamadou and Rose worked well together and the renovations were ahead of schedule. The new bathroom was almost ready. That day they’d been doing tiling. As usual, Mamadou had found a way to turn someone else’s rubbish into something magnificent. A couple of days before they had gone to buy tiles, but when they arrived at the shop Mamadou had insisted he first go around the back of the shop to check out the skip bin he’d noticed. Instead of buying any tiles they’d gone home and waited for night time, then gone back to the shop to take tiles out of the skip bin. Festus had felt nervous as he waited in the van while Rose and Mamadou walked back and forth from the bin to the back of the van with boxes of assorted tiles. He kept imagining that a security guard would appear and shine a torch into his eyes. But nothing like that had happened and eventually Mamadou and Rose had closed the back of the van and squeezed in next to Festus for the drive home.

When they’d gotten home, even though it was getting late, Mamadou had insisted they unpack the tiles and see how they looked together. When Festus saw that each box of tiles was different and that a lot of them were broken he felt disappointed, but then he looked at Rose and saw that she seemed delighted by the prospect of turning this pile of rubbish into something useful. When Mamadou left at midnight the dining room floor and table were covered with tiles arranged in various patterns.

In the days since then they’d been busy recreating those patterns on the walls and floor of the new bathroom, and that afternoon they’d finished.

As Mamadou and Rose tidied up the tools Festus hobbled out to the mailbox. He put his hand in and pulled out a bundle of envelopes. He was worried that one of the envelopes would contain bad news from Council. They’d been carrying on as if they had building permission and Zikpi had been filming it all but Festus knew that it could end in disaster. As Festus made his way back inside his leg started to ache.

Festus handed the mail to Rose and asked her to open it. Rose flicked through the envelopes and discarded all but one. Festus watched her open it. Rose read it quickly then started smiling.

“It’s ok!” said Rose. “We are allowed to build what we’ve already started building!”

Festus realized he’d been holding his breath and let it out in relief. He noticed that his leg had stopped hurting.

Rose realized that it was probably a good time to talk to Festus about something she’d wanted to mention for a couple of weeks.

“You know how Binta has been without a job?” Rose asked Festus.

“Yeah….” said Festus. He was always impatient to know where questions like that were going.

“Well I was thinking that I could give up my craft room for Binta” said Rose.

“What?” asked Festus. He didn’t understand how Rose giving her craft room to Binta was going to help Binta earn a living, unless she meant that Binta was going to start selling things she’d made.

“I mean, what if Binta came to live with us?” said Rose.

Festus understood this but not how it would work. Surely Rose didn’t mean just Binta, but Ousman as well, and then what about Mamadou?

Festus looked to see where Mamadou was before he started talking. When he saw that Mamadou was out in the backyard and too far away to hear he asked Rose “Where will Ousman and Mamadou go?”

“Yes, it isn’t ideal, but maybe Ousman can share with Binta, and Mamadou can live in the shed” said Rose.

Festus couldn’t help laughing and didn’t realise that he was speaking too loudly when he said “Mamadou can live in the shed? What if he wants to share with Binta?”

Rose looked worried. She realized that it was likely nobody would be happy with her plan and it made her feel sad because she’d just wanted to help.

Mamadou had heard Festus laughing and suggesting he live in the shed and so he’d come inside.

“I would like to live in the shed, actually” said Mamadou.

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12/08/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 78

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

When Syafika went back to her old office to meet Leah she noticed that everyone else was back at work but her old desk was still empty. Helen and Julie came over and asked her how her new job was and soon everyone was milling around her, but Syafika wasn’t sure how much anyone knew. Nobody showed her any sympathy so she wasn’t sure if they had just decided not to mention her having had to leave in disgrace or if they had been told she’d decided to leave instead of being forced to. Syafika thought Helen and Julie might be a bit cross with her, but wasn’t sure. She hadn’t been close to Helen or Julie since they abandoned her in the pub.

Leah came out of her special office in the corner and suggested to Syafika that they go out to a café for coffee.

“What happened?” asked Leah as soon as she and Syafika had settled down at café table.

Syafika wished she’d been given a narrower question to answer. She didn’t know whether Leah wanted to know the sequence of events or whether she wanted to know why Syafika had stuffed up. Syafika decided to give her the sequence of events – she didn’t understand how she’d stuffed up anyway.

So Syafika told Leah about the phonecall she’d received and the email she’d sent in response. And then about how Glenda had come for her a couple of days later but Christine had rescued her and had told her that Joe had made some kind of mistake and blamed her for it.

“Joe was meant to be looking after you while I was away” said Leah, in an exasperated voice. “I’m sorry” said Leah.

Syafika hadn’t been expecting this. She started to cry.

Leah gave Syafika some tissues and patted her on the shoulder. When Syafika had calmed down Leah asked her how her new job was going and told her that if it had been up to her Syafika wouldn’t have had to move. Leah explained that she’d told Syafika’s team that Syafika had chosen to move and hoped that was ok.

When the coffee was all gone and it was time for Leah and Syafika to get back to work Leah handed Syafika her card saying “If you ever need my help please call me.”

 

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05/08/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 77

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

Anthony was more worried than angry as he ran away. He was under a lot of pressure at the moment and he knew that if he made any mistakes his life could be ruined.

When Anthony ran past the spot where Syafika had been hiding the day before he smiled as he remembered how Syafika had followed him on his run. Anthony had taken an extra long and convoluted route just to make sure Syafika really was following him. He had enjoyed being chased by Syafika but wasn’t sure if it was just another one of her games or if she really thought he hadn’t noticed her.

Anthony decided he’d probably need to call Syafika soon because she might be able to tell him things that Nelson wouldn’t. Thinking of Syafika made Anthony feel happy, and he smiled. When Anthony realized he was smiling it made him remember how dangerous it was for him to interact with Syafika.It wasn’t unusual for him to develop a fondness for people he had spent a lot of time watching, but with Syafika it was worse than usual. Anthony didn’t feel in control of his actions when he was near Syafika. He kept forgetting he was meant to be working. If he made a mistake and told her too much he would be in real danger, and so would she. And Anthony wasn’t sure how much Syafika knew. Sometimes she seemed clueless but other times he thought he could see in her eyes that she knew everything and was just pretending she didn’t.

 

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28/07/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 76

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

On Tuesday morning Syafika put some running shoes in her work bag and then became frustrated as she looked through her clothes because she couldn’t find anything that was both suitable for running in, and flattering. In the end she chose comfort over appearance because Anthony ran so fast that she wasn’t in danger of getting close enough for him to be able to evaluate her outfit. Syafika had to power walk to work to make it in time for the team meeting and was sweaty when she arrived.

At the end of the team meeting Christine announced that she and Nelson were interviewing applicants for the jobs that morning. Syafika was so excited that Fanta would be coming into the office that she couldn’t concentrate on her work. Syafika kept looking at the door to see if Fanta had arrived, and it took an email from her old boss to distract her from watching out for Fanta.

Syafika’s old Executive Director Leah had never had much time for her and so when Syafika saw an email invitation from Leah for a coffee and chat that afternoon she was concerned. Syafika realized that Leah must have just returned from leave and wondered what Leah thought of her shameful departure from the branch. Syafika wrote a reply saying she would come to coffee and had just hit the ‘send’ button when she noticed that the elegant woman from the café was walking into the meeting room with Christine, Nelson and a man Syafika recognized as being from Human Resources (She tried to remember his name and thought it might be Douglas).

Syafika started sweating immediately. Not only was the elegant woman competing with her for Anthony, she was competing with Fanta for a job. Syafika forgot where she was and swore out loud. Fortunately nobody seemed to notice because most people liked to wear headphones when they were at their computers. Syafika kept watching the door of the meeting room and in half an hour the elegant woman came out. The elegant woman wore a confident smile as she walked out the door. Syafika decided that she hated her and narrowed her eyes as she watched her go.

Christine emerged from the meeting room not long after and went to get Fanta, who must have been waiting in the foyer. Fanta waved to Syafika as she walked past. Syafika thought Fanta looked nervous, but Fanta also looked beautiful. She was wearing a dark blue dress and had her hair in an intimidatingly complicated layered bun.

Syafika noted the time that Fanta and Christine went into the meeting room. She wanted to know exactly how much time Christine gave Fanta, because she imagined that if the interview went longer it would mean that Christine liked Fanta better than the elegant woman.

Thirty five minutes later Christine and Fanta came out of the meeting room. Christine looked happy but a bit tired. Fanta still looked nervous. Syafika didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t wait to find out from Fanta what happened in the meeting room. Christine walked Fanta out and came back with a man who looked a bit old to be a graduate and so Syafika hoped that he was being interviewed for the team leader position.

Syafika’s phone rang and she was surprised to hear Fanta on the other end. Fanta was calling from a pay phone outside the building.

“How was it?” asked Syafika.

“Mostly good” said Fanta. “Christine and the other two seemed to like me and were talking as if the job was mine until I told them that I only wanted to work two or three days a week.”

“What did they say?” asked Syafika.

“Christine told me that things move fast and that if I wasn’t there every day I would have trouble keeping up” said Fanta. “And Nelson said that nobody else works part time. But Doug said that it was possible to work five hour days instead of fewer days.”

“I hope Doug can convince Christine and Nelson then” said Syafika.

“I guess it depends what the other candiates were like too. Have you seen any?” asked Fanta.

“There was one before you but I don’t think Christine liked her as much as she liked you” said Syafika. She was about to tell Fanta that the other candidate was the elegant woman who had met Anthony in the café, but when Syafika looked to her left she noticed that Bronwyn wasn’t wearing headphones and was worried that Bronwyn was listening to her conversation with Fanta. “I’ll tell you more tonight” said Syafika. “Want to bring your sisters for dinner?”

Two more candidates came and left before Christine, Nelson and Doug stopped for lunch, but Syafika had stopped paying attention. She’d been busy getting work done so she could go to the Botanic Gardens at lunch and still have time for afternoon coffee with Leah.

Syafika knew there were some showers and change rooms in the building but had never been there so she asked Bronwyn where they were. Bronwyn rode her bike to work so she was an expert in the facilities and was happy to take Syafika to see them.

“I saw you wave at the second candidate this morning” said Bronwyn as she and Syafika walked down the back stairs to the ground floor. “Is she your friend?”

“Yep” answered Syafika.

“Which position is she trying out for?” asked Bronwyn

“Graduate” said Syafika.

“Phew” said Bronwyn “Because I applied for the team leader position. My interview is after lunch”

“I hope you get the job” said Syafika. She meant what she said. Syafika thought it would be wise for Christine to give Bronwyn the team leader position because otherwise she might lose her. Who would want to stick around in the team working for another team leader if you’d failed to get the job?

“Thanks” said Bronwyn. “I hope your friend gets the other job. What’s her name?”

“Her name is Fanta. She would be perfect for the job. She’s clever and very wise. But she only wants to work part time. Do you think Christine would agree to that?” said Syafika.

“I think it would be up to the new team leader, actually” said Bronwyn. “They would be responsible for allocating work between members of the team”

“Would you agree to let her work part time if you get the team leader job?” asked Syafika.

“Yes” said Bronwyn. “I like people who know what they want. Most people just copy everyone else. But it would mean interviewing for someone else to do the rest of the hours. We have been allocated a full time position so we’d be stupid to not try to fill both halves of it. It will be a struggle to get projects done on time otherwise. It is a pity Fanta didn’t apply with someone else so they could fill the position together”

“That’s a good idea!” said Syafika. “I wish I’d thought of that earlier. If Fanta doesn’t get the job I will feel like I let her down”.

“Don’t be silly. You can’t think of everything” said Bronwyn. “You will feel better after your run. I need to go and have lunch now, so I’m not hungry in the interview”

Syafika looked at her watch and calculated that she had to be back in 40 minutes if she wanted to have time to have a shower before heading back to her desk. She got changed as fast as she could and was soon jogging up the hill to the Botanic Gardens.

Syafika was puffed by the time she got through the gates of the Botanic Gardens, but it felt good. She stopped to walk for a little bit, telling herself that she was doing this for fun, not for exercise. Syafika wondered where Anthony started his run. She thought it was likely to be the place he’d ended it last time and so she followed the path that led towards Government House. The trouble was that even if Syafika was right about where Anthony started his run, she didn’t know what time he started, or whether he started at the same time everyday or even whether he went for a run everyday.

When Syafika got to Government House she hid behind a hedge and looked out for Anthony. She looked at her watch and saw that she needed to be back at the showers in 30 minutes. She decided to wait another ten minutes for Anthony before giving up and just going for a walk. Ten minutes later Syafika reluctantly stood up and started walking towards the cafe. She thought a treat might help make up for the disappointment of not seeing Anthony. Then Syafika remembered that it was all downhill to the café and decided she may as well run there. Syafika felt silly when she ran. It wasn’t something she was used to doing and she imagined she must look very awkward. Syafika had a laugh at herself and by the time she reached the café she was feeling very happy and very sweaty. A small group of runners was ahead of Syafika in the queue and they all ordered salads for lunch, so when it was Syafika’s turn to order she chose a fruit salad instead of the slice of chocolate cake she’d been thinking about.

Syafika looked at her watch as she left the café and realized she’d have to choose between eating the fruit salad now and running back to the office to make up time, or walking back and eating the fruit salad at her desk after her shower. She decided to compromise and quickly ate a couple of mouthfuls of fruit salad before closing the container tightly and jogging back towards the gate closest to work.

Syafika couldn’t make it all the way back to the gate before she had to stop and catch her breath. Syafika could hear her heart beating but she could also hear something else. There were familiar voices speaking on the other side of some large bushes. Syafika peeped between the bushes and saw Anthony and Nelson. They seemed to be having an argument.

“I can’t change her mind” said Nelson. “Christine doesn’t like Celine”

“But if the other girl only wants to work part time surely that rules her out!” said Anthony

“Not in Christine’s eyes” said Nelson. “Anyway, we have to decide on the team leader first and then the team leader will get the final say”

“I know! What if Celine agrees to fill the other half of the job?” suggested Anthony.

“Ok. That might work. But now we need to worry about what the new team leader wants” said Nelson.

“I’m sure you can sort that out” said Anthony. “You know how important this is!”

Then Anthony ran off and Nelson started walking towards the gate.

Syafika wanted to follow Anthony but when she looked at the time she knew she had to follow Nelson instead.

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23/07/2017

The Inklings: Chapter 75

By Anna

To read the story from the start go to: https://the-inkling.com/catch-up-with-the-inklings/

As Fanta was preparing dinner she explained to Ruby and Nancy that she had to go to a job interview the next day and that they were going to stay with their friend Tony while she was at the interview. Tony lived in their street. He was older than Ruby but younger than Nancy. His parents were not really friends of Fanta’s but she did like them, and they often took turns walking the three kids to or from school. Tony’s Dad Malcolm would be taking them all to the park while Fanta went to the city for her interview. Ruby was happier with this arrangement than Nancy was. Nancy had been hoping to go to visit one of the girls in her class, but when Fanta reminded her that the flying fox in the park had been fixed Nancy stopped complaining. She loved playing on the flying fox.

“Why are we just having salads for dinner?” Ruby asked Fanta.

“Because it was a very hot day and on hot days a lot of people don’t like eating heavy food or hot food” answered Fanta. But as Fanta answered Ruby she started to doubt her decision to make three different salads for dinner, plus fruit salad for dessert. There was no time to change anything though, because the doorbell rang.

John and D’arby had arrived and it was as if they’d been able to anticipate Ruby’s uncertainty about salad for dinner because they’d brought some bread rolls and butter with them.

“The flat felt so much like an oven today that I decided I may as well make some bread” explained John as he showed Fanta the bread rolls.

The smell of the bread made Ruby and Nancy excited. Then the doorbell rang again and this time it was Syafika. While Syafika was getting settled and Fanta was getting everyone a cold drink Ruby and Nancy came up with a cunning plan. They requested that they be allowed to take their plates of dinner to the backyard. They said it was because they wanted to enjoy the cool change that had just arrived, but really it was so they would be able to flick any bits of salad that they didn’t like off their plates and into the garden.

Everyone was quiet until Ruby and Nancy had taken their dinner to the backyard. Then everyone started to talk at once. Fanta managed to be the first to get her story out, which was convenient because her story was the shortest.

“I have a job interview tomorrow – for a job in the same team as Syafika” said Fanta. She couldn’t help adding a big smile to the end of the sentence. She was very happy.

Even though Syafika was feeling exhausted by her distressful day this news made her smile too.

“I knew you could do it!” said Syafika “And they must like you a lot to have called you in before the closing date for applications”.

Syafika stopped talking just long enough for John and D’arby to be able congratulate Fanta then insisted that everyone listen to what had happened to her that day.

 

“Before you start – I’ve been wanting to know all day – what did Christine say about working part time?” Fanta asked Syafika.

“Oh no! I forgot to ask” admitted Syafika. “I’m sorry!” Syafika was sorry but she didn’t feel too bad about having forgotten. She thought that what had happened to her that day was more than enough of an excuse.

“That’s ok” said Fanta, pretending it didn’t matter. “It might be better if I don’t know anyway. If Christine had said she wouldn’t consider part timers then I’d have a hard time turning up to the interview.”

Fortunately Syafika’s story of Anthony and the disappearing haircut was so interesting that Fanta forgot about her job interview and D’arby and John forgot how urgently they wanted to share their own news.

“Really?” asked John. He had started to doubt that Syafika’s stories about Anthony were true.

“Why would Anthony disguise himself with a wig?” asked D’arby.

“I wish I’d been able to see you running after Anthony!” said Fanta.

The four were still discussing Anthony when Ruby and Nancy came inside with empty plates and asked if they could have some fruit salad.

When everyone had a bowl of fruit salad in front of them the discussion started again.

Fanta, John and D’arby thought that Syafika should keep away from Anthony because he could be a criminal but Syafika wanted to do some more spying on him. Syafika pretended she was taking their comments on board but secretly she had decided that she wouldn’t be satisfied until she knew what Anthony was up to.

John was chewing on a chunk of watermelon when he remembered that the meeting was meant to be for discussing activist stuff and so he mentioned that while he’d been waiting for the bread to rise he’d read D’arby’s notes about combining banking and renewable energy and thought that was something they should try to get started.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea for us” said D’arby. “Wait until you hear about my day and then you will understand.”

John was confused and a bit angry. He had put a lot of effort into understanding D’arby’s notes and was just beginning to feel confident that he knew what D’arby was talking about. He began to suspect that D’arby didn’t really want anyone else to be able to understand his ideas because he wanted to be the only one who was the expert. Luckily John took D’arby’s advice to wait before he said what he was thinking.

“At uni today I was asked to apply for a job working for a new bank that wants to do just what I was thinking about” said D’arby. “I don’t know if I should even be telling you this though. They want me to do some tests first and if I get the job then I won’t be able to tell anyone about the stuff I’m working on”

“Why not?” asked Fanta

“They say it is because it would upset a lot of powerful people… all the powerful people actually”

“Well what are we going to do then?” asked John. He was cross that everyone else’s lives seemed to be turning into spy novels and he wanted to be a part of the action. “And what happened to us developing your special pills D’arby?”

The tone of John’s voice made D’arby cross too – so cross that he forgot to think twice before he said anything.

“The pills don’t work” said D’arby.

“What? Yes they do. I’m living proof” said John.

“I used to think that too” said D’arby. “But then I looked at all the data and saw that the pills only have a placebo effect. You just thought they worked, but really you changed on your own.”

As John listened to D’arby the back of his neck tingled. If what D’arby was saying was true then it meant that John had achieved something really significant. But it didn’t make sense.

“Why didn’t I feel sick or crazy then?” asked John.

“I don’t know” said D’arby. “Maybe because you believed you had been cured instantly your brain was able to trick you into feeling fine. I don’t know. All I know is that the pills didn’t cure anyone else of anything. Have you seen them fix anyone else?”

John tried to think of another example but couldn’t and had to answer “No, but what if there was something different about me. What if they do work but only in certain circumstances?”

All John’s questions gave D’arby an idea.

“What if I hand over all my research to you, and you work out whether the pills work and if you find that they don’t work, you can work out why they don’t work and then maybe you will be able to fix them so they do work” suggested D’arby.

John was happy to accept D’arby’s offer. He was flattered that D’arby thought he would be able to continue the research and delighted to think that he might be able to help other addicts.

When dinner was over John and D’arby walked home in silence, but it was a happy silence.

As Syafika walked home she was looking forward a shower and sleep, but also to the next time she chased Anthony around the Botanic Gardens. She was disappointed that John and D’arby hadn’t wanted to be involved like they had been when she needed help with Vincent, but decided it didn’t matter because Syafika thought she’d prefer to do the spying herself.

When everyone had gone home Fanta encouraged her sisters to go to bed so that she could practice answering imaginary interview questions but in the back of her mind the question she was really worrying about was how to explain that she only wanted to work three days a week.

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