EssayStoryJournalBook reviewReflectionResearchLetterPoemMemoir948 words5 min readAutosave enabled“Hello dad, I am calling to remind you that I will still need to be paid for this month’s rent”. These were the words she always dreaded saying especially to her father who with time seemed to be growing restless and impatient of the dependency she still posed on him. I mean for her age it was getting uneasy to ask for such assistance. The Kenyan labour market was really intolerable with both the private and public sectors being highly comprised of cartel-systems; only good for the rich kids with connections already in most places with relevant employers and those with good ideas and capital thus opted for entrepreneurship. She kept staring at the phone as the other person was silent for a few minutes which to her appeared to be eternity as it gave her mind time to wander especially of the mere fact that she was smart yet still not able to secure a good-paying white collar job even to pay her own accommodation in the city. She had spent the last sixteen years going through the Kenyan education system commonly referred to as the 8:4:4 system and having graduated with a bachelor’s degree from one of prestigious colleges in Nairobi, she still was hustling for a damn job. It had been a year and she wondered if she was really as smart as she thought or maybe she was doing something wrong. She made a mental note to go through her curriculum vitae after the phone call for the a thousandth time to make sure it was perfect i.e. specific, short, in pdf format and up-to-date. “Of course I still do recall”, her dad as usual sounded exhausted if not weary of the unending needs that somehow required a substantial monetary amount. “Just give me a day or two to sort that” he added. She could feel rage rising up her throat if anything could explain the heaving of the chest. “What do you mean? I have been reminding you since the end of last month and the land lady is a vicious lady when the date for reception of her money is in question” were the words she was dying to utter, instead she responded with a cool yes in between curses in her mind. She was bold to speak out her feelings but never disrespectful to her dad especially when it came to giving responses when pissed like at that specific time. All that time a picture of a short, light-skinned irritated kikuyu woman kept criss-crossing her mind. This was Mama Karanja, the land lady. She was a really callous woman, and even earned a nick name of “the Viper” in the 5-star estate as a result of her cruelty and heightened strictness. “Telling Mama Karanja to wait for rent for another one or two days despite 6 days having passed since the beginning of the month could only trigger something bad if not eviction” she thought aloud. She was going crazy. She pictured her mum’s reaction if she told her of the situation and started bursting into laughter. Her mother was one of those people who could act really cool even in tough situations and even afford to come up with jokes out of them. This time she thought she heard her mum tell her to go clubbing for two consecutive days till dad had paid rent then come back, which would lose its basis given that she will have to spend as much as the rent amount to last that time. That had to be funny especially now that the words kept replaying in her mind. “Hello, I would like to ask for a loan of ksh.15, 000. I will pay you in a day or two please”, she begged almost on her knees. “Yea sure and there is no need to pay back. Do you want it in cash or via M-pesa?” Keisha asked. “Via M-pesa please” she answered greatly relieved that she did not have to go through the horror of Mama Karanja’s reaction to the news of a possible delay in payment of the rent. Keisha was one of those friends she could always count on, and at that moment she thought of how lucky she must be to have such an ally. “Okay. It has been awhile; we should meet and catch up. You know I will be flying in a week’s time. How’s your Friday evening?” she said. Memories shared with Keisha flooded her mind right from the first day of freshmen year when she asked for a pen from this short, slim, brown-skinned lady who later had turned to be her best friend through the four years in campus. Whenever a third party was looking for her, Martha would be the one to inquire from and vice versa since the two had become utterly inseparable right from the first week of school. They even did similar option units and sports whilst in school. Now it had been almost two weeks since they saw each other, with Keisha already working and therefore almost always busy and the two living miles away from each other. Life seemed to be in favour of Keisha who had a job that would have passed for satisfactory for her had she been offered the same opportunity. Moreover, her friend had already been offered a place at the University of Reading for a master’s degree and given her family’s stable financial background did not have to toil for a scholarship. Recalling that a question had been asked she answered quickly, “Of course. I have missed you too big time. Friday evening is okay with me and thank you for the cash Keisha”.