Beads of sweats formed on her forehead despite the fan blowing in the sitting room. She had worked, tired and worn-out. Ara couldn't thank Sewa and Grace enough for the tremendous work they did for her. When she was done washing all the curtains and done gisting with Ayoola, she realized time had gone and she had spent a lot of time talking instead of doing the rest of her works.
When she came in, she realized the whole house had been mopped. The dinning table had also been taken care of. The first thing she asked for was food. It was already past four and she had not even taken breakfast. Although she ate snacks because some were brought to Ayoola by few workers from the first Queen. It was then she realized she told herself she was going to apologize to the first Queen over what happened but still had not. In her heart, she blamed Prince Ire for messing up her day. Giving her useless and unecessarily works.
Sewa and Grace told Ara they could have ironed Prince Ire's clothes for her, but he didn't drop it and they were never allowed to enter his room except her. After it was exactly six, Ara was done eating. Sleep was coming. Her eyes were closing little by little, but she dared not sleep. She forced her eyes open telling herself enough times till the word Get up!' sank into her medulla Oblongata, bringing her to her feet. Immediately, Ara got up and went upstairs to bring out the clothes she was to iron.
When she got into the room, her tired face relaxed into a little horrible smile. She couldn't help it. Not as if there were funny posters pasted in the room, but because the room looked as if a little boy stays in there. She wondered if she had entered a kid's room. What's this? Ara picked up the shoes and black socks that must have played and ran about the whole room the whole day. On his bed were clothes scattered everywhere. Every corner was totally disorganized.
Ara didn't know where to start from. She thought Prince Ire was someone extremely neat and was excited knowing her work wouldn't be much, but she calculated wrongly. On a stand close to his bed were wrapped chocolates. Chocolate biscuits, sweets and unwrapped nylons, unwrapped biscuits with empty can of Goldberg. Suddenly, Ara who was tired and weak to the mouth started laughing. Somehow, Prince Ire always made her smile and laugh unecessarily. What she saw was beyond looking and passing.
Ara stood up, packed the plates of leftovers patatos. She couldn't believe after eating downstairs, the guy brought it up with him again. She was beginning to feel like Prince Ire liked food. It was food he came down to warm when they met in the kitchen during midnight. Yet he wasn't looking fat. In fact, he had six solid packs. His arm were solid and firm. Hey, Ara you haven't even touched it. How did you know? Ara smiled to herself. Well, just by looking. The image of his body that midnight flashed back to her memory. She agreed he was really a fine man. But immediately, Ara threw up her dirty thoughts away. He's not someone to think about Ara. Look at the punishment he gave you because of what?
Ara succeeded to erase the thoughts she was beginning to allow and returned to where she thought Prince Ire liked food. She tried to convince herself that he didn't eat all that in the morning. Accessing his room, the room looked completely dull to Ara. No design or even a quality painting. Guy you are rich. What happened? No one was there to answer Ara's question. It was the same white colour painted round the building he also used in his room too. Ara thought he could have missed two colours together. That could have succeeded to bring life to his room.
Everywhere looked plain and not lively at all. Somehow, Ara concluded Prince Ire might be a boring person. Since he could not arrange his room alone or was an expertee at scattering his things around, why would he have instructed that no one was allowed to enter his room. May be hiding something. May be he didn't want his workers to see how rough he was. May be he didn't just like it. Ara found many excuses for him as possible. His clothes or things were not dirty. Just that, he was not good at placing them at the right place.
Ara heaved a sigh and started her work. The ironing she thought she was going to do flew off her mind and was immediately replaced to cleaning up his room for him. Ara arranged all the clothes scattered on his bed. She took his angers, hung his shirts, tops and neatly put them back
in his cupboard whose doors were already opened. He arranged his trousers but noticed there weren't designers at all. Ara could recognize designers. While she was still doing her ushering jobs, she had ushered for many important guests who were always on designers shirts, jeans and sneakers, even exorbitant shoes.
But for Prince Ire, not a single designer. His shirts were plain shirts. Some of his jeans has faded. Holy Mary, why can't this guy get new ones. Are there no women in his life at all? Ara shook her head, closing the small cupboard which was also painted white, looking like a small box. Of course, she smiled the moment she saw the cupboard as well. She noticed Prince Ire didn't have much clothes at all. They were just normal jeans, shirts, T-shirts, cardigans, shorts and two black suits like that. Even the suits were looking old. Ara could recognize new and expensive suits. She picked for men a lot. She was good at recognising quality designs very well. Prince Ire's clothes didn't match up to any at all.
She arranged his shoes, sneakers and palm on the shoe rack. Ara stacked up his footwears on each shelve one after the other. The shelve was quite old. Where others used fashionable rack, the Prince had a wooden, old rack. She didn't take much time arranging that because his footwears were not even up to twenty. After she was done, she was absolutely worn-out. This time, her face taken up the work of her mouth that if anyone sees her, they would know without her telling them that was beyond tired and stressed out.
After she was done arranging his clothes, shoes and every corner he scattered, she threw all the nylons and the dirts she could see inside the big nylon she found in his room. She removed his bedspread and noticed that was old too. Hair was coming out of the blue bedspread already.
The pillow case looked new but they were of another colour. Green colour. Ara managed to smile at the colour mixture on his bed. She didn't have to change them because they were really clean. Even if she tried to, she wasn't sure if he has same bedspread clothes with same pillow case.
After she was done with all that, it was finally time to sweep. When she came down to get a long broom and a packer, she realized everyone had gone to. It was already ten at night. She
didn't know time had gone again. She felt as if time was not on her side at all. The time ran too fast to her satisfaction.
Ara went back to Prince Ire's room, swept, packed the dirty and came down again. While going back, the stairs became a mountain before her. She wondered what could be the difference between the mount Everest and the stairs she was climbing up again. She got back inside the room, looking around to spot if there was something she had not done yet. She found none, but then ironing was part of her duty today. She couldn't believe she would have to iron by that time of the day again. Of course there was light, but she was tired. Again, sleep had come to claim her. Turning her eyes into a fluctuating florescent bulb.
She opened Prince Ire's cupboard again for the second time and brought out some of his clothes for ironing. She found his iron which body was full of scratch as if it had gone on a Biafra war some years back. Ara managed to shake her head. Don't tell me this Prince can't see this iron is nothing to write home about. What's this? It was then she noticed the control button had removed. God of wonders! Her eye balls did the screaming. I can't be stressing my life this night abeg. She dropped the iron on his bed beside the clothes she was planning to iron and decided to rest. She planned on resting a little before going down to ask Sewa or Grace if she could get another iron to make her work faster.
Comfortably, she laid on his bed with the plan to just rest. She had plan on how to get to her feet immediately she heard Prince Ire's car drove in. She had all her plans ready in facts and figures, but Ara didn't know a tired body takes any opportunity like that to give the body the complete rest it need. Fifteen minutes after, Ara was completely gone.
•••
Prince Ire was back. Exactly 11:36pm, his car drove into his compound. He had gone out with his friends and they've all enjoyed themselves except from him. He wouldn't waste his money on nonsense drinks. His friends ordered drinks of close to one million naira. While they were ordering, he already made it clear to them he wasn't drinking and he wasn't paying out of the bills. He knew his friends could afford it, but spending that amount on drinks was a total waste to him.
It was an expensive bar, but he kept attending because of his friends. Everything he took didn't pass an amount of thirty thousand naira. And that was because he ordered for his usual drink without taking fish with it or soup and all the nonsense his friends bought.
Prince Ire walked in. Before climbing the stairs, he switched off the sitting room's light. He had told them to always do that before going to bed. He climbed his stairs and finally got to the entrance of his room. He tried to use his key only to realize he didn't lock his room. The moment the door eased open, he couldn't recognize his room again. A lot changed. Switching his eye balls to the left, he couldn't believe his eyes staring down at the extremely fair body sprawled like an angel on his bed.