Golden Lucy 2

Continuation from GoLdEn LuCy

Lucy hails from Kwara State. She had had her higher education in the popular Ahmadu Bello University in Northern Nigeria. Though unexpected, she had been posted to Kogi State, a state constitutionally part of the North. She had hoped to be posted to Abuja (which was still in the north, but an area she was familiar with), Lagos (because she had friends and family there) or Calabar (because, well it sounded like an exciting city). 

Alas, she got none of those. When Lucy got to camp in Asaya, Kogi state, she realised she was not the only person who felt out of place and she immediately made friends with people of like minds. 

The service period was only a year, it would fly by quickly and Lucy would be able to go wherever she wanted and do whatever she wanted, at least that's what she believed. She was relatively young, finishing her undergraduate degree at the age of 21 and joining the youth corps the following year. The world as far as Lucy was concerned  was waiting for her to manifest.

Lucy was a church girl, infact she was frequently called the golden girl of the church. She was set in her ways and christian beliefs. She became part of a small group of christian ladies who often gathered once a week to pray and was also an active member of the NYSC christian fellowship. She enjoyed this kind of interaction and was used to it because she was an active member of FCS (Fellowship of Christian Students) in school and had always been part of some Christian society or the other. In Church, Lucy felt at home. All the church activities helped her pull through the drills of NYSC camp. She loved the man-o-war sessions though and one of her fondest camp memory was the bonfire night.

During the last week of camp, Lucy began to feel weird as she had made friends with quite a number of people and had become accustomed to the life style in camp but everything that has a beginning has an end.  

As was customary of the final day, all corp members got their posting letters and Lucy, like other corpers, had to go report to the local government area. Luckily for her, she was posted to the state's capital. She wasn't feeling 'lucky' but everyone around her felt she got a good deal. Lucy liked being in charge and for that to happen she had to be in an environment she knew all to well and loved. Nothing could stop the progression of activities though, she had to report to the LGA whether she liked it or not and she was going to do just that. 

She followed the throng of people boarding a bus to Lokoja who were also going to report at the NYSC office there. In the vehicle, She glanced at the posting letter she held in her already clammy hands and re-read her posting to the State Office Department of Agriculture. 

On her arrival at the office, the receptionist showed her the waiting area. Lucy took it all in with one swooping glance. She thought, 

'#notetoself, no Air conditioning, but the fans are working at least'. 

She was going to try to appreciate the office seeing as she might be serving the nation there, for the next eleven or twelve months, if her redeployment plan did not work out well. Lucy might as well try to condition herself to like this office. 

About an hour later, Mr Adams Ozovehe walked in and asked the receptionist 'where is our new corp member?' and Lucy stood up. 

Lucy's couldn't quite place how she felt about Mr Adams on this first meeting. Some part of her agreed with him, some part of her disagreed with him, but it was too early to make any conclusion on Mr Adams. 

Lucy's path would later cross more closely with Mr Adams, because of him, she would later conceal a big portion of her life from friends and family and make decisions she never imagined she had to.  Mr Adams smiled and motioned to Lucy, she followed him to go greet the boss.