Mist - A Short Story

We're pleased to feature a short story by Adewunmi Adekanmbi, the voice behind the fantastic blog Kool Story. Let us know what you think of the story in the comments. A writer yourself? Send your short stories, nonfiction pieces, book reviews, and poems to [email protected] for a chance to be featured on the blog! Ephesians 4:15-16 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Janet wrinkled her nose and I unconsciously mirrored her gesture. “Can you smell that too?” she asked, looking towards the toilet a few feet from us. “I’m not sure.” I turned to the toilet trying to decide if I could smell anything. “Let’s move away from here.” We moved a few feet away from the offensive toilet and I continued, “no one tells you these things but they really matter. Never use the cups in the tea room…” I noticed her face wrinkling again and asked, “You can still smell it?”
She pinched her nose and nodded, “I’m sorry. It’s just – I have a really sensitive nose.” She shuddered slightly and smiled at me. “You were saying?” “Bring your personal mug to work,” I completed, grinning; she returned the smile. She gave me an appraising look I pretended not to notice. I slipped my hands into my pocket waiting for her to say something. “I’ll talk to you later,” she said abruptly and walked away. I watched her leave with a smile on my face. As I entered into the pool, I saw Uche doing an about-turn on seeing me. He turned so quickly, that he tripped on the cord of the photocopier in the corner. This was ridiculous. “Uche!” I called loudly before he could pretend to not hear me. He straightened himself and walked towards me slowly, his expression wary. I did not understand why he feared me so much; granted, I was the best forensic analyst in the firm for my level and had done some very impressive work in litigation support for some of the firm’s clients but more than that, I prided myself on being very approachable. I shook my head at him as he reached me and threw my arm round his shoulders to put him at ease. I lowered my head so no one could hear the conversation. I sensed Uche wasn’t very confident and did not like to draw attention to himself. “Howdy, buddy?” I asked, jiggling him. “Fine,” he stuttered trying to extricate himself. “And work?” “Work is fine…sir.” I gave a burst of laughter and his head snapped back. “Don’t call me sir. Feel free.” I leaned closer as a group of female workers passed by. “You don’t call anyone sir here. I’ve been meaning to tell you this but I had no time.” I looked at him seriously noticing his eyes already looked watery; he had absolutely no confidence. “You need to man up and stop scurrying around the office,” I said. I stopped by the corner to my office and spoke quickly. “People already see you as timid and unassertive and trust me, that is not an image you want for yourself. You lose good work that way.” He squirmed away from my hand and nodded. “I understand. I will work on it.” “Good,” I said, nodding. “And there is no need to fear me. I won’t bite you. I don’t know why every time you see me like this, you run. I don’t bite okay?’ He nodded furiously. “Okay. I have to go sir, I have this very important…” I waved my hand for him to leave and he scrambled away. I shook my head. They needed to talk to these new hires about confidence building. I entered into my office and switched off the AC. I was putting on a sweater my younger brother got me for Christmas. The wind that morning had been brutal. I was looking over some of the files on the table when I heard a commotion outside. The office was a wide space with desks and chairs arranged to fit in every corner. Only three people had personal cubicles and I was one of them. I hoped to migrate from a cubicle to a proper office within the next year. I came out to find people gathered round Chiaka’s desk speaking in low murmurings which added together to make a fairly loud rumble through the office. “Are you okay?” someone asked. Another person placed a glass of water on the table and she gulped it thirstily. “What’s going on here?” Ismail, a fellow cubicle owner, asked, clearing a path towards the shivering woman whom we all suspected was expecting. “She suddenly started shivering and running a temperature all of a sudden.” “And she needs you all to tak