His Little Temptress

Abeni sat on her bed, staring at the laptop screen that read, "Sorry, you have not been accepted for the job. We will contact you if a position becomes available." With a sigh, she closed the laptop and leaned her head back against the headboard. It had been 3 months since she lost her job, and the bills were piling up. Rent was due, her sister was hospitalized, and her mother was too weak to find work. The responsibility for it all fell on Abeni. She paid the rent, her mom's care home fees, her sister's hospital bills, and living expenses.

Standing up from the bed, Abeni walked to the small apartment's living room. As she got a drink of water, her phone buzzed on the coffee table. Looking at the caller ID, she rolled her eyes. It was her dad.

"Abeni omobinrin mi ololufe” said her dad.

{Abeni my dear daughter}

"What do you want?” she asked, annoyed.

"Please lend me some money to pay off my debts”, he pleaded

Abeni rolled her eyes again. This man was always asking for money, despite having no job and perfect health. All he did was gamble.

"I don't have money to lend you” she stated flatly before hanging up.

"Foolish man," Abeni muttered, dropping her phone back on the table. She had enough problems of her own to solve before trying to fix other people's.

There was a knock at the door. Abeni opened it and Naledi jumped into her arms, her beaded braids hitting Abeni's face. Naledi was Abeni's childhood friend, having met in elementary school. She was dark-skinned with brown eyes and tall.

"Whoa!" said Abeni. "Naledi, why are you so excited?"

"Girl, you won't believe what happened!" Naledi exclaimed.

"What?" asked Abeni, intrigued.

"Chris..." Naledi started.

"Chris what?" Abeni asked.

"He asked me out on a date!" Naledi shrieked.

Abeni scoffed but was happy for her friend. "You and white men," she said, going to sit on the couch.

"Who doesn't want pasta and lobster?" said Naledi, sitting next to Abeni.

"What about your ex? Wasn't he Gambian?" Abeni asked.

"Ons praat nie van daardie bedrieglike skelm nie," said Naledi.

{We don't talk about that cheating scumbag}

Abeni laughed as Naledi threw a couch pillow at her.

"So how's the job hunt?" Naledi asked.

"Horrible! Who would've thought finding a job in New York was so hard?" Abeni shouted.

"Uhm, everybody thinks jobs are hard to find in New York!" said Naledi.

Abeni looked at her friend before screaming into the couch pillow.

Just then, Abeni's phone rang on the coffee table. She grabbed it quickly.

"Who is it?" asked Naledi.

"It's Camille, and she wants to FaceTime," said Abeni. They looked at each other in surprise, as Camille was supposed to be in Fiji with her boyfriend. Camille was Abeni's friend from her last job before the bookstore closed down. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and though they had both lost their jobs, Camille had a rich boyfriend supporting her while Abeni struggled.

Answering the call, Abeni and Naledi's faces appeared on the screen for Camille.

"Hey girls!" shouted Camille brightly.

"Hey," Abeni and Naledi responded in unison.

Then another person joined the FaceTime - it was Elena. Abeni and Elena had met in high school. Elena had tanned skin, black hair, and brown eyes.

"¡Hola chiquillas!" Elena shouted excitedly.

"Hola!" the three responded together.

"So Camille, what's up?" asked Naledi.

"Something happened..." said Camille, drawing out the suspense.

"What?" they all asked eagerly.

"I'M ENGAGED!" Camille screamed.

Abeni's mouth dropped open, Naledi covered her mouth with her hands, and Elena froze. Then they all screamed in excitement.

"Oh my gosh!" Naledi shouted.