GOOD_ISN’T_GOOD_ENOUGH: episode 1
It was a bright morning and I was already on the road heading to Solwezi, the President was
touring the place and I had to be there just in time or hell would break loose. I smiled when I heard
my ringing phone, from the ring tone I could tell that it was Melisa.
I switched on my Bluetooth.
‘Baby.’ I said lovingly
‘Hey honey.’ She responded with a yawn
I laughed remembering those days when she would be up at this hour running around the house,
working hard sure does pay off and make one more relaxed.
‘You are laughing.’ She said yawning some more
‘I can only imagine how your face looks like when you yawn.’
‘Please, we have been married eight years you obviously have a record of my ugliest faces.’
I laughed some more.
Our marriage wasn’t all bliss, we had our bad days but that didn’t make us enemies or worst
friends. We knew how to talk about it at the end of the day and that is one of the things that kept
us going.
‘How is the trip so far?’ she asked
‘I could use your loving lips right now.’ I said smiling like a little girlMy work mate and assistant Oswald eyed me, he was playing candy crush on his phone.
We talked for a bit before I dropped the line.
‘You need to go easy on the way you express your love for your wife.’
‘Why?’
‘Well I feel someday you will meet someone that will totally blow your mind away and trust me you
won’t be like this with Melisa again.’ He said accusingly
I looked at him without a word, this was coming from someone who was married as well; let me
add happily married and he and some other workmates had exhausted how I would get tired of
Melisa but we were clocking eight years in a few months and I didn’t see any of that happening.
We arrived in Solwezi in the early hours and booked into our hotel, the President was expected to
tour Solwezi secondary school at 8hrs during the school assembly and as his chief advisor I
needed to be there.
‘I will be in my room refreshing.’ I said giving Oswald his keys
‘If I decide to sleep, will the President notice my absence?’
I eyed him and the look was enough to tell him just everything that he needed to know
Since I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands, I texted Melisa that we had arrived safely instead of
calling her.
By the time I was done bathing, Melisa had texted back.
I hurriedly dressed up and rushed to where we had parked our vehicle. Oswald had already had it
washed and had bought me some food which I ate as he drove us to the site.
One of the things I loved about having him for an assistant was that he was efficient, I wasn’t one
for making a lot of friends and Oswald had always known that.
‘We are here Sir.’ He said
The Police were already patrolling the area and the pupils were smartly dressed on the assembly
square.
I looked at the time and it was twenty minutes to 8hrs, the President would be there any time.
I looked around and was impressed with what had been done with the school, they were new
classes that had been built and there was a new block of ablution blocks.
I smiled and thought of the great opportunity the pupils had, Solwezi Secondary School was one of
the best schools in the country and I was really hoping the pupils were taking advantage of that
fact and getting all the knowledge they would.
The beep on my private phone was signal that the President was in, I made some calls and was
told that he was with the head teacher.
I drove there and parked my car just outside the office, Oswald remained in the car guiding it.
‘Mr. President.’ I said
‘Jason.’ He responded with a smile
I had worked with him since he was Member of Parliament, the man had a heart for the people
and that is why two years ago when he was elected as President I wasn’t at all shocked.
‘How are the kids?’ he asked looking at his speech
I smiled, the one person that never forgot to ask about my family but I was to never get personal
with him; he was the president after all.My work mate and assistant Oswald eyed me, he was playing candy crush on his phone.
We talked for a bit before I dropped the line.
‘You need to go easy on the way you express your love for your wife.’
‘Why?’
‘Well I feel someday you will meet someone that will totally blow your mind away and trust me you
won’t be like this with Melisa again.’ He said accusingly
I looked at him without a word, this was coming from someone who was married as well; let me
add happily married and he and some other workmates had exhausted how I would get tired of
Melisa but we were clocking eight years in a few months and I didn’t see any of that happening.
We arrived in Solwezi in the early hours and booked into our hotel, the President was expected to
tour Solwezi secondary school at 8hrs during the school assembly and as his chief advisor I
needed to be there.
‘I will be in my room refreshing.’ I said giving Oswald his keys
‘If I decide to sleep, will the President notice my absence?’
I eyed him and the look was enough to tell him just everything that he needed to know
Since I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands, I texted Melisa that we had arrived safely instead of
calling her.
By the time I was done bathing, Melisa had texted back.
I hurriedly dressed up and rushed to where we had parked our vehicle. Oswald had already had it
washed and had bought me some food which I ate as he drove us to the site.
One of the things I loved about having him for an assistant was that he was efficient, I wasn’t one
for making a lot of friends and Oswald had always known that.
‘We are here Sir.’ He said
The Police were already patrolling the area and the pupils were smartly dressed on the assembly
square.
I looked at the time and it was twenty minutes to 8hrs, the President would be there any time.
I looked around and was impressed with what had been done with the school, they were new
classes that had been built and there was a new block of ablution blocks.
I smiled and thought of the great opportunity the pupils had, Solwezi Secondary School was one of
the best schools in the country and I was really hoping the pupils were taking advantage of that
fact and getting all the knowledge they would.
The beep on my private phone was signal that the President was in, I made some calls and was
told that he was with the head teacher.
I drove there and parked my car just outside the office, Oswald remained in the car guiding it.
‘Mr. President.’ I said
‘Jason.’ He responded with a smile
I had worked with him since he was Member of Parliament, the man had a heart for the people
and that is why two years ago when he was elected as President I wasn’t at all shocked.
‘How are the kids?’ he asked looking at his speech
I smiled, the one person that never forgot to ask about my family but I was to never get personal
with him; he was the president after all.‘They are fine Mr. President.’ I responded
‘And Melisa?’
‘She is beautiful.’
He looked at me then smiled
All this while the head teacher of the school was just looking at us dumb folded, they obviously
thought he was not social. Actually that is where people got it all wrong, being in power didn’t stop
one from being human, it was just a matter of setting priorities right and knowing how to act in
public.
‘And I only have a few minutes to peruse through this speech?’ he asked looking at the head
teacher
‘You just have to say the nice things Mr. President, like why you think education is important. Talk
a little about how you never had such facilities whilst in secondary school, smile a lot and at
different intervals make jokes.’ I responded
‘Every day you prove to me why you are the best.’ He said patting my shoulder
‘And don’t forget to talk about the girl child, which will make headlines with the press.’ I added as
we walked out of the office
When we got outside the Police were already in formation; the press too were everywhere and
ready to capture the images and get stories for their different media houses.
He stepped on the red carpet and walked to the School assembly which was just a few minutes
away from the head teacher’s office, the smiles on the pupils’ faces were priceless. They were
genuinely happy to see their President and Chief in command.
‘You all look beautiful, you actually make me few less dressed.’ The President began before he
started reading his speech
There was laughter from everyone.
He went on describing his love for education and how he was willing to go an extra mile for each
child in the country so that they can have a good education. His speech was thirty minutes long,
afterwards the head girl of the school also read a speech and the president got photos with some
pupils.
We toured the whole school before finally closing the visit.
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