Episode 3: The Invitation
Episode 3: The Invitation
I was home now.
Eager to read it, I carefully broke the seal of the envelope and yanked out a gold-plated invitation card. It resembled an invitation to a royal wedding or like an exclusive dinner at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
In the most fanciful cursive fashion, it read…
“On behalf of the members of the SMOLS Society, we have the pleasure to invite you to our annual cocktail party.
In order to spread the spirit of goodwill and synergy, we look forward to your kind participation.
We hope you take part in this exclusive event to make it a great success for all.
Venue: Oriental Hotel, Lagos.
Time: 11:00pm.
Date: Last Friday of this Month of November.”
COME ALONE!
This sounded like an invitation to a secret society. I wished I opened the envelope right there in the presence of the strange man, perhaps, he would have told me who or what the SMOLS society is. I reached out for my laptop and Googled the word SMOLS but I found nothing related to what I needed to know about the society. More importantly, I spent hours pondering on who must have sent me an invite — which I guess I’d find out soon enough.
***
The Cocktail Party
The days went like flipping pages, but I had ample time to have gotten a new striped suit at Mandilas. I couldn’t afford to buy a new shoe but I still had a befitting brogue for the occasion and a fine bow tie that matched the new suit. I still had no idea what SMOLS was all about. I had asked a couple of friends and associates as well who equally had no idea about the society. The past few weeks had been exhausting, my day’s job had taken a toll on me — from organizing and ensuring the successful outcome of the company’s annual general meeting to organizing press conferences.
Jeez…
I was worn out and getting tired of this job. It was high time for me to leave, but it wasn’t that simple.
Jeez…
I wanted out.
Besides, the pay sucked.
Something exciting and risky would be ideal. I wanted to know more people — people that matter in society.
The invitation was an obvious chance of connecting with the right people.
I was 30 minutes behind schedule.
11:30 pm.
The parking lot was adorned with the most enviable and fabulous automobiles my eyes have seen in a single stretch — the Porsche 911, Mercedes S550, Range Rover Vogue, Lamborghini Aventador, Mercedes G63, Audi A8 L TDI, Lexus LX 570 to name but a few, all displayed in various colors.
Jeez…
It was a rainbow in the dark here.
My car looked like a pebble among diamonds.
This was hard to swallow.
Several police officers and military men were scattered around the scene and at the entrance of the hall stood 6’4 feet bouncers with a handheld body scanner.
Jeez…
They resembled gorillas — buff and dangerous — they could kill a man with just their fist.
Where in the world did they get these guys from? I thought.
One of the buffs collected my invitation card, scrutinized it — like he must have thought I forged it and threw into a sack before checking me in.
I couldn’t believe my eyes…
It was a congregation of the elite — most of whom I haven’t come across in real life, such as top-notch politicians, royalties, oil tycoons and several business magnates. I recognized several prominent faces garbed in the most fanciful attires, enthusiastically interacting with their contemporaries and sipping their martinis.
Jeez…
I couldn’t believe this —
I only see or hear about these fellows on social media or newspapers.
I picked up a basil lemonade punch from the table and surveyed the entire assembly. I recognized one of the richest men in the country — the Billionaire — adorned in his typical but modest white attire, his Excellency — the governor of the state, the grand comedian, the chairman as well as the CEO of a leading bank and many more.
Of course, no one approached me or chatted me up. I was like a shadow — a nobody, amidst the crowd of notable people.
At the far end of the hall, standing in a corner, all by herself, was a lady dressed in a glittering gown.
To my surprise, she beckoned on me —
I guessed she equally recognized a loner like her in the crowd.
“You having fun?” she said, with a faint smile.
“I guess”, I replied excitedly.
By the way, my name is Frank — a nobody, to be exact, plus I was invited by a stranger whom I don’t seem to find here — he must have sacrificed his IV for me, I guess — a very generous man.
She chuckled.
“Allow me to introduce myself…” she said, stretching her hands towards me …”I’m Belinda”,
I was stunned.
I knew it, there was something strangely familiar with this face — it was her — the Blogger.
