“Hello! May I please talk to Joelise?”
“Just, talk to my PA.”
Dougie had however pulled strings and had booked Makena an interview scheduled for Saturday 5:30 AM.
She will probably be coming from a concert drunk, she contemplated. If she will be drunk the better, I will be able to ask her about the boob job. Are those the kind of questions you ask an artist when you meet them for the first time?
“So, how much are we talking about?”
“Eeh, we don’t usually pay our ambassadors but…”
“I knew it, I knew this was one of those give back to the community sh…”
“Please let me explain Joelise, we can always work on an appreciation package. We acknowledge you are a very tal…”
“Mmmh. Keep talking.”
“You will only have to pose braless. We will arrange a photoshoot…”
“Huh, finally the world is interested in my fake bobbies huh! My PA will get in touch. ”
Makena’s face had fallen. She did not have to ask the question. The inside of Joelise range rover where they were meeting felt small and poorly ventilated. As she banged the door on her way out, she hated every moment spent inside that Range Rover. Joelise assistants were all high and sleepy. She suspected she was also high. She had kept sniffing on a small metallic mug and exhaled the puffy smoke through her mouth. In high school, Joelise hit song Amani had taken the hearts of many youths. The lyrics were carefully thought out and the beats of the song carefully laid. Makena had never felt so cheated.
The social media campaign had been running well. Her pair of nerds had done good to create funny videos and Gifs with funny breast cancer messages. In one animated video, all the human body parts are seen in a meeting. They are tabling their complaints; the nose is busy complaining about not having his own pair like eyes and ears. Immediately the mouth cuts in excitedly and declares that it’s the age of the doubles. All the body parts shout a unanimous countdown Double A, Double B, Double C and #DoubleDees they all shout excitedly as a rabbit covers her breast ashamedly. This is followed by an illustrated video clip on how to conduct a breast cancer self test. The hits on one of the videos had garnered 7,000 views which was really impressive.
Makena waited for Dougie’s salon on Kimathi Street to open as she chatted with the watchman. Dougie always opened at 6am every morning. Saturdays especially are a big deal for hair dressers. Dougie had texted he had good news earlier and Makena couldn’t wait to see him.
“Sweetie, she said ye…”
“Wait, who? Yes to what?”
“Pretty dumb dumb, Viva of co-o-u-rse!”
“What? Yay! Best day of my life! ”
Makena feasted on the collection of tastefully decorated cupcakes and cookies that Dougie had packed from home. Everything tasted heavenly, even the sugarless black coffee Makena had been trying to get used to. Dougie always took care of all the small details in everything. No wonder he was such a good entrepreneur.
With Viva finally sorted, the big day when everyone gathered at Uhuru Park for the World Cancer Day was drawing near. The turn out that day will determine whether Makena was in business.
