Walking down the street, I saw a crowd, and I began to wonder what was going on. Once I got there, I saw a group of young men dancing. The cheers from the crowd were loud. Everyone enjoyed what these young men were doing. I stood there watching these guys flexing their bodies, and I marveled at how flexible they were.
The music stopped playing, and I was handed a flier by a beautiful young lady. I looked at the flyer, and it was about a dance competition. I smiled because I am not a good dancer. I boarded a taxi, and all I was thinking about was the dance moves I saw earlier.
"Good afternoon, sir. Please, can I see the flyer?" the other passenger in the taxi asked. I handed over the flyer to him, and he looked at it. "Wow, the price money for the winners of this dance competition is huge," the young man said. I was shocked to hear that, as I never really read the details on the flier. He returned the flyer to me, and I went through the flyer again. The price for winning the competition was 5 million naira. On seeing the amount, my eyes were lit with fire. I immediately started thinking of what I could achieve with 5 million naira. I made an imaginary list of the things I needed. I smiled as I imagined myself winning the prize money.
"Sir, we have reached your destination," the taxi driver said. I had totally forgotten I was in a taxi; my thoughts were consumed with the 5 million naira.
As I walked into my apartment, I heard loud music playing, and it was from my neighbor's room. The music from Victor's room was so loud, but I could hear people shouting from the room. I walked towards his room, and on getting there, I met Victor and his friends dancing.
An idea came to me, and I knocked on Victor's door. "Good afternoon, Victor. I have a proposal for you and your friends." I said as Victor looked at me with shock. "This is a flyer for a dance competition; you and your friends will enter the competition as a group, and I will be your manager, and when you guys win the competition, we will share the price. I will give you guys three million Naira out of the five million Naira." Victor shook his head and said, "Ani, I am not a professional dancer; I just love dancing, and I'm not sure any of my friends would buy this idea." I saw the look of disappointment on Victor's face, but I was not concerned about his emotions at that point; all I wanted was a group. One of his friends came to the door, and Victor told him what I proposed, and Mark was excited and said, "We can win this competition; all we need is to train hard." I smiled; finally someone understood the vision I had. I told them how we would share the price, and they were okay with it. They told me they would be practicing twice a week until the date of the competition. I was pleased with their attitude.
As I opened my room door, I smiled at the room and said to the room, "Welcome the newest millionaire in town." I brought out my dairy and made a list of items I needed. I was going to buy new gadgets and other items I needed. I was truly counting my eggs before they hatched.
The next day I went to price a 78-inch LED TV, a rechargeable standing fan, and a refrigerator. "Can I see your manager?" I asked. I was directed to the manager office. "Good afternoon, sir. I want to make a down payment for some items, and by the end of the month I will complete the payment for them." The manager smiled and said, "No problem, just make a deposit for the items, and some documentation will be made." I was happy, and all I was thinking about was my dance group being announced as the winner of the competition.
As I step into the dome, I am shocked by the crowd. I had underestimated the competition. I saw the other dance groups. Then and there I realized my dance group would not win the competition. The other groups were more professional, and one could see the confidence in them. All I was thinking of was how I would go back to the electronics store with my tails between my legs. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned. Victor was standing there. He looked like someone who just saw a ghost. "Ani, we have decided to withdraw from the competition." Victor said as he walked back to the dressing room. I followed Victor to the dressing room, and I met them looking downcast. "You guys can win this competition; forget about all the other professional dancers; they all started like you guys. If we put our minds to it, we can do it."
I tried motivating, and it worked. They all clapped and dressed up for the competition. We were the first group to take the stage. After our performance, the crowd clapped and cheered for us. But after seeing four other dance groups, I knew they were out of the competition.
Then we were put out of our misery; the group that qualified for the next round of the competition was announced. We packed our bags and left. At that moment I was thinking about how I would face the people at the electronic store.
I walked into the store and explained everything to the manager. He smiled and told the cashier to return my deposit. I could see how they looked at me with some funny faces. And I collected my money and took my walk of shame.
