Nine to five.

Raaina walked up the stairs of the supreme court, it was a bright sunny day in the capital city, and every one seemed to be in a rush, she always took her time , taking every step gloriously as if she was paid to do so. Her backside moved with every step she took , one can assume she was doing it for the attention, which is true that was what made her Raaina, she stood out every where she went , her hour glass figure and height made every sane man lust and crave for her attention.

She slowed down her pace as she approached the security desk, she slowly moved her bag from her elbow to her wrist and waited patiently until it was her turn to go through the puffer machine and have her bag checked.

" Good morning madam". The security said waiting for her to open her handbag, the security men knew not to reach for her bag, after one stupidly touched her new Birkin, she did not hesitate to inform how much it cost and how long his family had to work before they can afford one. The other guards took note form their colleagues embarrassment, since then waited for her to open her bag for them to view the contents.

"This your bag fine ooo"! Without waiting for a reply he continued to stare at it.

"Nah new one"? " I wan buy the type for my wife"

The rest of the men chucked as he rolled out the last sentence, " No mind am" the older man sitting at the table with his feet up answered.

Raaina smiled through it all , how can some be this full of life and jokes on a Monday, especially at a job that barely paid enough to look after his family. Yet these men were full of jokes every time she walked past them most mornings.

She wanted to tell them it was her first designer bag and how long she saved for before she could afford it, but she decided against it, the earlier she got into the court room she better, not like it matters, the seniors always got go to first.

She imagined her self as a senior advocate as she walked toward the court room, the sound her heels made as it hit the freshly polished marble echoed.

Court was already in session as she opened the door, she took a few steps and bowed in front of the judges and took a seat beside her colleagues. She held in a laugh as she looked at the barrister in the front row.

These men like to prove they have been at the bar for years, the barrister's wig looked as if it was taken for a sheep, and was trampled on by a congregation during praise and worship at a Cele church, she thought.

She started to put together the missing bits in her argument, Judge Rabiu is the presiding judge and he is a tough nut to crack, she was leading the team of three barristers in the case, the case is a divorce case and she was hoping to get the judgment in this sitting creating more time to focus on other issues.

She waited patiently as different cases were argued, checking Instagram , replying WhatsApp messages and pings, looking up for a few seconds to laugh at the jokes made my the judges when a barrister slips up, using street terminology or trying to get a quick one past the judges and getting caught in the act.

She was engrossed in her phone, gisting with her best friend Dami about what went on in Lagos during the weekend when her case was called. 

She had missed the trip attending to some more important issues, typing a quick ttyl and dropping her phone in her bag. She stood up to present her case, Judge Rabiu face curled into a smile. He never smiles she thought, flashing her newly whitened teeth at him.

Every barrister in Abuja that had the unfortunate opportunity to present a case before him know he does not smile, but she knew the reason why and it doesn't mean she can have her way, when it comes down to court matter he acted professionally so she wasn't expecting special treatments.

Taking a deep breathe she started to present her case.

"My lord " she said as she leaned closer to the microphone.

    ***************** To be continued ***************