HE ROSE AGAIN

Chapter 010

"Lamar!" the voice called out from the darkness, causing Lamar's heart to race with fear.

As Lamar turned, he saw Mr. James emerges from the shades, with a strong and stern expression. Lamar wondered why Mr. James would be hiding and acting weird. "Mr. James, what are you doing here, dressed like this?" Lamar asked, his voice trembling with curiosity.

Mr. James approached Lamar, his eyes serious. "Lamar, you need to be very careful," he warned, his voice low and urgent. "Eyes will soon be on you, and you need to watch your back."

Lamar's stomach churned with fear at Mr. James's ominous words. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

But before Mr. James could respond, Mr. James vanished. leaving Lamar alone scared.

THE NEXT DAY…..

The following day, Lamar trudged back to work with a heavy heart, dreading what awaited him in the office. As he entered the building, he braced himself for another day of humiliation and insults.

Sure enough, Mr. Andrew wasted no time in making Lamar's life miserable. "Lamar, why are you always so slow? Can't you do anything right?" Mr. Andrew barked, his voice echoing through the hallway.

Not even like he needed to do something in his office. Or that Lamar was actually slow. all he wanted was just to embarrass him at every given chance.

Lamar bit his lip, trying to suppress the sting of Mr. Andrew's words as he nodded silently. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll try to do better," he mumbled, feeling the eyes of his coworkers gazing at him.

Throughout the day, Lamar endured a flurry of insults and belittlement from both Mr. Andrew and his coworkers. They mocked him for his perceived incompetence and laughed at his every mistake.

Knowing the scorn crushing down on him, Lamar struggled to keep his head held high. He wished his life could be different but this was his destiny and he planned to change it.

**********************

Despite the constant storm of insults and humiliation, Lamar soldiered on, more than ever he was determined to make everyone who took part in his parent's death pay.

Throughout the day, he found himself juggling numerous tasks, each one more demanding than the last.

As he rushed from one end of the building to the other, Lamar could feel the exhaustion creeping into his bones. His muscles ached from the physical jobs, his mind was fixed on seeing Ella to get more answers. He didn't want to delay any longer.

"Hey Lamar, we need those floors cleaned ASAP!" one coworker shouted, adding to the mounting pressure.

As Lamar was trying to explain himself, this was something that he had cleaned. But he was cut short.

"I don't have time for your excuses, Lamar. Get it done!" Mr. Andrew's voice sounded from his office, injecting fear into Lamar.

With sweat dripping down his brow, Lamar pushed himself to the limit, he didn't want any more problems even though it would keep coming.

He scrubbed floors, emptied trash bins, and polished surfaces with a frantic energy, each cleaning Lamar did, he made sure he did it so well that they didn't have any reason to complain or make him do it again.

Despite his best efforts, they still complain and nag their lungs out. Hungry and tired, Lamar kept going. "I don't know how much more of this I can take," he muttered to himself, feeling frustrated.

**********************

During his lunch break, Lamar coincidentally ran into Ella at the cafeteria. They decided to eat together, Lamar always enjoyed and appreciated Ella’s company. Even though he always learns more about his father’s company from her.

As they ate, Lamar brought up the topic of Mr. Anderson, he wanted to know more about his father. "Mr. Andrew is a hard nut to crack. Working for him was hell. I wished Mr Anderson was still the director." Lamar said, looking sad.

Ella nodded, her brow furrowing with concern. "Yeah, my father always says good things about him. He was kind and treated everyone with respect and love. I wished they never killed him.”

Lamar's interest was piqued even further. "What was he like? I mean, Mr Anderson? Why would someone even think about killing such a good man? It doesn't make sense. Maybe he engaged in shady business.” Lamar said, with curiosity laced in his voice.

Ella's expression darkened as she considered the possibility. "It's possible. But my father never mentioned any shady business. He was first Mr. Anderson’s driver but after his death, Mr. Andrew hired him. I don't think he was a bad man. However, Mr. Andrew had been doing everything to make himself the president. He had envied Mr. Anderson for what he had. It became so bad that my dad warned Mr Anderson to be very careful of Mr. Andrew.”

Hmm, “This is so serious,” Lamar exclaimed. That's a whole lot of information. At least he had a clue of what and who to look out for. Even without looking deep, it was just clear that Mr. Andrew was hungry for power and wealth.

With the urge to know more, Lamar leaned in closer. "Do you want to find out who killed your father?" he asked earnestly, wanting to hear what Ella had to say.

Ella nodded firmly, her eyes shining with curiosity. "Yes, I do. I want justice for my father," she declared. Looking at Lamar intensively.

Lamar paused, contemplating on revealing his secrets and intentions to Ella but he later thought against it. He hadn't known her well enough to discuss such an important matter with her.

AFTER LUNCH….

Lunch was over and Lamar needed to work. He had to get back home on time to make new plans.

He did all his jobs despite the stress that came with it: Lamar was embarrassed when Mr. Andrew slapped him with any course just because he corrected him.

Feeling hurt, Lamar took his bags and left. He was done for the day anyway. So, as he was going, Lamar waited for a taxi but he didn't see. So he decided to stroll.

On his way home, something caught his eyes, it was an ancient shiny looking ring. He looked around and there was nobody. So he bent down to pick as soon as he touched the ring, something hit him and he fell into unconsciousness.