I had a taste of my own medicine

“The person you're trying to reach is unavailable at the moment, please check the number and try again”

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That was the 10th time since morning.

I bit my lower lip in exasperation.

What was I going to say to my friend, Favour, who I had promised to plan a birthday shoot for?

I picked up my phone to dial my best friend's number. She picked on the second ring.

“Treasure, Onome is not picking up his calls. What am I going to say to Favour?”

“Calm down,” she said in a groggy voice. “I already warned you about indulging Favour, but you wouldn't listen. Now what are you going to do?”

“I don't know!” A tear slipped down my cheek. “I don't know any other photographer who would be willing to assist us without payment”

Treasure sighed deeply over the phone.

“Just be calm. He may be running late”

I was not an event planner, but if there was anything I loved to do, it was going to great lengths to make my friends happy.

Favor was one of the girls who made my stay at the university interesting and worthwhile. She too had organized a surprise birthday party for me the year before and risked submitting an assignment for me when I couldn't make it to school.

“That doesn't mean you owe her. It's what friends do for one another” Treasure protested when I brought up the idea of helping her arrange a photoshoot for her birthday.

“But Favour wants a photoshoot…..”

“That she cannot afford!” Treasure interjected. “She can do that next year when she has planned well for it. She has no right to put you under such pressure. If you decide to go on with it, then count me out!”

I had to contact all the vendors I knew would be ready to do me a favor.

Every other thing was set, except that the photographer was no longer reachable.

I was still brooding at home when Favour's call came in.

“ I'm done with my makeup. Where do we meet the photographer?”

I sighed wearily.

“Favour please just come to my house first”

“Is everything okay?” Her excitement reduced immediately

“Just come over,” I told her.

She looked extremely beautiful in the light makeup that had been done to highlight her face. She was already dressed in the gown and heels I had lent her as well.

“Favour, the photographer is not picking up,” I said glumly.

“What do you mean? This is nearly 4 pm. I have to be in church by 5!”

“I know. I've not been able to reach him since yesterday.”

“And you didn't care to tell me? I would have relaxed until he picked up”

“I didn't know it would turn out this way……”

“Then why did you promise me?”

I opened my mouth in unbelief, what was she driving at? I had put in extra effort to ensure she had a photoshoot this year and that was all she could say to me.

“Favour, I decided to help you out of my own goodwill, just because things are not working now doesn't mean you should yell at me….”

“Oh, I will yell all I want! Did you think you were Santa who could make people's wishes come true? Now after raising my hopes, you've come up with some silly excuse…..”

“Would you shut up! Before I shut your mouth for you. How dare you? Do you know what I've been through to organize this photoshoot? With my own money! And my reputation in the mud. I've been begging people to come through for me this once, because of you!”

“Well I didn't send you” She took her bag and made to leave but I stopped her.

“Take off my clothes. Now”

She obeyed without arguing, took off the shoes too, and walked out with the jeans and T-shirt she had in her bag.

I sank onto my bed, weeping.

Then it came back to me, I had done almost the same thing to a distant friend of mine who had pleaded with me to write a script for him.

“How much would you pay?” I asked him.

“I don't have any money at the moment. It's for a youth program in my church, I'm the drama coordinator but I don't know how to write a script”

I told him I was going to write something short. He kept calling to remind me and I also kept assuring him but a week into the program, I blocked his line. I didn't have time to write his script, plus he kept disturbing me.

I thought this would make him look for an alternative but several months later, I ran into him in a restaurant and he told me he was stripped of his post because the drama department flopped during such a big event.

I sank onto the floor and wept, too ashamed to call my best friend or anyone else to explain what had just happened to me.

As bitter as it tasted, I just had a taste of my own medicine.