Read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s short story on Instagram about Melania Trump

(Part 1 of 6) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (@chimamanda_adichie) appears on the cover of T's Greats issue. In honor of the occasion, she wrote this story, "Janelle Asked to the Bedroom," exclusively for us. We're publishing it here on Instagram for the first time as part of a new #Tmicronovel series. Illustrations by #KonstantinKakanias. ▫️ Janelle was surprised when the butler asked her to come up to the bedroom. He looked disapproving, stiffly leading the way upstairs, as though he thought her unworthy to be allowed anywhere farther than the lowest floor where the gym was. Janelle followed him through the apartment; there was gold everywhere, on the floors and armchairs and edges of walls, that gave the décor a sallow ugliness. It felt to Janelle like an oblivious person’s idea of a wealthy home. She knew the butler expected her to be impressed — he had the sly arrogance of a blindly loyal servant — and for a moment she wanted to burst into laughter. She would not live here if she were paid to. Imagine waking everyday to such crass cheerlessness. ▫️ With a sigh in his manner, clearly wishing Mrs. T had not made this unusual request, he knocked on the bedroom door. It, too, was edged in gold. He waited to hear “come in” before ushering Janelle in, and then he lingered a moment, as if he might need to protect Mrs. T. ▫️ But Mrs. T waved him away. She was propped against a hundred pillows cradling her laptop.

A post shared by T: The NYTimes Style Magazine (@tmagazine) on Oct 20, 2017 at 7:08am PDT