The Parade

Chapter 2 - To Vaxx or not to Vaxx

Twenty-five COVID variants, 15 vaccine boosters and a whole lot of propaganda later, welcome to the year 2027. You were either rich or poor, religious or atheist...Vaxxed or Anti-vax. Business deals could be won or lost based on your vaccine status, and not keeping up with your booster shots was regarded as being "Anti-vax".

The Carven Bar was one of the few hidden fun spots in Lagos Nigeria which did not enforce the "No Mask, No Jab, No Entry" policy (the 3N Bullcrap, for short, as it was called on the streets –other folks called it the 666 policy). This bar was the perfect ambience for Acho's coven.

Acho was the editor-in-chief of the leading anti-vax blog in Lagos – "Mask up and Shut up". Running this blog was not for the faint-hearted, he had at least five interviews with major TV stations or bloggers every week, was involved in every major protest in the state, and had to read (and sometimes respond) to the over one thousand contributions he got on his blogposts every day. But he loved it, he was born for it, and somehow those ads on the site kept the cash coming.

"At this rate, we will die bachelors" Tosh declared. Ben burst out laughing "Did you just realise this"? he responded. 10pm was just too late for Acho to laugh at jokes, especially when there was a blogpost to publish within the hour.

"I tell you what.." Acho responded to his fagged-out associates after taking a gulp of his iced Schweppes from his Rocks Glass "...we finish this post within the deadline and the drinks for the rest of this week is on me". He had to raise his voice above the DJ's music, which was beginning to get louder as the night became darker and more customers trooped in

Ben shook his head "Well, the only problem with that motivational speech Mr. Winston Churchill is that today is Saturday, so there is no more rest of this week". They all burst out laughing.

It was banters like this that made the hard job easy. Like Acho, Tosh and Ben were products of the new social stratification created by the COVID Vaccine. A good grade and an "up-to-date" vaccine status were the only assurances for a top job after graduation. But since the trio, only had first class honors from one of the leading universities in the country (with final year projects which had strong use cases to solve some of the pressing engineering problems in the African continent) but not an "up-to-date" vaccine status, getting a job was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.

"It's not that I can't just walk into a health centre and get jabbed, I mean it's free..." Acho will usually say in his interviews "...but it is the new class system, I am trying to fight. A new kind of 'racism', 'facism', 'tribalism', 'sexism'. A new form of social class formed based on denying humans their right to choose".

"I mean I have two associates working with me who have taken their first dose, yet they are denied social privileges because they are not 'up-to-date', I mean who makes the rules for these boosters?". Acho always runs out of time in his interviews. Since his activist days in the university, he never lacked words on important issues.

Setting up the blog was a no-brainer, "if you can't find a job, follow your passion" one of his daily mantras once read and since he was getting tired of convincing men with fancy ropes around their necks behind fancy desks that he can still deliver top quality output without being pricked by a needle (several -booster- times!) He might as well follow his ever-burning university desire to fight injustice using what he knew how to do best, writing. Tosh and Ben his ever-loyal buddies followed him.

"Yes, I agree, at this rate we will die bachelors" Acho also declared as he clicked on the submit button to publish his latest write-up "The Parade". It was 10:55pm.

"And you will be the chief loner of them all" Tosh added, Ben hit him on the shoulder and they both laughed.

Acho took a quick glance at the auto-generated quote-of-the-day on his phone for some late-night inspiration, it read "Special things happen on ordinary days". Yea right, he thought to himself.

He stood up from their table already littered with several bottles of Schweppes and snacks. His bum was hurting, he refused to look at the step counter app on his smartwatch, he didn't want to hurt his own feelings, today will surely record a poor count.

As he walked towards the bartender, he had a quick scan of the crowd already filling the rectangular room which could only fit five salon cars if they were parked inside side by side. "Schweppes please" he beckoned to the bartender as he continued to look around. The only issue that made Acho consider relocating his makeshift office from this bar was the kind of ladies that came in. Boy were they ugly. But what do you expect, all the good-looking ladies complied with the 3N Bullcrap so they could go to fancy restaurants. The Cavern was a no-go area for beautiful ladies. He thought.

"Schweppes please" Acho heard from his side. Then he turned instinctively, and his eyes settled on...tall, dark, toned shape, fitted green sleeveless shirt in those jeans, naturalista...where in the world did you come from?! She took her seat beside Acho taking off her handbag, looking straight at Bartender.

As he tried to remove his gaze from the new arrival, he thought to himself, "Indeed, can anything good come out of Nazareth, sorry, The Cavern Bar".