Marked ( Nigerian) #4

Chapter four

Chapter four

Three weeks passed by fast and she had been assigned her driving route which was from the general park at Ikeja in the mainland to Tafelewa Balewa Bus Park on the island.

She would end up seeing Jade at the end of each day when she drove her Bus to the park to sign out and they would go home together on the Bus that took their route, driven by one of their colleagues or the other. She never got tired of seeing the amusement on people's face when they saw it was a female driver in charge of the bus they were about to board.

One passenger had even refused to board one time for that same reason one morning. Jadesola experienced the same thing as well.

Her first drive for the day now had regulars, before she got to the bus terminal at 6:30 a line mostly filled with youths who had to go to work on the island were already lined up. She now knew some people on first name basis.

Some elderly people as well, some even brought whatever they were selling for her and while they handed it over they would beg her to please drive safely on the third mainland bridge. She understood their fear as people tend to drive faster on the bridge. They had been warned not to in class. Any complaint by multiple members of the public could cause her to face possible termination from work.

It was a Monday morning and she drove the bus into the terminal and came to an hault beside the queue waiting for her. She came down from the bus and the fresh air consumed her. She greeted her colleague that was in charge of the ticketing. The weather was beautiful and the air was clean. A very, very rare occurrence in Lagos.

"Good morning" some familiar faces yelled as they saw her. She greeted them back and made small talks on things they had brought up with her before. She had a good memory which made it easy for her to fake conversations . She smiled at the older people. The market women especially were always extra nice to her.

One had even gone to the extent of inquiring about her salary and simply nodded after she had answered. She wondered if she would have gotten the same reaction if she was a doctor or a lawyer. Maybe he would have ended their conversation with "I hope my child grows up to be like you" instead . She simply smiled and went on her day.

Like every Lagos morning, the traffic was tremendous but the Bus lane was as free as it usually was. She had just maneuvered the bus over the Airport bridge and into the Bus lane on The Express when she noticed a blockage. She drove slowly into the bus lane.

"What's the problem, Remi" Ahmed, A bus regular who worked at a bank on the island asked her.

He always sat in front of the bus behind her and when he didn't get that seat he would simply take a stand on the bus, standing as close to her as possible. She has a feeling it was all part of a bigger plan to get her attention. Two men in black suits and shades waved at the bus as it came to an halt.

"I would like for everyone to stay calm, everything is under control" she yelled out, trying to assure the passengers as she looked from one worried face to the other.

"I will step out and take care of this and until then, everyone should remain on their sit" she announced quickly in English and Yoruba. She opened the door by her drivers side and stepped out.