'I must to enter tear rubber today'
'Chance no dey for everybody'
'Wetin, no be first come first serve and you they put other people before us'
And so the conversation went on back and forth between the bus operators and their would be passengers.
The driver, Ubong, was sitting at the back of the garage chewing on a stick and spitting. The young lady sitting opposite him made a face every time he spat. Ubong had got on early on and for him it was a competition to see how many different faces she could pull before she got tired and gave up. Afterall he did not ask her to be watching him.
'Hankershiff, Hankershiff, buy bolw your nose, buy clean sweat commot for the tear rubber'. Ladi had not made a sale all day and it was already 8 am. He had been here since 5 am. As a matter of fact none of the hawkers at the park today had made a sale. The customers seem more interested in being the first to board the new bus, tear rubber as they called it, than buying anything.
That young lady sitting opposite that bus driver looks like she wants to throw up. Maybe I should go and sell her handkershiff.
'Move, move, commot for road'
Ladi's thoughts were interrupted by the taxi that was already brushing him out of the road'.
'You crase, you no get horn' Ladi yelled back
'You no know say na middle of road you dey stand'. The taxi driver is unapologetic and his passenger giving Ladi a look that says ' i wan slap you, stupid boy'.
The passenger of the taxi driver that just brushed Ladi the mediocre handkerchief seller is called Emem.
Emem is a documented enemy of RoundAbout Transport Company Nigeria Ltd. That has not stopped him from coming to RoundAbout today to travel in their 'Tear Rubber' buses.
The fact of the enmity between Emem and RoundAbout are these: Emem is the most annoying customer any legitimate business can ever be cursed with.
More on this later because at this very moment Emen has spotted RoundAbout himself. Chief RoundAbout does not always come to the garage but like a curse he is always there when Emem comes to travel with RoundAbout Transport Company. Emem prepared for this and he is soon looking over his disguise in a small hand mirror. He is hoping Chief RoundAbout or one of his minions will not recognise him.
'If he recognises me, I'll have to go to plan B. And God knows I've tried my best to avoid that. Chief RoundAbout would have brought it upon himself'
Chief RoundAbout recognised him, and he was wondering how he could have grown a goatie so quickly. It was only yesterday that he last saw him.
Emem has just noticed RoundAbout noticing him. He relalizes that RoundAbout realizes who he is. And in this very moment of realization, Emen decides to switch to plan B.
'ye don begin' Emen says as he steps out of the taxi.
... to be continued
