How a Bike Man Almost Beat Me Up Over 200 Naira: The Spaghetti Standoff

Today started out like any other regular workday until my boss sent me on a quick errand to buy a pack of Golden Penny spaghetti. Little did I know, this simple pasta run was about to turn into a high stakes standoff drama on the side of the road.
​I bought the spaghetti, stepped outside, and flagged down a bike. The distance wasn't that far, so we negotiated the fare to 200 Naira. He agreed, I hopped on, and everything was perfectly fine... until we arrived.

​The misunderstanding
​The plan in my head was simple: he would drop me right at the entrance of the store so I could step inside, grab the cash from my colleagues, and pay him. Instead, I ended up stopping him on the main road just outside.
​When I told him, "Let me quickly run inside and grab your money," the man completely flipped.
​Before I could even process what was happening, he snatched the spaghetti right out of my hands.

​The Standoff
​Ha uncle, because of 200 Naira, you are seizing spaghetti worth thousands? I was completely dumbfounded. He was furious, yelling at me to give him his money right then and there. I wasn't trying to run away at all.

The Rescue
​Thank God for the quick intervention of my colleague. They noticed the commotion, came outside, and handed over the 200 Naira before things got physical.
​I survived the great spaghetti standoff, but I definitely learned my lesson about keeping exact change in my pocket from now on.
​To be fair, after the panic settled, I understood where his anger was coming from. Bike riders deal with a lot of wicked people who actually do run away without paying their fare. But in that moment, I was trapped in the ultimate dilemma
​If I walked inside to get the money, he might zoom off with my boss's spaghetti.
​If I stayed on the road to guard the spaghetti, I couldn't get the money to pay him.