"Oshooodi Oshodi" the bus conductor shouted as an empty bus came to a stop in front of her. Before she could take a step someone pushed from behind and she fell flat faced on the side pavement. She only looked up just in time to see the man who had been standing behind her already inside the bus as a full bus sped off.
This is indeed Lagos she thought as someone was kind enough to help her up, she wouldn't be going anywhere early today. It had been three weeks since she moved to Lagos State from Osun state in search of a job and so far it had been a complete struggle.
Finding a job is probably one of the hardest things you could endure, and luckily she had come across one with an interview scheduled for 9am that morning at Ikeja which was on the way to Oshodi. Now her dress was ruined and she probably wouldn't get through the company's gate, talk more of even getting to her Interview.
Bisi was not a quitter though, it was still 8:15 am as she glanced at her wristwatch. She would make it there even if she was very late. But first things first, she had to head back home for an outfit change.
Dayo had been living in Lagos for the past three years and the economic situations was making it very difficult.
Born in lagos, he was not new to the LIFE as most people called it. He loved to have fun whenever he was free, but lately he wasn't in the mood for any sort of fun.
A graduate in business administration from one of the prestigious universities in the country, it still surprised him how he had never been able to secure a job with his certificate so far.
Luckily a friend of his had recommended him for a job, but he still had to pass the interviews before he would be accepted. So today he was standing at the bus-stop like almost everyone who used the public transportation called danfo (this is a bus painted in yellow with black stripes). Twenty five years of his life in Lagos, and he still wondered why most of these buses had to be in deplorable states.
But Lagos was famous for the fact that, you only see the sign with THIS IS LAGOS when entering the state, unlike the usual WELCOME TO ..... sign you saw when entering other states. Lagos was no man's land and only the strong could survive.
Dayo was getting quite impatient after almost all the buses passing through were filled with passengers. This was typical with the Monday rush and he didn't want to get to his Interview late. He noticed a lady standing in front of him dressed nicely but she didn't have that air of impatience like most lagosians did. Dayo didn't think much of this as he thought she probably wasn't going anywhere important.
He was still in thought when like magic, an empty bus stopped in front of the lady. Almost automatically the crowd surged towards the bus but somehow she wasn't moving as fast as the rest of the crowd despite being closer to the bus.
Somehow someone bumped into him and he fell forward. But his momentum was stopped as he also bumped into the lady thus balancing himself, unfortunately she wasn't expecting the push and fell forward. Dayo had a split second to decide whether to continue moving and get a seat in the bus or stop and help her up thus missing the bus with the possibility of not getting another one soon.
And although he felt bad, he chose the former.
Bisi left the park and headed home. After some minutes she was back at the bus stop, and this time the number of people there had greatly reduced but she was definitely going to get to her interview late.
She boarded a bus, and this time she was lucky it was going directly to Ikeja. On their way though, she saw the bus that she missed earlier as it was parked by the roadside due to mechanical faults.
The same passengers she had struggled with earlier, were now struggling to enter her bus and fill up the three remaining available sits. Somehow the man who'd pushed her earlier was amongst them and Bisi was already fuming at the mere sight of him. Luckily or unluckily for him depending on who you're asking, he was able to secure a sit directly beside her before he recognized her as the lady from earlier.
Bisi was frowning at him expecting an apology, Dayo on the other hand didn't know how to explain that the earlier incident wasn't intentional and had been a mistake. The ensuing silence became heated as she stared daggers at him and he simply looked on in embarrassment.
Dayo eventually manned up and spoke first
Errrm Good morning ma, I'm really sorry about earlier. It wasn't entirely my fault he began
And whose fault was it Mr Man, Mine? Bisi replied rudely
Though i take blame for not stopping to help you up as you fell. But someone actually shoved into me which caused my collision with you he continued clearly embarrassed by the attention he was getting from other passengers who were wondering what was going on.
Mr Man, whether or not it was your fault. The fact remains that you left me behind for your own selfish reasons replied Bisi. She wasn't going to let him escape over some flimsy excuse.
Dayo continued to apologize, but Bisi wasn't ready to hear any of it. Eventually he eased up and they continued their journey in silence.
Owo da? (Where's your money) the bus conductor demanded from the passengers.
Everyone brought out their money including Dayo and he wanted to pay for her but changed his mind because he didn't know how she would react. But Bisi was in a dilemma, she had forgotten her purse at home when she went back to change and she knew how Lagos bus conductors could be.
Wa kilonshele, sanwo e jo( what's going on here, pay up right now) the conductor began to embarrass her
Please I forgot my purse at home, it's not intentional she pleaded with him.
But the conductor wasn't having any of her story, he continued to demand for his money. Eventually Dayo had to step in and pay the transportation fare for her. Bisi didn't know how to react as she had just embarrassed him a few minutes ago. Since he was able to apologize, she realized she could do the same.
Thank you for paying my fare, and I'm sorry about earlier she apologized
You're welcome ma, but I should be apologizing since I believe I made you forget your purse at home replied Dayo.
You're forgiven, and it seems I was mistaken to judge you too fast. I was only angry because I'm late for an interview. Anyways my name is Bisi
Mine is Dayo, Nice to meet you and thanks for forgiving me. And coincidentally I'm also late for an interview
Really, I guess I would've still been late looking at what happened to that bus she replied
I guess we were destined to meet he replied smiling for the first time that morning
The bus continued on to Ikeja as they both continued to chat and eventually exchanged contacts. Upon alighting they both bade each other farewell and wished one another best of luck at their interviews, with promises to keep in touch as they had both the lagos newbie and the experienced both agreed jokingly that they had learned an important lesson that sometimes you needed a bit of humility and patience in Lagos and not too much of the Lagos craze
THE END