It was a great holiday period. I came back from a hectic semester. All I wanted to do was relax, spend quality time with my family and have fun, and I did that to the fullest. I was just a one-month holiday, and as the month neared its end, I knew my time to go back to school got closer. I dreaded it.
The thought of resuming gave me goosebumps. The stress that came with school was intense. I didn't want to go back to that. I didn't want to go back to waking up very early in the morning and coming back home late, tired to the core. I also didn't want to go back to seemingly endless assignments and constant studying. The thought of all that alone was exhausting. To make things worse, I was entering my fourth year, and I knew things were about to get even harder.
When the day finally came for me to leave for school, my mum woke up really early, like she always does when I'm about to travel.
"Victor, wake up. It's time to start preparing" she said as she tapped me.
I woke up and looked at the time in disbelief.
"Mum, it's just 4am. It's too early." I said.
"So you want to travel late? It's better you prepare and leave early, so you will arrive early" she replied.
I stood up. My things had already been packed the previous night. All I had to do was freshen up, eat and leave. After eating, I knew it was the last time I would taste my mum's cooking in a while. Her meals were the best. It was my favorite thing about coming back for the holidays.
I got ready, and my dad sat me down.
"Do your best in school, son. Work hard and it will pay off. Have a safe trip." he said.
I left the house for the park where I boarded a bus. We had to wait for the bus to get filled before moving. I had already started missing my siblings. After waiting for almost an hour, the bus got filled, and the journey began.
I love to travel. I enjoy the view of the trees, the mountains. I also enjoy seeing people going about their various activities. However, on this particular trip, I was restless.
I was concerned about the speed at which the driver drove. He drove at so much speed that I wondered if he was aware he had people on board his bus. With time, the speed increased, and everyone on the bus was obviously uncomfortable.
"Driver, please slow down. I have a family that depends on me" one man said from the back seat.
That was the spark everyone needed. Almost everyone on the bus lent their voice in telling the driver to slow down. Despite all the talk, it was as if it passed through one of the driver's ears and came from the other.
He still continued with his speed driving. I wondered if he was under the influence of something or if he simply had a death wish.
"Driver, slow down! Haven't you heard all we've been saying?" The lady by my side said violently. She was visibly angry and worried. She was on the bus with her 3 kids, so I understood why she reacted that way.
There was another wave of angry reactions from the passengers. What fueled it was the fact that the driver seemed unconcerned about their plea. He seemed not to care.
Just as we were talking, a car suddenly came out of a side road that connected to the main road we were on. The driver didn't see the car on time. It was as if it came out of nowhere. Since we were at a high speed, it was obvious we were going to clash with that car. An accident was imminent. Immediately, the driver applied the brakes. He kept applying it, hoping the bus would come to a halt before clashing with the car in front. There was a look of horror on the faces of everyone present on the bus.
The bus eventually came to a halt, just inches close to the car. We had just avoided an accident by the skin of our teeth. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. It was as if I had just recovered from a shock. I didn't know what to think. There was a loud silence for a moment. Perhaps we were all speechless.
The car in front drove away, and we continued our journey. The driver was careful this time. He drove slowly. He had to. He knew that the passengers were ready to pounce on him if he resumed driving at a high speed.
I got to my destination, thankful that I arrived unscathed after everything I witnessed.