That morning was bright. It had rained at the wee hours of dawn but now the sun was up, so it was bright but also cool.
Victoria loved mornings like this, it meant she could sleep in just a bit longer and not feel guilty about it, because of the cool air pouring into her tiny one-room apartment. On mornings like this, she always woke up on the right side of the bed, chirpy and pumped to achieve a lot during the day. Whether that eventually happens is never the point, because to her it was feeling like she could that really mattered.
After getting the little chores she gave herself done, she had breakfast and was ready to head out to her usual spot: a tiny cafe at the roundabout where she spends the whole day applying for remote jobs on every job-seeking website she can find.
This has been her routine for nearly 2 months now since she lost her previous job as a junior accountant for a massive shopping complex in Ikoyi. And to boldly say life has been easy since then, would be like saying our beloved country would have an overnight change to become better. We are all aware that is not happening anytime soon if it were ever to happen.
That is why she was vicious and relentless in her job quest, sustaining her higher-than-standard-living lifestyle had to be funded through something and sadly for her, just like 6lack said in his 2016 hit song, Victoria indeed had the “worst luck with love”, so that was dead-end.
In the two months of her going to the cafe, she had yet to have any bad encounters with the owners of the cafe. She usually gets there in the mornings, orders coffee and a few pastries, works till 4 p.m. when they would be ready to close for the day, gets food on her way back, and repeats again the next day. They never complained, even when she used their Wi-Fi and didn’t get food some days. She just hoped they were the angels God sent to her, to help her through this hard time in her life because she more than needed it.
Today, since she was feeling extra giddy, she was planning on getting lunch from them as well. She was grinning ear to ear as she walked out of her house and out of her compound. She had gotten to the roadside when she realized she had forgotten her purse back home. at that point, her grin faltered for a bit, “Today’s not that kind of day” she thought.
After walking back home and out again to the road, she got into an empty tricycle that would take her to the roundabout where the cafe was.
She greeted the driver,
“Oga, good morning o! abeg I dey go roundabout.”
The driver acknowledged her and started driving without answering her. On getting to the roundabout, she came down and gave the man one hundred naira and was about to turn and walk away when the man called her back.
“Aunty, nor be your money be this o! Your money na five hundred naira!”
“Five hundred naira for what oga, nor be here to here you carry me?”
“Sey you see say I carry another person put for my keke as I carry you?”
“I tell you say na charter I wan charter? Why you nor pick passenger for road?”
“Aunty, your money na five hundred naira”
the driver said as he dropped her one hundred naira on the ground in anger.
At this point, Victoria was so confused and irritated, she tried not to get too angry. This morning was such a bright and good morning, this man couldn't ruin it for her.
She tried reasoning with the man, but he was not having it, and not long after, they started raining insults on each other including stupid man, useless, ashewo girl, etc.
It eventually got resolved after the owner of the cafe came out and got involved. It wasn’t like Victoria couldn’t pay the man the five hundred naira, she had it, but the situation was just too ridiculous for her to wrap her head around.
Sometimes living in Lagos requires you to have a part of your personality that can easily switch and become bat-shit crazy if needed. Bat-shit crazy Victoria was not supposed to be out this morning, but my dear it’s Lagos.
After the man drove away, Victoria came to and realized where she was; embarrassment cloaked her and covered her vision. The whole episode had just happened in front of the cafe, what kind of wahala is this?
She decided she wouldn’t think about it too much. This is Lagos, stuff like this happens all the time.
She walked into the cafe with her head up, ignoring some weird looks she got from some customers inside, and set up her workspace. She was fired up and ready to cover enough ground working today. So, she went right into it.
She had just finished her third meat pie and coffee; and had just finished submitting her second application successfully when she saw from the corner of her eyes, someone eerily familiar enter the cafe.
At first, she was going to ignore it and continue her work, but the person she was reminded of wasn’t someone she should be seeing in these parts of Nigeria, of the world in fact. So, curiosity got the best of her, and she looked up from her laptop. She scanned the faces in the cafe and searched if she would see anyone familiar.
Just then, at the far-off corner of the cafe, the face came into view. The face that shouldn’t be anywhere close to these parts of Nigeria or even this part of the world.
extreme sock went through her body, she couldn’t move a single muscle to stop blatantly staring at this person.
“What was Tayo doing here?”
She thought to herself. She couldn’t stop staring, no matter how hard she tried not to. soon he would see her staring at him like soon creep and she would have no excuse.
“Victoria, stop looking at him! What if he sees you?!
I’m trying, but why does he look better than he should?
NO! Even worse, why is he here???
Well, it’s not he doesn’t have the right to be here or anything. You’re not the one who decides where he goes or doesn’t.
But why here in front of me? I don’t think he really cares that I exist tho…so if only you would stop looking at him Victoria.”
Finally, she could move her neck again, and she just started turning away from where his face was when his eyes met hers still on him.
The look on his face mirrored hers of 10 seconds ago. He was frozen as well. She quickly looked away and tried concentrating on her laptop screen. But it was pointless, he had seen her.
Regardless of her mind opposing, her body turned again to get a quick glance at his face now and gauge his reaction to seeing her properly.
As she turned, she saw he was already on his feet, heading to where she was.
PANIC!!!
Hey guys…it’s my second fiction piece here on Medium.
There’s going to be a part two.
Don’t forget you can clap up to 50 times!
Thanks for the encouragement!
