Hush silence filled the vehicle as each of us was buried in their thoughts. But it did not last long, as passengers started to acquaint with each other.
We had breezed past Kaduna Refinery by say half a mile when a woman sitting on the second row led us in worship songs and prayer. I enjoyed it while it lasted as we all united like one family with one goal � getting to our various destinations in one piece.
I was sitting on the third row crushed between a voluptuous looking lady and a man who sat by my right hand clutching a polythene bag as if his life depended on it. At my far left sat the lady who had had a quarrel with the guy who had usurped her seat but the guy had settled for a seat in the second row.
My brother and the voluptuous lady sitting at my left had had a squabble before we left the motor park. I had rested my luggage on my laps, which vexed her and she had told me not to discomfort her. My brother who had been standing by the door told her the bus was not her mother�s bedroom and I had to beg the lady as she got annoyed.
She had told me shortly after the bus had left the motor park to put the bag under my seat so as not to discomfort myself and in a polite manner too. As the vehicle raced through the potholed thoroughfare, we hit off on the right note discussing politics and then sports.
The lady with the tantalizing fanny who had stood in front of me when we queued to get in the bus was sitting on the back row, just behind me. Earlier on I had crawled into the back seat hoping to seat next to her. She seemed delighted to have me there as she shifted to create more room for me, but a guy sitting at the far coer told me someone had taken the seat.
So I had settled for the makeshift seat just beside the chubby looking lady with a gorgeous hairstyle. She was pretty but had mixed countenance. She could get rude one minute and the next minute she would be friendly and caring.
She collected the �Sun Newspaper� the man on my right had bought that moing and began flipping through the pages. I could not help but read the paper with her. The paper rustled against the breeze that came gushing into the bus through half opened windows. We fought with the breeze and had to forcefully but carefully tear open each page. Soon we read through the important news and handed the paper over to the owner. She told me that she liked sports but there were just a couple of columns that talked about sports. She had expected more sports columns.
The jouey was long and agonizing. The sun was hot and rays filtered through the windows. Most of the passengers began to snore as sleep overtook them. I looked around; even the cute lady with the great fanny had her eyes closed and he head resting on the back of her seat.
I tried to keep my eyes on the road, shoving off the sleep that was threatening to engulf me. I did not succeed in my resolution. Before long my head began to drop lazily, it rested on the fleshy arm of the chubby lady. She had also fallen asleep beside me, with her head on her folded hand which was placed on the back of the seat in front.
I could not get a good sleep; as with every bump and sway my eyes would flicker open.
The remainder of the jouey was uneventful until at about 2:30pm when we reached Keffi town. Our bus took a bend and entered a filling station. With legs as heavy as rods after sitting for almost 7 hours, we jumped down to stretch them and also take some air.
I bought myself a can of coke after a moment hesitation. I have not eaten anything since moing and I was not planning to for fear that I might be pressed by nature. The last thing I wanted to do was to ask the bus to stop because I wanted to pee or excrete waste product.
I popped the can open and took a long drag. It was soothing, as it trickled down my dry throat. I strolled around, within the premises of the filling station. I had a yell coming from the bus and tuing around I saw the chubby lady beckoning.
We jumped back into the bus, resuming our original sitting position. The driver announced that a few miles from where we were we will eat lunch. He engaged gear and drove off.
The bus grinded to a halt some minutes later; on both sides of the road were eateries.
�Jump down everyone and go get a bite.� The bus conductor announced.
I picked a spot in front of a chemist shop and sat on the bench. With the can of coke still in hand I made myself as comfortable as can be. I did not dear to eat any food but I did justice to the content in the can and tossed the empty can into a gutter.
Twenty or so minutes later we all got back into the bus and a second phase of the jouey began. The road stretched in front of us as the bus gathered speed. We were flagged to a stop every now and the by the police on check points only to be flagged through when they found out it was a state vehicle.
I am a Nigerian and an avid reader who also take great pleasure in putting pen to paper. I believe that with the right expression of words written with my pen people could change for the better and correct or curb some ills eating deep into our system of govement or life in general. Poverty and corruption have always being Africa's most dreaded diseases and Nigeria is no exception. I write fiction and non-fiction and also write articles on any subject, especially that conceing the well-being of the poor masses. I wish to be an acclaimed writer and author and a motivational speaker
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