Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 18
I droped the call, she moved passed me to the shower, turned it on and began working lather on her body.
” the driver is around”. I said leaning on the bathroom door.
she turned to me with lather on her face. ” you said what?”
” the driver is around!” I repeated, a little bit louder.
” okay. I’ll be out soon”. She said and moved closer to me and pulled me into the shower giggling. She embraced and wanted to kiss me. I turned away.
” the driver was the one calling you”. I said showing the phone to her.
She paused, looked at me startlingly. ” what do you mean?”
” go to the window, you will see a white car parked over there”. I said pointing to the window.
She slowly moved to the window and peeped.
Mary: god! What is he…he’s the driver? god!
She slowly turned to me and was fidgeting. I moved to her and embraced her.
” it’s okay. I know you’re working. Does he know you do this job?”. I asked.
she nodded her head pitifully. I heaved and looked down at the guy waiting, It was already getting dark. I turned to her.
“Alright, I’ll pay you off now, 80 grand you say?”. I asked.
Mary: its not about the money! I want you!
She slowly nodded.
” I’m not a bad guy. That young man is a hustler, I know what he goes through everyday on the road. Do you know he was robbed recently?”.
The look on her face told me she wasn’t aware. I left her in the shower and went to get dressed.
She slowly came out of the bathroom looking pathetic. She grabbed the bedsheet, coverd her unclothedness with it and sat on the bed looking at me getting dressed.
I turned to her pretty face and almost changed my mind then remembered the young man waiting for me downstairs. I took out my wallet and dropped on the bed an equivalent to 100, 000 in local currency. She looked at the money with contempt and slowly picked up her .underwear and slide into it, wore her blouse without the tapes on her nipples, then her boot and stood up looking at me.
Mary: Tell him you want to see him again. Swallow your pride Mary!
” let me have your number. when I get a phone I’ll give you a call, strictly business!” I said to compensate her hurt.
She smiled and looked around in the room for a pen, when she couldn’t find one, she took her hair clip and wrote her number on a table .
” that’s someone’s furniture!”. I cried out.
She ignored me, and when she was done, she said. ” I wrote it backwards. The last number is the first digit”
I moved to see the damage she had done and discovered it wasn’t much. She wrote in the edge of the table, on a tiny part, almost not noticeable.
“I’ll be going now”. She said and walked to the bed, took the money like it was some change, shoved it in her back pocket and walked out.
I just handed her a hundred grand and she took it like it’s nothing. Well, it’s not money to me, but It is to her. I shrugged at poverty and shut my door.
Downstairs, it was already dark. The driver was so happy to see me, he opened the backseat door quickly for me.
” sir, I have been calling that number for an hour now. I thought perhaps you left without me. I said,’ I’ll wait here until you return!’ “. He said without any sign of anger.
” I’m very sorry. The lady I used her phone left, so I couldn’t call you back”. I tried to sound as normal as possible.
” no problem sir”. He said smiling. ” where are we headed sir?”.
I stood at the door he opened and moved to the front seat. He looked at me puzzled and ran to the driver side. I was already seated and adjusting the seatbelt.
Driver: ha! He doesn’t want to stay in the car owners seat. He must be a real guy.
” where are we going sir?”
” just take anywhere wé can bave fun!”. I said with a slight excitement in my tone.
Driver: we? Wow! This is going to be good. Where will I take him to ooooh….let me see, let me see…where oooh…okay! Palmgroove!
He engaged the engine and we were off.
The place was very busy with loud music. We met two bouncers at the small gate checking a long queue of people on foot. They allowed us in, maybe because we were driving. I thought we were done with bouncers but met four heavily built guys in black t shirt, black jean pushing some peoples back. I began to wonder what was in that place we were going through the stress for.
It got to our turn, the driver went to whisper something in one of the bouncers ear pointing at me. The bouncer then asked us in.
Inside was overly crowded and noisy. I had never seen so many black skin in a place without one single white. It looked like an outdoor drinking lounge; tables and chairs clustered with mostly overfed men and their girlfriends or overfed wives with beer, plates of fish and barbecue on most of the tables . A stage where a young man was singing while his female dancers partly nude shaking their butts to his music. Waiters in uniform were busy attending to guest, bouncers mounted on different post looking determined to unleash mayhem on any miscreant.
I looked for a seat, the whole place was filled up. I wondered why the driver brought me there, but funny enough the young man was so excited, looking around joyfully.
I called a waiter and asked for a seat, she just nodeed and hurriedly attended to a bulky man beckoning her over yelling angrily in front.
The driver saw what happened and pulled me to a vacant table with half drank bottle of beer, an empty soft drink bottle and half eaten fish barbecue on it and asked the people beside us if anyone was there, they just shrugged and mind their business. He took the free seat beside me nodding his head to the song and stretching his neck to get a clearer view of the topless man with chains on his neck singing. Then he turned to me.
” this is the happening place in town! If you come to this town without visiting here, you missed!”. He yelled in my ear due to the loud music buzzing from a huge speaker behind me.
I looked around at the very noisy people and place; some were dancing on their tables, some were nodding their heads and drinking from a bottle or glass cup. I noticed some guys at a far end seated at an executive chair and table popping cheap champaign and priding about it with some cheap girls with them smoking and laughing.
” who are those guys?”. I asked the driver.
” oh, they’re in the VIP section “. The driver said casually and held a waitress’ hand saying something to her.
She moved to where I was with à pad on her hand, bent over and shouted. ” what can I get you sir!”
” take us to the VIP!” I screamed in her ear.
” you said?”. She asked leaning closer to my mouth.
“,take us to the VIP!” I repeated.
She looked and assessed me, then nodded. Turned and called a young man, but he was rushing off and didn’t hear her. She turned to me and motioned with her mouth and hand. ” excuse me”. I nodded.
The driver turned to me and shouted in my ear. ” that guy singing is a celebrity! He’s a big star in this town!”.
Someone from behind held my seat and said to me arrogantly. ” will you get up from my chair!”.
I slowly turned to the heavily built man with huge potbelly looking down at me in his brown brocade. I said politely to him.
” sir, no one was here when I came here. Ask these fellows”. I said pointing to the people we asked earlier.Funny enough they turned their faces away like they didn’t know what I was talking about.
The man pulled me up from the seat holding me by my collar, the driver swiftly removed his hands from me and faced him.
” what is wrong with you! Don’t allow your fat tummy deceive you oh, I’ll disgrace you here!”. The driver yelled, standing few inches away from the man’s face.
I held the drivers hand and pulled him away to avert trouble. The driver turned to me ranting his disgust about the man’s oppression, when suddenly, the man pushed him so hard from behind he fell over the table shattering the bottles on it.
I stood speechless feeling embarrassed, afraid that they will soon throw us out. The fat man picked up a plastic chair and hit me on my back so hard the chair broke. I knelt on a knee in pain stretching my hands to touch the spot. And slowly turn to him in anger, I wanted to attack before the driver appeared from nowhere and clapped two bottles on the man’s ears simultaneously, then began stabbing him continuously with the broken part of the bottles. I had to pull him away from the man so he doesn’t ending killing someone. The place had scattered by the time, everyone moved away from that section, tables and chairs turned over, ladies shouting and the sound of music still buzzing.
I spotted two bouncers coming towards us, quickly, I pulled the driver by the hand and we ran off.
Outside at the parking lot I was surprised it felt like fun to me. I really liked how the driver dealt with the man. I was laughing heavily. The driver was still in shock and trying to catch his breath.
” you would have killed that guy!”. I said after catching my breath.
He wasn’t laughing, instead he seem scared.
” what is it?”. I asked adjusting to the drivers mood.
” I’ll tell you in the car. Can we go please?”. The driver said frighteningly and hurried into the car.
His behavior made me scared. I also joined in the car looking around if we were being followed and he drove off.
” what is it?” I asked.
” that’s Otodu’s boss! i didnt recognize him until I spotted one of his boys rushing towards us. Sir, this is trouble!”.
Driver: yes! I have found an office. You think anything is free in this town?
I heard his thought and was relieved, at least he was fooling around, but I knew I had to play along so he doesn’t set me up or worse.
” so what do we do? “. I asked with concern in my tone.
The driver pulled over by the side of the road and began crying. Wow, he was a good actor, I was learning the ways of my people. He cried so well you would think it was true.
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