Call: Story story,
Response: Story
I have had the honour of having really interesting conversations in my life. I meet people every day and I’m excited when I engage in spontaneous conversations.
On a sunny Sunday, after church service in Lagos, Nigeria. I boarded a 14 seater commercial bus and I got the best seat 😁. I believe that the two front seats are the best in such vehicles, as they afford you some distance and freedom from the crowd associated with commercial buses in this part of the world. After a few minutes drive, we paused at a bus stop to pick up a passenger. This passenger happened to be a cute young man and he decides to sit next to me.
We will refer to the cute young man as “uncle”. Since it was sunny, I rummage through my handbag for my sunshades and put them on. I observed that the uncle also brings out his pair of sunshades from his pockets and puts them on. Oh well! I am definitely minding my business. However, the dramatic side of me started singing Geng by Mayorkun, whilst formulating the peace sign with my hand ✌ and changing the lines of the song from “chilling with the most high geng” to “chilling with shades geng, geng geng geng .” All in my head though.
I was sorely tempted to face the uncle and perform all the drama going on in my head for him. I could feel the words on my lips ready to burst out, but I cautioned myself by saying “Tolu, you do not have to be extra all the time kilooode, just keep kwayet (quiet)” So I kept kwayet. However, when you deny a part of your personality, it comes back to stare in your face like “hello darling, I am you, and you are me 🤷♀️”. I paid my bus fare and called out my bus stop “Obalende“. Uncle turns to face me and asks me “did you come from the island for the first service (6.30 am)?”. In Lagos, commuting from the Island to the Mainland is quite a trip. And for a 6.30 am service, I must have left home ridiculously early.
However, I didn’t answer his question; Instead, I burst out laughing. I laughed so hard, he was confused. You could see the bewildered look on his face. I apologised, excused myself and then laughed some more. When I was done with my comic display 🙄, I then turned in my seat, faced him and explained that I had to laugh at myself and not at his question as I had been having the most interesting conversation in my head with him 😄. Uncle’s confused look generates deeper lines like “okaaaayyyyy how? 🤷♀️.” I had no choice than to confess and said uncle “we are in the geng geng geng“. I explained the scenario that had played out in my head earlier and the struggle to express myself. He laughed and he did the coolest thing ever. He played along and sang geng geng geng with the peace sign ✌ and all the paparazzi attached. After which we proceeded to have real-life conversations about work and career.
Ehmm, before you start asking me any questions 🙄, no, we are not planning a date or exchanging numbers and the likes 🙄🙄🙄. I’m in love with someone else, I’m sorry 🙄🤪😝😜😛😋. Have a blissful week beautiful souls.
Note: This was first written and posted on @tolulope_inspire on March 15, 2020, when my nation was not on total lockdown and we were still going about “normalcy”. However, after my classes with Professor Barry on Good with Words, I decided to rewrite the story as my assignment. If you have any questions about the last paragraph, I’m sorry, I’m unavailable for answers 🚶♀️. Additionally, if you would like to take an online course on Coursera and you would like to apply for financial aid, I shared some tips on twitter @tolulopeinspire .
P.S: Viva La Vida