ONE EXPIRED JUICE
(A short story)
My fellow lagosian…….. How una dey. I have been purging since morning, would have been the mode of today’s gist. Why? Relax, I am coming to that. It was an amazing thing to hang out with my friends after a vacation of over six month now. Boredom joined with indefinite holiday made us comply on a picnic, this last Friday. “ Mehnn… so Lagos can change like this” was the statement that flipped out of my mouth, after witnessing for a while that morning.
The transport fair has now doubled. Everyone on nose masks. even the agbero guy told me to wear back my nose mask in the bus, when I was about removing it. At first, I shrouded and ignored him; I took it off and turned a deaf ear to his ranting. As we got to a point on the express, nobody preached to me before I put on my face mask, when I saw that we were already close to the police checkpoint. It is not me that will come and be paying a fine of thirty thousand naira, just because of a three hundred naira nose mask.
Dears, failure to wear facemask is a real punishable offence, here in lagos oo. In fact, those statutes on the express road are wearing nose masks. If an inanimate object can comply, who am I to be stiff necked? So I humbly lent my ear to the conductor, and put mine on. Few minute later, we got to the bus stop I highlighted and went on my way to the picnic.
The whole picnic was full of fun, I had a great fun I must say, but going back home was a drama on its own. I felt Lagos had changed my people not in terms of traffic. Lagos and traffic are twin brothers and best friends. At the middle of my journey back home, we got stock into a heavy traffic.
At a point there was no movement, you know how annoying that can be, no going forward, no fresh air, and I was even very thirsty. Very soon, some young girls and boys that sell snacks on the express road started coming around, exclaiming that their common phrase “buy kuli kuli” “buy gala” “buy mineral” and so on. At first I turned a deaf ear; I don’t really like buying edible things on the road, I prefer buying drinks in a shop or supermarket, but I was really thirsty.
The hope of getting out of the traffic was short for me. Little did I know that I wasn’t the only one thirsty in the bus? Almost everyone was buying drinks while I was holding my thirst. Some who had eventually become my friends during the traffic were asking me if I would not buy snacks and enjoy myself. One of them sitting close to me, even insisted on buying a sachet of plantain chips for me, but I smiled and said “no thank you sir I am fine.”
The others laughed at me and called me JJC, Aje butter, and all sorts of names. At a point out of pressure and shame, I called one of the girls hawking and ordered a small carton of chilled juice. Immediately she gave me the juice, I didn’t bother to check the expiry date. The only thing I checked was the brand and the content. Since it was the brand I knew, I felt I was good to go ahead. Opening it, I rushed a gulp into my mouth, just for me to be surprised and disappointed. The taste was so different from the familiar juice I knew.
Guysss… I couldn’t figure out what exact taste it was, may be sour, fermented or nasty taste. I now started checking the things I had failed to check earlier, and then I discovered the juice had already expired. The most annoying part was that I called the girl and explained to her, but she said there was nothing she can do about it. She left me in haste, to attend to other customers. I told my friends in the bus.
They could only reprimand and blame me for not checking the juice thoroughly before buying. I felt sad and disappointed but I thank God that I only drank one gulp. When I got home I drank enough water to flush my system and I became fine. The next day I got myself a chilled juice in a superette close to my house. This time, I painstakingly checked well, and I indeed enjoyed myself.
This short scene called my attention to a point in human life. One will need to choose a life partner, at a particular stage some of your friends will start getting married, while you are still praying and waiting on God for your own Mr. right. Time will keep running, age will keep adding up, friends will be asking how far, parents and family will be pressuring you. Even some of your friends will try to recommend someone to you, just as the way that guy did to me, in the bus.
There is something I want you to know that there is no crime in getting married early neither is there any problem in getting married late. The big issue lies in getting married to the right partner. There is no crime in buying drinks on the express, at least those my friends were very okay with what they bought. Only if I had patiently chosen and checked rightly, I would have chosen the correct drink, not an expired one.
I apparently disposed of the expired juice and got another one, but I can never dispose of a husband to get another one. The worst part is that the same people who were pressuring you will blame you for not being careful, when you start having issues in the marriage. So my dear youth, be careful, prayerful and watchful. Don’t let pressure, shame or anything lead you to making the wrong choice.
ONE EXPIRED JUICE
#OpraDre
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Wisdom!!