Spyglass

I honked at the sight of a woman who seemed to wave at my approaching car, as I slowed a bit to enquire her destination, I pumped the clutch randomly to get fluid from the clutch key through the pipe in order for the clutch pot to cooperate and allow me get the gear handle to 'free' space to avoid ramming into cars parked by the roadside. "If I could, I'd change this clutch pot once and for all" I said under my warm breath I smirked at the thought cause I say this everyday I put out my old model manual Volkswagen golf II on the road either on an errand or casual movement or sometimes to make a little extra cash. "Plateau hospital round about!" The words came like a wave as I avoid marching emergency brake though slowing close to her and releasing the brake making the car jerked a little further, I signalled her to come over. Jos city is now a city that goes to sleep early because of recorded violence and crisis between locals that rocked the city. So by 9pm you witness people boarding cabs to get home before it gets awfully quiet by 10pm-10:30pm. "Plateau hospital roundabout" This time the words were clear. "Get in" I said. A faint lady voice added "Old airport junction" "Get in" The timer on my dashboard showed 9:04pm. "Get home by 10pm at most" I said to myself. As they settled in and I heard the slight bang of both my rear car doors, I jolted my car and raved with an unpleasant broken exhaust sound speedily. Before I could engage my 4th gear, a hand waved me and shouted. "Secretariat junction!!!" I did the same routine unconsciously. I have come to learn driving an old and spoiled car, I stopped a few meters away from the young man who walked to my passenger window. "Senior man help me, 50 naira for secretariat junction" He said the words with a deep and cracky voice in a way young hoodlums and d**g addicts would say for effect. The words came out slow as if he is choosing his words carefully and a slight shifting of his mouth to the side as he speaks. "Get in" He was looking dark and average in height with a faded jean top to go well with his blue crazy jean trousers as he settled in the front seat, his straight face looks confident and expectant like he is anticipating something ahead of him tonight. As I lurched my engine to life and clawed at the road, I noticed my car has nothing to prove speeding as I get passed by many other healthy cars yet I sat behind the wheels acting like my car is better than the rest, except that it hates to speed unnecessarily. Sometimes these thoughts and acts really makes me laugh out loud in my head. Dodging potholes and hitting bumps as I move my golf at what seem to be a 50kmph speed, climbed the hilly slope of the Police A division, gradually lost momentum as the car slowed to finally conquer the long slope that tests one's engine, I engaged the hill station roundabout and honked at people by the roadside as a signal to enquire if one is going or not. Few yards away from the roundabout the passenger in front picked his phone from his pocket, dialed a number and held it to his ear. "Stone, call don jazzy and meet me by the road" He said into the receiver. "Ai yaran nan sai sun ci uban su" He said in a local dialect. He started talking to himself and seemed to be muffling some curses and subtle insults from his deep breathing. "Useless boys, all you can do is rob people, I'm ready for you this night" "Is everything OK?" I asked sounding concerned "These bastards" "Yesterday I got robbed by some useless Hausa boys" The words seem to come out of him unsolicited. "They don't want to work, they wait for you to make money, and they rob you of it" He continued "Ai tonight me and my friends will be ready for them" The lady who was seated behind the driver seat yanked the words from his mouth and started raining curses. "e no go better for dem!!" "Dis Jos don turn problem o" I heard the older woman said "I'm dropping here" My normal clutch pumping, marching brakes and releasing technique took the sub conscious part of me. The slight bump of my side front wheel going down the sidewalks jiggled us a bit, I got a suitable parking space for her to alight. "Sir, do you know that in this Jos, these boys will rob you under the street light and getaway without fear?" She kept throwing the curses The older woman handed me 50 naira. "Thank you ma" I said. She banged the door behind her and I sped away racing my car to the junction the young man wants to drop in less time than usual. As I stopped the car, he jumped out like a young stallion ready to be a war horse, scuffled through his pocket and handed me 50 naira. "Na gode senior man" He said "You are welcome" "And be careful!" I shouted as he jogged and dialed his phone at the same time. The lady behind me kept with her disdain for cultists and robbers enough to suggest she was either a victim or a close relative was a victim. "Pesin wey no wan work must steal na" I sigh in agreement "In fact I pity their mama" Her accent for broken English suggests she is not from around here "Hmmm you born pikin, but na armed robber you born" Her words sounding quite funny to me though. She kept at it. I started thinking about what do I eat tonight now that I went out without eating dinner, late night eating that I'm so used to of recent, I mostly stop by to buy fries and coke and munch it in the cosy feel of my bed and sometimes a little music playing from my aux cable plugged to my infinix hot 5 android. As these thoughts were rushing to my head and the calculations of where to find something different were surging, her words became faint and I was absent minded. "Drop me before the junction" Her words jolted me a bit "Dem no dey fear God" "Human being like you na im you wan thief from" "Before na animal u go rob?" I said it to myself from the corky part of my brain. "Take your money, give me change" I took 100 naira that she handed me and picked 30 naira from my car door pouch. "Thanks ma" I said. This time she was standing directly beside me waiting for change, as I handed the change, I realized she was wearing a fro, more like a costume than an actual hair style. As she walked away from the car crossing to the other side of the road, she was wearing a yellow crop top and a short black leather jacket, a red and black lined Burberry skirt with a flare to give her a hot look. What caught my attention the most is the heel she wore, makes her abnormally tall, it has tie ropes that she tied to her thighs "Wait, what?!!!" I said the words unconsciously as she approached the hookers' spot to assume duty in the cold of the night. I shook my head as I jacked my car away, it all made sense to me. Seems we all choose our sins differently...