Continuation....Episode Two: The Adventures of Moses Nyaemo; Coming to Nairobi.
11:44 pm
they had a lot to deal with and they had bitten more than they could chew; funny enough, those of us who thought Nairobi was a stone-throw away, pushed our mugs under the bed carefully masked the vacant space with our metallic boxes to conceal our precious after snack.
The foreign Isuzu bus was humming
as we got closer, and the Patron was at the entrance ready to call out the
names of those who paid in the order of how early you paid. Knowing I was on
top of the list I squeezed my small body through the human shield that was
ready to pounce in as soon as their names were called out.
I was now a cheap hero, after
everyone heard I was going in first, they had their cardigans ready. In such
situations those whose names were called first would take a few more cardigans
and place them strategically as politely requested by the bearers. This would
earn you favors from prefects like skipping manual for a week or two before
someone rats you out. Favors by the ordinary students would be reciprocated by
a few mandazi’s from the school canteen.
I had to play my cards right, I
picked out 3 cardigans, one from a senior student also a prefect, the second
from a school tycoon( one that came from a rich family) and the last from one
of those we knew as a school that came from Nairobi. Simply put, I was a genius
then.
The pushing and struggles finally
came to an end, accompanying us were three teachers and as I guessed, one who
knew Nairobi very well was coming with us because, he was visiting his other
madam and he was broke. He needed a ride. The second had been to Nairobi a few
times on similar trips and claimed to know Nairobi while his other friend just
like me, was coming with us purposely to know the mysterious city under the
sun. If it chanced that we got lost and the elite of the teachers alighted and
the bus driver got stuck, emphatic calls of rescue would have been plenty,
since their arrogance wouldn’t have given room for bowing down to consult a
student.
As a norm, one of us, obviously,
thought to be most religious was chosen to lead us in prayer before the journey
and we hit the road in a jiffy. It was now crystal clear, I was going to
Nairobi. The few hours on the road seemed like eternity, the road stretched
further ahead after each bend and dusk was approaching, we had spent 7 hours
travelling and the wait was paying. We climbed the escarpment and the
excitement filled the poor coughing bus….
We were in Nairobi, my pounding
heart threatening to go first. I held my breath as we came to a slow traffic
jam in Westlands, “Welcome to Nairobi” the Patron announced.
To be continued...
By Moses Nyaemo
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