On days that I don’t feel like myself, I seek out quiet places to visit and interact with people I might never meet again. This was the purpose of my visit to Jabi Lake.
My first interaction was with a lady by the indomie stand. I asked her if I could sit on the chair. Her response was “yes, it’s N200.”
I don’t know if it was her assertiveness but something made me smile.
I asked for the duration and if it at least comes with cleaning service (my sarcasm was lost on her). She quickly interjected “you have to pay before you sit”. I was in the mood so I indulged by saying that I’d like to test it first.
She walked briskly towards me but quickly came to a halt when I handed her a higher denomination and requested for water.
Soon I had company, the hawkers. . .
They kept trying to convince me to purchase an item. I had to beg to be left alone.
One of them asked me to buy drinks, so I proposed a barter system. You pose for my camera and I patronize you. We struck a deal. Win win.
My second encounter was with Prince. He approached me four times to pay for a scooter ride. I wasn’t interested so I asked a team member who was with me if she’d like to. She did.
Not satisfied, he returned to ask me to join him. I obliged. Oh! he asked a lot of questions on that ride. Are you an artist? Where are you from? Are you a tiktok star? Lol. Most of my responses were vague but interesting enough for a long conversation.
After what I’d call a interesting time, I decided to head home. As I approached the gate, I heard a voice ask “are you looking for me?”
It was Prince
I smiled. He smiled.
It was a good day.
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