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Ken hit his leg on a hard stone but continued moving as he rushed to beat the Lagos traffic. He knew that any unnecessary delay will be costly since Lagos bus drivers will jump at every opportunity to increase the fares.
![vehicles-5871002__480.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/davidbright/23zS9prGE5QMYTmryjCKgEhFcGK74MFCWAVtN3xdkbrA66GiNXQNYDqWkS5GfiSNFhHz7.jpg)
<sub>[source](https://pixabay.com/es/photos/vehiculos-la-carretera-ciudad-5871002/)</sub>
Ken was just one of those spoilt Warri grown kids that knew nothing about life in Lagos as far as Aunty Elma was concerned. It didn’t take long for Ken to realize that she thought that way about him. 

I don't have a problem with him coming to stay with me in Lagos after his youth service, he can always move to his own apartment whenever he eventually gets a job. Aunty Elma told his mother.

Aunty Elma would always say anytime they are in a public transit that he should keep his phone in his pocket if he doesn't want the Agbero boys to snatch it from him. Ken was sure she was totally paranoid.
![pexels-photo-8608919.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/davidbright/23vi8P5sHRBc4WAunAPAjpJrCQvywX85PUT7AEc82YP1Xc6GkjHSButRaBAH1uB6ohNCq.jpeg)
<sub>[source](https://www.pexels.com/photo/city-road-man-people-8608919/)</sub>
However, she was vindicated one certain day when a confused looking man jumped into their bus, along Oshodi bus stop. He pleaded with the driver to go after the bus in front, because the passenger who sat beside him in that bus had just pick pocketed his phone. On hearing this, Aunty Elma turned to look at Tony,  but said no word.

It was 5am and the cold was still thick in the air. The street was stark dark and only occasionally lightened by mobile flashlights and car headlamps. Steps were brisk and early morning prayers could be heard from the nearby mosque. Generators were steaming from bakeries and sachet water factories. Gutters gave off dense hypnotizing stench and passers-by did not hesitate to shoot back deeply conjured saliva. 

Fully charged by tobacco and strong liquor, bus conductors jovially insulted themselves while desperately calling out their bus destinations. “Ojuelegba, enter with your change!”  the conductor said in a deep wrangling voice, as Ken climbed into the bus and took the seat beside the window at the back of the bus.

Having heard Aunty Elma bitterly threaten one of her debtors over the phone, that she will strip naked in the middle of the night and curse him, Ken knew it was time for him to move out of her house and into his own apartment. At least he just got a job. He should have noticed the state of things—the soups have become more watery of late and she hasn’t been eating at home either.

True, it’s difficult to tell when she’s in a good or bad mood because of her dry sense of humor and rigid persona. In fact, the only time Ken heard her loosen up and permit a strong-veined laughter was when she called that pastor she often calls “daddy” to appreciate him for sending her airtime. Then she will float in extended explanations and often punctuate them with her flagship phrase of optimism: “It is well.”

The bus was almost full. A young boy guided the hands of a blind beggar who impressed Ken with his impeccable eloquence. The man pleaded in the name of God as he narrated that he was a well to-do civil servant in the office of the Lagos State Accountant General before he lost his sight. 

Many passengers seemed moved and unusually generous as they doled fifty and hundred naira notes to the man. The bus had just began to move when Tony reached in for his phone, which was still in his pocket and switched on his data connection. In, came endless WhatsApp messages, two job rejection emails, one teaching job interview invite and one postgraduate scholarship denial. 

Among those, also included an email from his employer, sent around 6am. The email read that the office will not be open from today, being the first weekday of January. This closure will be till further notice. Ken frowned at this email, only to turn and realize that the beautiful passenger that sat beside him was far deep into sleep, while her head wiggled around with the moving bus. 

No job means no money. No money means he'll starve in Aunty's house. Ken has to go back home for now, but that means he'll have to  find a way to deal with Lagos Struggles.

***Thanks for visiting my blog.***</div>