Episode 6.
Copa Excel and her two roommates were excited to visit the Shoprite Mall at Enugu city. They had planned on how the day would be like and the day came so fast.
These three young ladies boarded a bus from Nsukka to Enugu city. They were so excited. They took lots of photos in the bus,laughed,pointed out fascinating things outside the bus. They were full of happiness because they were taking a break from their hectic work schedules to have fun for themselves.
Finally,they arrived at Shoprite mall. They did window shopping, took lots of photos at good angles in the mall. They really walked from one end of the shopping mall to the other end,glancing at objects they won’t buy and taking photos over and over.
Copa Excel had fun that day. It was time to eat because the excitement at the mall woke up a large appetite in her. She and her roommates went to the provisions store at the mall to see if they could buy something to take home because they couldn’t go empty handed.
Excel went towards the bakery. She saw the price for a large loaf of freshly baked bread at Two hundred and twenty naira only. She bought two loaves of bread because she had heard a lot of hype over the Shoprite bread. Excel bought other little things and prepared to pay for her purchased items.
The queues at each counter were long and slow. Copa Excel and her roommates stood at a queue with less customers. When it got to Excel’s turn to pay,she was surprised at the inflation of the prices. She knew she saw Two hundred and twenty naira for each loaf of freshly baked bread but what was on her receipt was Eight hundred and eighty naira.
Excel had to ask how come her bread prices were inflated. The lady behind the counter spoke with an Igbotic phoney accent,”One blead is Four hundred and forty naira. You bought two bleads making them Eight hundred and eighty naira. The prices are on my computer, they are there. Check your receipt well”.
Copa Excel has never seen daylight robbery like this in her life before. She wanted to protest over the unfair price inflation but the customers on the queue were impatient and started murmuring. She had to suppress the urge to tackle that matter right there because she was sure of the price before she picked a product.
Her two roommates dragged her away from the counter to avoid public embarrassment. Excel was so upset but her anger dissipated at the mention of ice cream by one of her roommates. The three of them bought medium containers of ice cream and relished the taste the flavours gave them.
It was time to go home. Copa Excel told her two roommates that she would love to spend the night with her friends at the Nccf state family house. She went there,had a good time catching up with news from her friends.
The next day,Excel planned to return to her local government, Nsukka. She didn’t know how she will go from the family house to the nearest bus stop. She enquired from other corpers at the family house, they gave her directions to the bus park.
Copa Excel hailed a moving bus. She asked the bus conductor if the bus was going to HolyGhost park,he replied some things in Igbo language which Excel assumed was ‘Yes,we dey go. Enter inside,let’s move’.
Other passengers adjusted in their seats so Excel could squeeze in between the spaces. She paid her fare to the bus conductor. Lots of passengers were entering and alighting at different . Copa Excel was wondering whether the bus driver had forgotten she was to stop at HolyGhost Park.
When she couldn’t take her silence anymore,she turned to her neighbor, an elderly man with a kind face. She spoke in English to him as she barely knew how to converse in Igbo language. She greeted him and asked if the bus has passed through HolyGhost park. The kind old man laughed and said, “No,my dear. The bus hasn’t arrived at the park yet. I am also going towards that direction too. Don’t worry,when we get to the park,I will let you know.”
Copa Excel breathed a sigh of relief. She was thankful she wasn’t going off course. She patiently sat in the bus for what seemed like hours when in reality,they were long minutes instead. At last,the bus stopped at the park. The kind old man told Excel that they have arrived at the park. Excel thanked the old man so much. She crossed the road, entered the park,bought a ticket to Nsukka and enjoyed the journey back to her local government. She was thankful she didn’t get lost in Enugu city because of Shoprite.
Thank you for reading this episode. I appreciate your interest and support so far. Episode 7 will be made available. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog for more email notifications on the Diaries of an Enugu Corper.
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