Shirley’s ears began to itch again. The first time it happened was in her second year in University when she welcomed a new roommate, Jolomi. Sweet memories flooded her mind as she remembered the good old days with her favourite person in the world. She could almost smell the rich cologne on Jolomi’s clothes in the air until the sky turned grey and she smelled rain.
She looked at the sky, shaking her head at the thought of it raining in February. She held on tight to her duffel bag and dragged it out of the threshold, convincing herself that nothing, not even rain could stop her from leaving her father’s house. Suddenly, her ears began to itch again and this time, she knew what it meant. Every time her ears itched, something bad was about to happen, but she was too determined to leave, so she ignored the feeling and carried on.
On getting to the bus park, she headed quickly to the counter to buy a ticket to Port Harcourt before she could change her mind. She got a front seat beside the driver and the bus was full in no time. As the journey began, so did the rain. Shirley buckled her seat belt and wore her headphones to deafen the heavy downpour and the croaky voice of the lousy driver who made snide and repulsive remarks about a young hawker, while he carelessly struggled with his seat belt and veered into the highway.
She glared at him, irritated by his nonchalant attitude and he stared at her snickering before shifting his focus back to the road. In that swift moment, Shirley caught a glimpse of a truck, appearing from nowhere to collide with the bus. The driver cursed under his breath and tried to get a grip of the wheels with his sweaty palms, but he was moving too fast on the slippery road, so he began hitting the brakes frantically. Then he realized his seat belt wasn’t buckled.
To be continued…