I had had a long day, but that was so much better compared to traveling back home from the capital. My two gorgeous friends were as beautiful and funny as I remembered. Unlike most friendships among young adults, work had brought us together again.

All three of us are from the country’s interior regions. The town they come from is slightly more remote than where I come from. Yes, they come from the same town. Beautiful and equally smart, they are the most fun I have had in campus.

Today was a wee bit special; we had not seen each other in over six months; I was over the roof excited about seeing them again. After signing our Non-Disclosure Agreements we opted to catch a matatu back to town from Kileleshwa. On the way, we caught up and boy had I missed them. Everything was the same like the pandemic hadn’t hit and we were on our way back to the hostel from work. It was a bit different today, however, seeing as we were all going back to different places, not to different rooms.

I am certain that this is the reason we preferred to grab some fries in Manhattan, a popular fast food restaurant along Moi Avenue, and catch up. Stories were told, fries were crunched and the drinks flowed as refreshing as the Nile. It was, after all, a hot afternoon. The afternoon went by very fast and it was soon 6 p.m. and we had to leave. Saying our goodbyes broke my heart a little… deep down I knew that it would be quite some time before I saw these girls again. However, we had spent a whole afternoon together and I was grateful.

After getting my family some chicken from a nearby restaurant, I am ready to leave. I get into a matatu that would take me straight home, to the little town in which I was born and raised; away from the hustle and bustle of the city, away from the grind, a never-ending grind. Thankfully. I take out my recent read, Grisham’s ‘The Rooster Bar’ and flip the pages to my makeshift bookmark.

A point to note… I did love making bookmarks when I was little and complementing those with the ones I managed to steal from my elder sister. I got really lazy over the years, however, much to my sister’s probable delight. I didn’t like chocolate, in fact, I never really have. However, since I found out that the wrappers make such good bookmarks, you will spot me having one, occasionally.

It is almost 7 p.m. and it had gotten dark outside and therefore, I was unable to continue reading. Disappointed, I take out my headset, opting for some good music. The drive back was rather okay but being a little distracted with my book earlier, I had not seen who had gotten into the vehicle with me. It was dark outside, but the view of the city lights was beautiful. The music from my playlist got me drifting from one thought to another.

Traffic.

At this point though, I really don’t mind.

Suddenly, the person behind me had the ingenious idea of sliding open the window right next to them. That, however, was not what really bothered me. They then decided that the roadside was the perfect place to dispose of trash.

My jaw dropped. How dare they? A box, some used napkins and a plastic fork were thrown out and almost landed on the bonnet of the vehicle behind ours. Instinctively, I turned around to face the major asshole…

My jaw couldn’t drop further; thank God for the masks. I found that I couldn’t utter any word not only because my jaw was still dropped but also because I seemingly couldn’t feel my tongue. The ‘major asshole’ was a relatively young man, say around twenty-four and was, probably one of the most attractive young men I had ever laid eyes on.

I know what you’re thinking, how could I see when it was dark outside. Believe me, I could. The lights from the buildings by the highway and the vehicles in traffic took care of that. However, that is not entirely the reason I could make out his features. Small sparkly eyes, a well-structured nose and a square jaw; neither very short nor very long hair.

I FROZE!

“Sorry,” he stated as he shrugged.

…

“SORRY!”  He half-said half-yelled… probably because I was staring.

FUCK!

I turned around and almost slapped myself.

“SHIT!” I cursed under my breath.

…

I drifted in and out of my light slumber. I woke up a number of times because I found it really difficult to breathe. I was wearing an N-95 mask and was quickly running out of air…fresh breathable air. I bend over and remove a strap from my right ear as it faced away from the rest of the passengers. I fan myself using my right hand because my window couldn’t open. My pride was not going to allow me to request the beautiful jerk to help me out. Yes, I was that petty.

I didn’t have to. Almost as if noticing my little problem, the jerk slightly opened his window. Sufficient amount of air gushed in, but not too much so as to make me cold. I leaned back onto my chair and enjoyed the slight breeze. When I got out of the vehicle without his number, I genuinely thought myself momentarily dumb. But hey, no amount of beauty or cocky attitude conceals his acts; he still was the major asshole for littering the environment. Cute though. Magnificently cute… enough to make me drool. You have to understand that no one, NO SINGLE BEING, has ever managed to leave me speechless. Do not forget that apart from being an undergrad lawyer I double as a story teller. The one thing I will never lack, is words.

I am passionate about environmental conversation. That, and my pride, are the reasons I up and left without his number. But, being a twenty-two year old female who was, for the very first time, mesmerized and left speechless by a guy… I was stupid for not getting it. But hey, at least I had some chicken I could drool over.