Iwalewa (character is beauty) pt 2
The rest of the night was busy, it
seemed like there was a food shortage
in every other restaurant so people
decided to find refuge at this one
Wendy's. I ran back and forth from
the cash register to the fry station
to hassling the sandwich makers for
my orders. And the impatient hungry
customers didn't make matters any
better. Complaints were endless "I
said no pickles on my sandwich!"... "I
asked for extra mayo!"..." My fries
are cold, can I get a fresh
batch! ". .."You people don't know what
you're doing back there, where's your
manager?"
It was 9:00 pm and I was close to
pulling out my hair strand by strand.
Things had slowed down a bit so I was
able to catch my breath. My coworker
Ashley was finally able to take her
30 minute break so I took her place
at the drive thru window. In the
middle of a big yawn, an all black
range rover sport with tinted windows
pulled up. The driver's window rolled
down slowly and a dark skinned middle
age man smiled at me while showcasing
his gold plated teeth.
"Good evening, what can I get for
you tonight ?"
"Your number with a soda on the side"
he responded with a smirk on his
face.
I couldn't hide my annoyance, "I'm
sorry but that's not available."
At that moment the back window rolls
down with a light skin man with waves
for days on display.
"Why you frontin' on my boy shawty?
He got bread, ain't that what you
chicks want?"
"Check out his fly ride!"
I was appalled, It took all that was
within me to restrain my tongue.
"I could careless about his money" I
rolled my eyes at him.
I turned back to face Mr. Black and
shine and said, "I'm sorry sir, if
you're not here to order food then I
can't help you." My tone was far from
friendly.
The driver looked shocked, he
squirmed. His ego was crushed. I
wanted to laugh but decided to play
it cool.
The passenger in the back rolled up
the window without saying a word.
I starred at the driver square in the
eye, "So, what is it gonna be."
He stumbled on his words, "Umm umm,
just...just gimme two number ones
with cheese."
"What will you like to drink?"
"One coke and one sprit."
"Does that complete your order?"
He turns to the passenger seat, "What
do you want?"
Then he looks back at me, "Let me get
two spicy chicken sandwiches and a
large frosty."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah"
"Your total is $14.75."
He handed me a $20 bill and I give
him his change. And proceeded to get
his food together and handed it to
him.
Before he pulled off, the back seat
window comes down again.
With fury in eyes and the smell of
marijuana filling the space between
us, Mr. Light skin and waves said
"You'll gonna regret what you just
did, slut!"
Someone in the car yelled out "Yo
Dwayne, chill son."
Then the car sped off.
I was shocked, fear grasped me and I
felt like I was chocking. The look in
his eyes were so demonic.
"Iwalewa! You okay? you look like you
saw a ghost."
Ashley forgot her earphones and came
back to get them. She had 15 minutes
left for her break.
"Umm yeah...thanks"
"You sure?"
"Yeah"
With one eyebrow raised she said
"Hmm...ok."
I snapped out of it and brushed it
off as an empty threat. I continued
to take orders at the drive thru
until Ashley returned from her
break.
It was now 10:00 pm , finally the end
had come. We locked the doors and
began to clean up. By 10:45
pm everyone had shut down their
stations and we were good to go. I
usually walked with my friend Ryan
because he lived on Atlantic Avenue
also, but he was off of work today.
Sarah asked me to wait for her but
she was taking too long to get ready
and I was exhausted. She was going
clubbing and had to layer her face
with make up and drown her body with
perfume to get rid of the french fry
smell. I couldn't be bothered.
"Sarah, I gotta go. You're taking too
long."
"Iwalewa, I promise I'm almost done
just gimme 10 minutes. I don't wanna
walk alone!"
"You said that 10 minutes ago, I'm
tired."
"It is not safe for either one of us
to walk alone."
"The longer you take, the more unsafe
it becomes Sarah."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Aight it's cool, get home safe."
I called my supervisor to go through
the normal routine of her checking
our bags to ensure that we didn't
steal any food. I was good so she
opened the door to let me out. I
walked out the door and suddenly felt
the need to go back. But I couldn't
figure out why, I checked to make
sure that I had all my stuff and
proceeded to walk.
The cold air slapped me in the face,
I pulled my hoodie tighter and
adjusted my neck scarf. My phone
rang, I managed to pull it out of my
pocket and saw that it was my brother
Kole. He probably wanted a burger or
something and I couldn't be bothered.
It was now 11:22 pm . I threw my phone
in my bag. It rang 3 more times but I
didn't bother to check who was
calling, it was too cold and I wanted
to retain the warmth that my hands
received from within my pockets. I
just wanted to hop in the dollar cab
at the next block and answer my bed
that had been calling me.
Something kept nudging me to stop and
check my phone but I decided to wait
until I got in the cab. I took two
more steps and suddenly an all black
Lincoln town car stops in front of
me. I stood frozen in my tracks
trying to comprehend what was going
on.
And then I saw him, but this time he
was the driver.
"Remember me? Ms. Sassy." Mr. Light
skin with waves asked with a loud
laugh.
"What do you want from me? Leave me
alone!" I responded.
I looked around and there was no one
in sight. The other side of the
street was a dead end.
"Today is your lucky day beautiful"
"Come on, let's go for a ride. I
promise I'll take it slow."
"Nooooo....leave me alone" I yelled
at the top of my lungs.
"Ain't no one gonna hear you, I
waited all night for you. You're all
mine boo."
Tears began to fall from my eyes, my
heart started beating uncontrollably.
This couldn't be happening. He
stepped out of the car followed by
two other guys from the backseat and
they began to walk towards me with
mischievous looks.
I suddenly transformed into a
dramatic character out of a Nollywood
movie, with my right hand on my head
I began to shout " Ori mi o...I am
finished...e gba mi o...temi ba
mi...see my life." (Translation:
{Yoruba} Help me...It's over for
me...My life is over)