The Meet-Cute: A Road Trip

This week I had a blast from the past! An old acquaintance reached out to me and I couldn't be more shocked. Suddenly, I had a flash of the old fresh college Tobare, who had just finished her first year with a 4.33 GPA feeling on top of the world. Here is how I met one of my many Doctor friends and had the best road trip to date.

Grown Girl

School had vacated, it was the end of my first year in the university and boy was it an unexpected ride. From crushes to roommates, my 100 level was full of drama! More drama than I had ever had in my entire life and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I loved it. I had moved my things to my uncle's house in Sapele and I was ready to leave for Abuja for the holiday. I started really getting good at doing my own makeup thanks to my bunkmate and youtube videos. Just Getting the perfect brows was a huge deal in 2016, but here I was with my very own complete set to play with. I was heading back home and I needed them to see that I was grown not the tiny Tobare they had left behind in Delta state. So I made up, wore my best jean and a new shirt, and was ready to hit the road.

Please seat next to me

The park was filled with passengers as usual and for some reason, Abuja didn't have a lot of passengers. It was going to be at least an 8hour plus trip to Abuja, and I needed to make sure I got a good seat. Thankfully, I did get one just enough to stretch my legs. Time for boarding and I felt sad, all the passengers seemed to be old folks and parents, damn this was going to be a boring ride.

I knew the conversation would revolve around old and flogged politics and everyone proffering solutions to save Nigeria. Plus children will cry and their parents would stop to buy everything on the road. Just when I lost all hope, at the last minute someone came in and he was quickly rushed to the bus. I stared at him, somehow coercing him through my eyes to the seat next to me. It worked!

He quickly came to the seat next to me and I smiled warmly. In retrospect, I am sure he also did the scan and didn't want to be caught up in the annoying conversations the old folks would bring. He smiled warmly too and proceeded to settle himself. Not long after the trip started I got bored and started playing candy crush, I made sure I charged my tablet the night before just so I'd have enough options for the trip.

The opening

I don't remember what he said but I know he spoke first and before you know it, he was helping me win my game. We talked about cheat codes for the game and I expressed how lame it was to do that. We introduced ourselves and I found that he was a doctor. Wow! He somehow sparkled in my eyes, just two years before, I was convinced I was going to become a Gynaecologist. He was everything I imagined I would be, a young thriving doctor. Of course, I riddled him with all the diseases I knew about, and if some lifestyle choices were perhaps illnesses. We talked about everything from music to dramas, aspirations, and dreams. It felt like we were isolated from the entire bus, in our own world. People noticed and started asking if we knew each other. It was so fascinating to see young people discussing like they had been friends for years. When we ran out of things to say, we'd laugh at the comments of the passengers and our mutual observations. 

Goodbye

I don't even remember buying lunch when we stopped at the usual place for the drivers to rest. We just got down and stretched our legs and continued on like we were never interrupted. Finally, we got to Abuja and it started hitting us that perhaps we'd never see each other again. I was going home and he was going to fly to Ukraine the next day to continue his life. I felt sad but happy that I had met someone like this and had a meet-cute like something out of a romance novel. Of course, we exchanged numbers and socials and said goodbye at the park. Even with all the excitement of finally seeing my family after a year, all I could talk about that holiday was the doctor.