"No, not yet" she said and set the alarm
to snooze to give her a few minutes to ‘boot.
After a while in dream land, she roused and then went to pee.
‘Now I’m ready’, she said to herself as she put
her things together to go to Tina’s house.
Her eyes caught the clock hung on the
wall and she stared at it in disbelief. It was almost 6 o’clock.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no! How did this happen?” she
yelled in frustration and hurriedly packed her things. She ran out of the house,
and she had stopped a cab when she realized she didn’t lock the door.
"Sir, could you give me a few minutes, I forgot to lock my door but I'll be right back" she dashed off without closing the door or listening to what he had to say. When she arrived, she slid into the car.
“Thank you” she said to the driver. “191
Crambell Street”
That’s $5 ma’am” he replied and moved the gear
from park to drive.
“Wait!” she yelled at the driver and went
through her bag pack. “I think I forgot my wallet”
“Should I wait?” the driver asked
“Please do. I’ll be down in a minute” she
rushed out of the cab and dashed into the house. As she was about to step into
the car, Tracy her flat mate held her hands and whispered in her ears “You need
to powder your nose. You’re stained.”
Joanna stood fixed on the spot as Tracy smiled
at her and left. She bent by the passenger’s window and spoke to the driver “Sir,
please could you give another minute, I’ll be real quick.”
“Ma’am I haven’t got all day”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be back before you realize it.”
she said and used her bag to cover up before she ran into the house. She was back in a few minutes.
“Thank you, thank you” she said to the driver
“can we go now?”
The driver looked at her from the rear mirror
without saying a word.
“Can you go on now? I’m in a hurry please” she
said impatiently
“Forgive my manners” he said politely “But are
you sure you should be going out?”
“How do you mean?” she said irritated by the
question
“I’m sorry to meddle into your affairs. You’re
all over the place it and I think it will be better for you…” he was cut short
abruptly
“Should I alight or would you do your work?”
“I’m sorry ma’am. 141 Crambell street right?” he asked
as he started the ignition.
“Yes” she said and he drove off. Joanna
wondered what the driver’s problem was. The fact that she told him to wait a
few times and he did didn’t mean he shouldn’t mind his business.
She stared at
his black and grey hair before looking away. Her parents always meddled in that
same way. There's something about aging that makes people nosy.
A thought nudged her in her abdomen “What if he
was right?” But wouldn’t that mean she would fail her exams? That was a scarier
thought but she couldn’t get the feeling out of her mind and it upset her.
The driver arrived at her destination. She
alighted and almost ran into the house when he called back after her.
“Hey ma’am where’s my money?” he said as he
stood on one foot while the other part of his body was in the car.
Joanna had completely forgotten and ran back to
give it to him “Sorry about that” she looked into his eyes and the eerie
feeling arose once more. She shrugged it off, walked away and hit Tina’s
buzzer.
“Who is it?”
“Its Jo”
“Finally”. The door opened and she went into
the building and Tina’s apartment.
“Hey girl, its almost 7! Thought we agreed for
6?” Tina said
“Long story. But I’m here now. How much have I
missed?”
Tina went over a few details and promised to
fill her in when others were done with the calculation. While they were at it,
someone tapped at the door.
“Who’s there” Tina asked
There was no answer.
“Who’s there?” she asked again
“...um,
its Billy”
“Why does he sound that way” asked Kristina one
of the girls in the room
“I thought so…” Jo said but was abruptly cut
off
There was a big bang on the door. “Everyone on
the ground now” Someone was about to scream when they heard the click of the
gun.
“If I hear any other sound, I’ll blow your heads off. Be quiet and obey
all instructions.
When we get to you, give us what we want and we would leave
you alone in peace. Disobey and you gonna meet your fucking dead folks on the
other side”
Jo was shaking; she was sure her
blood pressure was hitting the roof. If only she had stayed home. She felt something flow towards her head, and as it touched her hands, she could smell urea.
Kristina who was lying down in front of her had peed on herself.
The thieves got to her and she handed over her
wristwatch and phone. The one who gave the instructions walked to her
“Is that all you have?” he asked
“Ye-Yess. Please don’t kill me.” she said with her head bowed.
“I would have left you alone but you’re a terrible liar.” he
said angrily
“I swear down. I’ve- I’ve dropped all I have.
My laptop is in my bag”
He slapped her immediately. “Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
“I’m sorry.” she said amidst tears
“I’ll show you what happens to girls that lie.”
he said “On your feet now” he snatched her up. She was about to scream when the
guy put the gun behind her head. “One more sound and it’s over little liar”.
She knew she was crying but it was soundless. He dragged her out
and took her to another room where they tied another guy. He pushed the tied
guy into the bathroom and locked it.
He put her on the bed. “What’s your name?”
“J-J-Joanna” she stuttered
“Now be a good girl and do as I say.” He said
to her and began to unbuckle his belt.
Jo started a fresh round of tears.
“Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy it” he said as he took off his denim.
“Please don’t do this.” she sobbed
“Keep your fucking mouth shut and take off your
pants now!” he said as she took off her denim and she intensified her tears. He
dipped his fingers into her underwear. “What’s this?” he said as
he showed her his blood stained fingers.
Jo’s mind went from east to west almost
immediately to give him a quick answer. “Please wash your hands immediately.
It’s my period all right but I have drug-resistant staphylococcus and I just
ordered herbs from Africa to treat it. You can die from it”
The thief jumped off the bed and ran into the
bathroom “Get out of my way” he said and kicked the guy he locked in there in a desperate attempt to wash his hands. There
was a loud bang on the door to the room “Yo Bear! We’re off; cops on their way”
The thief walked out of the bathroom without as
much as a glance from her as she was putting her clothes back on.
In a few
seconds, Tina rushed to her side and they began to cry together. Jo was really
grateful nothing happened to her and she sure wasn’t going to get out of her
house whenever she had that eerie feeling next time.
Photo credits
dreamstime.com
absfreepic.dom
theguardian.com
nymag.com
bigw.com.au
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