Late Again
By Iorkegh Donatus
Nigeria

It all started when I covered seven days for Linda at work. The achy joints and cramp feet, all like I have played football bare footed.
When the first alarm boozed, I managed to snooze it. I carelessly pushed the phone to the floor. It rumbled and vibrated for sometime before I hastily got out of bed like a reveille had sounded to signal red alert.
Oh gosh!
I lumbered up with trembling feet. The clock on the wall read 7:30am. I had little time to prepare for work. With an hour behind schedule, I juggled my way out without a bath, scaling through to the bus stop.
“Lekki, Jakande, Ajah.......” the conductor announced.
I flipped out a note of two hundred naira, handed it to him and added “Lekki”
“my change” I returned to him in a harsh voice, with my time fast ticking.
“just hold on” he replied gently
I was shocked at his gentility but added with a fume “I will drop here”
In an unusual manner, he leaned forward, gaining a balance, stretched out a hundred and fifty naira to me.
I continued with the remaining 15 minutes trek to my office, thinking about my lateness to work for the fifteenth day in a row, which will prompt a query or outright dismissal with the company’s zero tolerance for late coming.
I heard a loud shout of my name “Zubby”.
I turned sharply with an annoying gaze. It was Femi, my colleague. I stopped.
“Where are you running to when we still have time” He asked sarcastically with his parrot-like mouth “it's just 7:30am, almost an hour before time”.
Hmm! I calmed my nerves. The time on the wall clock was not correct. I was not late after all.

Iorkegh Donatus © 2016.

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http://prize.etisalat.com.ng/flash-fiction/voteall.php?id=179.