“Treasure! Have you heard?”
The way Mike rushed into the cafeteria, I knew he was coming to gist about something that had just occurred.
Source
We don't know how, but Mike always had the correct current news about almost everybody. Sometimes I wondered what he was doing studying Theatre Arts when he should have been studying Communication Arts or Journalism.
He dropped his tote bag on the table across from my plate of food and flicked one of the twists which strayed from the knot he made behind his head. That was another reason people didn't like Mike. Apart from his being talkative, he behaved, walked, and even talked like a female.
“Are you going to talk or should I eat my food in peace?” I asked him. He had gotten momentarily distracted by a notification on his phone.
“Oh, sorry. I was at the library when I heard two ladies talking. I ignored them initially but when they mentioned Lillian Davies I knew it had to be the one in our class”
By this time, I had scooped up some spoons of rice into my mouth and was chewing. I nodded to show that I was interested in the gist. Lillian was one of the top fashion guns in our level. She wore the latest clothes and carried designer bags. Because of this, she was both a snub and a discriminator.
Any gist about her would definitely be interesting.
“So these girls were saying that Lillian went to a store to get cosmetics and just outside the store, she was robbed. In broad daylight! Her phones, iPhone 12 Pro, and a Samsung were collected, as well as the cash she had on the spot”
“Jesus Christ, that's terrible o” I was shaking my head as I spoke
“One of the girls said she was the one who gave her transport fare to return home”
“No wonder she hasn't been in school all week” I murmured as Mike chatted on. He was barely done with me when he rushed over to greet another of my coursemates, Dorothy, who just walked into the canteen. I was sure he would give her the gist too.
I continued my food in deep thought. The security in my town was getting poorer by the day and no one was saying or doing anything about it. Sadly, most of the targets were young people.
Just the week before, my older brother's girlfriend, Sonia was robbed at gunpoint, also in broad daylight.
Hers was so bad that it had occurred in a moving vehicle which had other passengers.
She had returned home weeping that afternoon because nobody in the bus could help her and there was no single police officer at the checkpoints where buses were halted on other days to be searched.
“Those police officers are always at those checkpoints asking innocent people to drop from vehicles, especially in the afternoon….” Sonia said amidst tears.
“Is it that alone?” My brother cut in angrily, “They go about seizing young people and taking them to jail or extorting heavily from them simply because they own iPhones. Now that it's time to do some real arresting, they're nowhere to be found!”
I shook my head sadly again.
The police department or whoever was responsible for the strong security service definitely needed improvement.
Mike was soon back at my table with Dorothy, the coursemate he left me to greet earlier.
“Treasure, have you heard?” Dorothy asked.
“I told her already” Mike responded before I could
“But how can the security issue be improved in this state? This thing is getting serious o. Innocent people are being arrested daily for owning iphones while the criminals walk around freely on our streets” Dorathy said. It was as if she had been reading my thoughts.
“I don't know if we have an emergency number as a state so that when someone is in danger, they or people around can call for help just like it is done abroad”
“Even when these people are called for help, do they show up on time?” Mike asked. He had bubble gum in his mouth now and he was chewing mercilessly.
“That's another thing. If there is no emergency number, one should be created and efficient officers should be placed 24/7 around strategic locations so there can be immediate response when they are called upon” I responded.
“And please, they should stop trying to extort people who need help. They are already paid for it” Dorothy added.
I sighed. If response teams such as anti-robbery squads or anti-crime squads became effective, robberies and certain harassments would reduce drastically and people like me would not need to live in fear of the next street, or bus, not knowing what evil lies in store for me.
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