The Harder Road.

The sun was already high in the sky when Chima stood at the bus stop, she was clutching a brown envelope like it carried her whole future inside, and in a way, it somehow did, Inside the envelope was her admission letter, it was her ticket to study nursing at the polytechnic of her choice, she had already been dreaming about this for years, and now finally, she had the chance.  But the problem was that she also had another offer on her plate. So as she waited for the bus, Ifeanyi, her childhood friend, walked up to her, he was smiling as if he had won the lottery. “Chima baby! , Omo guess what? See I got us a deal, he said, almost too excited. She frowned, you ehn... what kind of deal again ehn ? You just always have one. Then he lowered his voice and leaned closer, Look, my guy has this quick job , we just move some kind of goods from one side of town to the other, see no wahala, we get fifty thousand naira each, like cash, Today o Chima blinked, Fifty what? ah! Fifty thousand naira, Cash, He grinned wider , see tell me you are in, Imagine what you can do with that kind of money before even starting school. She hugged her envelope tighter, ifeanyi, I don’t know, what is even inside the goods? He shifted, suddenly avoiding her eyes, Don’t ask too many questions, just know it is nothing heavy and it is easy money. Her chest tightened, easy money,It sounded good, especially because her mom had been complaining about how they would pay her hostel fees and buy textbooks, but something about it made her stomach twist. The bus arrived and people rushed to climb in, Chima stood rooted, lost in her thoughts. Chima, Ifeanyi pressed on, you always play safe, but think about it, One quick run, and you do not have to stress your mom for anything, nobody will know. She looked at him, then at the bus conductor yelling, Oshodi! Oshodi straight!!! , Enter with your change! Her mind raced, nursing school was her dream, her way out, but money… the kind of money Ifeanyi was talking about could solve a lot right now. Abeg enter bus if you dey go! the conductor shouted at her. Ifeanyi smirked, So what will it be? Nursing student or big girl? Chima closed her eyes for a second, she thought of her mom’s tired face, the prayers every night , the way she always said, Better dey come , just hold on, And then she thought about the news she saw last week , a young boy shot dead because of “quick runs” like this. She opened her eyes and stepped toward the bus, ifeanyi, I no dey follow you, abeg, this one no be my road. His smile vanished, Ahn Ahn! , so you choose to struggle?” No o abeg , she said, climbing into the bus. I just choose peace. The conductor slammed the door shut as the bus drove off, leaving Ifeanyi standing alone at the stop , Chima looked out the window, her hand still holding the envelope tight , for the first time, she felt like she had truly chosen her path , even if it was not the easy one. _{*Image Is Generated With Meta AI*}