The Day I Entered the Wrong Bus

 

By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

I was in a hurry that morning. I had somewhere to be and I was already thinking about the time because I did not want to arrive late. When I got to the bus stop, it was busy as usual. Buses were coming and going, conductors were calling out the names of different places, passengers were getting down while others were trying to get in, and people were standing by the roadside waiting for the bus going to their different destinations. I was also looking around for one going my way. I had already started feeling that I was wasting time, so when I heard a conductor call the name of the place I was going to, I quickly moved towards the bus and entered.

I did not ask the conductor to repeat the name, and I did not even look properly at the writing on the bus. I simply heard the name, assumed it was my destination and got in. I found a seat by the window and sat down. The bus started moving almost immediately, and I felt relieved that I had finally got one. I looked outside as we moved along the road, but I was not really paying attention to where we were going. My mind was already on where I was headed and what I needed to do when I arrived. I was thinking more about getting there on time than anything else.

For the first few minutes, everything seemed fine. The bus stopped at a few places to pick up passengers and then continued. I was still looking outside, but most of the places did not mean anything to me because I was not familiar with that particular route. After some time, however, I started noticing that something was different. The road was not looking the way I expected it to look. I told myself that maybe the driver had taken another route because of traffic, so I did not worry about it immediately. I continued sitting quietly and looking outside, hoping that I would soon recognise somewhere.

Then we got to a junction I knew very well. I knew that if I was going to my destination, the driver should turn there. I watched the road, expecting him to turn, but he continued straight. I looked outside again and then looked ahead at the road. For a few seconds, I was not sure what to think. I started remembering what the conductor had called when I entered the bus, and that was when it occurred to me that perhaps I had heard him wrongly.

I turned to the woman sitting beside me and asked, 'Please, where is this bus going?' She told me the name of the place, and as soon as she said it, I knew I had made a mistake. That was not where I was going. I had entered the wrong bus.

I did not know whether to laugh or be annoyed with myself. I had been in such a hurry that I had not listened properly or checked the bus before entering. I had heard a name that sounded like my destination and immediately assumed I was in the right place. Now I was sitting in a bus going in a completely different direction. I told the woman that I wanted to get down, but she told me to wait until the next stop because the bus was already moving. I had no choice, so I stayed in my seat and waited.

As the bus continued, I kept thinking about how easily I could have avoided the whole problem. I only needed to ask the conductor one simple question before getting in. Even if I had spent another few seconds checking the destination, I would have known that I was about to enter the wrong bus. Instead, I had been too focused on leaving quickly because I did not want to waste time. Now I was sitting there knowing that I had already wasted even more time.

When the bus finally stopped, I got down and stood by the roadside for a moment. I looked around, trying to decide what to do next. I knew the general area, but I had not planned to come there that morning, and I was now farther away from my destination than I had been before. I checked the time and shook my head when I realised how late I had become. For a moment, I was annoyed with myself, but then I started laughing because the whole thing was almost funny. There was no point standing there blaming myself. I had made the mistake, and I just needed to find the right bus.

I crossed the road and waited. This time, I was not going to rush into anything. When another bus came, I looked carefully at the destination before getting close to it. I asked the conductor where the bus was going and listened to his answer. I even asked another passenger who was nearby just to make sure I had heard correctly. Only after I was certain that it was the right bus did I enter. I found a seat and sat down, this time paying much more attention to the road.

As the second bus moved, I began recognising the places along the way. I knew I was finally going in the right direction, and I felt more relaxed. I could not help thinking about the first bus and how such a simple mistake had changed my whole morning. I had left home worried about being late, rushed into a bus because I did not want to waste time, and ended up spending even more time going in the wrong direction. It was one of those mistakes that could have been avoided if I had simply slowed down for a few seconds.

By the time I finally got to my destination, I was already late. There was nothing I could do about that anymore. I had spent part of the morning going in the wrong direction and then finding my way back. I just had to accept it and continue with what I had come to do.

Since that day, I have become more careful whenever I am taking a bus, especially when I am in a hurry. I check the destination properly, listen to the conductor and ask questions if I am not sure. I would rather spend a few extra seconds making sure I am entering the right bus than enter quickly and later discover that I am going somewhere completely different.

That morning, I thought I was saving time by rushing into the first bus. In the end, I only rushed myself in the wrong direction.