No Fare, No Fear

Teenage years are one of the wildest phases of life because it's that time when we think we know everything, feel we're wise, and often go on to delve into ridiculous things, maybe for the fun of it or just so we can prove a point or get out of a situation. Reflecting on those days, I can't help but shake my head at some of the crazy things I did, especially the ones I got away with without facing the consequences of my parents finding out, and today I'd love to share one of those with you.

During my secondary days as a teenager, my school was very far from my house; it was about 10 kilometers away, if not more, and for that reason, I was often given transport fare to get to school and return back home after the school routine. For the first few weeks in that school, I was a good boy who adapted to that by boarding a bus, getting to school, facing my studies, and returning home on time; however, that changed after I made some friends who lived along my route to school, so rather than boarding a bus, I started walking down to their house in the morning so we could go together.

During this shift I realized the interesting part of their routine that captures my attention: these guys would literally spend their lunch money and fare at a local gaming center before we entered the school in the morning, where we played all sorts of games; football, car races, and the like, meaning before we even entered the school, we didn't even have a dime on us to either spend on snacks or to fare back home, and the fun-loving me joined them in this habit.

So after playing the game till we've no money on us to play again, we'll carry our bags and trek those 10 kilometers to school, arriving late and being punished for that, but that didn't dissuade us from doing it again and again. While our parents won't know about our ordeals in the morning, they'll definitely know about those of the afternoon if we don't arrive home in time. And so we often trek a few distances from the school premises and then wave down incoming pickup trucks, which we try to hitch a ride on. On a good day, most of the drivers who drive these trucks often stop so we students can board them and would even slow down for us to come down when anyone arrives at their destination. Then came the day I'll never forget in a hurry.

We've been waiting for close to 30 minutes on that day with no pickup truck in sight. We've even walked a long distance and were already tired when we finally saw one coming at full speed. As always, we tried to wave it down, but the driver didn't budge; he kept on speeding. We chased after it as though our lives depended on boarding the truck, and luckily the truck was stopped by a traffic jam, which gave us opportunities to get onboard even though the driver kept shouting that we shouldn't. After the traffic dispersed and the truck started moving, the real problem began when students needed to get down, but the driver refused to slow down.

This led to some people jumping down while the vehicle was in motion at full speed, and while some were lucky to do that and came out unharmed, others weren't so lucky, as I saw some miss their step, fall, and bruise their bodies. Others' situations were far worse, as I saw a student get hit by an incoming vehicle immediately after he got down from the truck. Seeing that, I froze and knew I was done for, because if I tried such a thing and went home with bruises, I'd have to explain how I got them, and neither would I want to risk my life and suffer the same fate as the students who got hit by a vehicle.

So I stayed on the truck with the mindset that I'll only come down when there's a traffic jam, which, unfortunately for me didn't come across until he drove past my stop and drove about four more kilometers until we were in mile 2. It was a crazy experience; we had to beg a vehicle going back to help us because we didn't even know our way back, and when we saw one, I ended up getting home in the evening around 7 or so. Of course, my grandparents were already worried sick about my whereabouts. I had to lie to them that I lost my fare and got lost while trying to navigate my way back home on foot. They never knew the actual reason why I got home late until they both passed on a few years ago, but it's quite a crazy, youthful, ridiculous adventure.

All photos are mine.