Black Pride

03.

Thirty minutes later, the plane landed in the San Diego International Airport in California and Ayo, who had managed to get out all her bags, headed over to the arrival lounge of the airport from where she then headed to the checking in counter, where the airport officials checked to make sure she and all the other passengers on her plane were not trying to smuggle in any contraband into the country.

After being cleared by the airport officials at the appropriate counter, Ayo walked out of the airport and moved towards a small shaded area so that she could make her phone call. She brought out the white paper where Mrs. Ada had written her sister's number and straightened it as it had already crumpled in her back pack.

Two tall white girls came over to her side. Ayo sensed they were somehow rich because they had an entourage of men in black suits and dark shades following them, some of the men were carrying the girls' baggages.

Two men opened up two foldable chairs and set them down for the girls to sit. The two girls sat on the chairs which the men had opened for them without saying anything and both brought out their phones which they started to use as they waited.

"Urghh, Jacobs should be here by now! Why does he always have to be this slow?" Ayo heard one of the girls complain impatiently as she hissed loudly. Since Ayo was smart; she quickly figured out that these girls were waiting for their driver, Jacobs, to pick them up from the airport. She just shook her head and started dialing the number on the sheet of paper which she held in her hand.

"Hello, good afternoon, this is Ayo, Mrs. Ada said I should call this number when I reached the airport in California," Ayo said as soon as the person on the other end picked the call.

"Oh, hi Ayo, I'm Miss Janet. I'm Mrs. Ada's sister," The voice at the other end was warm and friendly, "Look, just find a spot to stay put, okay? I'm at the office, and I'll be there with you in about half an hour," Miss Janet said light heartedly.

Ayo smiled and was about to say something in reply when one of the men in black suit who was with the two girls, came towards her side and stopped a few meters in front of her. Ayo placed her palm on her phone's speaker and slightly lowered it from her ear. "Yes?" she said to him quizzically after telling Miss Janet that she would call her back later.

"Please ma'am, could you kindly make your call elsewhere? My boss said that you're disturbing her," he said politely, with a straight face.

Ayo looked over to where the two girls sat and caught one of them staring at her, twirling her long blonde hair in her well-manicured hand.

Ayo became enraged at such audacity! This was supposed to be a public place, not some private waiting room of a spoilt brat who erroneously believed she had the right to control how others behaved in a public place. Ayo moved away from the man and marched angrily to where the girl sat. "Hey," she started as she pointed furiously at her. The other girl stopped what she was doing and looked at her disdainfully. Two of her bodyguards quickly stood in between Ayo and the girls.

Ayo rolled her eyes at the display of pomposity, and then fixed an angry glare on the particular girl who had incensed her. "I don't know you and I don't plan on knowing you, but please for your own benefit, stay away from me, okay?" Ayo said crisply as she shook her fists at the two girls now. She then walked back leisurely to where she had previously stood and re-dialed Miss Janet's phone number again.

"Tony! Pete! Will you just stand here and watch her talk to me like that?" the white girl whom Ayo had confronted, said angrily to her bodyguard, who still stood by her defensively.

"Ma'am, since she didn't lay her hands on you or hurt you physically, we don't think she has done anything wrong," The man whose name was Tony said. She fumed at his words and continued using her phone angrily.