Made To Believe ✔️

Chapter One

DIANA'S POV

I stood in line at the bus stop waiting for people to move forward so that I could get in the bus. It was a little chilly since it was early in the morning but I hadn't bothered with a jacket. I knew that in a few hours it would be sweltering and I didn't want to be lagging a jacket around. The person in front of me swayed on his feet meaning he was either dozing off or drunk. It was on a Monday so I went for drunk as it had been a long weekend because of the Easter holiday. I moved to the side a little bit so that if he were to fall he wouldn't fall on me.

Five minutes later the line finally started moving and I got into the bus. I took a seat behind the driver where I always sat unless it was occupied and opened the window to allow some fresh air in. It didn't help much but it was better than the smell of onions coming from the sack stacked under my seat, probably being transported to the market.

I had the money and driving skills to own a personal car but I lived and worked in the city so getting stuck in traffic on my own was not fun. In the bus I got to experience different things, meet new people if they were kind enough and hear the most hilarious of stories. Sure there were tough times but I'd grown up with three older brothers so I could always handle any situation thrown at me.

The bus filled pretty quickly and the tout started going around collecting fare starting at the back. I straightened my white off shoulder sundress and held my backpack in my lap. It was small but had everything I needed, my Macbook, phone, keys, wallet, my lady emergency necessities and a pocket knife. You could never be too careful, especially with me being a single lady living alone in the city.

"Sasa Dee."The tout greeted when he got to me.

Hello Dee.

I used the same bus each morning so I was familiar with the driver, the tout and a few common daily commuters like me.

"Poa Sana, Johnte. Habari ya asubuhi?"I replied handing him the bus fare.

I'm good, Johnte. How's your morning going?

Since I was the last person he collected money he took the seat next to me which was reserved for him. He either stood or sat depending on if he had to give up his seat for a passenger or not.

"Iko fiti kabisa. Kuhustle kama kawaida."He replied.

It's going great. Just hustling as usual.

I smiled politely as we carried on simple conversation about anything we came up with.

Johnte was a class eight drop out who even though didn't do well in school struggled to provide for himself and his family. The job didn't pay that well but it was better than him sitting at home doing nothing or hanging out with the hopeless doing drugs. The economic situation in our country is terrible so most people had to do with what they could come by. If you didn't have the required certificates you struggled and even if you did you still needed to bribe someone to get a job or know someone in high places.

When people started calling out for the bus to stop, Johnte stood up and resumed his work leaving me to my thoughts. It wasn't a long drive since I lived in an apartment complex in Westlands but worked right in the middle of the central business district. It was a thirty minute drive without traffic and an hour or more if there was.

After a while Johnte tapped my shoulder noticing that I was lost in thought alerting me that my stop was coming by. I stood up, hiked my bag over my shoulder and got closer to the door. Once the bus stopped completely I alighted waving goodbye to Johnte and the driver before waiting for them drive off so I could cross the street. It was illegal but once we became friends they had started dropping me off across from work so I didn't have to walk far.