Testing patience

I got on the bus, paid my fare, and soon enough, the bus filled up with other passengers. We all settled in, and after a few minutes, we were on our way. The driver stopped three times along the route to drop people off. Things seemed smooth and normal, until, out of nowhere, a guy from the back suddenly shouted that he’d missed his stop. Apparently, he had fallen asleep and only woke up after we’d passed it. Trying to be reasonable, the driver said he’d charge him a bit less for the inconvenience.

The man went into his pocket and pulled out a torn note to pay. Seeing this, the driver lost his patience. Before any of us could react, he slapped the guy right there. We all stepped in to separate them and calm things down, and a few of us asked the man why he didn’t have better money to pay with. He explained that he’d gotten the torn note earlier from an okpa seller. It was a bit hard to believe, but there wasn’t much we could do about it.

Someone suggested he withdraw some fresh cash from the nearest ATM or POS, but he bluntly refused. At that point, it seemed like he was just being stubborn. The driver, fed up and unwilling to argue any further, told us all to get back on the bus. He gave the guy one last look, and we drove off, leaving him behind. None of us said much as we drove away, still processing what had just happened.
As we left, the driver muttered something about the man reaping what he’d sown.