As soon as the uber I ordered arrived, I stormed in and didn't even care to bade Paul goodbye. I was fed up by his words, he wasn't really thinking straight.
I wonder why Frank held dear to such a guy, why keep such people as friends? I wouldn't do that if I was to be in his shoes, I would definitely dump any friend that upholds bad lifestyles.
"Mam, seatbelt please" My thought was interrupted by a calm voice, which happened to be that of the cabman.
"Call me by my name, Laura. Or just Miss" I muttered, fastening my seatbelt.
"Okay, Miss. And you can call me 305" he said, smiling at me through the rearview mirror. He was really funny.
"305? What does that suppose to mean? Is it a code or something?" I curiously asked.
"It's my cab number. In Go Travel, we are mainly addressed by our cab number" he responded.
"Wow, 305 right?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, thanks for the briefing"
"You are welcome, Miss"
As the cab sped into the road, I huffed looking around the interior. It was new, and the seat was soft and comfortable. Also, it smelled good. Unlike other cabs I'd drove in before.
In the city, we didn't used to have much of Go Travel cabs... so I didn't know much about them. There were only MyRide, Fast Pace, and Yellow Wheels.
According to a popular encyclopedia site, Go Travel was founded six years ago and operated mostly in countrysides, towns, and cities in some states. The founder was Camilla Diaz, the daughter of a one-time Federal Investigation Bureau's Director.
I dug deep and found more information about her, and when I was done I decided to ask 305 on the information I wasn't clear off. "Is Camilla Diaz still married to Dante?" I know it was too personal but I believed as a worker in her company, he knows better.
"What? Are you asking about the founder and chief executive officer of Go Travel?" he wrinkled a brow at me through the rearview mirror.
"Yeah. Some information about her, I can't find it online" I said.
"Well, that's because she wants it personal. I don't even know much about her, and I don't care to. My job is to work and get paid, nothing more" he stopped at a red traffic light, even though the road was empty. That was good.
"Oh, okay. Don't mind me, I'm just being curious" I huffed and relaxed back, "Have you been to Cornfield before?" I cluelessly queried.
"Yes, why?" he muttered.
"Nothing. I just don't used to see cabs around, especially your company's" I said.
"That's because we don't used to get calls from there," he shook his head, "It's a small geographical area, you know? And most of the people there have cars. It's hard to walk past a house without a garage, isn't that so?"
"Correct! Anyways, people are gonna start seeing you guys around 'cause I would be working in Mainland soon and I don't plan on relocating" I apprised him.
"Wow, that's good!" he stepped on the gas as soon as the traffic light showed green. "I love driving around counties, less traffic and you don't have to worry about crazy or reckless drivers"
"Yeah, but deers, right? Just like in the movies. Sometimes if you are not careful enough, you end up hitting some" I said, recalling some of the movies I had watched with such scenes.
"Right, but I've never hit a deer before. I am always careful" he said, and I couldn't agree more. He was actually a law abiding citizen, otherwise who obeys the traffic lights when there are no cars or pedestrian around?
"Sure you are!" I said with a thumbs up.
Just then, he told me we were few kilometers away from my destination, "I hope you are enjoying the ride?" he asked.
"Of course I am, and I am definitely going to give you five stars as soon as we arrive safely at my destination" I assured him.
"Thanks, Miss. You would be the third to do that this morning" he said, making me to wonder if he had ever had a three star rating before or less.
"Have you ever had a low rating before?" I asked.
"Hmm," he heaved a sigh, "when I was new, yeah. And that was two years ago. I had to work very hard to build a very good reputation, a reputation I hope to maintain" he said.
"That's good. I love hardworking, it usually pays" I encouraged him.
"Yes it does" he acknowledged.
Immediately we arrived at my destination, I rated him five stars, paid him and then alighted from the cab.
"Bye, Miss" he bade me goodbye.
"Bye!" I bade him as well.
Hence, he drove away. And when he did, I looked around for a spot and dialed Frank's contact. It rang for some time before he picked. "Hello," he said, "don't tell me you are there already. This is quarter past nine"
"Well, I am" I giggled, checking the time displayed on my screen.
"Right? Okay, I will send someone to get you 'cause I am kind of busy now. I hope you won't mind?" he said.
"It's fine" I shrugged.
"Okay, stay put. When the person arrives, he's gonna call you. Please don't go anywhere, and be watchful of street guys" he advised.
"I will, thank you"
"You are welcome" he ended the call.
Street guys? They do have street guys too, just like in the city? I wondered, looking around in fear. There were no police around for me to rely on should in case a street guy appears and tries to rob me.
Although the street wasn't empty, there were people around and cars driving to and fro, but even in the city where traffic was much and streets were crowded, people were still being robbed by street guys in absence of the police.
I was busy looking around and being watchful as advised when suddenly my eyes landed on some weird-looking guys in hoodies staring at me from the other side of the road.
The guys gently began walking towards me. I intended to run or find a place to hide but I didn't want Frank's guy to come and start looking for me. Hence, I walked into a phone booth and disguised myself as a customer trying to make a call.
The came looking at me and joking around. I didn't say anything to them, I continued making my fake call until eventually they decided to leave. I was really lucky, I had encountered pickpockets before but this ones, they didn't look good at all.
I exited the phone booth and luckily for me, a police patrol vehicle came and parked by the roadside. One of the officers alighted the vehicle and headed straight to a coffee shop nearby. Finally, sanity had been restored. No street guy would dare approach me now, I thought to myself.
Just then, my phone rang. It was an unknown contact, could it be Frank's guy? I thought to myself. "Hello?" I said the moment I placed the phone on my ear after picking the call.
"Hi, Laura. How are you?" It was a familiar voice, sounded more like Fred's. But Fred? How did he got my contact?
"I am fine, is this Fred?" I curiously asked.
"Yeah, I knew you would recognize my voice" he giggled from the other side.
"Of course I will, but... how did you get my contact?" I was eager to know how he managed to get my contact.
"Group chat, in GreenApp" he replied.
"Group chat?" I was surprised, "What group chat?"
"The one Jessica created this morning, she added all of us. Including you" he elaborated.
"Ohh" I expressed, not even knowing what to say.
"Yeah, that's where I got your contact" he added.
"Hmm, okay... great! So, how was the night party? How's Shirley?" I asked, although I didn't intend to ask him about Shirley but I wanted to perceive his reaction.
"Fine, but Shirley? I should be asking you. You are more close to her than I am" he said.
"Like seriously? We just met yesterday, but you? You guys have known each other for a long even though you are more like cat and mouse" I sarcastically uttered.
"You can say that again" he laughed, "Shirley is fine. Was just kidding. We chatted this morning, in the group though"
"Wow, okay I think I need to check my GreenApp but I am busy now. I am not at home, but when I am back I will do that. You will see my message" I assured him.
"Alright dear, anytime. I would really love to talk to you about something, but privately. Whenever you are online" he said.
"Oh," I uttered, what is he trying to talk to me about? I wondered. "Okay, until then" I added.
"Alright, bye"
"Bye, Fred!" I ended the call.
Was he trying to talk to me about Shirley? Well, I just couldn't wait. I was kind of excited, you know? If it was really about Shirley then it's obvious he's made his mind to date her, and I would gladly help in connecting the two. After all, Shirley liked him too. She obviously did.
Buzz... buzz...
My phone vibrated and quickly began ringing. It was a call from Frank's guy. Initially I thought it was one of Jessica's friends again but then it turned out to be him.
"Are you the one standing close to that phone booth?" he asked.
"Yes, where are you?" I looked around and found a girl staring at me in an SUV while holding a phone to his ears, he must be the one, "Is that you?" I wrinkled a brow at him.
"Yes, it's me. Come into the car" he said and ended the call. He was quite fast. Anyways, I walked over to the car, pulled one of the back passenger doors open and hopped into the car.
Thus, he stepped on the gas pedal and began driving. He didn't even care to tell me to fasten my seatbelt, unlike 305. Well, I guess he didn't care about ratings. He was Frank's guy after all, he had nothing to do with ratings.
I thought I didn't need to fasten my seatbelt but the moment he increased the speed of the car and recklessly began driving, I had to do that in fear of what might happen. What if we end up having an accident? If only I could tell him to reduce the speed, or perhaps I should try.
"Hey, sorry to bother you. But don't you think the speed is a little bit much? I have phobia for speed, please" I said politely, hoping to be listened.
He didn't say a word. He only glared at me through the rearview mirror, sighed and then began reducing the speed gently.
"Thank you" I uttered and beamed at him through the rearview mirror.
He glanced at me in acknowledgement and continued driving. I liked it when I engage in talks with people, especially in the car but this one here was a tough guy.
If he wasn't a tough guy then what was he? Did Frank warned him not to talk to me, (he obviously could) or was he just trying to be mindful? I felt the need to ask him but there was no time.
We arrived at our destination and he radioed the security guards by the entrance to open the gate for us. "Roger that, Duke" A voice bellowed from the radio, indicating acknowledgement.
Duke? Was that his name? I mean, the driver? It was a rare name, actually. The only Dukes I knew about were the ones in the royal family of...
My thought was cut short by the sudden movement of our car as Duke accelerated into the premise of the house and began driving fast.
It was a very big house with security guards everywhere, and CCTV cameras. Wow, what a big mansion this is! My jaw dropped in astonishment.
I had never seen such a luxurious personal building before, not in reality. But I had seen many in the movies.
