Road trip chaos.

I gained admission into college, and I was fortunate to meet the best people. Despite our differences, we were able to bond; we did not only become friends but brothers. We have looked out for each other right from the day we became friends, and to date, we have been able to achieve quite a lot of things except for one thing: a trip together, a trip that is not school-related, one that we go on on our own just to unwind, relax, blow off some steam, and just have fun and then come back to school and continue with our academics and the stress that comes with it. Whenever we have a trip planned out, one thing or the other comes up and it is cancelled or postponed, and one thing I have noticed is that once the trip is postponed, then it will not happen again, as even when the time it was postponed to draws close, no one talks about it again.

"Bro, we are almost rounding up college, and soon we will be out of the four walls of this school, and we still have not achieved the dream of traveling together. Can we please make it happen before we graduate?" Victor asked on a Saturday evening after watching a football match.

"I support it. We don't even have to travel far. Lagos and Abuja, like we had in mind before, are far. Let's look for somewhere nearby and just visit for at least two days, and I think it should be during the weekend." Royal said

"Uyo is nearby, and it will not be that expensive; let's visit Uyo then." I suggested

"I have heard a lot about Uyo too, the food and good places to visit while there. Let's do uyo then." Victor supported with a smile on his face.

We gave each other a week to put things in place and prepare for our trip/adventure. We all looked forward to the weekend we had set out to be the weekend we made it happen and always talked about it whenever we got the chance to. We had so much in mind and planned to really enjoy the few days we'd be spending in Uyo. Time flies, and it was finally time to embark on our journey. Very early on Friday morning we set out to the bus station to board a bus, despite Uyo being a 2-hour journey from our school, but we wanted to arrive in Uyo early and settle in before night.

"This is going to be one journey to remember." Victor said, blasting Afrobeats music with his earphones, it was so loud that everyone close to him could hear the songs he was listening to.

"As the cameraman of this friend group, I have my phone charged and will use it to capture the moment." Royal said as he took his seat.

The journey looked like one that would be smooth, and we did not know what Murphy's law had planned out, and just before we started enjoying the journey, we encountered a massive traffic jam.

"I have never heard of a traffic jam before on the way to Uyo. What is really going on?" Victor said as he removed his earphones.

"I came from Uyo yesterday. There is an accident up front; a trailer fell, blocking half of the road. That is the cause of the traffic jam." A guy sitting behind us responded.

"Ohhh, thank you, bro." We responded, appreciating him for the information.

A journey that was supposed to last 2 hours, we had already spent over an hour in the traffic jam. Everyone got busy with their phones while we waited out the traffic. Finally, we got to pass the place the trailer fell, and the journey was smooth again.

Just when we were about to start enjoying the journey again "Jesus Christ." Victor shouted, calling everyone's attention in his direction.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Royal and I asked

"I have forgotten my second phone at home; I left it on the bed." Victor said as he slapped his forehead with his hand.

"Two days away from your second phone won't hurt that much." Royal said, touching his shoulder.

A few hours later we were in Uyo. Before going to the hotel, we decided to stop by a local restaurant and eat. At least they will have a local dish to serve. We got to the restaurant and saw the menu, and everyone wanted to eat a local dish.

"I have not eaten afang soup before, but I have heard a lot about it. I will take afang." Victor said to the waiter,

"Afang soup can cause a running stomach for some people; be careful, and if you know you are the type that little things upset your stomach, then avoid afang soup." I advised

"We are here on an adventure. I am trying afang soup, and you cannot discourage me." Victor responded, ignoring my advice.

We left the local restaurant and headed to the hotel we had booked online. We freshened up and planned on how we would go sightseeing, but that did not work out, as the rest of the day was spent trying to relieve Victor's running stomach.

The next day we were at Ibeno Beach. Victor and Royal had been to a beach before, but it was my first time, and it was one experience to remember.

"Despite all the ups and downs, the trip was really worth it." I said

Royal, with his mouth filled with food, nodded, "We have had an experience and a story to tell." Royal responded.

"I never believed in Murphy's law, but even if it's real, it cannot ruin our adventure." Victor added, with his hands on his tummy, he has been careful of what goes down his stomach after his afang soup experience.

_{ALL IMAGES USED ARE MINE.}