"Hey mate, you want beef?"

I stared ahead and continued walking.

It was 1:30am, I had spent over 45 minutes trying to get either an Uber or Bolt, but none had come forth. It was a Saturday night, the access roads to the venue of the event I had gone to were all blocked.

I had walked some distance away hoping it would help get me a ride home. But the night had only gone darker and the road had turned lonely. So I had decided to walk home.

It was a 50 minute walk, but I had calculated that it could be shorter if I cut through two large parks.

The first walk in the park had been without issue. I was now walking through the second park.

There were three guys in a cloud of smoke and seated on a chair in the park. They all had vapes in their hands.

I pretended to ignore them as I got close to where they were seated.

I was still wearing my Safety Steward black jacket and the company's white logo was visible in the dark. I was also carrying a black backpack.

The biggest of the three guys stood up as I drew level to them.

"I said, do you want beef?"

"No mate, just passing through," I replied without looking at him, and walked past him.

"You don’t walk away when talking to me. You want me to chef you up?"

I didn't stop walking. I could sense that the other two guys were now on their feet.

"Hey mate, you can't go through our tuft just like that," another of the guys called out.

"He is a cozzer, let's smoke him," the third guy suggested.

I heard their footsteps as they rapidly approached me.

The exit to the park was about 50 yards away. The street beyond the park was well-lit.

I took a deep breath.

Fight or flight?

Signed
Olumide Holloway (King Olulu)