"If mountain won't go to Mohammed, then Mohammed will go to the mountain, or something like that."
"Hey excuse me, I would like to see more of the Ford Mustang."
My words got me the attention of the female who had been sitting on a high stool and lazily resting her head on her palms while looking at the near unpopulated room of the car dealership, the few customers, present already being attended to by other sales agents.
Being from the future, the reverie the people of 2002 had for banks wasn't something I could relate to.
Wearing just khaki shorts and a nice black shirt, I had marched to the bank and now here I was at the car dealership.
Whether it was because of my clothing or my age, my presence had been ignored by the sales attendants.
Not minding this, I had gone on my own to browse through the cars available at the dealership and I would have continued my inspection of the cars on my own if the door of the one I was interested in wasn't locked.
"You want to buy a car, a Mustang" The female asked me, her eyes trailing up and down my body.
"Yeah, and I'm in a bit of a hurry, so can you please be quick"
I had already dealt with a troublesome woman this morning; I wasn't looking forward to meeting another.
The sales girl narrowed her eyes at me and then with a sigh, got off her butt and went for the keys.
"The Ford Mustang v6 coupe has a 3.8 L v6 engine, it has a 5-speed manual transmission and goes from 0-60mph in about 7 seconds.
It goes for $19000 but for you, I could do $18500"
The sales girl's voice came out lazy and drawled and I couldn't help but wince, as I was inside feeling around the car.
This was a used car dealership so I wasn't surprised by the lower price, but that didn't mean that I was okay with it.
"You need to be more energetic if you want to make any progress in this area of business," I said to the girl as I came out of the car and moved to the front, opening up its hood.
I observed the engine of the car for some seconds and then smacking my lips, moved and started its engine.
"Shame"
Though faint, I could hear a low knocking sound and though my mind wanted to tell me otherwise I had experience of years with cars and mechanics to know what I was talking about.
I switched off the car, closed the hood and threw the keys to the confused Sales girl who didn't understand what I was doing and could only make sure I didn't do anything out of the ordinary.
"Not this car, bring me some other keys."
...…..
By the time I went past the gate of the University, I was already an hour late, my extreme lateness caused by my visit to the dealership, but I wasn't too worried.
Vrrrrrrrm!
It didn't have the loud aggressive roar of the Mustang, but the sweet fluid Humm of its engine and its eye-grabbing appearance and brand logo instilled a far greater sense of awe in the minds and hearts of those who saw it.
"This is the life" I muttered to myself as I enjoyed the admirative and envious looks that were being sent my way.
Driving through the university for some minutes, I pulled up towards, the tall building which contained the mathematics department, parking opposite two females who were walking out of the building.
With dark sunshades on I stepped out of the car and walked towards the two girls, my eyes on the blonde who I had been in contact with while I parked.
"Good morning"
"Morning"
With a red BMW E36 328i backing me, though I was $16000 down, the girls were like pudding in the face of my dominance aura, absolute confidence, good looks and classy car.
Mary and Joan, those were their names and after getting both their number and complimenting their appreciative figures, I told them goodbye and walked to a confused woman a few steps to the side.
"Lucy,"
"Marcus" she replied.
"Why are you outside"
I could see annoyance and irritation want to build up within Lucy but then it quickly faded out and the woman spoke in a subdued manner.
"You're late. Dr Rachel kicked me out telling me to come back in only with you.
We were supposed to meet her by 10 am It's 11:12 now I doubt she will admit us."
Though she usually acted tough and was prone to being harsh, in this situation where she couldn't lash out her frustration at me due to my currently oppressive presence, she looked down at the ground when she spoke and her tone was kept quite low.
"Don't worry I'll handle this" I said to Lucy and not even giving her a chance to reply, grabbed her hand and began walking into the building.
"A weirdo, a pervert, a brokie." All these were terms Lucy would have usually tagged me with, but how could she think the same at the moment.
She had seen the ride I had stepped out off, the ladies who I had quickly gotten all red and readily giving me their numbers and then there were the gazes of those who still cared to pay me attention lingering on us, Mary and Joan's Jealous gaze being quite prominent.
Carrying a blush on her face, like a good girl, Lucy obediently let me lead her into the building.
This was the same girl who had harshly rebuffed me when I went to her apartment two days ago.