CHIDINMA'S STORY

Part 7

7

God, work was exhausting. It's funny how my life turned out like this. At some point, I lost all hope. I can't believe I'm where I am. Sometimes I wake up and it feels like a dream.
When I was going through everything that I was going through at those times, I felt like I already knew how my whole life was going to go; I always imagined My body lay in a pool of blood on one side of the road, my hair tattered and my face bitter, filled with the sufferings of my whole life. 

At some point, I really felt I deserved all that was happening to me. Perhaps the gold digger was correct; I was a demon kid, unlucky and full of bad luck. I had so many hard times that I started to think everything I touched turned black and oozed only backwardness and failure. 

I remember coming to Evergreen and being skeptical. I felt something bad would happen anytime soon. I wanted a fresh start away from all the bad. So I said to myself then. Being alone will only do me good. The first person that came into the room that day was Tessa. I decided to take the bonk on the other side. She had spread out her bedsheet on the bed below and put all her things up. It was arranged when I arrived, so I felt safe. Thank God my roommate is neat and orderly. I muttered to myself. She came inside and looked up at me. I was prepared to be polite and smile in order to begin this new phase with happiness, hoping that this time would be different. 

She looked up at me and made a nasty face, then she muttered, "Welcome." I wondered if I said something or if that was just what her face looked like. Maybe she just naturally sounds constipated and the words in her mouth usually come out too stiff. So I replied to her happily and went back to writing in my diary. 

A few minutes later, she stood up, her face more constipated. She carried a mean demeanour too. Her body language said it all. Then she said, "Hey new girl, I'm not trying to be rude, but that spot is for my bestie. You can't stay there. " 

She claimed she didn't want to be rude, but her tone was very rude and disrespectful. The fact that she called me "new girl" instead of politely asking for my name annoyed me. But no, she won't annoy me or make my new start bitter and filled with bad luck. 

So I looked down at her, smiled, and replied, "But I don't see this friend anywhere. And I was assigned here. " 

She rolled her eyes at me, hissed, and went back to her bed. But that was it for me. She didn't have to do any other thing. Whether good or bad. I already despised her. She's like the rest of this world. Every person here is horrible, mean, and inconsiderate. That night I cried so much. I missed my grandma's house. That was the only place where I felt true peace. I was already feeling less at home in my newly assigned hostel with a character like Tessa.