MEMOIRS OF A YOUNG NIGERIAN GIRL

A ridiculous encounter

The chiming of the bell woke me up and I drowsily stood up to check the time, it was exactly 5am in the morning. It was the weekend and everyone is mandated to follow a particular routine. The student matron walked into the dormitory and assembled everyone for morning prayers. Everyone murmured and walked to the quadrangle with sleepy eyes. The morning prayer was led by the christian chapel prefect while the muslim students went to the mosque to have their morning prayers.
After the morning prayers, everyone was expected to clean their surroundings and lay their bed clean for weekly inspection in which the neatest dormitory earns bonus points for the week.

Breakfast is always served around 10am during the weekends and everyone is supposed to gather in the dining hall and sit according the the number table given to you during registration. We were served their legendary "Pap" and "Beans cake"( one of the indigenous food made from beans in Nigeria mainly used as breakfast).The meal served was bland, but what could I do. I gobbled down the food and I knew I was in for a lot of balanced unbalanced diet in the coming days.

After eating, I left the dining hall and decided to take a walk round the school, even though there was no destination in mind. I walked for sometime and decided to walk back to the hostel before I discovered I was lost. It was fair I took a quick look at my surroundings and found out I was around the school clinic area. I went in to take a look and the strong smell of formalin and its sisters drove me out of the clinic as soon as I had come in. Not looking up,I had a head on collision with a person. Looking up, It was a tall female like I was but slightly bigger than I was. But I knew for a fact that she was a student like me. We both held our forehead in pain. I knew I was at fault, so I apologized. She told me it was all ok. I was about to leave holding my forehead when she called me back and said, since both of us are hurt, let's check into the clinic and allow the doctor available to examine us for any form of concussion.

"Concussion", I asked.

"Yes concussion", she replied. By the way, my name is Aaliyah. What's yours?

Martha. I'm Martha by name.

I looked at her for the first time and I saw a visible bump on her head which I was sure was because of our little accident. Asides that, she has an oval face, big beautiful round eyes and a pointed nose to compliment it. All in all, she was admirable and had the capability of attracting people to herself anywhere she goes.

You have a bump on your forehead Aali.....

Aaliyah she completed. Aa-li-yah, she said, calling her names in syllables. She looked at me and smiled exposing her well arranged set of teeth.

You also have, but mine is slightly bigger than yours, she said

I squinted my eyes and looked at her, she could even crack a joke from this ridiculous encounter, she's sure to have a good sense of humour.