At Blue Ridge University, life is a thrilling mix of academic rigour and social intrigue. Gaining entry is no easy feat, with a demanding cut-off of 200 marks, especially for coveted courses like Law and Medicine. Once admitted, students had to main...
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Nunu's feet were seriously hurting. Today, they had gotten a very important visit from a well known Barrister in the country and he taught them for one hour, so every female was to wear a black heel to compliment whatever they wore, and the boys had to be on suit.
After the lecture, Nunu had gone to the library to read. She had to. Her course wasn't one you had to wait till you had a test or an exam before you started reading, and even though they were just five courses, those courses were equivalent to twelve courses because they were bulky.
The moment she walked out of the library and took off her student ID card, someone came up beside her. He had neat braids, and his well trimmed goatee and moustache fitted his young face.
Did Blue Ridge admit guys based on their looks? Just when you thought you had seen the finest guy in the school, you meet another and you just can't pick who is finer than who.
"Hi."
"Hi," Nunu replied.
"Are you waiting for the bus or a golf cart?" he asked. "The bus might not show up at all. It's past six."
Nunu exhaled. "Fucking kill me," she muttered, and scratched the top of her left brow.
"You could join me when my golf arrives. I'll pay."
Nunu couldn't reject. Right now, she needed to go to her hostel and eat something very heavy. She had to stay awake and work on an assignment too.
"Thank you."
A couple seconds later, the golf cart arrived and they both got in.
"White Lodge," Nunu said to the driver.
"Hmm, type shit. It's one of the most expensive hostels for girls."
Nunu shrugged. "Well, okay."
"I'm Khalil, you?"
"Nunu. Nuria. Nuria Makinde," she said.
"So which is it?" he asked, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"Nunu is a shortened form of Nuria," she said, staring at her fingers.
"Nice to meet you, Nunu."
"Same here," she said, still not raising her head to look at his face because she was shy. "Can I know why you're deciding to be this nice? Since I got here, I've noticed an unfriendly demeanour from most students."
"Are you new?"
She nodded.
"100 level?"
"No. Can I just know why you're being nice? I'm not willing to pay back if that's what you want," she told him.
He exhaled, trying to find the right words.
"Well... um... I need a study partner. I saw you reading at the library and anyone could tell you seriously read a lot. I mean, some people just come to the library to read story books or pass time. People would prefer to read in their rooms or something. So I just thought I'd need someone like you in my life right now."
She finally raised her head to look at him, raising a brow.
"What level?"
"Five hundred. Computer Engineering."
"I'm in three hundred level Law, it doesn't relate," she told him. "How's that supposed to work?"
"You seem like the motivation I need right now. Having to read with you, even though it's different courses, will make me focus. If I get to see you read, and I'm with you, I'd focus and read too."
Nunu exhaled. That seemed okay, and she hoped he was being honest with her. Because if this was a scope to speak to her, then she'd never speak to him again, no matter what. "Hmm, that seems fine."
"So..." He brought out his phone and stretched it towards her. "Can I get your number? I'll text you."
"Uhh...okay," she said, taking the phone and typing in her number. It was left for him to save it the way he wanted, afterall, she already told him her name. "That's it." She handed the phone back to him.
He took his phone from her and quickly saved her number. "Aight, I'll buzz you. We're here."
"Thank you," she said and got down the cart, then walked into her hostel. There were girls around the hostel, checking the notice board, sitting on the lounge chairs in the common room while gisting, while some other girls were playing trap songs on a big JBL speaker. Nunu made her way up the stairs and into her room. Her sister was already back, relaxing on the porch swing at the balcony.
"Wagwan?" Jade greeted. "Thought your class ended since."
Nunu groaned, taking off her heels and throwing them to a corner. "Man, I had to say hello to the library." She dropped her bag on the bed and took off her glasses. "Is there food?"
"Yes. A little spag."
Nunu took off her clothes and threw on a big white tee, then proceeded to the bathroom to fill up the tub. While it filled up, she dished herself some food and started eating.
"I met someone today," she started to say to her sister. "At the library."
Jade raised her head from her phone. "What's his name?"
"I don't remember. I have it at the tip of my tongue, it's just not coming out. Anyway, he asked for my number so when he texts me, I'll find out his name again. I just wanted to let you know."
Jade nodded slowly, focusing back on her screen. "Just be careful with Blue Ridge guys."
Nunu scrunched her face. "This one doesn't look bad. He's fine, yes, but he looks responsible." She stood up to go turn off the running water, before settling back down again.
"They don't write it on their foreheads. Lay low anyway, you don't want The Whisper's eyes on you, I promise," Jade said. "This school is way fucked than you know."
"Everyone keeps saying that but playing safe doesn't mean nobody knows you either. Anyway, Law lecturers have this meeting tomorrow so I don't have any class tomorrow. It's been canceled. Although I have one hectic assignment to complete. This course cannot be the end of me," Nunu said. "But Jade," she called.
"Mm?" Jade responded, but absent-minded.
"Is it a red flag if he's a 500 level student of Computer Engineering?" Nunu asked.
Jade finally shifted her focus from her phone. "Final year? Computer Engineering?"
Nunu nodded.
Jade gave subtle signs of discomfort. "I can't lie, I don't like my level boys. In fact, any final year student is a red flag... talk less of a guy who's in computer engineering. I dunno, but just stay away from final year guys, especially those ones in Architecture, Political Science, Computer Science, Engineering of any type, and worst of them all, Medicine and Surgery. Those ones look calm and collected but they are the real play boys. They'll fuck you up the same way their course has them fucked and frustrated."
Nunu shrugged. The guy didn't look harmful. He did look responsible, so maybe she wasn't going to generalise that all of them were bad. Anyway, she was here to experience BRUN, and she would.
