The Wrong Crowd [Wattys 2020]

Chapter 26

Dedicated to smasherluvv ❤️❤️

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Stress was one word Ore was all too familiar with as a year one student of Uniport. Her lecture timetable was jam-packed with different technical courses, there was barely any breathing space in between.

She always got back to the hostel mentally drained and yearning for junk food. But she had to discipline herself in cooking so she would eat healthy and not easily fall sick. Ore usually spent extra time in school trying to attend a few tutorial classes here and there but after a week, she gave up.

The tutorial masters were taking so much time in explaining a topic and stretching their time limit above minimal. Ore slept at intervals only to catch the ending notes of the lesson.

She thought she needed a tutor in coaching her on maths 101, chem 130 and physics 110 but she realized the problem was herself. She mostly skipped out on the classes whenever she could to hang out with Tami at her luxurious home.

The times Ore spent duly taking notes in the crowded lecture hall, she couldn't stop thinking about Dami's promise. The image kept replaying in her head over and over making her all wound up and shooting her anxiety to the roof.

Ore was finally gladdened when another weekend came rolling by and she got a text from Tami asking for them to go to a friend's slumber party. She quickly texted back on the outfit she was to wear but Tami told her not to appear so extreme in her dressing as they weren't going clubbing.

It was approaching dusk and Ore had only an hour to get ready. She washed the dirty dishes she used to eat earlier and arranged them under her bed. Ore carefully lifted her stove from the concrete slab and placed it indoors.

She began sweeping her room with a long broom and mindlessly humming an unknown tune when a petite girl stepped in her view. Ore wiped sweat from her brow and pushed open the wooden door with a loud creak.

She briskly analyzed the dark skinned girl with two big corn braids smiling shyly in front of her. Her brows shot up in accusation at the huge boxes and luggages that were leaning on the iron pole.

"Yes, can I help you?" Ore asked freeing her singlet from her oxblood short.

"Actually yes," the girl spoke with confidence. "I was informed by the male supervisor that this would be my room for the rest of the academic year."

Ore smirked. She thought the old man had passed on since he didn't show up to work for almost a whole month. But it seemed her suspicions were wrong.

"Ehhnn, so this is your room abi?" Ore gestured for her to come in and helped her carry her load inside. Some of the hostel students that were passing by spared Ore curious glances as she heaved one box after the other.

As soon as they were done carrying the luggages in, Ore's phone rang out. She dashed to pick up the call before it cut only to realize it was an alarm she had set up few minutes to the party.

"Fuck," she muttered flinging her phone on the bed and rushing to grab a ripped jean from the wardrobe.

Tami waited a good one hour for Ore to come out of the hostel so they could take off to the party venue. She leaned by the side of her toyota camry and checked her apple series watch for the umpteenth time.

8:15 p.m. glowed in ember colours. She took out her phone from her back pocket and swiftly texted that she was already driving out of the hostel complex. A full minute passed before Ore came running down the steep staircase. She fumbled with her purse as she approached the car.