JUST FOR YOU

《2》Roommates.

The drive to the school was long and stressful. Lagos was always bubbling, even on weekends, with activities here and there and heavy traffic.

We finally arrived at the hostel fifteen minutes past eight p.m. I was exhausted even though I wasn't the one that drove, but sitting in the car with the heat of the blazing sun penetrating through and the noise emitting from other cars' engines and horns made me exhausted.

I wasn't made for a life of suffering. I whined to myself as I yawned and stretched my legs in the little available space in the car.

Lagos City was hectic, but I was glad that I had gotten to school finally. Freedom, here I come. I smiled to myself for the twentieth time that day. Freedom never smelled so good.

The environment was different; it was noiseless, unlike my home environment, where the sounds of generators or grinding machines filled the air almost every day. Students were everywhere, too. I was surprised to see students, especially girls, out of their hostels by this time of the night. It felt like a taboo to me because my dad never allowed me out of the house past seven in the evening. Some girls were talking with guys, all in different groups. Some sat on the bonnets of exotic cars, talking and laughing with older men, while others were standing and talking to other guys.

I guess that's the kind of freedom being at the university gives you. I slowly and angrily carried my stuff out of the car and up the stairs to the third floor because the hostel porters refused to let my mum help me, and my brother wasn't allowed in either. After I carried my stuff, it was time for my mum and brother to leave. I hugged my mum goodbye and waved to my brother, who was sitting in the car.

I could feel my eyes tearing up. I didn't know why, but the tears started dropping slowly as my mum reversed the car and drove away. I turned around and went back into the hostel before the girls outside saw my tear-filled eyes and made fun of me.

My room was a four-man room, with two bunks on opposite sides of the room, leaving a wide space in the middle and four wardrobes behind and in front of each bunk. The walls were painted yellow, which was defaced with different writings, like 'Bimbo was here, and Nma slept here twice.' I chuckled to myself as I thought, "Who cares?" and then shrugged.

I unpacked my things, arranged some things that needed to be in the wardrobe, and left the rest in my box. I was too tired to continue. I made up my mind to finish up tomorrow since I didn't have anywhere to be, and I needed to get acquainted with my roommates. I ate the food my mum had packed for me earlier, did the forty-five minute rule stuff, and then I took a shower and had a nice long sleep.

☆☆☆☆☆

The next day.

I woke up and checked under my pillow for my phone. I couldn't feel it. My heart was beating three times the normal rate. I jolted up immediately as I tried to remember where I kept it. I panicked because it was a new phone.

My dad was going to kill me.

I jumped down from my bed with a speed greater than that of a flash and ran to my wardrobe. Silently cursing and abusing myself as to why I was such a deep sleeper, I opened the wardrobe. The phone still wasn't there. My mind started racing; thoughts were running in and out. I was hoping it wasn't a prank. I looked around my bunk, and there was still no sign of it.

I was already thinking of whose phone I would use to call my mum and tell her that someone had stolen my phone. I was still wondering and panicking when my bunkmate walked into the room from the bathroom to be greeted by my red eyes and scattered hair.

I didn't really get a glimpse of how she looked yesterday because she wasn't around when I came in yesterday. She was a very skinny and busty girl—the combination of those. Very strange. She was also dark-skinned and a little taller than me; she was beautiful too, but not as pretty as me.

Why so proud? My subconscious apprehended me. I could feel her rolling her eyes at me. My subconscious was a female by the way.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, rather concerned.

"I'm looking for my phone." I replied, trying to remember where I kept it while rubbing my temples furiously.

"Oh, I have it. It fell from your bed while you were asleep, and I kept it for you."

My eyes opened in disbelief; it must have broken when it fell. How or what would I tell my mum?

"Phew!" I heaved a sigh of relief. "For a moment there, I thought someone had come in and stolen it." I cringed at the thought of that actually happening.

She reached into her wardrobe and handed the phone over to me. I kissed the phone while she smiled at me. "Welcome to Mummy. I thought I had lost you." I kissed it continuously and quickly assessed it for any cracks. I noticed none. "Thanks for keeping it for me. I'm Janette Williams. What's your name?"

"I'm Priscilla." She answered, leaving me with my phone to apply moisturiser to her body.

"Nice to meet you. Sorry, I didn't get to introduce myself yesterday; I was tired, and I needed to sleep." The guilt written all over my face was glaring.

"It's okay. There's no need to beat yourself up." She smiled as she got dressed. I had the feeling we might become good friends, and that was exactly what I needed. I quickly unpacked the rest of my stuff while I got to know the rest of my roommates.

By the end of the day, we had gotten to know each other. We exchanged departments, levels, and phone numbers. The day went by really fast, and soon, it was night again. The next day was Monday.

My eyes widened. I CAN'T BELIEVE TOMORROW IS MONDAY!!!

What was I going to wear? I inwardly panicked.

I hopped down from my bed, dragged out my box from under the bunk, and started searching for the perfect pair of clothes, which was a T-shirt and jeans. Provided it's in the right combination, it's perfect. After selecting the one I thought was perfect, I put it on a hanger and went straight to bed.

Monday should be a good day.