BY SUNDAY EMMANUEL and ODUKOYA GRACE
Briiiiiinnnng!
My alarm clock blared, reminiscent of my nagging mother who used to wake me up during my pre-university days . I groaned while I stretched out my weary hand in frustration to silence the alarm clock. After only an hour of sleep, thanks to an all-night study session for an upcoming test. I stood up from my mattress as I thrust myself towards the switch box and turned on the light. I woke up my roommate, who was two years ahead of me in school. He grimaced, looking like a helpless pony. I call him a German Shepherd because he belongs to almost every organization on campus. At times, he hardly sleeps two hours a day.
It was a Wednesday morning and the busiest day of my life on campus. It's a 'lecture full' day, so I decided to get something cooked before I set out for class. I brought out my hot plate from its hiding place. I wish I didn't have to flout the rules but I can't afford kerosene. I placed my pot on the contraband and walked to the bathroom. My hands trembled when I realised that the hot plate wasn't working. The rice even puffed up like Korean porridge. Hissing, I flung the cover of the pot and a loud bang rang as it collided with the wall. Dang it! Another morning to starve.
Five minutes later, my door trembled as a ragged voice commanded, “bring out that hot plate". My teeth started to gnash and sweat formed on my face. It was the hall warden. Omooo I don't want to get expelled from the hostel. I cannot afford to. I drew the sign of the cross on my head and opened the door. "Good morning, sir." My throat was dry as I bow to the warden.
He hissed, " What's good about the morning, atoole. Hand over the contraband. You people will spoil the light finish, you will nau start blaming the school. Tiyin na a la n se." I bit my finger, crying for the #1500 I'll have to pay. That money could have bought bread and beans for three days. After the commotion, I ran like Flash to class because I was already late. After an hour of torture, students rushed out of the hall in droves, causing a literal traffic. Boys in shorts that barely covered their knees were jogging and chanting songs that made me feel like I was a champion.
Soon, I got to my faculty, the only faculty with the article "The" - "The Social Sciences." As a newbie, you must read exhaustively to achieve good grades or you'll be flushed with tsunami. There's no where erosion is taking you to from the Social Sciences, except your father's house. To avoid this, we engage in five to ten hours of reading and at the end of it all, we get slapped with B's or C's, leaving most of us in a state of despair. I could remember working an assignment overnight and laughing like a zombie after seeing the results.
I proceeded to the lecture room to be able to secure the front seat but it was occupied. Somehow, I missed that it was a test day. My knees buckled from stress as I attempted to sit at the back. It had been a rollercoaster of tests and assignments. After a while, a voluptuous beautiful lady in a blue gown wuyan oblong face, strut in and an overwhelming silence descended on the lecture room. “The test has been canceled but there is an assignment,” she crooned. My ears bled from hearing that over and over again, that day.
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