CHAPTER FIVE
CAROLINE
I walked into my hostel room and moved straight to my corner.
I had been living fully on campus for two weeks, and in those two weeks, all my roommates had moved in. I must tell you—it was no fun at all. We were fourteen in number, and all my roommates except for Safarat came in with their plus one.
It was a tradition here in this school. Most students had to squat with others for a fee, as there was never enough room to accommodate all the admitted students. The number of students in my room had skyrocketed.
As you could imagine, Safarat was no longer finding the invasion funny. The lack of privacy and the constant noise were never funny to begin with. Earlier last week, I watched her try to convince other roomies to sell their space to her, but by the end of the week, she gave up.
Most of our roommates claimed they had also collected money from others to allow them a chance to stay on campus, as most lived in other states of the country.
I had known from the start that this plan would not work. Safarat's plan wouldn't work because most students stayed outside this city, unlike Safarat and me. Some students even had to come by air, as travelling by road would take two or more days.
Another reason her plan wouldn't work was that it was expensive to get a decent apartment close to the school. Everyone's best option was the school hostel—even though it was overpopulated.
Please note: it was also a tradition at this school to admit more than its capacity, thereby cramming students together like fish in a sardine can.
Once in my room, I dropped my bag on the reading table close to my bed and sat down. I gently raised my hands to cover my face in exhaustion when I heard a loud hiss from the right side of the room.
Wondering who was feeling irritated, I angled my head slightly to the right and saw the person responsible for the loud hiss. She sounded exactly like a snake.
"I guess we don't deserve acknowledgment from you—since we are not Safarat," the culprit said, releasing another long hiss.
"She must be a snake," I muttered under my breath. Thank God she wasn't close enough to hear me.
I couldn't remember her name; I've never been good at remembering names.
"Don't mind her, Eyi. We are all ants to them. If they are too big, they should live off-campus," another one said.
I noticed they were standing close to their beds. Their squatters weren't back yet, so six pairs of angry eyes were fixed on me.
Oh—her name was Eyi.
I ignored what they were saying, blocking their voices out of my head. It wasn't that I wanted to ignore them when I came in—I was simply lost in thought. There are better ways to call someone back to their surroundings than jumping to conclusions about their attitude.
I wasn't in the mood to apologise for my lack of presence of mind, nor was I ready to correct their impression of me right then.
Don't get me wrong—I know I have to make friends with them if I want to enjoy my stay in the hostel. These girls will stop at nothing to pull you down if they think you look down on them.
So, in my head, I started creating scenarios of how I could get them to think better of me.
I made a mental note to stop by their beds to greet them individually before going out for lunch at the school gate later today. I was still trying to figure out how their minds worked. The first person I'd like to understand was this girl called Eyi.
She was thin, tall—like a runway model. Dark and beautiful, but trouble personified. Everyone in the room feared her, except me and Safarat. I wasn't afraid of Eyi because I had Safarat—she knew how to put people in their place, and I loved her for that.
"Like seriously!" Eyi yelled.
I looked up to see her standing in my personal space, and my heart skipped a beat.
I know she picks any time Safarat is absent from the room to unnerve me.
Putting on my big girl pants, I smiled, trying to make it look as genuine as possible.
"Oh, Eyi! Good afternoon. How was your day?"
She looked taken aback but recovered quickly.
"So, you suddenly know how to greet?"
I tried to look confused.
"Oh! So, you don't know what I'm talking about?" she pressed.
My expression must have convinced her because her features softened a bit. She moved a step back—not enough for me to make any move—so I accommodated her as she dwarfed me with her height.
"You didn't even say hello when you walked in," she said.
I widened my eyes, acting as though I'd just realised my grave sin.
"I didn't greet anyone? Oh, I'm so sorry—my head's full these days." I said, sounding innocently sincere.
I must be a good actress because I watched her shoulders drop, losing every bit of fight she came with.
"So sorry," she said. "I thought you were avoiding us because we wouldn't sell our space to your friend."
So that was the reason for their unnecessary harassment. God help me with these unreasonable girls.
"Why would I do that?" I asked, as she stepped back from my space. I used the opportunity to stand up.
"See, I know what she wants is impossible, and I told her so. That's why I didn't get involved in the persuasion."
Just then, Safarat burst into the room, calling my name from the door. Eyi quickly walked away from my corner, meeting Safarat on her way out. They eyed each other.
What do these two have going on? Whatever it is, I don't want to be part of it.
"Caroline!" Safarat greeted the instant she got to me.
"Hope that idiot isn't bothering you?" she asked loudly enough for Eyi to hear. To my surprise, Eyi didn't respond to the bait.
"Not at all," I replied quickly, changing the topic. "How was class today?"
"Who told you I went to class?" she said playfully, sitting on my bed while I sat in my chair.
"I went house-hunting—and I got what I wanted! A three-bedroom apartment with two toilets!" she said, clapping her hands in excitement.
She was loud enough for anyone who cared to hear.
"That's too much. I hope you haven't paid?" I asked, wondering how she'd live alone in such a big house.
She waved me off dramatically, rolling her eyes.
Then I thought maybe she planned to share it, so I added, "That is, if you don't plan to share."
She looked at me in disbelief.
"Seriously, Caroline—don't be ridiculous. I don't intend to share my house with anyone. Fine, maybe you—but otherwise, I'd rather live alone."
She sounded dead serious.
"And since you asked," she continued, "I just paid for four years."
My mouth dropped in disbelief. That's a lot of money. How rich is this girl?
I couldn't say anything for a while; she gave me time to process the bombshell she had just dropped.
After a moment, she added, "I'll be moving in today. The place is quite close to school—you'll love it. Help me with my packing, and I'll help you with yours, then I'll take you there. The driver is waiting downstairs to take us to the house once we're done."
She must have sensed my hesitation. I didn't know her well enough to abandon my reliable space and move in with her. What if we fought and she threw me out? I couldn't just pack up and get a mini-flat like she did—I wasn't that rich, nor did I come from a wealthy background.
"You don't have to move in with me today," she said gently. "I'm fine living alone. But anytime you need a place to stay, you know your room is waiting for you in my house."
I hugged her and thanked her, knowing what a huge offer it was.
We walked to her corner together and began packing her things.