BRIDAL CONTEST

Chapter 1

The rain has seized, leaving behind a little drizzling here and there. The cool ambience, dark clouds and smell of wet soil will make you want to cozy up inside your comforter, but Amnah was shivering from the effect of her drench experience earlier on.

*Buzz

She didn't pay attention to her phone vibrating inside her satchel. The message might probably be from this network providers and even if it is not from them, she has so much on her plate to worry about text messages now. She just got out of a 6pm lecture, if it can even be called that. What was supposed to start at around 4pm, and she had already made up her mind that the lecture would be cancelled due to the heavy clouds in the afternoon.

Haba! The lecturer can't be that heartless not to cancel the lecture seeing as 3/4 of the students live off campus and with the school at the outskirts of Abuja half of the students live in town.

Her bubble was busted when Chiamaka, a course mate of hers, told her the lecture was not cancelled, but she couldn't care less. The weather came at the right time when she's fasting. She'll just lay on her bed and only get up to say her prayers and cook what she'll be breaking her fast with.

Fifteen minutes after the initial lecture time, she got a call from Rahama telling her of the strict attendance the lecturer is taking, telling her to hurry before he locks the door. By that time the rain was heavy, but she didn't pay much attention to it as she unplugged her phone from its charger, threw it into her satchel and ran out of her room, leaving the praying mat she was earlier sitting on spread on the floor.

She was lucky to get the Intra-campus shuttle on time to get to her department's lecture theatre. But before she could get to the door, her hijab was already drenched.

"That was a sick joke", she said to Rahama when she spotted her at her regular place, the front seat. The friend was busy laughing at her, but she was too pissed off to get a reaction. "Why will you lie about something as serious as this? " "No. Not at all", she sobered up, "I wasn't laughing about that. The Course Rep said he will be locking the door immediately he gets in. We're to write the attendance before he arrives". "You could have written it for me now", she said, slumping next to her friend on the desk. "In Mr Afolabi's class?!" That was a rhetorical question, as Amnah does not even need to answer it. She kept shivering in her hijab. The worst part is, she's under dressed inside, and she cannot afford to lose her attendance by going back to the hostel to change. The man came in 23 minutes to 6. Walking majestically in his crisp white agbada obviously from his Air-Conditioned car with not a drop of water on him. He closed shut his umbrella and kept it in front of Amnah before walking up the steps and stood at the podium.

Amnah felt like stealing his umbrella so that he will go through a little of what he made them go through, but that will not be possible with that hawk-eyed man. "Initially I had the thought of postponing the lecture because of a departmental meeting, but your attitude towards education made me change my mind. If your staff can hold a meeting with or without rain, I see no reason why you shouldn't have a lecture because of rain".

Amnah rolled her eyes at the inapproriate comparism. The staff are mobile, and they can choose to not come and not be compelled. There were soft murmurs from different angles and grumbling of all sorts. "It's okay", he bellied, and the hall was back to graveyard silence, "my lecture for today is about self-discipline towards success". Amnah saw as the guy that sat close to her hung his mouth wide open, probably thinking how that is related to physics. She wonders too.

"And for being in my class today, you've successfully registered my course. Those that are not serious enough to attend tell them we'll meet next year. I'll call the attendance now, and you will leave the hall after you identify yourself. If you try to outsmart me, we'll meet next year".