The Wrong Crowd [Wattys 2020]

Chapter 3

Dedicated to _Tommy_B ❤️

The hostel supervisor realized his mistake as he adjusted his reading glasses and peered over the crumpled piece of paper Ore had passed to him. He had given her another person's room. He cursed silently under his breath as he quickly scanned a few of her school documents and scribbled something at the back of his old note book.

He tore the part out and gave it to her, muttering his apologies for being clumsy. Ore couldn't blame him. The man was a bit old and his deep wrinkled face looked exasperated.

His forehead glistened with sweat and his hands trembled uncontrollably. Ore's mother once informed her that the reason why most old birds shook without control was because they had a severe case of dementia.

Ore could understand why; now that she was seeing it physically. Mercy was standing outside the cramped office with Ore's luggages, waiting impatiently for her to come out with her room details.

Ore heaved a frustrated sigh as she stood at the doorway drinking in the contents of the smooth sheet of paper.

Wing F Room 13, she crammed. That was her room number. She hurriedly thanked the man and exited the hot area. Mercy gave her a brief smile in assurance as she asked her where she was going to stay. The words rolled out of Ore's tongue so fast in reply. Mercy screamed in excitement and pulled her into a bear hug.

A dark skinned girl whose face looked beaten by the sun dragged her feet on the cement floor as she passed by. Ore caught the loud hiss and the eye roll she gave at the happy sight but it didn't shake her one bit.

She was familiar with the way the University of Portharcourt thwarted the effort of students. Ore awkwardly pulled away before the smell of Mercy's sweat could reach her nostril. This was one of the many reasons why she didn't associate much with people.

Mercy soon realized they were standing at the common room, a place that was meant for the hostel girls to read at night. They were comfy couches arranged in a circle and a large glass table at the middle.

Mercy lunged for one of Ore's suitcases at the same time she did and Mercy relinquished the luggage for her. Instead, she assisted her in carrying another one of her box and school bag.

"Why you been dey shout the other time?" Ore asked Mercy as they made their way to her room with Mercy leading the way.
[Why were you shouting the other time?]

"Nothing ooo," Mercy answered quickly. "Na just the fact say we go be roommates na im intrigue me."
[It's was just the fact that we were going to be roommates that intrigued me]

"Are you serious?!" Ore exclaimed as she absentmindedly scanned the mowed lawn. "So we go stay together for one year abi?"
[So, we are going to stay together for one year right?]

Mercy snickered at her remark and nodded her head sagely. Maybe, they were going to be close buddies.

By the time Ore settled in, it was already dusk and the entire area was almost shrouded with darkness. The sun had retreated behind the sky and the moon was yet to come out. This was the time the hostel brimmed with life.

Throughout Mercy and Ore's conversations in between as she folded her clothes neatly into her wardrobe, Ore learned so many things.

Mercy told her tales of the little she'd heard of the university and how people of different cultures merged together for the sole purpose of education. Ore listened intently, asking questions on occasions.

Mercy was quick to reply and their talk flowed quite smoothly considering how exhausted Ore was. She didn't mind at all. Infact, she felt excited gaining admission into such a popular school seeing that most people struggled before they got in.

Ore was one of the lucky ones. The same year she wrote her Jamb, Waec, Neco and Post Ume examination, she was sent a letter from the university administration a month later wishing her a successful career year.

Ore had been beyond elated upon hearing the news and she rushed down the staircase to inform her parents who danced in joy.

To her, it didn't matter the course she was reading. Afterall, everyone was going to graduate and go about looking for jobs.
She heaved a deep sigh as she plopped on her bunk bed. The spring cringed under her lightweight and for a minute, Ore was scared she was going to land on the floor.

"So, na only us go dey stay this room?" Ore asked, looking around the dusty and stuffy environment.
[So, are we the only ones going to stay in this room?]

Never would she have imagined staying in such an ill fitting place. It was her dad's idea and somehow her mum had agreed to it against her pleas.

She just wished she could be free to do what she wanted and stay off campus like most of her mates. Perhaps, she wouldn't be thinking of how she was going to deal with staying a whole year in a rotting and stinking hostel. Oooh yes, that was the right name for it. Ore had been given a short tour of Block A before she retreated to her room to arrange her belongings and she was beyond appalled.

The hostellers made use of small buckets which they called shitting poo to stool and pass out urine. Once they were done, they would walk down to the messed up pit toilet and throw it in the hole. Not only that, they also had to properly sanitize their buckets to prevent infection. Ore found that quite daunting.

This was her first time hearing such and she had never in her entire life witnessed something like it. Ore was wondering how she was going to cope with all the rigid rules and regulations of the hostel without flunking any.

She expressed her concerns to Mercy who tried to assail her fears by assuring her that it was going to be well. She just had to cooperate with their wing members during the weekends of general sanitation.

Despite the assurance, Ore still had doubts about how it was going to work out but she was willing to try her best to survive like the rest students.

Mercy's tired voice pulled Ore out of her reverie as she twirled her thumb and stared at her in apprehension.

"This room is for four people," Mercy stated. "You can see how big and spacious it is but, each of us are to maintain our own bed space and keep our corners neat and tidy. That is rule number 10."

     ________________________________

Author's note: University and their plenty rules! Do you think Ore will be able to cope without having issues with anyone?