The University of Lagos was welcoming its freshers on the 2nd of October 2019 which meant that in two days, Mariam and Emmanuel would be leaving.
That afternoon, my phone rang.
"Hello, Chisom?" Mariam's voice filtered out as I picked the call.
"Are you at home? I need your help."
"I'm at home. What do you need?"
"Can you come over, I need help in picking outfits that are university-worthy."
There was a loud thud, an annoying curse and a break in the connection which cleared a few moments later.
"What have you destroyed this time?" I asked dryly.
"It's my stupid box that fell on the floor. Please come over biko. Before I run mad."
"Calm down, I'm on my way. You enjoy stressing yourself."
I hung up the call and changed to my father's dark blue, track pants which made my butt non-existent and my BTS inscribed purple hoodie, and walked the distance to her house and since it wasn't far, I arrived in ten minutes.
Her house never seemed to amaze me no matter how many times I visited.
Her gate was designed with various artworks depicting different Nigerian festivals which opened into a large compound in which the magnificent duplex stood.
Two cars; a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Highlander were parked under the pavilion. The huge tree which we used to climb when we were in primary school stood tall and proud, its branches casting a big shadow on the ground.
The house itself was painted a sparkling white.
Two looming pillars welcomed me to the front door.
I didn't bother knocking as I'd been visiting for years, I was practically a member of their family.
Her parents were at work around this time and her two younger brothers were still in school as closing time was three hours away so the house was quiet except for the grunts of frustration coming from upstairs.
"It's ordinary packing that is making you sweat like this," I quipped the moment I walked into her room.
"Shut up and help me, Please," She added as an afterthought.
"Melodramatic human being," I mumbled and upturned the suitcase she had already heaped high with clothes and was struggling to close when I walked in.
"Dear comrade, the secret to packing a suitcase is proper folding of the most important clothes. Not the nonsense you have been doing since," I said as I began to return some of the clothes into her closet.
I sat on her soft, queen-sized bed and began to fold the clothes we both(mostly I) agreed were important for her to carry along.
"This one you're just watching me, go and bring food and water for your guest. You are not hospitable at all," I scolded.
" Don't be vexed. It's because you're lending a helping hand that I'm going to serve you today.
"If not, you would have gone to the kitchen yourself and dishes out your portion of food," She replied and left the room before I could chip in a comment.
I focused on folding her clothes as neatly as possible; Packing in her shoes and toiletries in another suitcase and soon enough, all her suitcases were neatly packed with her clothes, underwear, shoes, and essentials.
"I am so awesome!" I praised and patted myself on the back just as she came back with a plate of steaming yam and plantain porridge in one hand and a chilled can of Pepsi in the other.
"Omo dada, good child." I commended her as I freed her hands of their burden.
She brought two spoons as usual so we began to dig in and suddenly, her ongoing relationship with Tunde, our former classmate, entered my mind making me pause my aggressive shoveling of food into my mouth.
"Something just crossed my mind," I said, causing her to look up in curiosity, waiting for me to continue.
"How are you and Tunde going to handle a long-distance relationship. Are you sure it wouldn't be stressful?"
Tunde had gained admission to the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria which was in the Northern part of Nigeria.
"How will I pursue a long-distance relationship with someone I've already broken up with?" She replied, answering my question with her rhetorical question.
"Mariam Ihediora! How could you withhold such information from me?"
I exclaimed in disbelief.
"I didn't think I was obligated to tell anyone. It's already in the past.
It was a secondary school romance that ended at the black gate just as Mr. Femi, our economics teacher used to say," She fired back defensively.
"We're best friends. You should have told me. Anyway, at least you'll be entering university with a fresh start and you'll get to meet and form hearty relationships with people without worrying about the burdens that come with maintaining a long-distance relationship," I concluded.
"Goodness gracious, you've almost finished the whole food. Drop your spoon immediately!"
I used my spoon to hit her fingers and took the plate into my hands as she laughed at me.
.
.
"Goodbye, I'll miss you guys. Don't forget to call and send messages whenever you aren't busy."
I waved to both Emmanuel and Mariam who were both heading to school together, hung up the video call, and curled up on my bed.
I picked up my phone again and sent off a message to Tobi who was thankfully online. "Hey, you know when I told you I was sick with malaria and had to take injections?"
"Yeah, what about it?" He replied.
"The injection turned into something else. In summary, I had to get surgery and now I have a huge scar across my butt cheek."
I added a crying emoji that correctly conveyed my emotions whenever I thought of how ugly the scar from the surgery was.
"Ah, a huge scar? It's that bad? You're not exaggerating?"
"No, I'm not. It's so ugly. I wish I could get something that could clear it off."
"Ew, I hate scars so much. I don't think I'd even be able to look at or touch your lower body when I know there's a scar like that on you. They just make my skin crawl. No offense."
I took offense. I was already feeling bad about the scar and instead of trying to make me feel better or telling a joke to laugh it off, he said that.
That was just wrong on so many levels and I made sure he knew how I felt about it.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's just my pet peeve. Don't be angry with me please?" He replied with a puppy-eyed emoji and my annoyance dissolved. I could never stay angry at anyone for too long.
Moreover, I especially couldn't stay mad at him.