The days leading up to February 22nd were full of hasty preparations and shopping. I had to prepare fully for the three months away from home as I was excited to finally begin my sophomore year, and my mind raced with the many possibilities of what to expect in uni.
Also, I was thrilled to live out of my strict parent's home for the first time in my nineteen years of life. I could not wait to be in the same space with the only male that has managed to dominate my thoughts for the past year.
No matter how I tried, Daniel refused to leave my thoughts, and he lived in my head rent-free. Being overprotected and babied all my life by my very conservative parents, I had no real experience of the real world in all of its evil and trials. Left to me, the world was devoid of any form of evil whatsoever and I resumed college with that innocent and pure mindset- to my detriment.
The drive to the campus was a pretty rough, bumpy ride and I slept through it all. I was too anxious to stay awake and even in my sleep, I could still feel my heart pounding in my ribcage. Even the quiet chatter between my parents couldn't calm my beating heart. Neither did the soft voice of Celine Dion coming from the speakers. For some reason, it made me dread what was about to come in the future; it was like a premonition.
Perhaps, it was the universe warning me against thinking college would be a bed full of roses. After about three and a half hours of driving, we finally arrived at Star-Height University. The magnificent arc and carefully manicured lawn before the gate were a warm greeting to all the freshmen and their parents.
There stood a long line of cars bearing young 16 to 18-year-olds eagerly waiting to start their tremendous four-year journey to a bachelor's degree and three for former A-level candidates like me. After the compulsory search of my luggage by one of the female security personnel, I signed in at the gate and was thereby directed to the bursary from where I would get my hostel clearance.
The queue at the bursary was long and it took about two hours. My parents spent the time taking a tour of the school and having lunch in the cafeteria. Finally, I was assigned to a three-bedroom room in one of the newly built female accommodations. More searching and signing-ins took place and by the time I had finally gotten my room key, all I wanted to do was to sleep.
Mum and Dad waited for me at the reception while I dragged my bags in. I was grateful for getting a room on the ground floor for I could not imagine dragging all the luggage over multiple flights of stairs. It was a three-story building and the elevators were simply not working.
My room was painted a soft peach color but my roommates weren't as warm as the color of the room. They ignored me and reluctantly told me their names-one, Jadesola, and the other Daniella. At least, I was comforted by the spacious room and wardrobes. The other thing that caught my eye was my personal study table and study lamp right under my bed. Thinking of it now, it was built like a bunk bed except that the space for a second bed underneath, was transformed into a study table, a little vanity desk with a mirror, and a shelf for my books.
After putting my stuff away in all the right places, I went out to join my parents who insisted on buying me dinner before they left. So, we went to the cafeteria once more. It was a big building with three different food courts and very good lighting. The jumbled voices of talking students, staff, and parents made the place seem rowdy but luckily for us, there was no queue.
I took in my entire environment, awed with the beauty of Uni life while Dad got my dinner. They walked me back to my dorm where we said our goodbyes. Mum pushed a wad of cash into my hand as she hugged me tightly. I got emotional as their car pulled out of the dorm's driveway and onto the road leading to the gate. No doubt, I was going to miss them so much. However, I was super excited to start my life in college that I did not worry about that for the time being.
The following day had a lot in store for me and was from there that the cycle of love, heartbreak, jealousy, and revenge started.
The next morning had me humming to my favorite song as the chirping birds perched just outside my window and backed me up. I had a shower, got dressed, and then headed out towards the administrative block where I had to do a lot of registering and orientations. The street was packed with students who like me, hoped for a bright future. The old sophomores, juniors, and seniors hurried to their lectures while freshmen and new sophomores like myself hurried to the auditorium for the one-hour orientation which ended up taking two hours.
After the whole talking, it was about ten am and my stomach began to growl. So, I decided to grab a drink. After swiping my card and getting a poorly printed receipt, I was handed a chilled bottle of soft drink by a very frustrated female server. The minute I popped my drink open, a finger poked through my midi floral dress, tickling me. I yelped and spilled the drink on myself, missing the person next to me by whiskers. Turning around, my eyes fell on Daniel.
"I'm so sorry" he apologized as he offered his handkerchief so I could wipe down.
"Don't worry about it." I smiled widely like a fool.
" I didn't know you were ticklish" Daniel took my blue file from the counter, snaked his hand around my waist, and escorted me out of the queue. He led me to one of the free tables in the dining court as I attempted to use my hand to brush the orange liquid off my dress.
"just use this instead" Daniel pushed his handkerchief into my hands a second time. He waited as I rushed to the bathroom at the end of the cafeteria, leaving all of my stuff with him. I Hurriedly soaked the white material under the tap then I wiped my chest area clean. I rinsed the cloth once more and wiped it a few more times before heading out.
" Thanks. I'll wash it and return it to you." I said to Daniel as I sat down opposite him.
"keep it. I'm also sorry for poking you" he passed a wrapped doughnut to me along with my drink.
"Thanks but me being ticklish is not your fault." I looked down as I attempted to keep myself from blushing. For the next few minutes, we munched our doughnuts in silence and stole glances at each other. I was surprised he wanted to stay back with me. After taking a few bites, he cleared his throat and broke the silence.
"where's Julie?" he asked as he looked around as if missing a detail. Slightly irked that he was asking about my friend with such seriousness, I gave a rather mechanical reply.
"she would be resuming later in the week. Flight issues" Julie lived in the far part of the country. Her re-scheduled flight caused a major shift in her schedule. Frankly, something about the air felt much lighter without her presence.
"Did you enjoy the orientation?" Daniel's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he took a swig of his drink.
"I don't think it was held for the enjoyment of students." I mused. " it was boring and exhausting."
Daniel chuckled before replying "Yep. it was evident from your face"
"you were watching me?" butterflies filled my belly.
"hmm.. more like you were in my line of vision," he smirked as he looked me in the eye. Gosh, he would be the death of me. My attempt to keep myself from smiling turned into a violent cough as I choked on my drink.
"hmm...looks like I happen to affect you." Daniel gave me a knowing look.
"I don't know what you are talking about." I avoided his gaze.
"lies." He rested his back on his chair, folded his arms, and intensified his gaze.
"Is this some sort of staring contest?" I asked, still looking at everywhere except his eyes. Staring into them would be me giving away my secret. He didn't give me a reply. So, I returned to munch on my snacks. I desperately wanted him to say something because my heartbeats felt laborious with every passing second. Even swallowing became difficult.
Somehow, my eyes traveled to his full, heart-shaped lips. The urge to kiss him became heavy. In an attempt to hide my desire, my eyes fell to his chest and folded arms. I imagined how it would feel to run my hands through his chest and how his fingers would feel if they were buried deep inside me, curling to hit the right spot. Phew.
Shaking my head to rid myself of such thoughts, I met his brown eyes once again, unknowingly giving him the doe eyes as I finished up my doughnut.
"So what is next for you?" he asked as he leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. I blinked twice before responding.
"More faculty registrations."
"Arts and management sciences?" Daniel inquired.
"yes." I concurred.
"Well, I'm headed to pure and applied sciences." Daniel jumped to his feet and slung his backpack on his shoulder. he shoved his phone to my face.
" phone number please," he said
I sat, trying to process the words he said. Could it be?... Finally, we get to talk to each other. Grinning widely, I imputed the eleven digits and handed the phone back. With an adorable wink, he turned and sauntered away. A few seconds passed before I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.
Then, the agonizing wait for his text or call began. I checked my phone now and then waiting for a call from an unfamiliar number. The lady at the faculty office was very rude and so unhelpful, leading to my struggling with some of the forms. All in all, I spent a total of four more hours getting my schedule for the semester together, meeting with a few lecturers, and doing more registration. No words could describe how tired I felt at the end of the day. I was so exhausted that I decided to skip dinner that night. I just couldn't muster the strength to walk to the cafeteria to grab some food. Craving nothing but Daniel's phone call, I headed to my dorm.