Love at first sight

Ada climbed up the veranda and knocked heavily on the iron door twice.

"A new corper has joined us oh!"

"Hope say na female corper?" A male voice responded from inside.

"Come out and see for yourself!"

Seconds after, dragging footsteps could be heard inside until a young man came out. He was average height, dark-skinned, with hair like that of the young Michael Jackson. He was bare-bodied with his white singlet hanging over his right shoulder.

"Hello…" Uche said.

"My guy… how far na?" He stretched out his hand for a handshake.

Uche took it. "We bless God."

"I have seen you before." His eyes narrowed as he tried to recall where and when.

"Must have been in camp."

"Wetin you do for camp?"

"I was the goalkeeper for Platoon 1."

The corners of his mouth gradually turned up and slowly, it graduated into a burst of full-blown laughter. "You were the keeper that collected the highest goals."

"Yeah… shit happens." Uche shyly ran his hand over his short, dark hair.

"It does," he nodded in agreement.

Shortly, they were joined by a chubby young man dressed in Arsenal FC sportswear.

"I am OBJ." He held out his hand for a shake.

"OBJ as in Obasanjo?" Uche asked, a funny smile lingering on his lips.

"Yeah," the young man replied.

"Uche." He took her hand in a firm grip.

"Guy, you tall oh…" he sized him up. "You are welcome."

Nosa helped with his bag. They were retiring into the lodge when a young lady came out. The movement of the men came to a sudden halt.

"You don wake up? Sleepyhead?" Ada asked.

She acknowledged with a nod, stretched her whole body, ignorant of the people watching.

"See our tall and handsome new corper" Ada whispered.

Surprised, she looked ahead, and her eyes met those of Uche, who was staring keenly. Swiftly and shyly, she looked away. Uche felt a push from behind and without a second thought, he went over to her on the veranda.

"Hi."

"Hello"

"You must be Omo," he said calmly, a charming smile dancing on his lips as he extended his right hand.

She turned and gave Ada, her roommate, a quick stare. Ada shrugged her shoulders.

"Have we met before?" she enquired as the faint glimmer of the evening sun ghosted over her skin.

"Yes..." he acknowledged. Omo was pretty with eyes that seemed to bore into his soul. She was a bit muscular with broad shoulders and above average for a woman.

"Where?" she asked, looking up into his eyes. She discovered a fierce desire within it. Her heart sank as her shyness overcame her, but she persisted in looking at him and demanding an explanation.

"In my dreams."

"Hmmm," Ada dropped in and they quickly let go of each other's hands.

Omo snorted a tiny laugh as a sudden, pleasing embarrassment flushed over her. A blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Really?" She looked away, avoiding his eyes. Staring further into them made her face heat up.

"Uche… my name is Uche," he murmured.

She nodded, avoiding speaking, for she knew if she did, her words would fumble.

"Ok, can we go inside now?" Ada broke the ice.

*

Inside was a spacious, deserted room with only wooden benches set up in a square. Originally intended to be their living room, this space was turned into a store for buckets of water and jerry cans. Wires of various colours were tied from one wall's end to the other. The air was cold and smelt of bleach and detergent. Pictures of corps members from past years hung on the wall, with the year they passed out boldly written on the picture.

To the left was the door to a massive kitchen. One big enough to house over seven people at the same time. A variety of colours and sizes of camp gases were dispersed throughout the area. The sink filled up with dirty dishes. Another door leading to the backyard was located across from the main entrance. Beside that was another that leads to the bathroom and toilet.

"This is the way to the rooms," Ada announced, pointing to her right. With her in front, they all went into the hallway.

It could only accommodate two people due to its extreme narrowness. The air was stagnant like they just got into a pit. A pinch of light from the living room provided them illumination until Nosa turned on the torch on his phone.

The grey-painted walls were now a shadow of their former glory. The floor was uneven from so much traffic from both feet and dragging of things. Squares of polystyrene were arranged on a frame that resembled a grid to form the ceiling above. Both sides of the walls were lined with wooden doors, directly opposite each other, all numbered. They got to number three and Ada stopped.

"This is your room. You are yet to have a roommate." She handed him a single key.

"Thanks," he whispered.

Within, the room was twenty square feet. Facing the door was a large window from which fresh air flittered in to burn out the smell of dust. On the floor beneath the window was a thin piece of foam. At the base of the foam stood a full-sized wooden wardrobe.

Uche looked around, inhaling deeply with a sense of relief. "Na wa oh"

"No be wetin we expect we see, but we don come, what to do?" Nosa encouraged him.

"Omo Ibo, you are welcome. Let's give you space to arrange your room," OBJ added.

In seconds, he was left alone in his new room. He retired to the flat foam, glanced at the ceiling, trying to picture how it will likely play out for the next eleven months but it was a blur. He stood and began to arrange his things till it was late in the night.