Settling In

As we approach the third door on the left, Nicole drops the bag and pulls out a key from her pocket.

"Welcome to our room," she says, pushing open the door. She picks up the bag and steps inside, followed by my mom then me.

The room is even more beautiful than I expected. Comfortable and cozy, with a large bed, situated horizontally against one side of the room, nestled within a sturdy solid wood bed frame, and is neatly arranged with black, red, and white beddings.

A table with a chair pushed under it, stands against one side of the room, and a wardrobe is next to the bed. Two doors straight ahead likely lead to the bathroom and kitchen.

I slowly remove my bag and place it on the sparkling clean cream tiles. "Wow, it looks really nice," I compliment.

Nicole smiles, "I know right," she says, pushing open the door by the left.

"Let me get you guys some food. Just sit and wait for me."

I nod, taking in the room's details. The high ceiling has a fan hanging from it, with a stripy colored design that matches the bedroom's overall aesthetic. A laptop sits on the table, its screen dark.

My mom starts talking on the phone, "Ehen, ayi rugo," (yes, we've gotten there) as I hear clinking plates coming from the kitchen.

I pull out my phone, thinking taking a picture to show Nonso and Peter, but decide against it. Instead, I pull out the chair and sit down, my hands reaching for the laptop's keyboard, only to find it's switched off.

Suddenly, Nicole exclaims, "Food is here!" and steps out of the kitchen, holding two plates of steaming spaghetti and eggs.

She sets a plate in front of me, shifting the laptop aside, and hands the other plate to my mom, who's sitting on the bed. "Eat," she says with a smile.

I start eating, savoring the delicious taste of the spaghetti. The texture is perfect, and the ingredients are well-balanced, including the boiled egg, which is cooked just right.

"How is it?" Nicole asks from behind me.

I turn to see her sitting next to my mom, her hands resting on the bed, her eyes on me.

"Who cooked this?" I ask.

"Me, of course! Do you think Chika would even bother cooking? That lazy child," she replies with a chuckle.

"Doesn't she cook at all?" I take another bite of spaghetti.

"Rarely, only when hunger strikes her."

"Chika doesn't cook?" my mom asks, sounding surprised.

"Don't mind her, she's very lazy," Nicole responds.

"When is she coming back?" my mom asks, her tone slightly upset as she stopped eating.

"I don't know, she left early this morning."

"Ah, for what?"

"She said they gave them an assignment, and she needs to finish it on time before the lecturer asks for it."

"And the deadline is today?"

"Yes."

I turn back to my food, content to listen to their conversation from this direction.

"Hmph, okay, let her come first," my mom says.

"So, how is it?" Nicole asks again, her curiosity piqued.

"You tried," I tell her, holding back a laugh, eager to see her reaction.

"So, you can't even say the food is yummy or something?"

I chuckle, "You tried na."

"Oya, go and cook your own."

"Nope," I reply, savoring another bite of spaghetti.

"Mummy, see oh," she says, drawing my mom into the conversation.

"Don't mind her, you really did well, it's extremely nice," my mom says, her mouth full of food.

"Thank you, jare," Nicole says, sounding happy and proud of her cooking.

I must admit, the food is really good, and I'm almost done, surprised by how much her cooking has improved.

"So, how's your pepper roll business?" my mom asks, sniffing.

"It's going well, we're making cool cash," she responds.

"Oh, wow, that's good. Did you make any pepper roll today?"

"Yes, Chika took them out with her to sell."

"How much are you guys making today?"

"Two thousand naira."

"We usually make two thousand naira every day."

"Wow, that's impressive! So, how much do you guys have now?"

"We haven't counted our earnings yet, so I'm not sure,"

I make a satisfied clinking sound with my plate, having finished my meal.

"Take it easy, o," Nicole says with a chuckle. My mom laughs, and I turn around to face them, seeing that she's also done eating.

"Well, I was hungry," I say, standing up and stretching.

I walk over to the bed and flop down behind them, letting out a contented sigh.

"Haahhhh... I'm so full."

"Get up, you just ate, you shouldn't be lying down," Nicole says, playfully scolding.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I mumble into the pillow.

"Sit up, you need to let your food digest before lying down," Mom adds.

I sigh and sit up, resting my back against the wall with my legs folded.

"Are you also going to class today?" Mom asks Nicole.

"Yes, by nine," she replies. "I'm so tired, I don't feel like going today."

"You better feel like it," Mom says.

I'm feeling really sleepy, but if I sleep, they'll complain... ah, geez!

"What about Naomi? How's she?" Mom asks.

"She's fine, she went to class," Nicole responds.

"Oh, that's nice. What's the time now? You should be getting ready to leave soon, right?"

My eyelids start feeling heavy, and my brain feels like it's flying out of my head. I just want to sleep. Their voices become a muffle in my head as my eyes close, and I feel myself falling onto the bed.

My eyes snap open wide, and I see them turned around, looking at me.

"Ah ha, what's wrong with this one?" Nicole asks, amused.

"Don't mind her, let her just sleep," Mom says with a chuckle.

I finally surrender to sleep, adjusting my position to lie comfortably in the bed.

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I slowly open my eyes, where am I?. Oh yeah, I'm at my sisters lodge. But why is the room empty? There's no one here, and it's a bit dark, with the curtains and doors closed.

I sit up in bed, rubbing my eyes gently. Where's Mom? Or Nicole? I stand up, looking around, wondering where to go.

"Mom!" I call out.

"Nicole!" There's no response.

Maybe I should call them. I walk over to my phone on the table and see it's only 9:35.

I scroll through my contacts and find Mom's number. I call, waiting for her to pick up, and she answers quickly.

"Hello"

"Hello, where are you?" 

"I'm outside getting some fresh air. Nicole went to class, so you can come out if you want to."

"Oh okay, I'll just stay in and wait for you guys to come back."

"Okay then," she hangs up.

It looks like I'm alone. My exam is tomorrow at 12 pm, so I'll use this time to review my past questions and textbooks.

I put my phone back on the table and pull my bag closer, sitting on the chair and pulling out all my clothes to access my books.

"Ah ha!" I say, finally finding them. I'll put the clothes back later.

The room is quite dark and smells strongly of expensive perfume. I stand up and walk to the door leading to the kitchen, pulling it open to let in some light.

I also walk to the window next to the door and swipe open the curtain, adding more brightness to the room.

I gather all my study materials and sit on the floor, opening them up to start revising.

I'm not exactly a whiz in economics, but I'm confident in my other subjects, government, literature, and English.

So, I'll focus on revising economics.

First question:

1. Which of the following is not true of the occupational distributional of the labour in west Africa?

Hmm, my brain is not braining. I'll take a guess with option C.

"Let me see...Ah yes, I was right!"

Next question:

2. Which of the following types of capital is not rewarded by means dividend?"

What on earth...? I'll go with option C again, it makes sense.

"Ah ha! I'm so smart!"

I continue going through the past questions until I feel bored and tired. Where is Mom, anyway? She's been out getting fresh air for a while now.

I get up to check the window, but she's nowhere in sight. I hear female voices laughing in the other room, though.

"Everything is just so boring!" I walk over to the bed, phone in hand, and decide to watch some TikTok videos.

Just then, I hear a knock at the door. "Knock knock knock!" Who could that be? If it were Nicole or Mom, they would have said something by now. I'll just ignore it, maybe it's not this door.

"Knock knock knock!" The knocking persists.

I get up, close the curtains, and peek through. It's a girl with a bag, maybe she's a friend of Nicole or Chika's.

I open the door slowly.

"Uhm, good afternoon," I say.

"Good afternoon, is Nicole in?"

"Uhm, no, she isn't. You should come back some other time."

"Okay then," she says, then walks away.

Phew! I close the door and jump back into bed, resuming my TikTok video marathon.

I suddenly hear the door opening, and my heart leaps with joy, thinking someone has finally returned.

I turn to see who it is, and it's Mom, closing the door behind her. She has a pack of soft drinks in her hand, with different varieties bundled together.

I quickly stand up, "Ah ha, I like what you're holding!" I exclaim, eyeing the drinks as she places them close to the table.

"It's for your sisters," she says.

"Can't we at least share a bottle?" I ask, sitting back down on the bed.

"When they get back, you'll have wait," she says, lying down beside me.

"Okay, keep your words."

"And keep your books tidy, don't  leave them scattered on the floor. What if I had accidentally stepped on them?"

"Well, you didn't," I reply, lying on my chest.

"Okay o," she says with a chuckle, closing her eyes and yawning. "Wake me if my phone rings."

"Okay." I resume watching TikTok videos, but I'm starting to feel sleepy too. It's already 2 pm, and none of them have returned. Do they really spend this long in class? I haven't even seen Chika since we arrived.

I pause the video and gently shift Mom aside, letting sleep take over, and slowly close my eyes.