Going Back Home

What Went Wrong(8)

Going back home after four months on campus was the exact type of break Opeyemi needed at that time. Her body needed it and her soul craved for it.

She had packed her bags along with her to the exam Centre on the day she sat for her last first semester exam. The CBT exam was to start by 8am but she was already at the venue with her travelling bag about 45 minutes before the exam began.

The bus she boarded back to Lagos was the second to leave the park that day. One couldn’t have expected less because according to the number tag she was given, she was the fifth out of over eight thousand students to write the exam on that day.

And it didn't take her an hour before she finished the exam. The course was named “Use Of English” and she was an expert when it comes to that. Maybe that was the reason why her roommate, Amanda, always complained that her big vocabularies gave her headaches.

As at 9:30am, the bus was already on the move. Opeyemi was seated at the front seat beside the driver and the breeze that the bus swirled towards her caused her to think about her life for some minutes before she dozed off.

She thought about everything she had experienced in the past four months on campus. If she were to be sincere with herself without exaggerating anything, the experience she had gained during those months was enough to write a novel.

On getting home, the welcome back greetings and gestures she got from everyone made her feel like she was in fairyland; Mum prepared her favorite meal, and her younger brother Temi who used to be a stubborn boy that rejected almost every sort of errand (except for the ones that had goodies for him) before she left for campus was the one who volunteered to help do chores in the house. At a point, she had to tap herself aggressively to confirm that she wasn't dreaming. E choke.

Dad also played his own part as he would buy Sùyá (grilled meat) for her everyday while coming back from work in the first week of her arrival. It was as though they were welcoming a pastor who had come to minister to them from a far away distance.

Dear reader, this week's episode is only an introduction to the full picture we would be unveiling next week. Don't miss it please.