Knock! Knock! Knock! Is anybody in? Gift? Please are you in? The voice persisted. I was still lying down on my bed, too tired to stand up after reading all through the night a book which looked more like an encyclopedia. I closed my eyes tightly and hid my head under the pillow and used it as a covering over my ears, all in a bid to ignore whoever it was that knocked ceaselessly.

Gift? Are u there? I heard the person's voice once again after some seconds of long silence. Gosh, why is she still lingering there? And who could that be? I mumbled to myself. After thinking for a while who the caller behind the door might be, I somehow realized it was my neighbour Joan who has been calling. I noticed an unusual calm in the atmosphere that morning. The whole place was quiet. It was about 06:45am in the morning. Well, maybe my neighbours are just as tired as I am. Who wouldn't? When our semester examinsations is just around the corner.

After hesitating for some time, I reluctantly moved closed to my door and reached for my keys. No sooner had I opened it when immediately, the door was forcefully flung open by a 5-man gang with hoods over their head, scary mask on their faces and a gun in hand........

I trembled at the sight of the gigantic structures that surrounded me. Joan raised up her hands in surrender as one of the unwelcome visitors pointed a gun at her from behind. She was scared to death and could barely look at me in the face...

Hey! You! Without wasting our time, bring out your phones, laptops, ipads, tablets, and any gadget we may find useful! One of the robbers who seemed like the gang leader ordered with a gun pointed right at me.

Tears flowed down my cheeks as I reached out for my handsets and a mini-laptop. With my head bent and knees quivering, I handed them over to the guy who was ordering me around. Is this all you have? He asked me. I sensed the anger in his tone and pleaded for mercy.

Yeeeee....s.s si..r, I stammered. This is all I have. Please, don't hurt me. Here, you can have all the money on my purse, just take anything you want, but please don't hurt me....

My friend! Will you shut up your dirty mouth and get down to business! A second man ordered. Now, where did u keep all your money? Don't mess with us. If you co-operate with us, we will co-operate with you, simple!

With trembling hands I reached for my purse and handed it over to them. My head was facing downwards all through. I couldn't even dare to look at them. They opened the wallet, took out all the money that was in it, about N10,500 and threw my Atm card at me.

Wetin be your pin? The second man inquired while the other three ransacked my ward-robe, reading table and even my kitchen. I could hear the clattering but I knelt down motionless.

Ehm....mmm. The Atm is expired. You can check the date to confirm. For some seconds, there was silence. Joan stifled a cry, as she knelt down beside me.
What! You think say na play we come play? Abi you dey craze? Wetin you dey do with expired Atm? Eh? And you call yourself under-graduate. Terror, abeg teach am small lesson.

Before I could plead for mercy, a thunderous slap rounded on both sides of my cheeks. For some seconds, I was dazed. I couldn't even think straight....tears flowed ceaselessly down my cheeks.

If you pull this sort of funny stunt next time, you might just be killed. Ehm.... Migraine! The gang leader ordered, take this girl to the other room where her neighbours are. Migraine? Wtf! I thought rather to myself. Joan was led to one of our neighbour's room while I was made to lead them to yet another room. Without wasting much time, they quickly reached for the cell-phones and the money they found. They dragged us to the room where our neighbours were gathered and warned us not to draw any attention to the hostel. Within a few minutes, their footsteps were barely heard. After a while, we heard the sound of a car driving out of the hostel, and at that very moment, everyone started talking......we have been robbed!