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“Hope you didn’t get to class late?”
Tope asked as Labake entered the
room.
“My sister, na small remain o,” her
roommate replied dropping her bag
on the floor. “One guy like that gave
me seat,” she continued as she sat
on the bed.
“He saved me from missing an
important test.”
Tope smiled, signalling her growing
interest,
“How does he look?”she asked.
“Tall and ok,” Labake replied,
wondering what her roommate was
driving at.
“Handsome?” Tope continued.
“Maybe,” Labake shrugged.
“Coincidentally, we finished from the
same primary school.”
“Perfect,” Tope said smiling.
“Perfect for what?” Labake asked. She looked at Tope who had a mischievous expression on her face
and Labake understood instantly.
“You no well,” she laughed playfully
tossing a pillow at her roommate.
“Handsome dude helps a lady in
distress,” Tope said as she stood up.
“He’s even a familiar face! Perfect
recipe for romance, ” she continued.
“You too dey watch Bollywood,” Labake said as she rolled over. “I tire abeg.”
“You’re not hungry today abi?” Tope
teased as she walked out of the
room. “Prince Charming took you out
for lunch!”
“That girl!” Labake thought, “What a
hopeless romantic.” Labake felt a
wave of sleep wash over her, she
was drifting off when her phone
beeped. Irritated, she reached for it
and read the text message.
….Hi dear, Guess you had a stressful
day? Me too. Nice seeing you again
after all these years. We’ll talk more
later. Seni.
“Speak of the devil! Maybe he knows
Tope. ”she thought . She closed her
eyes and was asleep within minutes.
It was late in the evening before she
woke up. She walked into the front
room where Tope was eating and
reading one of her romance novels.
“Babe, what’s up?” she said yawning.
“You’re hungry I guess?” Tope asked
while pointing to the stove where she
had left some food.
“You’re a darling,” Labake said
stretching. She went to rinse her face
and then joined her roommate.
“Omo, I could hear your phone buzzing from out here, I bet you have one billion missed calls.”
Labake wasn’t surprised she hadn’t
heard her phone. She always slept
so soundly. She got up to retrieve
her phone. Most of the missed calls
were from her mum and Seni.
She texted her mum and made a
mental note to call Seni later when
Tope wasn’t around to eavesdrop.
“The stranger called abi? What’s his
name gan sef?” Tope asked.
Labake tried to concentrate on her
food but found it impossible to ignore
her roommate.
“Yes, he called,” she said. “His name is Seni and stop looking at me like I’m
hiding something!”
They resumed eating.
Labake had never given any thought
to any guy and Tope was always on
her case to get a boyfriend. “Seni is
just an opportunity for her to be on my case again,” she thought irritatedly.
An image of Seni flashed in her mind,
his handsome features, his nice
smile..
“No time for distractions,” she thought shaking her head. She had studying to do. She cleared her plate and resumed studying.
Later that week Labake and Tope
were relaxing inside the school
cafeteria. They were both grateful for
the lecturers meeting that gave them
both a free afternoon. Tope was
eagerly filling Labake in on the latest
gossip on campus.
“How you dey get this gists sef?”
Labake asked, surprised at Tope’s
detailed knowledge of campus
happenings.
Tope laughed and continued
updating her about the latest
couples, those that got jilted even
before Valentine’s day and those that
snatched others’ partners.
“Good afternoon,” someone said
smoothly behind them. They had
been so engrossed in their
conversation they did not notice his
presence.
Labake turned round and saw Seni.
“Hey,” she said as she stood up to
hug him. She then turned to Tope
who was all smiles, “Tope, this is
Seni.”
“Hi,” they said in unison as they
shook hands.
‘ Hope you guys don’t mind me joining
you’, he said with a smile
“Please, join us,” said Tope too
quickly to her roommate’s frustration.
“It would be my pleasure,’ he said,
taking the empty seat next to Labake.
Labake made a face at Tope but she
was secretly happy she’d asked him
to join them.
For the next few hours they
reminisced over childhood memories
and complained about their current
course load. Before he left they
promised to see each other over the
weekend.
“I like him,” Tope said when they were
alone.
“I think I do too,” Labake admitted
reluctantly.
“You think?!”, Tope exclaimed looking
at her like she was drunk. “Which one
is think again?” she nudged her
roommate.
This girl wan lose better fine boy like
this, Tope thought with shock.
Hmmm, I no go allow am miss this
opportunity.

twitter : @yopeolu

“Story time!” Omolabake called out to her daughter. Poojah screeched with excitement and ran towards her mother. Labake watched as her daughter arranged herself at her feet and suddenly overwhelmed by the wave of love she felt. Poojah was a nickname her daughter had chosen for herself after watching an Indian movie and the name stuck. At times Labake herself forgot that Peju was her real name. Poojah stared at her mother, waiting patiently for her to begin. “Once upon a time…” Labake began. She went on to tell a folktale she’d heard from her grandparents, the story of a mischievous tortoise who had a knack for involving other animals in his hair brained schemes. She couldn’t help but notice the animated look on Poojah’s face so she made gestures to add spice to the story. Poojah collapsed into a heap of giggles and Labake felt her heart swell. After the story, Labake watched Poojah as she played with her dolls, she said a silent prayer of thanks and exhaled in gratitude. “Everything about our lives seems so perfect,” she thought. “But it wasn’t always this way. It was such a long and painful journey.” She closed her eyes and began to relive it, the struggle, the heartache. All of it, as if it were yesterday… ***** Born to strict parents, Labake and her brother, Tolu, were taught that morals, etiquette and education were paramount. “No one remembers number two,” Labake remembered her mother saying. From childhood she vowed to always finish first. The Ezekiels were perfectionists. Labake and Tolu rarely fell short of their parents high standards. They became reference points throughout their college days beating records and amassing numerous awards. Labake was proud of herself for keeping her vow, she had done everything right. She’d won every award available and finished first all but once. Labake collapsed onto her bed after a long, exhausting day. Lectures had become so draining because lecturers were rushing to cover topics that the ASUU strike had disrupted. She was worn out. “Sorry dear, lectures wan kill you abi?’ said Tope her roommate as she walked into the room. “Nawa for them,” Labake replied without looking up. Her stomach growled and she silently wished she had a house help to help her cook. “I cooked rice,” Tope announced, as if she had read her grateful roommate’s grateful mind. Labake hopped up from her bed and made her way to the kitchen. “Ah ah, I thought you were tired,” Tope mocked. Labake dished the rice and ate with relish. “Thanks for the meal,” she said between bites. “Even if na concoction.” They both laughed and talked about their respective days. Tope was still talking when she noticed her roommate had fallen fast asleep on the couch. “She always does that,” Tope thought, tempted to launch a pillow at her unsuspecting friend. She looked at Labake and blessed the day they met. Since she wasn’t feeling sleepy, she started clearing away the plates. *** It was way past midnight when Labake woke up. Tope was asleep by then. “Ugh, I’ve overslept,” she thought. She took a quick shower and sat down to study. “Can’t wait to be done with school,” she whispered fighting off drowsiness. It took a few minutes to get into her books, but before long she was in full flow. She didn’t bother waking Tope up, she slept like a log, it would be hopeless. Labake studied until nature got the better of her and she fell asleep at her desk. “Babe, you don late for class o,” said Tope as she tapped a dozing Labake. Her roommate sprang up instantly and rushed into the bathroom. “Thank you,”she yelled slamming the bathroom door. She hurriedly did ‘rub and shine,’ washing her teeth, face and feet.She grabbed her bag and ran out of the door so quickly she didn’t even shut it behind her. She beat the lecturer to class by two minutes but the lecture theatre was full. She saw a space open up and made a dash for it but someone got there before her. “Damn!” she swore. Standing throughout a lecture was no fun. “Hey, you can have this seat,” said a deep voice from behind her. She turned and a stranger removed his bag to create a space. “You are a lifesaver,” she smiled as she hurriedly sat down. She scanned his face quickly. He looks a little familiar, she thought. “Whew! I was lucky,” she sighed with relief. “Indeed you were, because there’s going to be a test today,” her ‘saviour’ informed her. Just then the lecturer appeared, closing the door behind him “Good morning everyone, test time,” he announced. *** “That was close,” she said, after the last test paper had been collected. “Very close,” her new friend replied. “So what’s the name? ” he asked putting his books in his bag. “Omolabake Ezekiel,” she replied. A smile spread across his face, “I knew it,” he said, ‘I knew there was something familiar about your face but I didn’t want to push it’. She searched his face, hoping she would remember his name. “Seni Hassan, ” he said “Wow!” she exclaimed shocked by the memory. The first and only time she took second place was because he took first. “Small world,” they said in unison as they walked out of the lecture theatre. They exchanged numbers and promised to stay in touch. Labake smiled as she made her way to her next lecture. Wow! Seni Hassan , she thought, small world