Staring at the oil kissed plate, I was contemplating whether I should either wash or dumb the plastic plate in the thrash.

Doing the dishes is one thing I detest and apparently one thing I have to look up to everyday.

Classes were beginning in two weeks, did I feel bad for lying to my mum that we would resume earlier,  not one bit.

Although it isn't good to lie, I just wanted to run away from home, have a breather and rearrange my thinking before my mum's shouts takes away my sanity.

She was too occupied with the restaurant to inquire about my school anyways, the only thing she knows is I'm in my lodge and going for classes.

It's as simple as that.

"This guy is horrible!" That's Ife my second she's an absolute bookworm, she hasn't unpacked for over two days now and is still binge reading the book she told herself she'll drop three hours ago.

Giving in, I wash the plate clean and sigh at my almost drained morning fresh container, at this point I deserve to be a brand ambassador.

Drying my hands, I rest on the threshold and face my roommate, "what book are you reading now?" She doesn't hear me, which is not anything new, I go over to my bed folding my dried clothes I unconsciously sniff the fabrics, my liquid rinser does the job of coating my clothes with a solid scent.

I began folding and try talking to the deranged girl that has her legs propped on the wall as she's flipping yet another page, " Ife which book is that?" She merely looks at me, going back to the book she drops her legs, kicking them forward she lets them dangle off her bed, "I've forgotten" she says under a rushed breathe, "but get this, he is an assassin and she is a cop, why the hell did he shot her"

You've got to be kidding me

Getting into book arguments with Ife was like involuntarily signing up for the debate club, you'll wonder where she gets her facts from to make them sound so true you'll think you were assuming things.

But I think this is a book I've read, so giving her a spoiler is what I do next, " there's no romance and in the end he uses her to escape, how do you keep reading it if you keep complaining" my arms drop dramatically to my side as I go back to folding my pink shirt.

She drops her book, rolling her eyes, " because I have the mouth to, besides I don't believe you in any way" Airen thinks my mouth is sassy wait till he meets Ife then I'll be a beginner standing beside her.

Now I remember where exactly did I drop my phone, "Ife as you see me so I don't have your strength" I place the dresses on hangers and then put the folded pile where they ought to be, "have you seen my phone?"

She scoffs, going back to the book making me question if I did choose the right influence in my life, "where you keep am?" I see her take her lacasera bottle from the window, placing the straw to her lips.

"If I know I for they ask you" I hiss, this wasn't the time to snap at my friend but given the kind of questions she asks am I not obliged to.

The painful part of everything is that it's on silent, "sorry o madam" she says in a mocking tone, peering at me from her bottle which she's busy blowing bubbles into.

"Can you atleast call it?" I say tired of the stress of finding a mobile device I kept on silent.

If my mum was here she'll probably be yelling.

"Oya now chill let me call it, Shey it will vibrate bah?" I nod, skimming my hands under my pillow, then back to the wardrobe, legs off to the kitchen as I searched every possible inch it may have fallen into.

Ife gets on her feet, her phone pressed to her ear, she sneaks her feet into her inside slippers, pushing the toilet door, she returns with my device.

I heave a sigh of relief as Ife throws me a disappointing look, "you go piss Na why you go forget your phone? Con dey carry face for me like say I dey look your worwor face (why did you forget your phone in the toilet after you where done with using it, you even became angry with me as though we were in an argument making your face look the more ugly)" I pout at her brash words taking none to heart.

Throwing my hands around her I hug her tightly, "no vex Na, I forget ( don't be angry it slipped my mind)" she was acting rigid till I began to tickle her, causing her to run free from my grip and over to her bed, "no forget am for inside toilet again abeg (don't forget it inside toilet a second time)" she warns going back to her novel.

With her source of refreshment all swallowed down into her belly she slid her hand into the black thick travelling bag taking out two creamy biscuits, the girl too dey chop ( she eats a lot).

Unlocking my device I go through the various dry study Groups not everyone has resumed yet, my thumb clicks on the current one dropping in study questions, I guess it's another day to bury my head in books again.

The black screen flashes before my eyes and I see it's a call from Airen, who in their correct senses video calls someone without their permission.

I was so tempted to switch off my mobile data and watch the call ring tell it turns back to the texting page, declining it I send over a text.

Can't video right now —like I'll ever agree to that in the first place— I'm kind of busy.

His reply comes in seconds later
I didn't mean that my little cousin mistakenly clicked on the video icon.

The oldest lie in the book, the one I've been told thousands of times to push away people, it's funny I know.

I'm about to text him again when his voice note comes through, "can we meet when you're free then, anywhere you'll love it's my treat" the background has muffled babyish girlie laughter, he wasn't lying after all.

Glancing at my notes, then back at my phone I agree, proposing we meet up at Dante's, it's not that I want him to take me out or anything considering the circumstances it's the nicest and safest place to be.

Dante would be there obviously.

Which kind of calms my worries, I was slowly beginning to trust that Airen and I were becoming acquaintances not friends yet so I had to take safety measures first.

He reacts with a thumbs up in response, instinctively my eyes roam the wardrobe and land on the baggy purple tee and knicker, I'll wear my crisscrossed slippers on my feet, too it was comfortable and easy to run in.

The number of murder cases swarming the news was on a role to give me a sudden paranoia, girls dropped off on streets and witnessed to lose their senses, brutal pictures depicting women losing their private parts or most a-times kidneys, livers all to organ harvesters.

The world was truly wicked and becoming something else, if it's not ritual cleaning, it's organ trafficking.

Women....who am I kidding, people in general are not safe anymore, things are becoming out of hand, I know my prayers for victims do not suffice the harsh cruelty that they had to go through, but that doesn't mean I won't stop praying either way.

And now speaking of younger girls and other people in general I don't exempt them from my prayers either, God is going to protect us and soon their evil deed would surely go back to haunt them.

Enough now, I tried whipping off the tears on my cheeks, I wasn't going to cry anymore, the agonising feeling in my chess blossomed into worry, what if Airen was also like them.

I have to keep my wits in check and not let paranoia eat at my soul, patting my eyes dry I go back to reading, reading till my eyes bleed, cos this degree I mus get am by fire by thunder.

Not only getting it but with a good record of excellent results, even if my mum does all the bragging, this would give me a sense of stability, a sense of peace in this chaos we call a world, and I was going to push through everything and get my heart desires.

And this degree is fortunately one of them.

Marking down the line I didn't thoroughly grasp, I eye Ife who is now on her phone, the book that was in her clutches discarded at the far end of her bed, then she did her usual position, legs on the walls and back on her bed.

I worried she may get a concussion or something with all that blood flowing the wrong way, peeping at her screen, indeed it's an ebook, when I say book obsessed she puts the word bibliophile to shame.

It's not like Ife didn't study, heck I barely study compared to her, she's an avid night reader, she can stay up all night without blinking her eyes, studying and studying schoolwork.

I kind of envied her for that, she did it so effortlessly like it was her second nature.

My eyes glanced at the notification at my now lit screen, three missed calls from mister you know who, shit! I didn't take it off from silent mode and proceeded to stop the vibrating option as well.

Eyeing my scribblings and the text that had refused to stick to my brain cells, I put my phone aside and try going through it one more time but this time I took a different approach— asking God for a clearer understanding— it doesn't come through at that moment but I know as far as I've told my Father, He'll certainly see me through it.

That's one thing about God, always ready to help me no matter the amount of times I've stained myself, He is ever kind and ever merciful.

Throwing on my clothes, I spritz some of my perfume and pop a gum in my mouth, the strawberry flavours pouring onto my taste buds with ease, brushing the edges of my cornrows, I let Ife know where I was headed.

"Ife you know that guy I told you about"  luckily for me, she's paying attention, her eyes don't waver from her screen but she quips back, "the one that spilled his drink on you?" Her thumb swipes right on the screen again, "yeah, I'm meeting him up at Dante's, if my mum calls just tell her I went to get pure water" now was not the time to introduce this acquaintance to my mother.

She'll flip.

She may not though.

But I'm not taking chances.

Letting Amir know aswell, I take my leave and right when I'm outside the door that particular text I went over countless times from my textbook, fueled my memory, "gingivitis is caused by blooding gums which in some cases is brought about by hormonal imbalances in pregnancy, build up of plague in the gum line and bacteria"
I whispered an inaudible thank you to my Creator, when I was beginning to think I was losing it, almost at the point of giving up.

God came through for me, sometimes we need to understand that, God always comes through for us, not through miracles alone or stopping an unforeseen occurrence that would have left a big blow on us.

Sometimes it's the littlest of things that matter, like how you have food prepared for the day, or you go to a place you think you're going to be late at, just to go there and witness you're the first one there, every single good thing comes from the Lord.

And I am a living testament of that.

A/N
Hi beautiful people this is a filler chapter but anyhow we move, how are you doing today?

Drop your comments people I'll love to read them.