"Well I still insist that all guys cheat,don't give me that crap about your boyfriend being different" said aunty Tee. She was a distant cousin to Rowland and during the course of my stay at their place we had gotten pretty close. She was sweet,funny and caring. I remember her confiding in me about her boyfriend then,their little fights always amused me because they always settle their issues as soon as they stem up,little wonder they got married a few years after.

"But aunty,he is not that kind of person....." I tried to say but she would cut me off and soon we would be on to another topic.

It wasn't easy waiting but I tried. All through the first year and the second half of the next year I waited till he changed.

The calls weren't like before,he would make excuses about not being able to come online and then I found out about the other girl he was with. I confronted him but he denied it for two years,that was when my love started to die slowly at first but over the years we would come back together and have issues till the last one which led to a total break up.

     Life at school wasn't easy,waking up early to get water from a constantly leaking tank that the agent refused to fix. Failure to get water early will leave you no other choice than to go get water from a well that's usually far,and when you find the well it's either some of the well owners are mean and won't let you fetch water or they ask you to go look for "fetcher" or "Doro" in Yoruba.

First session came and went pretty fast and I crossed to the next level with a g.p higher than the 1.5 which was the required crossing g.p.

   School was cool but it wouldn't have been easier without some friends which I made. 

Rayo for one was a sweet girl who was overly conscious of her appearance. I remember thinking she was a spoilt brat who was needy and seeking for attention  with her "American" accent and colorful beads and Knuckle rings like a goddess. But whatever she had lacked in maturity,she made up for in her smartness and sweetness. So she became my friend.

Then there was Gift, she was an ebony beauty with a serious face every time, she was always with Rayo and that was how we became friends too. Then there's Nana,a short girl and big breasted sweetheart who always wore a smile on her face. Even though she misses some classes she would pass and I later termed her a "happy-go-lucky" girl.

These were my three friends till the circle grew and we had other friends in the faculty.

            ****************

"Let's try it out Lola,the man said the salary is eighteen thousand naira. It will go a long way plus the pocket money from home" Rayo said to me one evening.

She had told me about a job offer someone told her about and being the hustling girls we were,we decided to go there.

We were supposed to be there on Sunday by 2:00pm. I had hurriedly dressed up to meet up with the time.

On getting there,I was disappointed. It turned out that there was not going to be any job interview as what we were there for was a seminar. 

It was the most hilarious seminar I ever attended, the organizers were just acting like performers and each speaker tried to out do the previous one in their antics.

I remember a lady who spoke about health and she had this Yoruba accent and kept adding "H" to every word she said.

The other speakers also had "H" factors,and the ones without the "H" factor spoke "Yoruba English". I remember one who said something like "hif hai go and meet a civil servant now and tell him,sir you are hay slave to the government;he will just told me my head iz not correct". I had tried to contain my giggles and Rayo and i kept exchanging looks all through the seminar. It wasn't till we were closed that we burst into laughter. We were asked to come the next day for the interview as sales agents and we still weren't sure if we would be going or not.

As if I hadn't had enough drama for that day,on my way home i stopped a taxi and there was space for one more person in front since they always seat two passengers in front. The guy in front who was in the taxi alighted and asked me to get inside so he would sit by the door while I would be cramped between him and the driver. I told him no and asked the taxi driver to go as I had time to get another taxi,the taxi driver got angry with the guy and asked him to adjust for me instead of alighting and asking me to move inside. The guy obliged and all through the trip back to my hostel he was angry and he said "And you're a woman oo you can't obey or move inside when I asked you to....." At that point i had to ask him what being a woman has got to do with my sitting arrangement in the taxi,he was quiet and i was glad I was able to shut his chauvinistic mouth

Later that night,I decided i wouldn't go for the interview the next day.