The Freshman: Day one Ch. 3

You know the common ideology that you won't realise it when you're lost? Well, for me, it's a big lie. A very big one for that matter! Yes, you might not know the degree to which you're lost but there's always this common sense feeling that tells you you're lost. The bad thing however is; I am just realising this. Of course, my prophecy is yet to be fully fulfilled so, once again, I must be in trouble. Important note: Listen to that tiny common sense voice in your head. I ignored it and that is the reason; that really, is the reason I'm trekking a silent roundabout marathon under the Nigerian May Sun.

Rewind...

I don't know if I had missed the way right from the beginning...seriously, and although it didn't take me much time to realise that I was actually lost, things had gotten out of control. See, yes, this was how it happened.

When that fresher described the way to me, I moved for that direction. I thought that luckily, I'm someone who remembers things well so, in my mind, I was happy that I was getting the way. Mugu (fool) me did not know that I was using stick to pound yam. And when the stick breaks... I had been walking for like forty five minutes! All through the trek, my mind wasn't at ease. Was it that far?

The sun was terribly hot and I was sweating a lot, I knew.

With time, I got frustrated. Ah ahn! What was going on?

In my despair, my common sense voice suddenly switched on. I could hear it speak in the background. It seemed to tell me to read the map.

Are you mad?! I almost said out loud. How could I read something like that? I shook the absurd thought out of my head. Besides, I thought, if I ask, I'll find a staylite who will most likely direct to the right place. I ignored the advisory voice and when it became annoying, I managed to shut it off. I regret ever doing that now. I had walked a good one hour before I decided to finally give the map a try. So what pushed me to read the map? I had been trekking for about forty five minutes, like I said and I started to get worried. My brain has told me several times that I was lost but I refused to agree to that. I've never been lost somewhere in my life before, so I had moved on with my mind set unshakeable. I wonder what gave me that bravado then. I swear, when I walked up to an hour, I was forced to look at the map. Looking at it now, I tried to understand it and I found hints. Hints that told me things. Things like the Academic affairs building was next to the Faculty of Arts, and I could see only Medical coats around me. Instantly, red alarm struck through my system. By the time I looked around to gather myself, it was already too late!

Have you ever been in a situation where you're having an embarrassing moment and suddenly, the spot light turns on you and you're the one in everyone's attention?

Today, I felt as if my fathers had deliberately turned on me. This afterall, is the only explanation for the bad luck I had faced since I got here. I wasn't even so aware of anything until I saw them and realised that I was in their middle. Students in lab coats. It didn't make it at all better that they were moving from a lecture hall en masse and I stood in their midst, looking overwhelmed and a little overdressed in my mufti. People started to stare at me and whisper. I even heard someone say;

"Bloody Fresher" and laugh out loud. It was as if the ground should swallow me. Mentally, I cursed my village people. The most painful part was that there were even hot looking girls there. And they were staring at me. And it wasn't because I'm attractive. No, no. Why was it at this period?! I wailed. Silently, I cried. It was a really embarrassing situation and worse still, I had become too embarrassed to ask directions any more from anyone.

Pushing myself against them, I managed to get out into an open field.

I know I walked a long distance before I finally got free.

All the rest is story. That's the main gist. At last, I spent an hour and twenty minutes on a twenty five minutes walk. But I was learning a lot. At least, I knew that I should never ask directions from a fellow fresher nor ignore my common sense voice. I arrived the Academic affairs looking sweaty and gross. Don't blame me...climate change caused dust and UBSU dust is red ehn! My looks didn't mean much to me anymore. I am being initiated into the Uni life. The hustle is on!