Arrivals

The air was chillier as Kayla stepped down from the taxi. It was very different from what she was accustomed to but 'at least it's not Nigerian soot', she thought to herself. It still seemed surreal but why did it seem that way when she had intentionally worked her ass off to be here.

She stepped on the porch of her hall with her luggage in hand. People might have thought she was from the area but the lost look on her face as she searched for her room wing on the notice board's map must have sold her out.

'Hey, friend, don't waste your time on a notice board…' Nikedeli, a 4th year med student called out to her, '…what room are you? Let me take you there', she said with the brightest smile you ever did see.

"I'm Nikedeli, I've stayed in this hall for three years and to be honest the worst mistake I made was looking at that very map on the notice board the first day I came. You must be new around. What's your name?"

"Elami….that's my official name but you can call me Kayla."

"I like the first one better. You're not from around here…Are you?"

" No, I'm Nigerian"

"*insert south African colloquialism*, that's explains a lot", she giggles.

Nikedeli was really friendly and chatty too.

"I must sound really rude but…what's your name again? ", Kayla asked as she stood at the doorway to her room.

"Nikedeli, Kedi for short. I'm the second to last room down this floor, you can come visit anytime"

★

It's been a week since she's arrived Cape Town and in this one week this has to be the gazillionth time her mother has called her.

"Mom, I'm just trying to finish one assignment. Just this one assignment and we'll talk I promise."

She let out a sigh of relief as she clicked submit on her last assignment. Shit! 9:30 already, her mom would definitely be in bed already.

"*girl in south African*, what are you doing here by this time?"

It was her statistics lecturer.

"Nothing sir, I just lost track of time."

"If you really wanted to study you could've just done it in your hall room."

"Her hall room", that was a laughable statement. The guy next door must be half-deaf or something cause the walls would be banging from his music and he'll keep screaming "LOUDER PLEASE THEY CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!"

"I just really wanted somewhere quiet and alone. I didn't want any distractions."

"You have a hall room all to yourself what more do you want? If someone's noise is distracting you then you can simply tell them to turn it down."

"You won't understand sir"

" So explain it"

What did this man want from her? At first he said she was out late and now he wants to keep her here with the word "explain"

" I would just like to go home, sir…", she turned around to leave, "…there's nothing wrong"

She was at the last faculty building that led to the exit gate of BC campus—the campus for just classrooms— when he pulled up beside her and honked.

"You know, I could drop you off at your hall. It's still a long walk away from your hall"

"With all due respect sir, you don't even know my hall.", she said without sparing him a glance.

"Hop in. I could at least drop you at the gate of DC campus. It's not safe for a young girl like you out here"

" It's not any safer in your car. Even if I were older it wouldn't be safe so what's the point just let me live a little."

"I'm just offering help. I don't bite."

"Sir, I'm very sure your wife at home needs a hand in the kitchen most times so go offer her that help you're offering me. Good night, sir"