Chapter 4

Please remember to vote.

As Jesse made his way up the stairs to his floor, he walked with purpose toward his assigned room. Along the way, he spotted the freshman he saw earlier when he was heading down after running errands for Kwesi.

The guy was a short, dark-skinned fellow with a long face and a thin mouth. He seemed shy and nervous, coming out of another room labelled "Prefect room". Jesse felt the boy's eyes on him, so he decided to give a friendly wave.

"Hey, the name's Jesse," he called out. The other guy was taken by surprise, not expecting the tall, handsome Afro-American to greet him. He noticed the American accent Jesse used to greet him. "Hello, my name is Ben," Ben nervously replied.

Jesse pointed to the room beside his and asked, "Are you in this room?" Ben nodded and said, "Yes, I was allocated this room." Jesse chuckled and said, "Oh, then I guess we'll be room neighbours then." Ben shyly smiled in response.

Ben then asked, "Are you also studying Science?" Jesse nodded and replied, "Yep."

"Okay then, where are you going by the way?" Jesse curiously asked as he reached his door and was about to open,

Ben shrugged and said, "Don't know, just going to walk around. I'm done arranging my things, and my school father is helping with the registration down there."

Jesse flashed his pearly white teeth at Ben and suggested, "Oh, okay then. Why don't you wait up? Let me finish, and then we can go together, yes?" Ben laughed and agreed to wait in his room since the two prefects, including his school father, were out.

Jesse walked into the dimly lit room and saw his trunk, chopbox, and other things already there. He checked his wristwatch and realized it was already 30 minutes past 4. With determination, he began arranging his belongings.

First, Jesse climbed up the bunk bed and placed his big, comfy, brown-covered mattress on top. He carefully covered it with a high-quality blanket and a pure white bedsheet. Next, he neatly folded his newly acquired duvet and placed it beside his white pillow.

Sitting on his school father's bed, Jesse started rearranging his things in the square trunk. The house prefect had messed up the arrangement earlier, Jesse took out his sandals and shoes and placed them on the other side, under the bed opposite where Kelvin had arranged his shoes.

Jesse chuckled, knowing that there was another prefect in the room behind the curtain, probably still sleeping. He anticipated the moment when the other prefect would emerge and complain about the noise from his arrangement. But the prefect never came out.

When Jesse assumed everything was on point he left the room.

He knocked on Ben's door, and when Ben opened it and saw Jesse, a smile lit up his face. "Done now, let's go," Jesse said, and the two boys headed downstairs. They managed to sneak out without Kelvin noticing and went for a walk around campus.

As Ben and Jesse walked around the school compound, they noticed other freshmen being searched at various houses. Parents were there too, happy and advising their kids. Jesse couldn't help but feel a pang of longing for his sister.

They made their way towards the location of the classrooms. The rooms had fans to keep the students cool, wooden desks lined up neatly, and whiteboards at the front. They saw many freshmen wearing green checkered uniforms, both boys and girls. The girls were walking in their long dresses with their parents and were excited to start their new journey.

Curiosity led Ben and Jesse to the school market. They saw a variety of food being sold, including rice, spaghetti, kenkey, fried yam, and breakfast items like eggs and sausages. There were also plenty of refreshing drinks and water. They noticed another section of the market selling books, pens, rulers, and other stationery items.

Their exploration then took them to the school's dining room. It was spacious and welcoming, ready to accommodate the students during meal times. They saw moderately large silver bowls arranged on all the tables in the dining room they guessed it was their supper.

As soon as they got out of the dining room and started heading back to Rena House, they suddenly heard a loud ringing sound and a catchy song started playing. Jesse recognized it as the school's siren, while Ben was taken aback by the sudden noise. Jesse couldn't help but laugh at his reaction and reassured him that it was just the siren.

After the catch song was done playing, they heard a girl's voice announce on the siren that it was supper time. They noticed students from the higher forms, probably the Form 2s and 3s, coming from a distance with their plates and some with lunch bags in hand. Jesse glanced at the incoming crowd and suggested to Ben, "Hey, it looks like we should head back to the dining room. People are walking this way."

Ben looked around and replied, "Yeah, but I don't see any freshers among them." Jesse also noticed the absence and agreed, "Well then, let's go back. I don't think we're included in this round." They turned back and made their way towards their house. Ben couldn't help but notice people looking at Jesse along the way. He couldn't blame them, though. Jesse had that natural charm and handsome looks that drew attention.

Please note that this is a gay story