STIGMA

CHAPTER 39

Bimpe looked at the watch on her wrist. It was 7 am.

She stood up, stretched, and yawned loudly, attracting the attention of the two students in front of her and the guy sleeping beside her.

She was in one of the small classes in her department. She had gone there the night before to read for her test that morning without distraction.

The test was at 9 am and she needed to be home on time in other not to be late for the test. She packed her books after glaring at the guy who hissed at her for interrupting his sleep with her loud yawn.

She was tempted to insult him, but she gave it a second thought. She was in no good mood for that.

The guy had entered the class after she had settled down to start reading. Bimpe observed that he only read for an hour or two before laying down on the bed, where he slept all through the night.

He woke up around 5:30 am for the early morning prayers and read for 30 minutes again before laying down again on the bench to sleep.

Bimpe wondered if he had sleeping sickness. What then was the essence of coming to class when he knew he was going to sleep? She asked within her.

Bimpe suddenly felt proud of herself. She had done TDB (Till Day Break) without sleeping a wink, even though she felt the urge to drop her book and have a good sleep around 3 am.

All her body ached but the two guys in front of her were motivating her to keep going from the way the two of them were seriously flipping through the pages of their handout every minute.

She put her books inside her bag and her earpiece which was on the table. The earpiece had assisted her in blocking the unpleasant snoring coming from the obnoxious guy beside her. She played some music on her phone and inserted the earpiece.

She remembered what happened at that instance and hissed as she moved away. She couldn't help but voice out the insult she had been holding in.

"Snoring animal", she muttered as she walked out of the class.

As she stepped out of the class, she noticed the sun was already out, which shows how sunny the day would be.

She trekked to the school main gate so she could take a bike home. She was unable to secure a bike on time and she hissed severally in frustration.

Ten minutes later, a bike man stopped in front of her with a grin.

"Ina ne?", he inquired, still grinning, showing his kola nut-stained teeth.

"Cochin church", Bimpe replied, looking at him suspiciously.

"Muje (Let's go)" he told her.

Bimpe was hesitant. "He seems harmless. Maybe he just likes me."

She discovered that men that were out of her league were the ones showing interest in her and it always infuriated her. She was still thinking of how to use the situation to her advantage.

She smiled back at him and board the bike. She knew within her that she was an opportunist lady.

*****

They got to the front of the Cochin church and she alighted from the bike. Then she turned to go into the compound after rewarding the bike man with a smile.

She stepped into the compound and move towards her door when she heard a scream. She moved away from the doorpost in fright.

She heard the scream again for the second time before she ran towards Banji's door. She knocked on it continuously without waiting for a response.