Too Good to Be Real

chapter 20

It was a Saturday. Oma was alone at the room she shared with Asa who'd gone home to see her mother.
She didn't know what sickness Asa's mother had, she hadn't asked. She wasn't good at consoling people so all she did was hug her and tell her everything would be fine.

If there was anything oma was, it was lazy. Asa had been gone for roughly two days, but the room already looked like a mad house. There were plates from two days ago and her clothes and shoes were littered everywhere. If she didn't wash soon, she'd have to go out naked.
She begrudgingly gathered her dishes and clothes for washing.

The laundry space was full. She searched for an empty spot to wash and dropped her clothes on the floor when she found one. She'd wash them after the dishes. There were about three washing machines there, but none of them looked like they'd been used for years.

"Are you looking at those washing machines. My dear those things are just for fancy. My sister finished here last year and she told me they never used them. It's just there gathering spirogyra."
The girl beside Oma said. There were really green things around it.

"I haven't seen you here before. I know everybody in this hostel and I know I haven't seen your face anywhere before. Where have you been?" The girl asked.

" I just resumed last week. I'm Oma. What's your name?" Oma replied, selecting the clothes she was to wash first.

"I'm Femi. Wow. You just resumed last week? You've really missed a lot oh. Your matric will soon come. What has been holding you since? Did you fail JAMB or what?"

Normally, Oma would have been irritated by Femi's questions. Maybe it was because she realised she didn't have any friends besides Asa. Talking with someone else wouldn't hurt. University wasn't like secondary school. You could meet one person today and never see that same person the rest of your life. She didn't believe Femi when she said she knew everybody at the hostel.

"I didn't fail JAMB. I just had issues at home so I decided to resume late. How can you even say you know everybody in this hostel. Are you God?" Oma asked with a straight face. She held the shirt she was washing awkwardly. The last time she'd washed with her hands had been three years ago. She didn't quite remember what she was supposed to do. She decided to watch Femi. Femi washed like she'd been washing her whole life. There were three buckets of washed clothes beside her and there were still some more on the floor. It was either Femi had children she was washing for or she hadn't washed in months.

" I just have sharp eyes. I never forget faces. Especially faces like yours. I can never forget your colour. I'm not a fresher and I'm not in this hostel but I should have seen you at the canteen. Don't you eat? Or you cook your own food like me? When I was in my first year here I didn't cook. I always went to the canteen and I really regret it now. Like, who was I trying to impress? I prefer to cook my food myself but you can't in my own aje butter hostel so I often cook in my friend's room here..."

Collar first, armpit areas, button, body. Turn over, repeat, rinse, drop. Next.
Oma was thankful for the girl's chattiness. At least she wouldn't notice her fidgeting awkwardly with her clothes. She was the kind of person who'd talk for hours before noticing the other person wasn't listening.

"Hey!"

"Yes?"

"Where's your mind?" Femi asked with her hands on her waist.

"Sorry, I was thinking of something..."

"I was asking you where you're from."
Femi cut her off.

"Abia state." Oma responded. Femi was quiet but Oma kept washing. She probably expected her to ask the same question.