"...and that there is the Communication Studies Department." Akunna pointed at the gray block of offices to our left. "Oh a little warning, you might want to watch out for the journalism students. They're pretty...aggressive when it comes to finding news for the university's newspaper. Seriously, they pick on the tiniest issues that happen on campus and then blow them out of proportion. So, its best if you steer clear."
"Duly noted."
My roommate and I continued on with our tour amidst the flurry of activities, that seemed to have drawn the entire student body into one place. The campus was wide and expansive, covering at least twenty-five hectares of land with lovely botanical decorations and artistically-structured buildings. With a population of over thirty thousand students, Penfield catered for the mass number by providing ten different halls of residence, scattered all over campus. The lecture theatres were incredibly huge, so was the main library and the university's very own sports complex. I hadn't said anything yet, but I was so glad Akunna persuaded me to come with him. I definitely would've gotten lost, if I had to walk these streets alone.
Moving side by side, Akunna and I strolled down a walkway sheltered by a canopy of tall green trees. A cloud of feminine chants soon sauntered past the branches, sending our attention to the right, where a group of girls were tumbling in the grass.
"Ah, if it isn't Penfield's very own cheerleading squad." Akunna came to a halt, slipping his hands into his khaki pockets. "I kind of wish that was the only thing they were known for."
The statement piqued my interest and I couldn't help asking, "What's the other thing they're known for?"
"Take a good guess, my friend." Akunna turned to me, eyes brimming with a mischievous answer that I was about to quiz him on, when someone's sudden yell stopped me.
"Yo, Akunna!"
A few metres away from where we stood was a fenced basketball court, and jogging from that direction was the blond guy I had met, right before entering my room, all dressed up in his basketball gear.
"Deon wassup," They both clasped hands, giving themselves the usual bro hug.
"Cool. Hey, I missed you at yesterday's D&D sesh," the white guy said and I noticed how his voice held a strange accent.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Akunna ran a hand through his short hair. "I had an appointment at the clinic. But don't worry, you'll definitely be seeing me tonight."
The comment seemed to have put the basketball player at ease as he nodded, then his eyes flitted to me. "Hey, you're that guy I saw earlier."
Surprised that he'd actually remembered my face, I pushed myself to speak, "Y-yeah, I'm Akwasi, Akwasi Appiah."
"He's my roommate and he just arrived today," Akunna added up. "Akwasi, this is Deon Watson, my South African brother from another mother. He lives three doors away from us."
Oh, that explains the accent.
Deon grinned, extending a hand. "Welcome to OBH, bruh."
"OBH?" I quirked up an eyebrow.
"It's an abbreviation for our hall. Osei-Boateng Hall."
"Oh yeah." Feeling embarrassed, I couldn't stop a nervous chuckle from seeping past my lips. Deon didn't seem to mind though.
"Since you're Akunna's roommate, I guess we'll be seeing each other often. We usually hang out a lot. We're both taking the same minor courses and we're the creators of our hall's resident gamers group. You can join if you want."
"Sure, I'd love to."
"Awesome!" Deon beamed. "We meet every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at six pm in the hall's JCR, that's the Junior Common Room. Akunna knows where it is so, finding it shouldn't be a problem."
"Great." I nodded, sliding my hands into my pocket.
The sharp sound of a whistle cut through the air, and we all turned in the direction of the B-ball court where a tall dark-skinned man had appeared, shouting at the players.
"Well, that's my cue." Deon started walking backwards. "I'll see you guys later?"
"Yeah." my roommate and I waved as the basketball player began his retreat to the court.
"Oh crap, it's past four," Akunna cursed, glancing at the timer on his phone. "The fair will be ending soon, come on let's go. We'll finish the tour later."
With that, we both trudge down the path we came from, heading straight into the scores of tents that had been set up for the various clubs and societies the students had to offer. 'Penfield's Fashionistas', 'Rockapella' and 'Legendary Photographers' were just a few of the labelled tents we passed by. The members did not waste a second trying to recruit us, but thanks to Akunna's sense of reasoning, we were able to escape their claws, and in doing that, we stumbled upon Penfield's Science Club.
Conical flasks and test tubes filled with colourful liquids were on display, as well as a variety of plants that had grown some extraordinary features, I guessed were results from the chemicals that sat at their side.
Intrigued by the display, Akunna bent over, examining each of the plants and when he finally stood up, all he had to say was, "Nice work, but are you aware that in the next fifteen minutes all these plants will shrivel up and die?"
The comment, coming from no one but a fat freshman noob, did not sit well with some of the club members, especially the *level 400s who soon turned out to be the masterminds behind the experiment. Unfazed by the revelation, Akunna still went ahead to point out the mistakes they had made in preparing the mixtures. I, on the other hand, stood behind, hands tucked in my pockets watching my roommate shower the seniors with smart chemistry gibberish.
In the past hours that I'd spent loitering around with Akunna Williams, one major thing I'd observed was how terribly honest and blunt he was. He spoke what was on his mind, regardless of who that person was or how they felt about it.
Akunna even went the extra mile of cross-checking the measurements for the chemicals, pushing him into a heated exchange with one of the seniors. No matter what my roommate said, the guy refused to accept the facts Akunna spilled, until one plant began to lose its bright purple colour. In a matter of minutes, it had turned brown, giving off an unpleasant odour that had the club members scrambling to get rid of it.
An 'I-told-you-so' grin touched Akunna's lips as he handed out the list of corrections he had made on a sheet of paper. The senior snatched it from him, mumbling something under his breath. After all that hullabaloo, what actually surprised me the most was Akunna signing up for the club.
"I don't get it," the words left my mouth once we had moved away from the club's tent. "If you think the seniors are douchebags, then why did you sign up for the club?"
"Two reasons," Akunna began. "One, I'm majoring in biochemistry, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to join the club. Two, there was this cute girl in the back who was checking me out and I want to get to know her."
"Ok," I laughed. "You've already started the gf hunt, huh?"
Akunna shrugged, smirking. "Well, there's no better time than the present. And don't worry, I'm not gonna leave you hanging."
"What?"
"I'm gonna help you find a girlfriend, right after I find mine, of course."
My feet froze to a halt and I blinked at him. "Wh-what makes you think I can't find my own girlfriend?"
Akunna blinked back. "Umm...no offence Akwasi, but you definitely look like one of those guys who can't utter a complete sentence without biting your tongue when they're in front of an attractive girl."
"Tha-that's not true!" A loud scoff left my mouth. "For your information, I've spent most of my life with women by my side, meaning I can talk to any girl on this campus."
"Really?" My roommate quipped, amusement gleaming in his eyes.
"Yes, really." I crossed my arms, attempting to look tough. But in the next minute, I wished I hadn't because Akunna's next utterance made me drop the facade.
"Ok, since you're so confident." He gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Why don't you go talk to that girl over there, the one at the engineering tent."
I felt my mouth go dry that instant. The girl standing under the tent was the epitome of black beauty. Her skin gleamed in the afternoon sunlight like a Tahitian pearl, so elegant and graceful, despite the frantic expression on her face as she searched for something.
"I want you to have a nice flirty conversation with her, then ask for her digits."
"Wait, what?" My head snapped in my roommate's direction. "Are you crazy? I just met her, there's no way she'll willingly give me her number!"
"She will if you impress her, now go." He shoved me forward. "I'll be right here waiting for you."
I swallowed, knowing quite well that this entire thing was going to blow up in my face. All my nineteen years on this planet, I'd never once flirted or tried asking a girl for her number, because I had already accepted the fact that no female in their right mind would want to have anything to do with a poor, unattractive, skinny guy like me, who had absolutely nothing to offer them. So as I stalked closer to the tent, my mind was in a haphazard state, trying to figure out what to say to a girl this pretty.
It's like Akunna said, just impress her, my subconscious advised.
I was just a few steps away from the tent when Black beauty lifted her head up after finding what she was looking for. Upon seeing me approach, the dazzling smile that touched her lips increased my heart beat tenfold. "Hello."
Her angelic voice had me stammering a reply, "Hh-hey." But she didn't even notice.
"Thank you so much for expressing interest in The Engineering Club." Still smiling, she ducked to pick up a clipboard and moved closer to me.
I secretly hoped she couldn't hear my thundering heart. "I'm uh...I'm actually not here to join the club."
"Oh." The happiness in her eyes, reflecting behind those oval-shaped glasses, vanished.
"It's just I um..." My hands grew fidgety and I had to push them into my pockets to hide it. "I think I'm lost."
"You're lost?" Black beauty repeated with a hint of disbelief, which I chose to ignore because I was just warming up for my flirting game.
"Yeah, I'm lost." I cleared my throat. "I'm lost in your mesmerising sea of beauty."
There was a minute of silence, then Black beauty bent over, clutching her stomach as she laughed her heart out.
Face heating up, I turned around to check if Akunna was still standing behind me. He definitely was watching me like I'd grown a second head. "Dude, who the fuck says that?"
*****
Anyone care to give Akwasi flirting tips? 😂😂😂 He'll really appreciate it.
*level 400s - In Ghanaian universities, undergraduate student classification is done according to levels. It's identical the U.S classification, but we just choose to call it a different name, as seen as follows:
Level 100 - Fresher/freshman
Level 200 - Sophomore
Level 300 - Junior
Level 400 - Senior
Note that this is for universities in Ghana. I'm not sure if universities in other African countries use the same procedure.
Anyway, double update this week😊Just scroll up. And you're welcome 🙏🏽