And thus went my day…By Godswill Ifegwu

I got up from bed wishing I had no reason to but then I am a student and a serious one at that so the lectures I had was reason enough for me. I dragged myself from the comfortable-enough mattress available to a student in the hostel of a Nigerian federal tertiary institution, made slightly more comfy by my lovely blue cotton batman bed sheets (yea yea I’m a child at heart), got my teeth brushed, had my bath and got dressed. And so began what was going to be another stressful as usual day, albeit today began without breakfast. Time slowly went by as I sat for my lectures moving from one lecture hall to another under the unfriendly Enugu sun as one lecture ended and the next started. After six hours of three lectures, enduring each lecturer’s not-so-funny sense of humor and their endless drawl for the purpose of imbibing knowledge all the while trying not to scream out from the biting hunger I was feeling, I staggered alongside my friend towards our eatery. 

Halfway there my friend, who was equally as tired and hungry as I was, unceremoniously announced that we had to go to the bank to withdraw as he had no money on him. If looks could kill the look I gave him would make him drop dead. We took a turn and went towards the bank and then I remembered my friend had no ATM card so we’d have to go into the bank and join whatever queue was there. Its thoughts like this that increased the fierceness with which I felt the hunger and exhaustion however I was placated by the thought of sitting on the bank’s cushioned seats in its air-conditioned halls as I waited for my friend. While I sat and waited I got into a conversation with another guy, also waiting for a friend, during which I made it known that I was exhausted from lectures and he opened his mouth and said “you haven’t even started yet. Wait until you join the workforce. Then you’d feel what is called stress”. At that moment I wished again for stares that could kill. Mstcheew. I turned and just ignored him. Abi this guy has not heard the saying ‘when we get to that bridge we’d cross it”. As if on cue my friend finished with his withdrawal and we left. Thankfully there were no other obstacles to my target of food. We ate and went to the hostel. I got into my room, undressed, turned and stared, almost lustfully, at the mattress and my tumbled up batman bed sheets and I also noted, much to my joy, that my roommates were absent. Without even straightening up the sheets I jumped into bed and quickly fell into sleep. My sleep. My sanctuary.

After what felt like a few seconds I was awaken by knocks and noise from my door. I groggily opened my eyes to see my roommates coming into the room and along with them came their noise. I tried so hard after that to go back to sleep but it was futile. I got up from bed angrily and checked my time only to realize I had slept for almost two hours. It didn’t feel long enough. I turned and saw my roommates in bed, trying to sleep. And once more I thought of stares that could kill and silently prayed my stare would.