Sharon
stared at her watch. It was past midnight.
She was feeling scared and anxious. She was beginning a new life as a
freshman. She wondered what life had in store for her. If her mother had been
alive, she would have been so proud. Sharon was the first of her siblings to
make it to university. Her sisters had chosen marriage and motherhood instead.
She was her aunt's favorite niece for choosing university. In fact, her aunt
had taken it upon herself to tell her how bad men were; that they are liars,
and she should keep them at arm's length. It was a two hour pep talk; one that
Sharon was very uncomfortable with. Aunt Maggie had been way too explicit for
her liking. Sharon decided not to think
anymore. She switched off her bed-side lamp and began snoring peacefully.
In
a few hours, her alarm went off. She felt tired and then excited. It was a new
beginning for her. A brave new world. She happily skipped to the bathroom for a
short shower so she could have more time to apply make-up. At 7:30, she was
ready to begin her journey. She bid farewell to Aunt Maggie who was crying as
if someone had died and made a long prayer that made Sharon slightly irritated.
Aunt Maggie gave her fare and extra money for lunch. Sharon was grateful and
she vowed to save part of the money. She was determined to have a good saving
culture as she had read about in the newspaper. She vividly remembered that the
column was named 'University Life Hacks' and she was willing to put in the effort
to 'hack' university life.
Today
was her lucky day. Matatus were right outside her estate. She did not have to
walk to the actual stage since it was actually quite far. When she boarded the
matatu, she heard the familiar voice of Mwalimu King'ang'i and Maina Kageni.
Usually she could listen to them all day long but her thoughts were elsewhere.
All sounds around were muted to the point where she almost missed her stage.
She alighted hurriedly and began following the multitude of people flowing
through the university gates.
Luckily
for her, she had paid attention during orientation so she knew exactly where
her first class was. As she approached the lecture hall, she heard a deep,
single male voice. She peered through the peep hole. How was it possible that
she was late? Had she misread her schedule? Oh how her feet wanted to carry her
away from the door. Her hand, however, did not comply. Her hands began to open
the door ever so slowly… and that’s when she saw him for the first time.