University

Today just has to be a good day, Derick thought to himself as he left the room of his on-campus hostel. It was a cold Tuesday morning, and compared to other days, he felt pretty good. Today is one of those days when the sun just doesn’t seem eager to pop up from behind the clouds. The sky had a dark, moody feeling, and no big clouds existed. But it seemed like it would rain, as the breeze was uncomfortably chilling. It was the perfect weather to stay under the blanket. He did not meet a lot of people on the way. The birds on the tree on the way to his faculty seemed to have taken the hint. There was no loud chattering or singing today. He could hear the crushing of dry leaves under his feet as he walked through the boulevard. Sometimes, he wished he had that kind of luxury—to be free—like a bird. He was going through a difficult phase. One of those phases where you feel life raising you up, smacking you down, and trampling on you. The lectures kept getting more intense (and he was even on his way to another one). He was running out of his monthly allowance, and his dad had told him to hustle through the month’s remaining eighteen days. He was also having issues with admission officers, fellowship guys, and all the shit he had committed himself to. He felt sick. As he crossed the large parking lot of his faculty, he saw some bushy-tailed rodents scrambling around the area. The weather had become more intense, and he didn’t know which one to regret more: his decision to wear a checkered shirt on a black Chinos trouser or his decision to even go to his lecture at all. He had decided to obey his dad’s instruction to not wear black all the time like before. The gentlemanly look he had gone for had seen him choose the trousers that kept squeezing his groins. His poor balls!! But then he retained his cold, uninvolved persona even in this gentlemanly outfit. He wore a nose mask, even though it was no longer compulsory. With the massive flu epidemic subsiding, the mask became an accessory for completing his bad-boy look. He just didn’t have time for people trying to read his facial expressions. He looked around when he approached the October 22 Lecture Theater for signs of his coursemates. He saw some girls about 80 meters away from him; 20 meters from the hall, four of them were chattering excitedly. They seemed to be heading for the theater too. He didn’t know whether they were his coursemates because he barely knew any of them. He took in a really cold one and sighed tiredly. The terracotta bust in front of the hall looked darker than usual. He yawned slowly as he sauntered towards the hall. He had barely slept for days. He nearly fell as he stumbled on a tree root sticking out of the many nearby trees. He cursed. He was now crossing the pavement and about to enter the hall. His loud cursing must have attracted the girls, and they all stopped and looked at him. Fuck it, he thought, I’m not good at this. One of the ladies seemed to recognize him, though, Nonye. He was alarmed. She gasped, faced the girls, and pointed at him. “That’s the guy. That’s Derick,”  she said excitedly. The other three girls gave him a long stare and turned back to her, confused. Derick also took the moment to scan the girls. He froze. In the middle, a few feet from him, was Titi, the girl he had been chatting with anonymously; the other two girls he didn’t know, though. He had seen her during one of the orientations. Slender, light skin, sweet voice. She was like a ray of sunshine. She also had this refreshing appeal about her. He had investigated her and found out who she was. She was Titi Williams. He had gotten her number from the departmental group chat and had been talking to her for four months. She had been trying to find out who he was personally, but he had simply told her he was a coursemate and that he had gotten her number from the class group. Sometimes, he wondered if he wasn’t extremely lucky that she didn’t block him because of that. But she had been nice, though. Heat ran down his face. “Hi,” he waved shyly and glided into the safety of the hall. He could hear Nonye telling them how he was the popular “Derick, the shadow man” and how awesome his critiques and reviews of the student government have been. His cover was gone now. Felix could fish him out and roast him. He had sworn on different occasions to make life hell for whoever the dumbass was that kept poking at his administration. Press ethics could no longer protect him, and he felt Felix might finally get the chance to make good on his threats. It was his own doing. It’s just a slight letup. Despite his elaborate measures, the whole campus is about to learn. He could hear their collective gasps as he walked towards the far side of the hall so that he wouldn’t bump into those chatterers again. Titi felt a strange aura around the guy Nonye told them was Derick. She had seen him from afar when he kept pulling at his trousers. The look in his eyes was familiar. The energy and quiet way he interacted when he came closer were even more familiar. She turned and looked at him as he virtually ran into the hall. Just then, she saw the nasty old lady professor climb the podium. She scrambled hurriedly into the hall.