A WIDENING CLOSENESS

 

By Ayoolajesu Ojo Victoria

A group of four ladies in their first year at the University of Ibadan who were assigned to F49 of the great Obafemi Awolowo Hall discovered that they also belonged to the same faculty and that their courses begin with the same letter - P - therefore they were to be known as the P4 ladies. 

Starting out as total strangers and becoming, not just a clique that won the "Clique Of The Year" award but also a clique that grew into a family - one that had inside jokes as well as inside fights, and conversation progressions like no other such that this minute they're talking politics, the next minute they're talking food, or religion, or imposing "in-laws" on one another and would just go on for hours to the point that they sometimes had to beg one another to go to bed.  

The P4 ladies comprised of four original and three honourary roommates in persons of Success, Queen, Kehinde and Emunah for the former and Timi, Faizat and Ore for the latter. Their love was so pure and alive that the next occupants of the room might just be able to breathe it in and follow in their steps.

When the end of 100 level came and they all had to go to their different homes, it was as though a part of them was leaving. As excited as each of them were to go home, they knew that the chances of being roomies in their second year was slim.  The holidays went by with them continuing their random chats on social media platforms, sharing result scores with one another, engaging in individual and collective activities, encouraging whoever needed it, being too busy to interact, apologising for going MIA - basically those things that come with having "sweet" friends. 

Resumption drew near, hostel registrations loomed over them, their fates were to be decided without their opinion or knowledge - they could only hope for the best. While Ore and Faizat decided that Obafemi Awolowo Hall was too much "luxury" for them and chose to go for "cheaper" options like Iyalode Taofikat Hub and the likes, the remaining ladies ensured that the room allocation would not pass them by and made sure to go through all the necessary processes in order to get a room. Thankfully their hostel was quite proactive in their duties and as soon they had to resume, their rooms were available. 

They had a somewhat childish hope that maybe, just maybe, they'd be assigned the same rooms again, or at least rooms close enough to make it feel like nothing had changed. The fact that two had switched hostels entirely made them wonder whether or not the distance would stretch their bond thin. They imagined what their new rooms would look like, the type of energy that'll flow, the type of atmosphere that'll emanate and how it would affect them. But more than anything, they wondered about the "strangers" they'll now call roommates. Could something as unique as their old bond be built again from scratch? One after the other, they resumed and to their utmost displeasure, Kehinde was as far away as possible from Success and Queen who ended up being roomies and had their room beside Timi and Emunah who were also roomies. 

It was as though nature or God wanted to give them what they desired but not entirely. Naturally, Emunah is hardly ever in her room. Of course, Success and Queen still make their way to see her. It's no surprise that Kehinde doesn’t let distance stop her when she wants to visit her girls. As expected, Faizat came all the way from Iyalode Taofikat Hub to Awo. Timi has joined in several shared bowls of garri sweetened with gisting and teasing. And Ore? The official letter from the Vice Chancellor of the university asking her to resume is yet to be delivered at her door step.  Yes, they’ve met their new roommates. One thing is certain - their circle is about to grow even larger.