3rd Episode Released! Campus is a place to die young

Note: this story is the continuation of the ongoing series by Enoch Oyedibu: CAMPUS IS A PLACE TO DIE YOUNG.

 

You can get the first two previous episode of the first series here and here

 

This is the third episode of the first series. Enjoy.

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Should we acquiesce to

Our death

coming from the hands of 

our lord

and let go our soul to this

disdain?

 

 

Ayo sank rigid on the cushion at the Students Union Building. A tick-tock sound made a noise of the serene melancholy that saturated the whole semi-murky room. This melancholy came in with them. Like the odour of their skin, it cleft firmly on their sleeves. The room was like a hall—so big enough to capacitate about 50. There were four ineptly placed sofas, double-crossing each other at the centre. Ayo sat on one alone, cross-legged, while his right shoe sole kept slapping the old ceramic tiles that stamped on the floor. He tilted his head to his left. His sight caught the noisy wall clock. It was just exactly 7 am. Exactly 4 hours ago, he held a life whose existence would later be a dream. A dream which Ayo quizzed himself to wake up from. To wake up and find Omotolani Hale and Hearty with none of her pictures, written R.I.P. He sheepishly hissed, sneezed while a spasm of grief crawled through his veins. His impenetrable eyes were well set with salty substances, readily equipped to discharge their sorrowful cataract. They jollied with his heart, one that was so heavy and battened, like the soldier in the windy war. His heart jangled with the wall of his chest. He could not resist, the urge was getting stronger. He could not hold it… His eyes winked and hotty tears meandered through them.

 

“A.A. this is painful to us, as well,” sturdy P.R.O said. He has been standing, parading the whole room barefooted. “We just need to take heart.”

 

“She doesn’t plan it…” A.A’s teeth gnashed. His reddish eyes now piercing hard. It appeared like the spear of a warlord whose entire family travelled to the deep overnight. He sneezed. “She doesn’t plan on dying any time soon. But what caused her death?”

 

He pouted his lips to the other sofas in the room. No one says a word. “Mr Adegboyega did. My H.O.D did! And with this,” he clenched his right hand with the omotolani’s phone, “Mr Adegboyega must also pay for his crime. I cannot forgive him.”

 

Lame General Secretary grumbled while unease carved a tent and perched it on the face of the P.R.O. He said, “A.A. why don’t we just forget about this. At least, she was the one that accepted to be molested, she was the one that took the pill… I don’t think Adegboyega has anything to do with this.” He paused, his jagged skeletal fingers muffled. “Even if Adegboyega is at fault, we all know this sex-for-grade is not something we can stop. No be today o! We’ll just put ourselves into trouble by trying to.”

 

“A.A. I think I will buy the idea of our P.R.O,” Vice President said with a shrug. “Management and lecturers are the evil ones here. Do you want to tell me they don’t know each other’s secrets? They know. All of them are aware of how they kept dating students, copulating with them and either leaving them to end up like Tolani or like Rofiat who couldn’t graduate, last session. We cannot do anything about this.”

 

“My president if you will not be offended about this,” Financial Secretary cleared her throat. She was a dynamic lady with a man’s husky voice. “Don’t forget we have a case to settle with the management, and even perhaps with the state, since what we did to Oludele. We never know the outcome for us. But, Oludele has been sacked and management has been silent since then. The commissioner also that called you last time, doesn’t call again and things seem quiet and peaceful. But, do you know they are not silent, they are just watching, slightly waiting for the time to strike. Or maybe they have even stricken, we don’t know… don’t let us keep on rousing their anger, we may not live to tell.”

 

“And we have our certificates still with them,” Treasurer said. “We need to be cautioned sometimes. It is not every worthy thing that is reported.”

 

By their responses, Ayo was bewildered. His gaze shot naked to the Auditor, who has sat head down since the starting of their discussion, with the welfare coordinator whose ever swollen eyes had languished in the pain, padded closely in his heart.

 

“What do you have to say?” Ayo directed his question to them. “Pick a stand!” He silently said.

 

They gave no response. Then, Ayo made a deep sigh.

 

“I have heard you, all. In your speech, I see an extreme love—the one that can graduate to an O-B-S-E-S-S-I-O-N.” He said the word emphatically. “And I don’t want that but, I will romance management on this issue, they need to know. At least, know the death of one of their students, shouldn’t they?”

 

P.R.O made a reluctant ‘Yes’, “Yes!”

 

Ayo leaned backwards, “then I’ll do just that.”

 

 

Author’s Desk:

Thanks immeasurably for reading through. The last episode for this series will be out next week, 22nd January 2022.

Enoch Oyedibu