NEVER LET THE HAIR DOWN 🌸🌸🌸 Chapter Seven

Inspired by a lovely girl named Holy.

"Stupid water queues," I grumbled one morning as I carried my bucket from Isakaita hostel to mine.

"Marahadum, wait for me," I heard Chy shout behind me. I didn't reply. I just gripped the pinchy iron handle of the bucket tighter and got ready to climb the stairs. I dropped the bucket at the base of the steps and caught my breath, bending a little. As I did, I saw a pair of long legs in pretty pyjamas walk down the stairs and past me. They stopped a few steps from me and turned back. I looked up instinctively.

"Oh my God! You're here too?" the owner of the legs said and gave me a hug before I could think. She smelled nice, something like perfume and stuffed animals. I looked at her. She was tall, fair, slender and had a pretty face. I knew she was a classmate but I couldn't clearly recall where I had seen her.

"Hello," I said.

"Hey. It's Marhadum, right?"

"Marahadum," I corrected.

"I'm Kelly. What's your room number?"

"214." I didn't know why I told her. It just felt natural to tell her.

"Really? Mine is 314."

"Cool." I had hardly said this when she continued.

"I'm really happy I came across you. You'll attend the 10 o'clock class, right? Have you done your GS assignment? You said you're room number is 214, right? I'll be back. Let me buy something from SUB."

"That was something," I mumbled before Chy dropped her bucket and held her knees, panting heavily.

I was still reflecting on the sudden meeting with Kelly when someone knocked on my room door and surprisingly, it was Kelly. I had doubted that she would actually come to my room.

"Hey, Mara."

Mara?!

"Is that the GS assignment? Can I join you?" she said and sat down on Eniola's bed. Good thing my roomies were away.

"Sure. Um, Kelly? You can sit here... So my roommate won't..." A nod completed the rest of my words. I felt scared Kelly would take offense, but she didn't. She just joined me on the finalist's bed, the only bed that wasn't a bunk. Having her beside me made me pretty nervous but I soon felt at ease with her quick talk and teddy bear scent.

"How did you answer chapter 5?"

"I didn't. It was a bit difficult."

"I thought so. I literally screamed when I saw the questions. Here, lemme get the filler." She raised her phone to her face.

"There's no filler in the group chat," I said a little confused.

"I know. I got this one from a senior in 200 level. Here it is. Chapter 5 has been defeated." She dropped her phone on the table for me to see. I smiled and picked it up. Her phone pouch was so lovely; gold with silver studdings.

"Here's the answer to number one," Kelly said and leaned towards me. I held my breath and tried to focus on what she was showing me. I was surprised at her. She took the freedom to treat me like she had known me all her life. She was so easy, so free. I wanted to remind her that we had only just had our first conversation a moment ago but there was this aura about her that made me unwilling to offend her even slightly. Did it have something to do with the smell of teddy bears?

"Your handwriting's nice," she told me as we filled our GS workbook from the filler on her phone.

I looked at the curly mess on my book and smiled. I returned the compliment. Then I wondered whether to lock the room door so I would be prepared if the finalist made a miraculous appearance and found us on her bed.

"Are you Korean?" she asked.

"No," I replied quickly, almost disapprovingly. How could she mistake me for those... people?

"Thailand," I said.

"Thailand," she repeated and wrote a little before looking at... My hair.

"It's so lovely," she said and stroke it. "So smooth. You know, if you wore one of those fancy headgears I have lying around in my room, you'll look really pretty. It'll fit your eyes."

I looked at her expecting to react as I had to Ella and her clique. Strangely, I didn't feel as sensitive as I usually was about my hair. To be honest, I wanted to pull at my bun and show her how long it was.

"Do you watch kdrama though? I love kdrama. Who's your favourite actor or actress? Mine is Rowoon! Do you like BTS?"

I replied as quickly as I could. She reminded me of Fumnanya but with more class. I almost felt sad when she left to get ready for our class. At least I knew what it felt like to have a friend visit you in your room. Too bad my roomies hadn't seen it.

I thought of going up to her room to tell her I was off to school but on second thought, I declined. I had still only known her for less than two hours.

"Hey, Mara! Are you ready? Let's go. I hope my skirt isn't too long. How do I look?"

"Like a celebrity!" was what I wanted to reply. She was dressed in a fashionable vintage too with a unique design and a black skirt that stopped about her knees. With her hair, light make up and handbag, she looked great.

We walked to school and I hoped we would do it again. It felt so relieving to walk with someone other than my roommate. We reached FASA building and I was literally looking forward to entering my classroom with her by my side. How they would stare, but this time, I would feel proud.

Kelly's phone rang. I wish it hadn't for she stepped away from me while answering it. I thought she needed some privacy and walked ahead. Will you be surprised if I say I crossed paths with Fumnanya?

"Hello," she said in Korean. That was about the only Korean I knew.

Fumnanya noticed my odd look and said, "Oh, 죄송합니다 to ... I mean, sorry. My head is just so full of this kdrama I watched yesterday. It was so beautiful!"

Good for you, I thought. I looked at Fumnanya and compared her with Kelly. A subtle feeling of dislike came over me and I wished for Fumnanya to leave.

Fumnanya didn't leave. She clung to my side and told me all about the kdrama. I had listened to Kelly and even disliked kdrama less, but the opposite happened with Fumnanya.

"What I like about Ha-deon is her voice. She also has nice hair but I think yours is much nicer," Fumnanya said as she plucked red flowers from a bush nearby.

"Thank you," I said. She had never complimented my hair before. Sometimes, I wondered if she ever noticed it. She looked at it now with an admiring gaze and her finger twitched a little.

"Is it like an organic relaxer you use or something? I would like mine to be just as pretty."

I looked at Fumnanya inquiringly; she was not faking it. I smiled and said, "I don't use any relaxers."

"I see. But I thought virgin hair was curlier."

I giggled. "Fumnanya, you see, my hair is like that because I'm not all Nigerian."

"You mean..." she started and I wanted to interrupt her so I wouldn't hear the h word which I found so derogatory.

"...dual citizenship?" 

My mouth opened and closed in surprise and appreciation. I smiled and nodded. Then I whispered to an already excited Fumnanya, "I'm Thai-gerian."

Fumnanya gasped and I giggled. I had never surprised anyone like that before. They always knew from just a look but the girl before me had never suspected that I was any different from her.

"You mean Thailand or Taiwan?"

"Thailand."

"Oh my goodness. I am speaking to an Asian person!"

She literally wanted to cry. I found it so amusing. "This is the coolest thing ever. I'll tell my sister. I'll tell her so she'll believe me when I say I'm going to meet Kim Woo-Bin one day."

"Wait. You really didn't know?" I asked unbelievably. She didn't answer before Kelly appeared.

"There you are. I was wondering where you went. Come on," Kelly said and started moving before I could introduce her to Fumnanya. I looked at Fumnanya who had become calm and thoughtful before following Kelly.

During classes, I kept glancing at Kelly and wondering if I was dreaming. After classes, I didn't wait for the crowd to reduce. I joined the crowd to leave first, and Kelly led the way.

Outside, we strolled to the quadrangle and Kelly led me to a small group of girls that were dressed richly and chatted gaily.

Then it hit me. Kelly's name started with a k. Kelly dressed fabulously. Kelly was a K-girl.

"Hey, besties. Meet my friend, Mara..."

"Marahadum," I corrected quickly.

"Yeah. Marahadum, meet Kamsi, Katherine and Kosi."

I smiled nervously as their eyes searched me. The leader, Kamsi, pulled off her dark eyeshades and gave me a warm smile. "Are you Korean?" she asked.

"Um..."

"She's from Thailand," Kelly answered for me. This made them smile and pull me into their circle.

"What lovely hair. Why do you always cover it in a hoodie? Is it because of the sun?" Katherine chirped. She had quite a squeaky voice that fitted her small face well.

"You're pretty. Not Korean pretty but still. You live at Lagos, right? What side? I was born and brought up in the Island," Kamsi said with an air that made me want to reply, "Yes, your majesty."

"She's cute and small like a teddy bear. Kosi said and gave me a hug. I hadn't expected that. Her fight with Zanny had given me a bad impression of her. Before me now, she seemed like a likeable little angel.

"Hey, ladies."

"Boo bear!" Katherine squealed and gave a young man a hug. I recognized him. He was the tall classmate Fumnanya had said was goodlooking. He greeted Kelly and Kosi with a hug too. As for Kamsi, she stretched out her hand and he held her wrist and kissed it.

"Huh?" I exclaimed loudly and held my mouth. The boy glanced at me. Our eyes caught for a second and I felt the truth of Fumnanya's words. History boys were another level of handsome. The young man before me was my evidence. My eyes widened in horror when I remembered how he had kissed her hand with jealousy. Why jealousy? I had sworn I would never fall for a Nigerian. Thai or American or nothing!

I went home with Fumnanya; Kelly had followed her friends to Kamsi's apartment. Surprisingly, Fumnanya was still thoughtful and quiet. It felt strange because last time I saw her, she had been so excited to meet an Asian.

"Hey. Is everything okay?" I asked at last.

Fumnanya stared at me and said, "Oh! Nothing." After a few seconds of hesitation, she asked, "Are you friends with the girls they said one of them slept with a sen...? I mean..."

"What?" I asked sharply.

"Oh. Never mind me. It's just one of those rumours. Remember the anonymous night? That girl Kamsi is the one they said was at senior Enoch's lodge. Crazy, right? I don't know how true it is though."

"But do you believe it?" I asked breathlessly.

"Finding out the truth would mean asking her. Since it's none of my business, I don't want to make any judgement." She paused. "To be honest, it seems likely though. Although we're freshers, some of us could go to any length to survive in this institution. To survive, you need connections. To get connected, you... Here's your hostel. See you tomorrow, Marahadum. Anyoo, goodbye."

"Connections," I muttered as I sat on my bed and stared at my assignment. I felt excluded to not have heard of the rumour about Kamsi. It's just a rumour, I thought. It didn't mean it was true. Besides, they had been so nice to me. Then again...

I sighed. Fumnanya had sounded cautionary. She hadn't condemned them but she hadn't commended them either. She just kept her distance. Perhaps, I should do the same.

Knock, knock, knock. Kelly came in and gave me a smile. "Hey," she said, "is that the history assignment? You mind if I join you?"

Kelly joined me on my bed and helped me with some materials for the assignment. Then she shared some funny videos with me and talked about her family, UNN, what she thought of the lecturers, etc. She also asked for my number and saved my name as Ka-ni, her favourite Korean actress. "You look like her. Cute and little, like a teddy bear." she said.

I grinned. When Kelly left, I realized that I liked her. She was friendly, really cool and had helpful study materials. The rumours were wrong. Fumnanya was mistaken. Kelly... The K-girls... They were really... Nice.

To be continued.