AREA '61

Episode 1

"Every den has its shadows. Even UNN. When the sun shines and the lamps blink to life, you can't see it. But if you look close enough, you catch a glimpse of it flitting from corner to edge. It reeks of mysteries that must be explored. The Biblical question though, 'Whom shall I send?' Well, here I am."

Nonye Iloh, a 300 level student of the department of mass communication smiled and flexed her shoulders as she shifted in her secluded seat at the FASA quadrangle. She stretched her neck over the stone wall of the poster color sprinkled seat and looked at the sea of students. Not one of them was wearing blue and black like she was.

"Perfect," she whispered and pocketed her green pouched phone fondly in her black handbag. Then she brushed her relaxed hair back into the scrunchie and stood up. The coast was finally clear to return to her hostel. Well, it wasn't like her coursemates were going to interrupt her on her way back. Still, she didn't like to take chances.

"Another evening after school to think of what to eat," she sighed and strolled past the CDEL building. She wanted to take the long route today. It was just in the way of Pharmacy Building, her next big target.

"Well, hello," she breathed under her breath as she stopped short on the pavement in front of Bello Hall and got in the way of two chatty friends.

"Excuse," one of the girls said curtly and shook her long braids at Nonye. On another day, Nonye would have cared, but there and then, she was imagining the contents of her next feature. She smiled excitedly and shifted her gaze from Pharmacy Building to Bello Hall which stood directly opposite it. She did this three times, risking being tagged insane by passersby. Then she skipped to the black iron bench that stood under a tree near Bello Hall. The two students in Pharmacy uniform immediately made space for her as if the colours on her uniform would stain theirs. Nonye simply smirked and looked away.

"Here goes..." Nonye mumbled and opened her WhatsApp. She clicked her dm (it was the first in her list of recent contact). The cursor flew as her fingers flitted from letter to letter, "UNN has a cult. Not so famous or notorious, but this one is as dangerous as they come."

After a quick glance at the pharmacy students who seemed to laugh at her, she continued, "For many years, the lions and lionesses in white and ash have lorded it over the pride. Their uniforms, like flags, have continuously boasted of a higher level of intellect, profession and studentship. Not only are they seen as important, they're also treated importantly too. They are the only faculty to have a whole hostel reserved for their female students. Their building is state-of-the-art and stands as proud as the white peacocks that study inside its chambers. Their lecturers are high profile individuals, including the Dean of Student Affairs himself. This makes them the perfect haven for a cult of powerful young individuals.

"What is my mission? To expose them. To tear down Pharmacy building brick by brick and uncover their secret crimes. To satirize the irony of their immaculate white shirts!"

Nonye chuckled a little and shook her legs. Relishing. All that was left was a title for this thrilling feature. Pharm? Operation Pharm? No. No one would take it seriously if "pharm" made them think of agriculture.

"All this writing's making me hungry," Nonye moaned and went into Bello Hall canteen. Occultic or not, they had the best canteen in all the girls' hostels she had explored. She imagined people reading her article and thinking she had beef with a student or lecturer of Pharmacy. In truth, she didn't. She just loved a good conspiracy. Her last victim was the infamous Social Science faculty. This time, it was the occultic Pharmacy.

Nonye bought a fish pie and didn't wait to leave the hostel before biting into it. She stopped at the door of the hostel and stared at the terrazzo writing that stood as a sort of foot mat.

1961.

Incredible, she thought.

She wasn't amazed that the hostel was one of the oldest in the school. She wasn't thrilled that it was still standing. She was gleeful because she has found the perfect title for her feature.

"Area '61," she said with a fish pie in her cheek and a smile on her lips.

To be continued.

Thank you for reading. Please proceed to the next episode cos you're up for and adventure 🤭🤭🤭