The stage was just the beginning

I was rushing for my lectures at the Indoor Theatre, and I was already late. Professor Obi was really mad at me, so I had no choice but to hurry inside. I was the female lead in an African drama, and everyone was already waiting for me. I rushed to the stage and immediately got into character. As the African talking drums began to beat, I started to dance, shaking my hips to the rhythm. Slowly, I lost myself in the beats, feeling the rhythms deep in my bones. The drums kept playing, louder and louder, and I moved my body to every beat, letting the music take control of me. I danced as though the stage belonged to me alone, completely lost in the moment. The talking drums continued to beat and beat until, suddenly, Mr. Kayode's voice rang through the theatre. "STOP!" My name is Diva, and I am a student of the University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. I study Theatre and Film Arts, and I stay in the postgraduate hostel, popularly known as PG Hostel, at the University of Jos. I have always loved writing. There is something about putting my thoughts into words that makes me feel alive. I love expressing myself, telling stories, and creating characters that people can relate to. Sometimes, I feel like writing is the only way I can truly express what goes on in my mind. As a Theatre and Film Arts student, I have always been fascinated by stories, emotions, and the different ways people's lives can change in the blink of an eye. But little did I know that one day, I would find myself living a story of my own—a story filled with love, heartbreak, unexpected turns, and decisions that would change my life forever. I thought I knew what I wanted. I thought I had my life figured out. But life had other plans for me. And this is where my story begins As I walked out of the indoor theater ShayShaynand I decided to take a bike to our hostel because the sun was scorching hot and was going to us alive . As we walked into the hostel and began to ascend the stairs, ShayShay began to speak. “Diva, there’s this party called Color Splash happening this evening at the stadium, just behind the hostels. Why don’t you join us for the fun? I know you have your head in your books and stuff like that, but then, you need to relax. I know you want good grades.” ShayShay, I understand that you think my nose is stuck in my books, but that is not the truth. The truth is, I want to make my parents proud. I don’t want to be a disappointment to my lineage. As you know, I am my parents’ only daughter. I just have one brother. We are two from my mother, and I don’t want anything to go wrong. I want my mother to be happy that she had kids like us. I want to put my head in my books and come out with a first class in the University of Jos. ShayShay, I also forgot something. You know the productions are coming up in two weeks, and I really don’t know what to do about them. I haven’t learned my lines. I’m still slacking behind, and I don’t want the professors to shout at me. But I guess you’re right. I need to take my head out of the books. I need to take this time to go party and chill. I beg, please call Oche. You know I love having Oche around because he’s my best friend.” “Nice one, nice one. Oche is your best friend, right? I see. So, what about me? You don’t want me? You want to forsake me, Diva, right? That’s not nice. I know now. I’ll just let you be.” ShayShay, I can never forsake you. I can’t. But you know you and Oche have been my buddies from day one. I wouldn’t want to leave any of you behind. I want both of you by my side, okay? Please now. Please do this for me. You know you’re the one dragging me out to go for this party. I really love you. As I walked into my room, I closed the door behind me. God, was I exhausted! I fell onto my bed and closed my eyes, hoping to catch a little nap. But by the time I woke up, it was six o’clock. God! I had only one hour to get ready. I decided to take my bath first. After all, I had just returned from dance rehearsals, and I was all sweaty. I wouldn't want to go somewhere and stink in front of people, would I? After taking my bath, I came out, sat in front of my desk, and decided to do a little makeup. After all, I'm a Theatre Arts student, right? I should carry the glow with me too. Once I finished my makeup, I put on my shoes and dress and got ready. Just as I was putting on my earrings, I heard a knock on my door. The bell didn't ring because, well, this is Nigeria. I walked over and opened the door, and lo and behold, ShayShay was standing there in a smart outfit. "Oh my God, Diva! You look so cute!" she exclaimed. "You know what? Give me a spin! Give me a spin!" I laughed and turned around for her. I had decided not to go overboard with my outfit. Instead, I wore a black mini skirt with high socks and boots, paired with a white shirt. Apparently, the theme was white, but why would I wear all white? I wasn't a ghost! I picked up my black bag, grabbed my sunglasses, and packed my hair into a ponytail. Then I walked out of my room, making sure to lock the door behind me. Because thieves in this country are something else! I locked the door and even tried opening it again to make sure it was properly secured. Satisfied, I joined ShayShay, and we walked down the stairs and out of the hostel. "Are you sure we won't climb a bike to get to that place?" I asked, already having second thoughts. She assured me that it wasn't a long trek and that, since my boots were flat and not high heels, I had nothing to worry about. So, we walked all the way down, paid for our tickets, and entered the party. And I have to say, the decorations were hot! Nice, classy, and absolutely beautiful. I decided to take a seat at the back because I wasn't one for the front. I know, right? It sounds so weird because I'm a Theatre Arts student, and my life is basically onstage. But that's the thing about being onstage. The person you see performing isn't always the same person you meet in real life. I walked to the back, picked a seat, and settled down. As usual, ShayShay was bubbling with excitement, moving about and having fun with her girls, while I stayed behind, waiting for the party to start. Not even twenty minutes later, the DJ arrived. And you can imagine what happened next. The music started blasting through the speakers, and then they played Heaven Baby by Ayra star. Of course, I began singing along. After all, I was a singer too! As I sang, I swayed gently to the rhythm, moving my hips to the beat. Before long, I met a new girl. Her name was Dara. Dara was friendly and nice, although she was a little introverted, just like me. Somehow, we seemed to click almost immediately. We talked, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. Our friendship lasted for, well, I'd say about an hour. As the hours bled into each other, however, we gradually grew tired. I was getting really exhausted because I wasn't used to staying out late at night. Besides, the party was held in an open space, and the mosquitoes were having a feast on my legs. At this point, I decided I needed to look for ShayShay. I stood up and began searching for her, but I couldn't find her anywhere. Just as I was rounding a corner, I accidentally bumped into a guy. I didn't pay attention to his face. I simply mumbled, "Sorry," and walked past him. I had more important things to worry about. By the time I finally found ShayShay, you can imagine my luck. She was drunk. Completely out of it. I stared at her for a moment, wondering how on earth I was supposed to get her back to the hostel in that condition. But I had no choice. I had to get her home. As I dragged her out of the party, I stumbled upon the same guy I'd bumped into earlier. But once again, I didn't look at his features. I barely spared him a glance before continuing on my way, struggling to drag a very heavy ShayShay out of the party. It was past midnight, and I had lectures the next day. God, my head was going to bang against my skull and nearly split open! I knew I had no choice but to take her home, no matter how exhausted I was. We walked and walked and walked until I couldn't take it anymore. Finally, I hailed a bike. Because this was university life. Where on earth was I supposed to find a cab at that hour? I quickly asked the bike man to help me get ShayShay onto the bike, and together, we made our way back to the hostel. When we arrived, I took her to our hostel room. I couldn't even change her clothes, so I simply helped her lie down and made sure she was settled. Then I returned to my own room. I took off my outfit and finally remembered something I'd forgotten to mention. During the party, they'd sprayed me with coloured powder and written on my shirt as a sort of sign-out tradition. Honestly, that was another thing I wasn't particularly excited about, but what could I do? I changed out of my clothes and collapsed onto my bed. I was exhausted. Completely and utterly exhausted. Before I knew it, my eyes began to drift shut, and I was slowly drawn into the land of sleep.