BITTER SWEET COLLEGE LIFE

ONE YEAR LATER

*EPISODE 12: ONE YEAR LATER*

---

The afternoon sun in Ibadan was lazy and gold. It painted the walls of *HAMSHAN DELIGHT HIGH* the same faded yellow and blue we all grew up with.

The gate was still the same gate. Iron bars. A little rust at the bottom. "NO PARENTS BEYOND THIS POINT" still painted in red, half-washed out by rain.

But the people standing in front of it? Different.

*TARA* stepped out of an Uber first. Uni hoodie, jeans, hair in a claw clip. She looked older. Not grown-grown, but... university older. That kind of tired and confident mix.

Behind her, *SOHEEH* got out too. Same department hoodie, glasses pushed up, holding two ice cream cones. He saw her and smiled like nothing had changed. And also like everything had.

"Still buying me ice cream after exams?" Tara asked.

"Always," Soheeh said. "Bribery is how I got you to date me in SS3. Why stop now?"

They both laughed and looked up.

The sign was still there. *HAMSHAN DELIGHT HIGH. "MORALITY, EXCELLENCE, DISCIPLINE."*

Tara exhaled. "One year. Feels like 10."

The gate man squinted. "Eh? Tara? Soheeh? Una don come back come cause trouble abi?"

"Peaceful visit only, Uncle," Soheeh grinned. "We miss our punishment."

Before he could answer, shouting came from inside.

"MY BABIES!!!!"

*MISS JUMMY* came running. Full speed. Heels, wrapper, and all. She didn’t care. She grabbed Tara first, then Soheeh, then squeezed them together until they couldn’t breathe.

"Look at you! University students! My first set! You people came back! You remembered me!"

Tara was laughing into her shoulder. "Aunty Jummy, we told you we’d come back every year."

"Every term!" Miss Jummy corrected, wiping her eyes with the edge of her wrapper. "You people think I’ve forgotten how you used to dodge my Civic class?"

"Me? Never," Tara said, deadpan.

Soheeh choked on his ice cream. "Liar."

More voices. More footsteps.

"Femi! Kikky!" Tara screamed.

*FEMI* came in first, tall, beard a little fuller, wearing a UNILAG shirt. *KIKKY* was beside him, bouncing, phone already out.

"Content! We need content!" Kikky said immediately. "One year later reunion. This is going viral."

Femi rolled his eyes but pulled her into a side hug. "Let them breathe first, babe."

Then *DAVID & SOPHIA* arrived together. Matching backpacks. Sophia had braids down to her waist now. David was still David — calm, glasses, but he stood taller.

Sophia ran to Tara. "Bestieee! I missed your rants!"

David fist-bumped Soheeh. "Bro. Engineering is trying to kill me."

*IFE & TEMI* came next. Still inseparable. Ife had cut his hair low. Temi was in a crop top and wide pants, looking like she ran the campus.

Temi: "I heard principal is still shouting."

Ife: "Some things never change."

Last, *OKIKI & KATE*. Okiki walked in like he owned the place. Chest out. Kate behind him, laughing at him.

Okiki: "Aunty Jummy! We came to check if Principal has retired yet. Because if he hasn’t, who will be shouting at us now?"

Miss Jummy: "Ehn! You want to retire me too?"

And then he was there.

*PRINCIPAL.* Same suit. Same stern face. Same walk. But his hair had more grey.

Silence for 2 seconds.

Then: "I WILL RETIRE WHEN YOU ALL STOP COMING BACK TO MAKE NOISE IN MY SCHOOL!"

Everyone burst out laughing.

Tara stepped forward first. "Good afternoon, sir."

Principal looked at her, at all of them. His mouth twitched. "So. University has not humbled you people?"

Soheeh: "It tried, sir. But we’re unhumble-able."

Principal sighed, but he opened his arms. And just like that, 8 of them plus Miss Jummy were in one big, messy group hug at the gate.

For a minute, nobody talked. You could hear the school bell in the distance. You could smell gala and pure water from the kiosk. You could feel SS3 again.

Principal pulled back first. Cleared his throat. "Come. Don’t stand here and let people think I’m running a reunion center. Staff room. Now."

---

The staff room smelled the same. Chalk. Old paper. Indomie.

They sat on student chairs. Too small now. Knees everywhere. Miss Jummy brought out biscuits and FanYogo like they were still in JSS1.

Principal sat at his desk. Looked at each of them.

"Femi. UNILAG. Engineering."

"Yes sir."

"Kikky. OAU. Mass Comm."

"Yes sir. And content creator sir."

"David. FUTA. Computer Science."

"Yes sir."

"Sophia. UI. Medicine."

Sophia beamed. "Yes sir."

"Ife. LAUTECH. Agriculture."

"Food security, sir."

"Temi. UNIBEN. Law."

"Future SAN, sir."

"Okiki. Babcock. Business Admin."

"CEO in training, sir."

"Kate. Covenant. Accounting."

"Yes sir."

He paused. Then looked at Tara and Soheeh.

"Tara. UI. English."

"Yes sir."

"Soheeh. UI. Mechanical Engineering."

"Yes sir."

Principal leaned back. "Hm. So my troublemakers became first class material."

Miss Jummy: "They were always material, sir. You just didn’t see it."

Principal: "I saw it. That’s why I was shouting."

Everyone laughed again. But it was soft this time. Nostalgic.

Tara spoke up. "Sir... thank you. For not giving up on us. Even when we deserved suspension."

Principal: "You deserved 10 suspensions. But if I suspended all of you, who would make my retirement boring?"

More laughter.

Then the door opened.

*CHIKA.*

NYSC khaki. Corper ID. Hair in a neat bun. Camera in hand.

"BREAKING NEWS!" she said, like she never left. "The 8 stars of Hamshan Delight have pulled up! And yes, I’m still vlogging. New series dropping: 'BITTER SWEET UNI LIFE'."

Kikky screamed. "CHIKA! You’re back!"

Chika hugged everyone. "I had to come. How can I do Season 2 without the cast?"

Soheeh: "You were filming us since SS1. We’re used to it."

Chika winked. "And the world loves it."

She turned the camera to all of them. "Say something to the people who watched us from Episode 1."

Silence. Then everyone started talking at once.

Femi: "We made it."

Kikky: "We survived WAEC."

Sophia: "We survived JAMB."

David: "We survived admission stress."

Temi: "We survived heartbreak."

Ife: "We survived group projects."

Okiki: "We survived Okiki."

Kate: "Barely."

Miss Jummy: "I survived all of you."

Tara looked at Soheeh. He was already looking at her.

Tara: "Ready for Season 2?"

Soheeh took her hand. Right there. In front of principal, teachers, everyone.

Soheeh: "With you? Always."

Principal pretended to cough. "Young people. Respect yourselves. But... congratulations."

---

They walked out to the assembly ground. The same ground where they did match past. Where Tara cried after failing a test. Where Soheeh proposed with a pen and a note. Where they all promised "we’ll meet again."

The students were on break. Some of them stared. "Are those the alumni from the t****k?" "Is that the 'Bitter Sweet Final Year' people?"

Chika was filming. "This is for you guys. The ones who commented every week. The ones who said 'don’t end it'. We’re not ending. We’re evolving."

Tara stepped forward. Soheeh beside her. The 8 of them in a line. Miss Jummy and Principal behind them.

Tara looked straight at Chika’s camera. At all of us.

"WHAT ARE WE??"

All 8, plus Miss Jummy: "*FOREVER HAMSHAN DELIGHT HIGH!*" 💛

The school bell rang. One last time. Not for class. For them.

They walked through the gate together. Laughing. Arguing about who was driving. Who was paying for suya. Who had to explain to their parents why they came back to secondary school.

Chika’s last shot was their backs, walking away, hoodies on, hands linked, sun behind them.

*LIGHTS OUT. CURTAIN FALLS.*

*THE END.* 🎭✨