CHAPTER ONE: FIRST DAY, WRONG DIRECTION
682 Words
Riverside University looked nothing like what Teniola imagined.
From the moment the school bus dropped her at the main gate, she knew this place had its own personality. One that didn’t care whether you were ready or not.
The first thing she noticed was the movement.
Students were everywhere.
Some dragged boxes like they were already tired of life. Others laughed too loudly for people who were supposedly new. Parents shouted last-minute advice from cars that refused to leave. Security men directed traffic with the confidence of people who had seen everything, good, bad, and chaotic.
And above it all stood a huge sign:
WELCOME TO RIVERSIDE UNIVERSITY, WHERE AMBITION MEETS CHAOS
Teniola adjusted her bag strap and stared at it.
“Chaos is doing too much already,” she muttered under her breath.
She checked her admission slip for the third time. It still said the same thing: Riverside University, Mass Communication Department, Level 100.
So why did everything feel like a mistake?
“Excuse me,” she asked a passing student, “Where is the clearance office?”
The girl pointed vaguely without stopping. “Just follow the crowd!”
“That’s not direction,” Teniola replied, but the girl was already gone.
She sighed and started walking.
That was her first mistake.
Within five minutes, she was lost.
Not slightly lost, completely lost in a place where every building looked important and every path looked like it led somewhere she didn’t belong.
She stopped at a junction with three paths.
Left: crowded.
Right: quiet.
Straight: suspiciously empty.
“Of course,” she said. “Three choices and none of them feel correct.”
She chose straight.
Naturally, that was where everything went wrong.
She turned the corner too quickly.
And collided with someone.
“Ah!” she gasped as her folder slipped from her hands.
“My documents!”
The stranger immediately bent down at the same time she did, catching the scattered papers before they spread further.
“Careful,” he said calmly, handing them back one by one.
Teniola blinked at him.
“I didn’t see you,” she said quickly.
“That much is obvious,” he replied.
She frowned slightly. “Are you always this direct?”
“Only when I’m almost late and someone walks into my path.”
That made her pause.
Then she sighed. “Okay, fair.”
For a moment, neither of them moved.
He looked at her properly now.
Fresh face. Slight tension in her shoulders. Grip on her bag like she was holding herself together more than the bag itself.
A fresher.
Definitely.
“You’re new,” he said.
Teniola looked up. “Is it written on my forehead?”
“No,” he replied. “Only first-years hold their admission slip like it’s fragile.”
She quickly shoved it into her bag. “Maybe I’m just careful.”
“Good,” he said. “Riverside doesn’t reward carelessness.”
That sentence lingered a second longer than expected.
Then his phone buzzed again.
He glanced at it, then back at her.
“You’re looking for the clearance office?”
“Yes,” she said immediately.
He pointed behind her. “Go back that way. First left. Follow the crowd you ignored earlier.”
“I didn’t ignore them,” she said. “I just… chose peace.”
“That’s not peace,” he replied. “That’s confusion with confidence.”
She gave him a look. “You talk a lot for someone who’s almost late.”
A small smile appeared on his face.
“True.”
Another pause.
“I’m Dami,” he said.
“Teniola,” she replied.
He nodded once like he had stored it somewhere.
“Try not to get lost again, Teniola.”
“I wasn’t lost,” she said quickly.
But he was already walking away.
Teniola watched him leave.
“Annoying,” she whispered.
Then after a pause:
“…helpful though.”
She adjusted her bag and followed the direction he gave.
For the first time since arriving, she wasn’t guessing blindly anymore.
- Writer
