Ayo offered to see Mandy and Ifes off.
"So, how have your studies been so far? Ayo asked the duo on their way to their dormitory.
"It's fine, it's just that sometimes we..."
"Ayo! Ayo! Ayo!" They heard a voice calling from behind, stopping Mandy from completing her sentence.
Ifes stared at him and tried to guess his nationality. He looked nothing like an American. Ayo confirmed her thought when he called out to him. "Jidenna! Is that you?" He stared intently at the figure now running towards them.
"Yes! It's me. I can't believe I'm seeing you." They embraced each other.
"My man, na wetin you dey do here na?" Jidenna asked in Nigerian pidgin English what Ayo was doing here, disengaging their hug.
"I for no know say na you oooo, if nobi say I remember how you dey waka (I wouldn't have recognised you if I hadn't remembered the way you walk)," he added. Ayo laughed.
Ifes grinned. Ayo truly had a peculiar way of walking. She noticed that several times when she walked with him. Once, they even joked about it.
"Na your sister be dis? (Is this your sister?)" Jidenna asked, pointing at Ifes.
"Sister ke? You no remember my sister, Bukola? (Sister? Don't you remember my sister, Bukola?)" He gave Jidenna a questioning look.
Mandy was lost in the conversation since she didn't understand the way they spoke.
"No, I meant if she was your cousin or something."
"No, she is not my sister or cousin. We aren't related in any way apart from the fact that we are Nigerians and we were both granted scholarships to study here."
"Yeah! That reminds me, I wanted to ask what brought you here but now you've hinted on it, you can just tell me at once."
"We were accepted to this college through a scholarship program. Her name is Ifesinachi."
"Hay! Nwannem nwanyi?" (Hay! My sister?)" Jidenna asked excitedly, recognising from her name that she was an Igbo girl, just like she knew the instant Ayo called his name that he was also an Igbo indigene.
"Please tell me you hail from Enugu State as well."
"I hail from Anambra State." She beamed. Ayo and Mandy laughed at the baby face he displayed.
They both hailed from the Eastern part of that West African country but different states.
"Meet her roommate, coursemate and our friend, Mandy Parker."
"Pleased to meet you." Jidenna stretched his hand for a handshake.
"Pleased to meet you, too."
While they exchanged pleasantries, Ifesinachi's eyes flickered to where Jidenna came out from. She saw a familiar face staring back at her as though she was trying to recognise her as well.
"Chini!"
"Ifes!" they both said simultaneously after thirty seconds of staring intently at each other. Her eyes widened as Chini ran to give her a hug.
"It's so good to see you, Ifes!"
"It's good to see you, too!" They excitedly ran into each other's arms. "I can't believe this!"
"Yeah, I know, right? It's like a dream. A good dream."
"You two know each other?" Jidenna asked.
"Yes, we were classmates in high school," Chinenye replied.
Her name was Chinenye Okafor but her classmates preferred calling her by the short form of her name, Chini, or her English name, Elena. She was the same science student who had gotten the second highest WAEC result just behind Ifes.
"Aw, dis be say God don answer my prayer ooo!" (This means that God has answered my prayers!)" Jidenna exclaimed, grinning.
"What do you mean?" Ayo asked.
"Never mind," Jidenna said and Chini smirked. For a moment, Ayo, Mandy and Ifes were lost.
"Abeg make una no mind am jare (please don't mind him)." Chini smiled and changed the topic almost immediately.
"So, Ifes, what are you doing here? How did you get here?"
"They applied through a scholarship program." Jidenna winked at her.
"Before I forget, meet my friend, Ayo. He was my junior in high school. Ayo, meet my friend, Elena who coincidentally happens to be Ifes former high school classmate. We met here in the States a few months back when she was newly accepted to this college."
"You are a fresher? Ifes asked.
Again Jidenna answered before she could utter a word. "Yes, that's because she was denied admission the previous year."
"Big mouth!" Chini exclaimed.
"It's good, right?" Jidenna grinned and they all laughed.
"Hmm? I could pass for a comedian, you know? See as una just dey laugh! (See how you are all laughing!)"
"No, you are just a full-time douchebag, a big jerk. As a matter of fact, I lack words t–" Jidenna's phone rang, cutting Chini's sentence halfway.
Yanking out his phone from his side pocket, he looked at the screen, particularly at the caller ID.
"It's my twin brother," He announced, raising his eyes from his phone's screen.
They composed themselves and stopped speaking out loud as he tapped on his answer button.
"He has a twin brother?" Ifes asked, almost whispering.
"Yeah, and his twin brother is..."
"I'm sorry for that, guys." Jidenna said, cutting Chini's sentence halfway again.
"See, See, man leave these girls, make we talk jor (man ignore the girls, let's talk)," Ayo said when Jidenna and Chini were about to go into another banter.
They stood there chatting and laughing about their old high school days as Mandy and Ifes happily led Chini to their dorm.
"So tell me, what have I missed?" Chini asked, grinning.
"Don't worry, I will tell you. Let's get to my dorm room first." Ifes beamed. Getting to the front of their dorm room, Mandy brought out her keys from her side pocket and slid it into the keyhole. Then remembering they didn't lock the door on their way out, she opened the door and they walked inside making themselves at home.