Maryann Odo @agozie

The first time I moved into the hostel, I never once considered that people could be so mean and cruel. After washing my clothes, I approached the public line to hang them up, only to find that all the lines were occupied, leaving no space for my things.

As I touched some of the clothes already hanging there, I realized they were dry. I decided to carefully move them to one side to create some space. I stacked the dry clothes neatly and spread out my new uniform, my selection of white shirts on the line I had just cleared for myself.

I felt a sense of happiness and satisfaction once I was done. However, when I went inside and returned two hours later, I was shocked to see my clothes and white shirts lying on the ground. Someone had taken the clothes I had moved aside and thrown my garments onto the ground. I was deeply disappointed.

From that day henceforth, I usually woke up very early each time that I wanted to wash my clothes with the lines free at that time of the morning.

I was so bored today. After exhausting almost everything on my phone, I started early in the morning with a novel I had read, a particular one that had just a few pages left to finish. Once I finished that, I looked at the last movie I had on my phone. Then, I went online on Mindviewers, where I browsed through some headlines and acquainted myself with the updated news. After that, there was nothing more left to do; I was so bored, and my phone seemed very empty.

I entered TikTok, but I just couldn't feel the excitement from it. They had clogged up my feed with old videos I'd already watched and uninteresting clips, so I had to exit the app. As I couldn't find anything to do, I scrolled through my app menu, and that's when I discovered a new app.

It was a game I had downloaded about three months last year but hadn't played until now. I had spent around 500MB trying to download it because the advertisement looked awesome, and I was eager to try it out. Now that I noticed the game again, I decided to play it and see what it was like.

I was impressed by the graphics and overall design. The only bad thing about it was that it required data to play, which limited its usability for me. I didn't want to use up all my data just because I was playing a game. However, it did occupy my time for several hours, giving me a fun distraction while I postponed doing other things.

People can be very funny and deceiving. I was to travel today, so on reaching the park, I chose a bus and a seat where I wanted to sit during the journey.
To save my spot, I dropped my bag on the seat, my particular favorite position. Some minutes later, I stepped out to grab a few things that I needed for the travel. When I returned, I realized a man had taken my seat.

I confronted him and politely asked him to humbly find another seat, explaining that I had saved the seat with my bag. But he wouldn’t budge. He insisted he didn’t see any bag there and told me to find another place to sit.

I’m a person who doesn’t like violence, so I decided to just let it go and to collect my bag. I moved to another seat, thinking it was best to avoid conflict. Suddenly, the man interpreted my action as if I was being violent, as if I was blackmailing him to leave the seat, even though I had been respectful and had clearly left my bag there.

I smiled at him and said, “Feel free to enjoy the seat.” With that, I picked up my bag and made my way to a different spot. It was a strange encounter that only left me puzzled how a man of that age will argue something that petty.

I had gone back to the tailor who sewed one of the most disappointing clothes I had ever seen in my life. I returned to her shop about two days ago, and you wouldn't believe what I saw there. I noticed what I call top notch fashion dress. It was so goodlooking, and beautiful that I couldn't take my eyes off it. At first, I didn't even realize it was mine, but I recognized the material immediately.

Many thoughts were running through my mind, and I wondered whether it was still the same tailor who had sewn something so rubbish the last time I visited now creating something so beautiful. I decided to first meet the tailor and ask her about it.

When I finally confirmed that it was my clothing, I was filled with joy. I didn’t even know how to express myself, especially since the last time I had come, I vented my anger and showed her how disappointed I was. But this time, I didn't know how to react. I felt disappointment from the past and happiness from what I was seeing hanging before me.

She understood immediately that she had done a nice job, so she smiled and told me to try the cloth on. I put on the cloth, and it was a perfect fit. Not only was it a perfect fit, my waistline showed, and I admired myself in the mirror for several minutes until she was begging me to take it off so she could iron it before I took it. Well, I took it off, and then she ironed it. I paid her a tip, you know, an extra tip for the work, and everyone was happy. This is what I expected, not the other garbage.

It had been about three weeks since I gave the tailor some fabric to sew a perfect outfit for my ASOEBI demonstration. I had been eagerly waiting for the day she promised I could come and pick up the clothing.

When I arrived at her shop, I was relieved to see that she had already completed the garments. However, as I looked closely, I realized that the clothes did not resemble the design and style I had selected. Trying to keep an open mind, I decided to try the outfit on before voicing my concerns.

As I put on the clothes, I was sad and disappointed. I felt as if I looked like a baby in diapers. The fit was completely off, and I couldn’t understand how, after all this time, she could present something manageable.what she presented was far from satisfactory. It was evident that she had rushed the sewing process, which caused the clothing to turn out poorly.
After realizing her mistakes, she begged that I return a week later to check on the adjustments.

I reminded myself that this tailor wasn’t incompetent; I had seen her previous work, and she had never let me down before. This wasn’t the first time I had entrusted her with making my clothes, so let me give her another chance to regain my trust.

As I walked down the road, I realized I hadn't been here in five years. With each step, old memories came rushing back to me and I smiled at each childhood picture clouded my mind.

I remembered how I would run home from school with my school bag bouncing on my back. But then I had a motive. I usually stopped at the special place full of fruits.

Let me describe this spot, I called it the green compound with the big trees. I smiled as I saw the mango trees filled with bright yellow mangoes that looked so sweet. Next to the mangoes were orange trees, with bright oranges hanging down and tempting me. Though I couldn't now got for it now (big girl things).

I also remembered the cherry trees, with their pink and red fruits, my junior sister preferred that to mangoes and I can't tell why.
There were also German mangoes, not my favorite. The sweet mangoes was the best, I loved them.

When I walked this road before, I would quietly pick fruits to share with my brothers and sisters. I wasn't being naughty, I was just being clever. The family who owned the trees knew me, and they said I could take some fruits anytime I felt like, and with that kind of opportunity, I made it a routine. They trusted me, which made me feel good inside.

As I walked past the compound, I took a deep breath and let the happy memories fill me up. This road as part of my childhood.

This particular jotter came with a gold plated edges that I use to go with classes with. People usually admired it, and I loved it myself. Often, I would prefer to go about with the book in hand rather than carry my side bag.

Then came a day when, for reasons I still don’t remember, I misplaced that book. I’ve been searching for it everywhere, scanning my surroundings with my eyes, but I couldn’t remember where I had left it or who I might have given it to. I had clearly lost it.

But then, just last week, a friend returned it to me, saying I had given it to him. I was both relieved and grateful, but I couldn't thank him enough for bringing it back.
don’t know if the book itself can’t be found on the market or if it’s just that special. I think its worth comes from the many acknowledgments I’ve received about it. Whenever someone catches a glance of that book, they can’t help but want to see it and admire it.

Beyond its looks, I also rely on it for jotting during lectures and taking down notes. That should add up more layers to its significance for me.

So, when I misplaced it, it felt like I lost a part of myself.

I’m the kind of person who usually doesn’t understand why someone would stay on a phone call for more than 30 minutes. I’ve always looked at those people who talk for an hour or even two as if they’re just jobless, unable to find something better to do. What could possibly be so important to discuss for that long, especially over the phone?

But today was different. I received a call from one of my close male friends, and it had been a while since we last spoke. To be honest, I really like this guy he had a good personality, and I know he liked me. When he called, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To my surprise, we ended up talking for a long time. The call was long, in fact, that I didn’t even realize an hour had passed until I checked the time.

What amazed me was that we still had so much to talk about. I felt a rush of happiness as my perspective on long phone calls shifted instantly. We continued chatting, and before I knew it, another hour flew by. Unfortunately, that’s when the network started to interfere. It was the only reason we had to hang up, but by then, my idea of long calls had changed.

It’s not that I hated long calls or had never experienced. It was just that seeing someone engage in lengthy conversations repeatedly felt a bit too much.