University had turned out to be a very toxic place for me as it was marked by a very stiff competition. Everything was done in the name of peer pressure and love for lustful things. Dressing in the latest fashion which I always termed extravagant became my daily series. Almost every girl in my class had an iPhone and then there was poor me who had her outdated small Sony which had a cracked screen and was always running out of storage.
WRITTEN BY MELOSHENCE SAMUTETE
Because of my religious background, I had to always cover my head and wear dresses long enough to cover my ankles and for that I was nicknamed Mai Maria. I vividly remembered the day I became the joke of the year. I attended the welcome party when I was still a 1.1 as rumor had it that it was compulsory though it was a lie. I was the only one dressed in my church regalia and the only one with a six pack of fanta instead of alcohol just like everyone else. I cried unceasingly as before day end I had turned to be circulating on social media as a sticker with caption ‘ Mai Maria.’
All of this vanished into thin air as I decided to flow with the waves after two months. I was now tired of taking pictures with other people’s beautiful Iphones and I couldn’t stand how empty the hostels were every weekend as people would have gone out to have fun. I had finally made up my mind to join my friends on a Friday evening who were headed to the club. I felt so uncomfortable in one of my roommate’s bumshort and crop top that she had borrowed me. “Don’t worry Riya, this is how it is for the first time definitely with time you will get used”, one of my friends said to me.
My first time being at a club was so confusing as I was seeing things I used to see in those Nigerian movies. I saw girls smoking and drinking etc in the name of ‘ its all vibes.’ I was really puzzled after seeing what I saw. I started feeling dizzy all of a sudden and I felt my head so heavy after taking a glass of juice, God knows what was inside!
I woke up to six men exchanging themselves on me and I tried to scream for help but they had covered my mouth with a cloth. The excruciating pain I felt was beyond repair and my friends were nowhere to be seen. I cried till I ran out of tears as I watched myself being a victim of rape all in the name of peer pressure!
