Pursuit of Happiness

Anne sat at a spot which was overly familiar to her, and stared at the vast empty sky distractedly.

Since she got admitted into the university three months ago, she has felt the presence of a lurking danger, but couldn't tell what it was.

And now, more than ever, she could feel it. It hung heavily above her, like she could reach out and touch it. It filled her senses, making breathing somewhat difficult.

All her attempts to push the feeling aside only brought it more heavily upon her.

With a sigh, she gave up trying , and instead focused on the danger which she could almost reach out and touch, wondering what could possibly go wrong.

"Hey, Anne." Josephine and Naomi called at once, and Anne who was lost in thought was startled.

"You were gone for a long time." Anne pointed out to her friends, happy to be distracted at last.

"You should blame Josephine, it was all her fault." Naomi replied immediately.

"You know how untrue that is." Josephine defended, while she stared daggers at Naomi.

Both Naomi and Josephine had gone to get lunch, and Anne had stayed back to wait on them since she wasn't feeling hungry.

"We should head back to the class." Anne suggested, rising. The presence of her friends did not entirely drive away the feeling, as it came back to tease her senses. She figured out that she will feel safer in a class than in the open.

Her friends, clueless as expected, walked beside her to the class. They had no idea the feeling she fought within.

"Do y'all remember this spot? It's where we all met." Naomi said, pointing at a snacks store.

All three friends had met at the shop for the first time after an exhausted class. They were surprised when they discovered that they were in the same department and in their first year.

"I remember Naomi looking as scared as a frightened chicken." Josephine teased, and all three friends wind up laughing.

"I wasn't scared, I was only cautious." Naomi defended, but the others jeered playfully at her.

They soon got to the class, and located a seat in the middle of the class. The one thousand capacity lecture hall was nearly filled up as it was a combined class.

"I hope this class gets cancelled. I just want to go home." Josephine said, and exchanged knowing looks with her friends.

The hall suddenly became rowdy as students began to leave. Anne and her friends looked around them, and noticed that the students from the same department with them were still seated, and so they remained on their seat.

A few minutes later, the class rep announced the cancellation of the class, and Josephine yelped for joy.

"I said it, didn't I?" Josephine asked.

"No, you only wished it." Anne replied. She too felt pleased at the idea of going home earlier than planned.

"Are you happy now?" Naomi asked.

"We all are. We should head home." Josephine told her friends, rising while they followed suit.

They stepped out of the hall the same way they had stepped in, walking side-by-side, and teasing each other.

* * * * * *

It was 05:04 pm, and having slept for most of the time since she arrived a few hours ago, Anne proceeded to make dinner. She often joked that her family made her school from home not because they loved her too much but so that she could continue with the chores. Even though it is only a joke, Anne knows that to some extent it is true.

She hurriedly prepared dinner, did the dishes, and settled down to browse the internet. Logging into her favorite social media platform, Facebook, she met tons of messages from old and new friends, and as expected, she ignored them all, searching for the familiar name 'Collins-Maxwell' who over the years remained her favorite friend on Facebook.

Their friendship dates back to Anne's Senior secondary school days, Collins was in his first year at Benue State University and their friendship had blossomed since then. Their friendship had only a setback- her delay in responding to his relationship proposal. A message soon popped up at the top of her screen.

"Hello there, good evening."

Good evening, How was your day?" And so they talked about other things

like they always do.

"You mean you hiked to the main gate with your tiny legs?" Collins asked at a point.

"It wasn't so long a journey and mind you, my legs are not tiny " she defended. Just then her phone rang and it was Josephine.

"Hey, good evening ".

"Good evening, Exam timetable is out, we have less than two weeks before the exams commence ".

"Are you for real?? They've barely taught us anything worthwhile ".

"Maybe they will be more serious now before the exams ".

"I doubt that, anyway thanks for calling, did you call Naomi?"

"I will, after this call".

"Okay bye".

Wow! She exclaimed inwardly and told Collins of the latest development.

"You should quit Facebook for now and face your books instead ".

"I still have a week plus to prepare sir".

"I know but I want you to be serious and make me proud ".

"Make you proud as my Father or what?"

"As your would-be husband of course ".

"I have told you to stop dreaming, Collins".

"But seriously when will you give me a reply to my proposal?"

"You are right, I have to study for my exams. Good night Collins".

It was dark. Very dark and unusually silent, the kind of silence that follows a bomb blast. Anne stood in the open, bewildered at the sight before her.

Just a few metres away, buildings were up in flames, lightening the dark environment and at the same time, polluting the atmosphere as thick, black smoke rose in the air. The fire as though magical kept spreading to other buildings. The sound of running feet from behind her propped her to turn backwards, to a more terrifying sight as giant-like men hotly pursued others, towards her direction. She tried to escape before they could get close but she couldn't as she realized she was stuck, as if rooted to the ground. She was on the verge of tears when she heard her name.

That voice!

It was unmistakenly her dad's. But... how come he is...here?

* * * * *

Slowly, she regained consciousness and realized it was all a dream. Her eyes darted to the dim-lit room she shared with her immediate elder sister, who is currently studying at a nursing school. Her first object of interest was the small-sized clock, on the wall opposite her bed as it disrupted the stillness of the day with the tick-tock sound it made as the seconds passed by. She eyed the book on the top of the shelf as her eyes moved to the left side of the room. Although she could not make out the title, she was certain it was one of JK Rowling's Harry Potter book series. She still finds the books fascinating even though she has read them countless times, little wonder it was placed on the top of the shelf.

It was currently 04:15 am, and having no desire to sleep, she let her mind roam about other things before settling for the dream she had last night.

Although she didn't see him in the dream, she was certain it was her dad who had called her name. She recalled the dream again focusing more on the voice that had called her and blaming her luck for waking up way too early. She felt looked after and for a split second, she was grateful.

* * * * *

It was mid-day, and Anne and her friends, together with the students from her department were gathered in a two hundred and fifty capacity lecture theatre, waiting for their fourth and final class for the day. They had had three classes before now and hoped that the fourth one would not be as stressful as the others had been. Moments later, the class rep announced the cancellation of the class. It was indeed a relief to the students and in no time the students made their way out of the hall, leaving only a handful of students who were either too tired or having too much fun at the moment. Anne and her friends of course remained with the few others, calling each other names.

"Josephine, you shouldn't be clavering with us when your notebook is as empty as it is right now". Anne called out with false concern, and Naomi jeered playfully at Josephine.

"I perceive conspiracy". Josephine added feigning sadness.

"Truth is bitter". Naomi added.

"Shut up, you know I have been sick that..."

"You are always sick". Naomi cut in.

They headed home a few minutes later with Naomi and Josephine playfully glaring at each other. Sometimes, it is difficult to believe that their nagging is nothing but fun, but having stayed with them for long hours and being worse than they are to some extent, Anne perfectly understands them. They came to a T-intersection and another argument ensued among them over which route to take.

Getting home right on time to prepare dinner and finish her chores, Anne held a little conversation with Collins who at first sounded angry.

"Did I do wrong by insisting you study for your exams?" He asked.

"No, who said you did?"

"Then how come you boycotted me for days right after that conversation??"

" Well I was doing as told, studying for my exams. The conversation wasn't about studying anymore if I remember correctly ".

" Seriously how long will you continue to avoid giving me a response??"

It's been four days since the last time they communicated, She had refused to take his calls not because she was angry but because she lacked the words to say to him. She had missed him and couldn't convince herself otherwise. Not sure if missing him counted for anything, she dismissed the thought and bid him good night.

Just as she was about to sleep, her phone beeped indicating a new message. It was from her best friend, Farida.

"Hey little one, any news yet??"

With eyes heavy with sleep, she pleaded to have the conversation at a more convenient time and fell asleep almost immediately.

Farida is a childhood friend of Anne. They have been friends since their nursery school days. They were in separate classes all through their primary school which interrupted their friendship. Fate brought them back together as they were admitted into the same secondary school and into the same class and their friendship which had lost ground was revived. Farida is a devout Muslim, though not the conservative one that is common among the Hausa-Fulani tribe. She is a Yoruba girl and as it is common among Muslims from the western part of Nigeria, it is open to change. Their religious diversity did not pose a threat to their friendship as they both tolerated each other's differences and avoided every argument that was based on religion.

One time during their senior secondary school days, Anne was advised by one of her fellow parishioners to put an end to the friendship between herself and Farida as the latter was not a good influence on her spiritual growth. Of course, Anne would do no such thing! She only tried without success to hide it from Farida who was present when the woman had proposed a meeting with Anne. The whole thing caught Anne by surprise but Farida upon hearing it said she had expected it and that had only managed to push their friendship forward.

The students of the English and literature department are currently in the middle of an examination and from the look of things, it is not going well. The paper was scheduled for 04:00 pm-06:00 pm. The ever spacious hall seems too tight and too hot and the fans are not helping a bit. The questions are difficult and unexpected and the presence of twelve lecturers supervising in a single hall makes it even more uncomfortable.

The days that preceded the exams were hectic. Lecturers and students who had been lagging tried to cover their lapses, those who were serious from the beginning did the finishing up. Classes were fixed between classes and the students knew better than to complain. Classes that were canceled for weeks were received in hours. Apart from the fact that eating is a necessity, it was beginning to seem a little bit of a time-consuming task as it was taking the time meant for studying. It was their first semester in the university and of course, nobody wanted to begin with a carryover. Some were concerned about doing better than others, and some were concerned about just passing the exams, though a few students didn't care. Anne was on the verge of a breakdown due to excessive studying. She couldn't afford to not pass, just thinking about how her fees are paid is enough to quit taking a break. She and her friends made the library their home as they were always seen in the library, studying critically. It got to a point and Naomi suggested they take a break stating that all work without play makes Anne a dull girl, giving Anne a knowing look. They agreed on a five-minute break and continued immediately after. They rounded up with a question/answer session to test how much they retained what they had studied.

A few days before the beginning of the exams, they stopped studying critically and started revising, lightly. They vowed to excel in the examination as their favorite quote soon became 'Winning is our right ".

"You there, stand up". One of the supervisors said aloud.

It happened that the girl sitting behind Anne had a problem understanding a particular question and begged her for a little assistance. Although Anne was discreet in helping her out, she was caught by one of the many supervisors who immediately collected both of their answer booklets and sent them out of the hall. It was just a few minutes past 05:00 pm and it was heartbreaking for Anne who hadn't finished yet. She was so scared of failing and even though she tried, she couldn't stop being angry with herself. To make things worse, the girl openly blamed Anne for the mishap. Not wanting to be extremely rude, Anne shot her a dreadful look, which made her stop talking immediately. She didn't wait for her friends to finish before she left for home. She was that angry.

As much as she tried to hide it, it was very obvious that she was angry and sad.

She angrily did her chores and went straight to bed but sleep did not come. About thirty minutes later her phone vibrated, indicating an incoming message.

"Nifemi, I am on my way to his house to cause trouble. How dare he cheat on me with that ugly girl??"

It was from an unsaved number. Anne knew instantly that the sender had the wrong number. Despite her angry state, Anne found it funny and was tempted to play along for the fun of it.

"You should teach them a lesson they won't forget in a hurry". She typed and then deleted it last minute and instead, she sent

"I'm not Nifemi, you got the wrong number".

She waited for a reply and when she got none, she focused on the content of the message. Would she face such problems now that she has given Collins a chance? Finally, she was able to take her mind off the exam she had earlier and was grateful to whoever sent the message.

A few days ago, she had said yes to Collins and so far, there had been no regrets...or is it too early to conclude??

She didn't give in to Collins easily but he was more than prepared for her tricks. She gave different excuses among which being too small and not ready for any relationship was included but Collins did not buy any of it. Seeing that excuses were not working, she opted for conditions, she gave him impossible conditions and he accepted readily. It got to a point and she asked him why he was so desperate and he said he didn't want to lose her to someone else.

In truth, Anne already made up her mind to accept him but she only wanted to prove hard to get but gave up when it dawned on her that Collins was losing his patience.

She reached out to Collins who had been patiently waiting to hear from her. After they exchanged pleasantries, she explained what happened in the examination hall to him and he reassured her that she wouldn't end up failing the paper, even though he too was scared. He advised her to read for the next paper and bid her good night. She assured him she would and then she went straight to bed and slept off.