THE PINK CLOUDS

It was a Monday morning. The campus was filled with many students as it was the first day of the semester. Everybody was walking in a hurry heading to their faculty.

Then appeared Richard, a boy of average height. He was wearing a white T-shirt and black jeans. On his feet were sneakers that matched his shirt. He got admitted into the institution five months ago with his sister's financial aid.

She worked around the clock, bending over backward to see that he got accepted into the university he desired. In that spirit, Richard put everything he had into his studies, emerging with the best grade in his faculty the previous semester. He was a kind guy that had no interest in people's business. For that reason, he was known only by a few people.

He walked in a hurry, almost running because he was seriously late. He used to live close to his faculty. But his current financial condition took that luxury away from him. As a result, he is now confined to a dorm on the extreme far end of the campus.

Other students took the cabs to their various faculties. But the rich thought it'd be a waste of money to do that. After walking for a few minutes, he realized how wrong he was about that.

He walked on a red brick pathway roofed with brown asbestos sheets. A few meters beside that road was another that led to the central building of his faculty. The cars on the road were steadily moving according to the speed limit of the campus.

At last, he arrived at his faculty. It was a fancy ten-story building in the shape of a giant ship. The short fence surrounding the building was one meter tall at maximum. The frontage of the building was entirely made up of dazzling glass. There were many trees with benches beneath them within the fence of the faculty.

There was a huge theater located opposite the faculty building. It was where Richard was supposed to have his first lecture of the semester. The pavement Richard was walking on led straight to the entrance of the faculty building, and it also branched to the theater. He headed to the theater, still in a hurry. By the time he arrived, the lecturer had already gone far with her lecture.

Richard's heartbeat increased as he walked towards the theater door because of the lecturer's odd personality. She had failed three students the previous semester for coming to her lecture late. She was a young professor in her late 30s. Then, he started regretting why he hadn't taken a taxi.

"Excuse me, Ma'am," Richard said in fear.

"What are you here for?" She demanded with authority.

"I sincerely apologize for interrupting your class, ma'am,” Richard uttered. “But I was here earlier. I've got an upset stomach and had to relieve myself."

The whole theater went in stitches, laughing out at his elaborate excuse. The professor waited until after the theater had gone silent again to reply.

"Next time, you should be mindful of what you consume," she scolds.

Richard was so relieved that she fell for his lie. He walked into the theater gently, trying not to make his footsteps audible.

Suddenly, he spotted his friend, Paul, waving at him at the center of the lecture theater. They became friends on the first day Richard arrived at the university. He guided him through the registration procedures, and they instantly became friends.

He walked to where Paul was sitting and smiled when he discovered that Paul had kept a seat for him beside him. He excitedly dropped the black backpack from his shoulder and sat on the chair.

"What got into you today?" Paul whispered.

"We will talk about it later," Richard dismissed, not wanting to be blacklisted by the professor.

"Did you spend the night with a girl?" Paul mocked again.

"For goodness sake, Paul, you know how evil this midget professor is. We'll talk after the lectures.”

Paul tried so hard to stop himself from laughing.

They listened to the lecture for an hour and a half before the professor finally dismissed the class. Everyone started exiting the theater as soon as the professor left. Paul and Richard were also on their way out when something unexpected happened.

"Hey!" A gentle voice called out to them. Richard and Paul looked back in confusion, wondering if she was talking to someone else.

This girl was the most beautiful in the department, having had the attention of many around the university. Richard could understand why because she had a slim body and perfect eyes. She wore a red shirt and tight skinny jeans. Richard could smell the lovely perfume coming from her body as she got closer to them.

"Are you talking to us?" Paul asked.

"Yes, I want to talk to Richard, to be exact," she eloquently expressed.

They both watched her in silence as she covered the distance between them.

"I don't believe this," Paul whispered into Richard's ear, who was too baffled to respond.

"Can you give me a moment of your time, please?" she politely asked as she sauntered towards them.

"Yes, of-of course," Richard stuttered.

"My name is Janet,"

"Yes, I know who you are," Richard smiled, hiding his nervousness.

"Well, I was wondering if you could be my project buddy," Janet requested as she gently played with her braided hair.

"Forgive me for asking, why do you choose me of all people?

"Because you got the best result in the faculty. They said surrounding yourself with intelligent people will make you smart. That's why I chose you, considering how awful my grade was last semester."

"And how did you know it was me?"

"Well, after seeing your ID number on the result bulletin, I did some research to find you," she smirked.

"Oh," Richard uttered helplessly, not knowing what to say.

"Where do you usually study at night?" Janet continued.

"I have a new dormitory now,” he shrugs. “I must find a convenient place close to me,"

"Which dormitory is that?"

"Block D,"

Janet looked surprised. "Why would you choose to live there? No wonder you came late today,"

"I chose it because it's cheap, but you can tell I already regretted my decision on the first day," Richard said.

"Fair enough," she giggled. "Let me have your phone number, and I'll call you tomorrow to hear if you've found a convenient reading spot."

"It's okay," Richard said without hesitation.

After she had his phone number, she left the lecture theater leaving Richard and Paul standing in the same spot. Paul quickly rushed to him, eager to hear the whole story.

"Since when did you get so good with girls?" Paul questioned as he placed his arm around Richard's shoulder.

"Come on, now, don't make a big deal of it. Janet only wants to be my studying partner."

"That sums up everything. It’s a no brainer. She's trying to use you."

"Do you care to explain how you came to that conclusion?" Richard frowns.

"One of the girls spilled the beans to me last semester. She was hanging out with this nerdy dude like you. When I asked for her motives, she revealed to me that it's a trend the pretty girls in the school came up with to get rid of their academic problems."

"Really?"

"Indeed, they attach themselves to smart boys and let them do all their projects for them. They even have a name for them."

"What do they call them?" Richard asked.

"They call them academic donkeys," Paul responded.

"You must be kidding."

"Nah, bruh, I'm dead serious."

"Don't you think it's a flight of fancy that a girl like that is interested in you without a valid cause?"

Richard looked at Paul appreciatively.

"I indeed find it suspicious. Thanks for pulling me out of the darkness,"

"No worries,” Paul laughed. “You should face more girls like her soon now that they know how smart you are."

"How am I not aware of something like that?" Richard asked.

"You are always cooped up within the world of your studies. Besides, not many people are quite privy to the academic donkey of a thing."

"I know how to handle her now that I know what she's up to," Richard claimed.

"Maybe you should let her use you. She will reward you with something big,” Paul mocked.

"You're right. If I can gladly give her my life, she will reward me accordingly," Richard responded, and they both laughed aloud.

They walked out of the theater and headed towards the cheapest cafeteria on the other side of the faculty.

A woman in her late fifties named Mama Toyin is the owner of the cafeteria. It is a medium-sized building built from wood then roofed with gray metal sheets. Tiny ceiling fans were running in slow motion. On the floor were titles that seemed to have lost their colors. There were plastic tables with four chairs arranged per table. On each table, there was a bowl with spoons on it. Richard and Paul entered the cafeteria and sat at one of the tables. A young boy working as a waiter approached them.

"What should I get you?" The boy smiled.

"The usual," Richard smiled.

"Okay, give me a minute," the boy smiled back as he walked out to the kitchen.

"And please, make it two," Paul added. "What do you usually eat here?" He whispered in Richard's ear.

"You will know when it arrives," Richard replied.

About five minutes later, the waiter boy came holding two plates.

"So, this is what you usually eat here," Paul laughed when he noticed it was moi-moi.

"Yes, of course. I'm trying to save money for other things, you know" Richard laughed.

"Why are you always very thrifty?" Paul asked.

"This is what I can afford. I don't have to go out on a limb to eat expensive foods,"

"That's a smart thing to say."

"Thanks."

They soon started munching on their meals right after their conversation. They left for their next lecture immediately after eating.

In the afternoon, around two pm, Richard was done with his lectures for that day. He walked out of the faculty and headed towards his dorm. He walked slowly because he was so tired, yet still too stubborn to take a taxi.

He walked for some minutes before coming across a small secondary school located at the university. It was a school made for the children of the staff working at the university. It has a very short fence made up of red bricks surrounding it.

At that time, the students were walking out of the school wearing their uniforms. The boys wore black trousers and white shirts. The girls wore black skirts instead of trousers. For the Christian girls, they had a black beret on their heads, while for the Muslim girls wore a white hijab.

When he was a few meters away from his dorm, he heard some secondary students arguing ahead of him. Two boys and two girls arguing about the possibility of a nuclear bomb powerful enough to destroy the whole of Nigeria.

"This is very silly. Nigeria is much bigger than you think. The nuclear bomb used during the Second World War destroyed only two cities." One of the girls claimed. "How on earth do you expect a single bomb to destroy a whole country?"

She was average height with fair skin complexion. Her well-plaited hair sticking out of her beret and lying on her forehead beside her right eye. When Richard heard their argument, he got interested.

"Actually, it is possible if you know the physics behind it," Richard interfered without even realizing it. The four of them turned and looked at him.

"Well, Mr. Physics, no one asked for your opinion," the girl said with a frown then looked away immediately.

"Those who don't listen to other's opinions are bound to lose a great deal of knowledge," Richard responded with a smile.

"Oh really, Mr. Philosopher?"

The girl stopped walking and turned with her arms folded. She waits for Richard to cover up the space between them.

"Yes, dear,” Richard smiled as he approached her. “And as a matter of fact, I am in a position to teach you,"

"Do you know who I am? Do you know what I am capable of?" the girl asked.

"I don't know you nor what you are capable of. What I do know is you are in secondary school. I trust I am smarter than secondary school kids like you."

The girl’s eyes widened more than ever before. "What?!"

"Do you hear how ridiculous he sounds? He's the type that left secondary school at an early age, and now he's acting like he's any better than us," the girl said as she turned back to her friends.

By that time, Richard had gotten to where she was.

"Well, it seems like I made a huge mistake. I shouldn't have interfered in your conversation in the first place," Richard said and tried to walk beside her.

"Tell us about the physics behind it," the other girl inquired.

She was the shortest in the group with a darker complexion.

"There is no need for that. You are all kids and wouldn't understand the explanation," Richard replied.

"Just stop talking to him, Alice. He was just looking for an excuse to talk to us. He doesn't know anything by the looks of it," the first girl said.

Richard looked around and noticed that some university students were looking at the scene they had created. He decided to quickly dash away from the place to prevent further abasement.